,,occultism ,,and ,,common-,,sense      
,,by ,,beckles ,,willson       ,,with   
,,an ,,introduction ,,by     ,,prof4 ,w4
 ,f4 ,,barrett1 ,f4,r4,s4      ,past    
,president of the ,society for          
,psychical ,research      ,,london      
,t4 ,,werner ,,laurie     ,,clifford',s 
,,inn     ,e4,c4     ,,contents         
,,introduction ,,vii  ,i4 ,,science',s  
,,attitude ,,towards ,,the              
,,supernatural  ,,ii4 ,,the ,,hypnotic  
,,state  ,,iii4 ,,phantasms ,,of ,,the  
,,living  ,,iv4 ,,dreams  ,v4           
,,hallucinations  ,,vi4 ,,phantasms ,,of
 ,,the ,,dead  ,,vii4 ,,on ,,hauntings  
,,and ,,kindred ,,phenomena  ,,viii4    
,,the ,,dowsing ,,or ,,divining ,,rod   
,,ix4 ,,mediumistic ,,phenomena  ,x4    
,,more ,,physical ,,phenomena  ,,xi4    
,,the ,,materialisation ,,of ,,ghosts   
,,xii4 ,,spirit-,,photography  ,,xiii4  
,,clairvoyance  ,,xiv4 ,,mrs ,,piper',s 
,,trance ,,utterances  ,,afterword      
,,note   ,the following chapters1       
together with ,professor ,barrett's     

comment thereupon1 which now figures as 
an ,introduction1 originally appeared in
 the columns of ,the ,westminster       
,gazette4     ,,introduction  ,by       
,professor ,w4 ,f4 ,barrett1 ,f4,r4,s4  
,those of us who took part in the       
foundation of the ,society for          
,psychical ,research were convinced from
 personal investigation and from the    
testimony of competent witnesses that1  
amidst much illusion and deception1     
there existed an important body of      
facts1 hitherto unrecognised by science1
 which1 if incontestably established1   
would be of supreme interest and        
importance4  ,it was hoped that by      
applying scientific methods to their    
systematic investigation these obscure  
phenomena might eventually be rescued   
from the disorderly mystery of          
ignorance2 7but we recognised that this 
would be a work1 not of one generation  
but of many47 ,hence to preserve        
continuity of effort it was necessary to
 form a society1 the aim of which should

 be1 as we stated at the outset1 to     
bring to bear on these obscure questions
 the same spirit of exact and           
unimpassioned inquiry which has enabled 
science to solve so many problems once  
not less obscure nor less hotly debated4
 ,and such success as the society has   
achieved is in no small measure due to  
the wise counsel and ungrudging         
expenditure both of time and means which
 the late ,professor ,henry ,sidgwick   
gave1 and which ,mrs ,sidgwick continues
 to give1 to all the details of its     
work4  ,turning now to the author of the
 following pages1 everyone must         
recognise the industry he has shown and 
the fairness of spirit he has           
endeavoured to maintain4 ,with different
 groups of phenomena1 the evidential    
value varies enormously4 ,the testimony 
of honest and even careful witnesses    
requires to be received with caution1   
owing to the intrusion of two sources of
 error to which untrained observers are 
very liable4 ,these are unconscious     

mal-observation and unintentional       
mis-description4 ,i cannot here enter   
into the proof of this statement1 but it
 is fully established4 ,oddly enough1   
not only a credulous observer but a     
cynical or ferocious sceptic is         
singularly prone to these errors when1  
for the first time1 he is induced to    
investigate psychical phenomena which1  
in the pride of his superior            
intelligence1 he has hitherto scorned4  
,i could give some amusing illustrations
 of this within my own knowledge4 ,for  
instance1 a clever but critical friend  
who had frequently scoffed at the       
evidence for thought-transference       
published in the ,proceedings of the    
,society for ,psychical ,research1 one  
day seriously informed me he had been   
converted to a belief in                
thought-transference by some conclusive 
experiments he had witnessed4 ,upon     
inquiring where these experiments took  
place ,i found it was at a public       
performance of a very inferior ,zancig  

who was then touring through the        
provinces6  ,mr ,beckles ,willson       
frankly tells us that the light heart   
and open mind with which he set forth on
 his inquiry deserted him before he drew
 his labours to a close4 ,for1 entering 
upon the subject as a novice1 he found  
himself unexpectedly confronted by the  
mass of evidence and the numerous and   
profoundly difficult problems which the 
,psychical ,society have had to face4   
,his conclusions are derived from a     
study of the available evidence1 and    
this study has convinced him--as it has 
convinced1 so far as ,i know1 every     
other painstaking and honest            
inquirer--that no theories based on     
fraud1 illusion1 nor even on telepathy1 
are adequate to account for the whole of
 the phenomena he has reviewed4         
,contrary to his prepossessions1 ,mr    
,willson tells us that he has been led  
to the conclusion that the only         
satisfactory explanation of these       
phenomena is the action of discarnate   

human beings--that is to say1 the       
,spiritualistic hypothesis4  ,i can     
hardly suppose he means to apply this   
statement to more than the small residue
 of phenomena which he finds            
inexplicable on any other hypothesis4   
,assuming this restricted view to be    
meant1 the question arises1 ,is the     
evidence on which it is based           
sufficiently abundant1 trustworthy1 and 
conclusive1 to warrant such a           
far-reaching statement8 ,here we must   
turn from the author to ascertain what  
has been the conclusion arrived at by   
those who have given long years to a    
searching experimental investigation of 
these phenomena1 and who have approached
 the subject in a scientific and        
judicial spirit4 ,the most noteworthy   
instance is the testimony of that shrewd
 and able investigator1 the late ,dr    
,hodgson4 ,his patient and laborious    
inquiry into the trance phenomena of    
,mrs ,piper ultimately led him to the   
conclusion arrived at by ,mr ,willson4  

,dr ,hodgson's well-known exposure of   
,madame ,blavatsky and other fraudulent 
mediums and his sane and cautious       
judgment render his opinion of great    
weight4 ,then1 again1 we find that this 
also was the conclusion to which        
,frederic ,myers was gradually driven4  
,and long prior to this it was the      
conclusion arrived at by that acute     
thinker1 the late ,professor de ,morgan1
 and it is the conclusion strongly held 
by the great naturalist1 ,dr ,a4 ,r4    
,wallace1 and held also by several other
 eminent investigators ,i might name4   
,so momentous a conclusion1 if capable  
of such complete verification as to be  
universally accepted by science1 would  
obviously throw all other discoveries   
into the background4 ,i say if capable  
of being verified by scientific methods1
 but1 although the weight of opinion    
will1 in my opinion1 ultimately lead to 
a very wide acceptance of this          
conclusion1 yet it seems to me highly   
probable that the experimental discovery

 of the survival of human personality   
after death will always elude conclusive
 scientific demonstration4 ,this        
particular field of psychical           
investigation belongs to an order other 
than that with which science deals2 and1
 this being so1 it can never be         
adequately investigated with the limited
 faculties we now possess4  ,in any     
case1 as ,i said in a letter published  
in ,the ,times1 so long ago as          
,september #ahgf1 before science is in a
 position to frame any satisfactory     
hypothesis of the so-called             
,spiritualistic phenomena1 a number of  
antecedent questions will have to be    
investigated and decided4 ,prominent    
among these1 ,i urged more than thirty  
years ago1 was the question whether     
ideas or information can be voluntarily 
or involuntarily transferred from one   
mind to another independently of the    
recognised organs of perception4        
,experiments ,i had then recently made  
led me to the conclusion that something 

new to science1 which might             
provisionally be called                 
thought-transference1 now known in its  
wider aspect as telepathy1 did really   
exist4 ,this1 if established1 would1 as 
,i pointed out1 unquestionably solve    
some of the so-called spirit            
communications which had so puzzled     
investigators4 ,but the idea of         
thought-transference was at that time   
just as obnoxious to official science as
 ,spiritualism4 ,mr ,willson quotes the 
implacable disbelief1 even in the       
possibility of telepathy1 which that    
great man ,helmholtz expressed to me4   
,and it is amusing now to recall the    
fierce outcry aroused by the paper ,i   
read at the ,british ,association       
meeting in #ahgf1 when1 after narrating 
certain apparently transcendental       
phenomena ,i had witnessed1 ,i asked    
that a committee of scientific men      
should be appointed to investigate      
preliminary question of the possibility 
of thought-transference4#a ,it is true  

the evidence on behalf of telepathy has 
since become so abundant that now few   
deny its probability1 but even telepathy
 has not yet taken its place among the  
recognised scientific verities4 ,i hope 
this recognition will not be long       
delayed1 but until it occurs it is      
almost as illegitimate to use telepathy1
 as some do so freely1 for the          
foundation of their theories of         
transcendental phenomena as to use the  
spiritualistic hypothesis itself4       
,footnote #a3 ,the ,spectator1 ,i       
believe1 alone1 generously supported me1
 and in an editorial article on #cjth   
,september #ahgf expressed the hope that
 the ,british ,association would really 
lake some action on the subject of the  
paper1 in spite of the protests of the  
party1 which we may call the party of   
superstitious incredulity4  ,to those   
who have carefully studied the evidence 
there is1 however1 little doubt that    
telepathy does afford an adequate       
explanation of certain well-attested    

phenomena1 such as phantasms of the     
living or dying person4 ,and telepathy1 
which may now be considered as highly   
probable1 leads on to the evidence for  
man's survival after death--to this ,i  
will return later on4  ,then1 again1    
recent investigations have established  
the fact that the range of human        
personality must be extended to include 
something more than our normal          
self-consciousness4 ,our ,ego is not the
 simple unitary thing older             
psychologists taught1 but a composite   
structure embracing a self that extends 
far beyond the limit of our conscious   
waking life4 ,just as experimental      
physics has shown that each pencil of   
sunlight embraces an almost endless     
succession of invisible rays as well as 
the visible radiation we perceive1 so   
experimental psychology has shown that  
each human personality embraces an      
unconscious as well as a conscious self4
 ,mr ,myers1 using ,du ,perl's          
conception of a threshold1 has termed   

the former our subliminal self4 ,and    
just as the invisible radiation of the  
sun can only be rendered perceptible by 
some agency outside our vision1 so this 
subliminal self reveals itself only by  
some agency outside our own volition4   
,the subliminal self not only contains  
the record of unheeded past             
impressions--a latent memory--but also  
has activities and faculties far        
transcending the range of our conscious 
self4 ,in this it also resembles the    
invisible radiation of the sun1 which is
 the main source of life and energy in  
this world4  ,certainly the everyday    
processes of the development1 nutrition1
 and repair of our body and brain1 which
 go on automatically and unconsciously  
within us1 are far beyond the powers of 
our conscious personality4 ,all life    
shares with us this miraculous          
automatism4 ,no chemist1 with all his   
appliances1 can turn breadstuff into    
brainstuff or hay into milk4 ,further1  
the subliminal self seems to have       

faculties which can be emancipated from 
the limitations of our ordinary life4   
,glimpses of this we get when the       
conscious self is in abeyance1 as in    
sleep1 hypnosis1 and trance4 ,here and  
there we find certain individuals       
through whom this sub- or supra-liminal 
self manifests itself more freely than  
through others2 they have been termed   
mediums1 a word1 it is true1 that       
suggests ,browning's ,sludge4 ,but1 as  
scientific investigation has shown all  
mesmerists and dowsers are not          
charlatans1 so it has shown all mediums 
are not rogues4  ,this extension of     
human faculty1 revealing1 as it does1   
more profoundly the mysterious depths of
 our being1 enables us to explain many  
phenomena that have been attributed to  
discarnate human beings4 ,the question  
arises1 ,does it explain all so-called  
,spiritualistic phenomena8 ,in my       
opinion1 and in that of others who have 
given more time to their critical       
investigation than ,i have1 it does not4

 ,at present we have to grope our way1  
but the ground is being cleared1 and the
 direction which the future explorer of 
these unknown regions has to take is    
becoming more evident4     ,occultism   
and ,common-,sense     ,,chapter ,i     
,,science',s ,,attitude ,,towards ,,the 
,,supernatural   ,when ,i first ventured
 into the wide and misty domain of      
,occultism1 with a light heart ,i set   
forth and an open mind4 ,my sole aim was
 to ascertain1 as far as the means at   
the disposal of an ordinary man with    
little of the mystic in his composition 
would allow1 what degree of probability 
attached to published phenomena1 which  
the ordinary laws of ,nature1 as most of
 us understand them1 could not          
satisfactorily explain4  ,at the        
threshold of my inquiry1 one prominent  
and1 as it seemed to me1 disconcerting  
fact confronted me--namely1 that        
although for a couple of generations    
supernatural manifestations had been    
promiscuously exhibited before the      

public1 challenging full investigation  
and inviting belief2 although almost    
every day the newspapers report some    
striking case of spirit apparition or   
materialisation1 coincident dreams1     
clairvoyance1 trance utterances1 or     
possession1 often seemingly well        
attested2 yet in spite of all this      
testimony academic science continued to 
dispute the very basis of such          
phenomena4 ,any investigator must needs 
recognise here a very anomalous         
situation4 ,on the one hand are1 let us 
say1 half-a-million people1 often highly
 intelligent1 cultured1 sane people1    
firmly protesting that they have        
witnessed certain astonishing occult    
manifestations1 and on the other hand   
the ,royal ,society and the ,british    
,association1 and other organised       
scientific bodies established for the   
investigation of truth1 absolutely      
refusing to admit such evidence or to   
regard it seriously4 ,forty years ago   
,faraday1 besought to give his opinion1 

in this wise wrote3 ,they who say they  
see these things are not competent      
witnesses of facts4 ,it would be        
condescension on my part to pay any more
 attention to them4 ,faraday's attitude 
was that of ,huxley1 ,spencer1 ,tyndall1
 and ,agassiz4 ,the first-named1        
however1 rather gave away his prejudice 
by saying3 ,supposing the phenomena to  
be genuine1 they do not interest me4    
,tyndall's utterance also deserves to be
 recalled3 ,there are people amongst us 
who1 it is alleged1 can produce effects 
before which the discoveries of ,newton 
pale4 ,there are men of science who     
would sell all that they have1 and give 
the proceeds to the poor1 for a glimpse 
of phenomena which are mere trifles to  
the spiritualist4 ,he added3 ,the world 
will have religion of some kind1 even   
though it should fly for it to the      
intellectual whoredom of spiritualism4  
,spencer's words were3 ,i have settled  
the question in my own mind on a priori 
grounds4 ,professor ,carpenter called   

spiritualism a most mischievous epidemic
 delusion1 comparable to the witchcraft 
delusion of the seventeenth century4    
,what1 then1 has happened to strengthen 
the case of the believers in ghosts1    
clairvoyance1 thought-transference1     
sensory automatism1 in1 say1 the last   
quarter of a century8 ,what new evidence
 exists which would make the            
mid-,victorian scientific men reconsider
 their position8 ,suppose ,faraday and  
,huxley1 ,spencer and ,tyndall1 were    
alive to-day1 would they see reason to  
alter their opinions8  ,i remember      
once--and ,i now give it as             
typical--overhearing a psychical        
experience4 ,it was in a first-class    
compartment on a train coming from      
,wimbledon4 ,one of my                  
fellow-passengers1 an intelligent1      
well-spoken man of about thirty-five1   
was relating to three friends the       
following extraordinary story4 ,as      
nearly as ,i can recollect1 ,i give the 
narrator's own words3--       ,one week 

ago last ,tuesday1 at eleven o'clock at 
night1 my      wife1 who had just       
retired to bed upstairs1 called out to  
me3      ',arthur6 ,arthur6' in a tone  
of alarm4 ,i sprang up and ran          
upstairs to see what was the matter4    
,the servants had all gone      to bed4 
',arthur1' said my wife1 ',i've just    
seen mother1' and      she began to cry4
 ',why1' ,i said1 'your mother's at     
,scarborough4' ',i know1' she said2 'but
 she appeared before me      just there'
 7pointing to the foot of the bed7 'two 
minutes ago      as plainly as you do4' 
,well1 the next morning there was a     
telegram on the breakfast-table3        
',mother1 died at eleven last           
night4' ,now1 how do you account for it8
  ,there was silence for a full minute4 
,a wonderful coincidence4 ,your wife's  
hallucination coincided with her        
mother's death6  ,another occupant of   
the carriage caught up the word3  ,yes1 
coincidence4 ,a thing which mightn't    
happen once in a million years4  ,nobody

 else ventured a remark4 ,yet they      
seemed unconvinced4 ,there was no one to
 tell them--even ,i did not know        
then--that these coincidences were      
constantly happening1 every year1       
perhaps every month2 that an intelligent
 body of men--the ,society for          
,psychical ,research--has made a census 
of such hallucinations1 all apparently  
well attested2 that newspapers devoted  
to occult matters constantly record     
these things2 that volumes--monthly1    
weekly1 almost--fairly pour from the    
press detailing1 expounding1 dissecting1
 elaborating such evidence2 that the    
theory of coincidence has already been  
rejected by many men of the first rank  
of science2 and that official science   
itself is reluctantly reconsidering its 
position in more than one direction4    
,yet so slowly do the masses move in    
intellectual life1 so tardily do truths1
 concerning not merely occult but       
physical and material investigation1    
percolate through to the workaday world1

 that the researches1 the activities1   
the ascertained truths of students of   
psychical phenomena are as a closed     
book4 ,perhaps the attitude of apathy   
with which occult phenomena and occult  
science are regarded by the average man 
is not unnatural4 ,to him all miracles  
that are not ,scriptural and ancient    
and1 as it were1 institutional are      
highly improbable1 if not impossible4   
,all super-naturalism1 he will tell you1
 is morbid4 ,there may be something in  
these things1 he says1 but it is not    
proved4 ,as for spiritualism1 my belief 
is that mediums are impostors4 ,most of 
the spiritualists ,i have seen are      
'cranks'--they are certainly dupes--and 
,i have no doubt that if ,i interested  
myself in these matters ,i should end by
 becoming also a 'crank4'  ,this ,i     
maintain is the position of the         
ordinarily educated normal man4  ,the   
moment1 wrote ,lord ,lytton1 one deals  
with things beyond our comprehension1   
and in which our own senses are appealed

 to and baffled1 we revolt from the     
probable1 as it appears to the senses of
 those who have not experienced what we 
have4 ,now1 that is just what the candid
 inquirer must avoid throughout his     
inquiry4 ,it is often difficult to      
resist employing supernormal hypotheses2
 but1 until normal hypotheses are       
exhausted1 the resistance must be made4 
,on the other hand1 it is well to bear  
in mind ,mr ,andrew ,lang's timely      
remark1 there is a point at which the   
explanations of common-sense arouse     
scepticism4  ,at all events1 not even   
the most materialistic                  
man-in-the-music-hall1 with two eyes in 
his head1 can deny that the great wave  
of occultism1 which twenty years ago    
seemed to be receding1 is again         
returning with greater force and volume1
 submerging many of the old sceptical   
theories and wetting even the utterly   
callous and ignorant with its spray4 ,it
 is not so long ago that the very fact  
of hypnotism was doubted--,mesmer was   

long regarded as a mere quack--but      
to-day the induced trance is universally
 credited4 ,to hypnotism must the       
miracle of telepathy now be added8 ,has 
it really been ascertained1 after a     
thousand experiments and beyond the     
possibility of error1 that a mode of    
apprehension exists which has no        
connection with the five senses8 ,for   
twenty-five years the members of the    
,society of ,psychical ,research have   
carried on their investigations of both 
sleeping and waking subjects1 under     
every conceivable condition1 and are at 
last fain to announce that such a mystic
 faculty does exist by which brain can  
communicate with brain without any known
 sensory agency4  ,as to the kind of    
ghost story recorded above1 what an     
exact analogy it bears to the following1
 to be found in a recent volume of the  
,proceedings of the ,society for        
,psychical ,research6 ,the statement was
 received from a ,madame ,broussiloff1  
of ,st ,petersburg3--       ,on the     

#afth 7#bhth7 of ,february of this year1
 between nine and      ten o'clock in   
the evening1 ,i1 the undersigned1 was   
sitting in      our drawing-room--the   
small one--facing the large             
drawing-room1      which ,i could see in
 its entire length4 ,my husband1 his    
brother1 with his wife1 and my mother1  
were also sitting in the      same room 
with me round a large round table4 ,i   
was writing down      my household      
accounts for the day1 while the others  
were      carrying on some gay          
conversation4 ,having accidentally      
raised      my head and looked into the 
large drawing-room1 ,i noticed1 with    
astonishment1 that a large grey shadow  
had passed from the door      of the    
dining-room to that of the antechamber2 
and it came into      my head that the  
figure ,i had seen bore a striking      
resemblance      in stature to ,colonel 
,ave-,meinander1 an acquaintance of     
ours1      who had lived in this very   
lodging for a long time4 ,at the        

first moment1 ,i wished to say at once  
that a ghost had just      flashed      
before me1 but stopped1 as ,i was afraid
 of being      laughed at by my         
husband's brother and his wife1 and also
 of      being scolded by my husband1   
who1 in view of the excitement          
which ,i showed when such phenomena were
 taking place1 tried to      convince me
 that they were the fruits of my fancy4 
,as ,i knew      that ,meinander was    
alive and well1 and was commander of the
      ,malorossuesky #djth ,regiment of 
,dragoons1 ,i did not say anything      
then2 but when ,i was going to bed ,i   
related to my mother what ,i      had   
seen1 and the next morning could not    
refrain from      mentioning it to my   
husband4       ,our astonishment was    
extreme when1 on the #ahth of ,february 
7#bnd of ,march71 we learned ,nicholas  
,ottovitch ,ave-,meinander had          
actually died after a short illness on  
the #afth 7#bhth7 of      ,february at  
nine o'clock in the evening1 in the town

 of      ,strashovo1 where his regiment 
is stationed4       ,the above account  
is confirmed by the percipient's mother1
      ,marie von ,hagemeister1 and by   
the husband1 ,colonel ,alexis           
,alexeievitch ,broussiloff4 ,both state 
solemnly that ,colonel      ,meinander  
died at nine ,p4,m4 on the evening of   
#afth ,february      7#bhth7 at         
,stashovo1 #abjj versts from ,st        
,petersburg4  ,to explain this          
phenomenon in the terms of telepathy1   
the grey shadow seen by ,madame         
,broussiloff was not a ghost1 not the   
bodiless spirit in the likeness of a    
man1 but a waking dream projected from  
the brain of the seer under the impulse 
of the dying man's thought4  ,but       
telepathy itself requires consideration 
and explanation4 ,sir ,william ,crookes 
has repeatedly given publicity to his   
theory of brain-waves and to a kindred  
conception of ether substance1 along    
which intelligence can be transmitted at
 an almost incalculable rate of speed to

 virtually interminable distances4      
,that mind should effect mind in a new  
mode may mean no more than that brain   
can act upon brain by means of ethereal 
vibrations hitherto unsuspected4 ,the   
power itself may be but a lingering     
vestige of our inheritance from primeval
 times1 a long-disused faculty dragged  
from the dim lumber-room of a primitive 
consciousness1 and galvanised into a    
belated and halting activity4  ,or1 on  
the other hand1 may not such faculty be 
regarded not as vestigial1 but as       
rudimentary8 ,telepathy1 if we follow   
the gifted author of ,human             
,personality1 is a promise for the      
future1 not an idle inheritance from the
 past4  ,our business now is1 all mystic
 speculations apart1 to consider the    
phenomena in the order in which1 if not 
yet actually accepted1 they would seem  
to evoke least opposition from the      
academic science of the day4 ,what is   
the net result of the evidence for all  
classes of supernormal phenomena8 ,that 

,i shall endeavour to point out1 as     
concisely and lucidly as ,i can1 in the 
following chapters4     ,,chapter ,,ii  
,,the ,,hypnotic ,,state   ,not least of
 the wonders of modern psychical        
research is the discovery that nothing  
in all the phenomena is new--that under 
other names and by other races every    
sort of manifestation was familiar to   
the most remote peoples4 ,this would    
certainly seem to meet the argument of  
the physicist--it is not necessary to   
refer again to ,professor ,tyndall's    
uncomplimentary phraseology--who        
declares that all this popular occultism
 is a product of the last generation or 
two4 ,take hypnotism4 ,hypnotism 7or    
mesmerism7 was formerly alleged to be an
 emanation from the body--an effluence  
of intense will-power4 ,the belief in   
such an emanation is centuries old4 ,by 
the magic power of the will1 wrote      
,paracelsus1 a person on this side of   
the ocean may make a person on the other
 side hear what is said on that side 444

 the ethereal body of a man may know    
what another man thinks at a distance of
 #ajj miles or more4 ,twenty years ago  
this creed was laughed out of court by  
,huxley1 ,tyndall1 and other leading men
 of science4 ,to-day we are told by     
those who have witnessed the experiments
 of ,charcot1 ,janet1 and others that   
the existence of an aura of spirit-force
 surrounding the body like an           
atmosphere1 in some cases at all events1
 can be proved as a physical fact4      
,whatever the explanation1 whatever the 
definition of this miraculous agency1   
hypnotism is now universally accepted4  
,the manifestations of its power must   
convince the most sceptical4 ,a         
spell-bound subject is frequently made  
to share the sensations of the          
hypnotist1 his ocular perceptions and   
his sense of touch4 ,in the hypnotic    
sleep the subject easily becomes        
insensible to pain4 ,a member of the    
,society reports that he has seen a     
youth in this condition who suffered    

gladly the most injurious attacks upon  
his own person--who would allow his hair
 to be pulled1 his ears pinched1 his    
fingers even to be scorched by lighted  
matches4 ,but the same youth would next 
moment indignantly resent the slightest 
injury upon his hypnotiser1 who would at
 the time be standing at the other end  
of the room4  ,one thing in common all  
the hypnotic methods appear to possess1 
the diversion of attention from external
 surroundings and the working of a      
sub-consciousness in a manner not       
characteristic of the ordinary life of  
the subject4 ,in cases described by ,mr 
,greenwood no difficulty was encountered
 in impersonations suggested to the     
subject unless they savoured too much of
 the ridiculous4 ,thus1 he writes1 a    
suggestion that ,m41 the subject1 was   
myself and that ,i was he succeeded2 and
 in his reverse capacity he continued   
the course of experiments upon himself1 
devising several original and ingenious 
varieties to which ,i1 for the sake of  

the experiment1 acquiesced in subjecting
 myself4 ,he also behaved with          
considerable dignity and verve as ,king 
,edward ,,vii41 until ,i threw a match  
at his head1 a proceeding which appeared
 to conflict so strongly with dramatic  
verisimilitude that he lapsed back into 
his ordinary hypnotic condition1 nor    
could ,i reinduce the impersonation4 ,on
 the other hand1 statements that he was 
the ,emperor of ,china1 and that he was 
a nurse and ,i a baby1 failed to carry  
any conviction1 being either received   
with passive consent or rejected with   
scorn4 ,it is interesting to note that  
in the waking state of the subject he   
explained that he was only conscious    
that he was not the characters he was   
bidden to assume1 and if asked would    
have said as much1 but that he was      
irresistibly impelled to act as though  
he were4  ,the production of sleep in   
the subject at a distance is one of the 
latest attested marvels of hypnotism4   
,the long series of experiments made in 

,france by ,professor ,richet and       
,professor ,janet would appear to attest
 this power4 ,in some trials made at    
,havre1 in which the experimenters were 
,professor ,janet and ,dr ,gibert1 the  
subject of the experiment was a certain 
,madame ,b4 or ,leonie1 then a patient  
of ,dr ,gibert4 ,the facts were recorded
 by the late ,f4 ,w4 ,myers and his     
brother1 ,dr ,a4 ,t4 ,myers1 who were   
present3       ,we selected 7he states7 
by lot an hour 7eleven ,a4,m47 at which 
,m4 ,gibert should will1 from his       
dispensary 7which is close to      his  
house71 that ,madame ,b4 should go to   
sleep in the ,pavilion4      ,it was    
agreed that a rather longer time should 
be allowed for      the process to take 
effect1 as it had been observed that she
      sometimes struggled against the   
influence and averted the      effect   
for a time by putting her hands in cold 
water1 etc4 ,at      #aa4be we entered  
the ,pavilion quietly1 and almost at    
once she      descended from her room to

 the salon1 profoundly asleep4 ,we      
did not1 of course1 mention ,m4         
,gibert's attempt of the previous       
night4 ,but she told us in her sleep    
that she had been very ill      in the  
night1 and repeatedly exclaimed3        
',pourquoi ,m4 ,gibert      m'a-t-il    
fait souffrir8 ,mais j'ai lave les mains
      continuellement4' ,this is what   
she does when she wishes to      avoid  
being influenced4       ,in the evening 
7#bbnd7 we all dined at ,m4 ,gibert's1  
and in the      evening ,m4 ,gibert made
 another attempt to put her to sleep at 
a distance from his house in the ,rue   
,sery--she being at the      ,pavilion1 
,rue de la ,ferme--and to bring her to  
his house by an      effort of will4 ,at
 #h4ee he retired to his study2 and     
,,mm4      ,ochorowicz1 ,marillier1     
,janet1 and ,a4 ,t4 ,myers went to the  
,pavilion1 and waited outside in the    
street1 out of sight of the      house4 
,at #i4bb ,dr ,myers observed ,madame   
,b4 coming half way out      of the     

garden gate1 and again retreating4      
,those who saw her      more closely    
observed that she was plainly in the    
somnambulistic state and was wandering  
about and muttering4 ,at      #i4be she 
came out with eyes persistently closed1 
so far as      could be seen1 walked    
quickly past ,,mm4 ,janet and ,marillier
      without noticing them1 and made   
for ,m4 ,gibert's house1 though      not
 by the usual or shortest route4 7,it   
appeared afterwards      that the bonne 
had seen her go into the salon at #h4de 
and      issue thence asleep at #i4ae2  
had not looked in between those         
times47 ,she avoided lamp-posts1        
vehicles1 etc41 but crossed and         
recrossed the street repeatedly4 ,no one
 went in front of her or      spoke to  
her4 ,after eight or ten minutes she    
grew more      uncertain in gait1 and   
paused as though she would fall4 ,dr    
,myers noted the moment in the ,rue     
,faure2 it was #i4ce4 ,at about         
#i4dj she grew bolder1 and at #i4de     

reached the street in front      of ,m4 
,gibert's house4 ,there she met him1 but
 did not notice      him1 and walked    
into his house1 where she rushed        
hurriedly from      room to room on the 
ground floor4 ,m4 ,gibert had to take   
her      hand before she recognised him4
 ,she then grew calm4       ,on the     
#bcrd ,m4 ,janet lunched in our company 
and retired to his      own house at    
#d4cj 7a time chosen by lot71 to try to 
put her to      sleep from thence4 ,at  
#e4e we all entered the salon of the    
,pavilion1 and found her asleep with    
shut eyes1 but sewing      vigorously   
7being in that stage in which movements 
once      suggested are automatically   
continued74 ,passing into the           
talkative stage1 she said to ,m4 ,janet3
 ',c'est vous qui m'avez      fait      
dormir a quatre heures et demi4' ,the   
impression as to the      hour may have 
been a suggestion received from ,m4     
,janet's mind4      ,we tried to make   
her believe that it was ,m4 ,gibert who 

had      sent her to sleep1 but she     
maintained that she had felt that it    
was ,m4 ,janet4       ,on #bdth ,april  
the whole party chanced to meet at ,m4  
,janet's      house at three ,p4,m41 and
 he then1 at my suggestion1 entered his 
study to will that ,madame ,b4 should   
sleep4 ,we waited in his      garden1   
and at #c4bj proceeded together to the  
,pavilion1 which ,i      entered first  
at #c4cj1 and found ,madame ,b4         
profoundly sleeping      over her       
sewing1 having ceased to sew4 ,becoming 
talkative1 she      said to ,m4 ,janet3 
',c'est vous qui m'avez commande4' ,she 
said      that she fell asleep at #c4e  
,p4,m4  ,of the twenty-five trials made 
in the course of two months1 eighteen   
were wholly and four partially          
successful4  ,this somnolent state      
might1 it is thought1 have been induced 
by telepathy2 in fact1 as we shall see1 
telepathy will in some quarters have to 
bear the burden of most1 if not all1 of 
the phenomena under investigation4  ,not

 only is the hypnotic subject frequently
 induced to do the will of the operator1
 but he may actually have presented to  
his intelligence certain ideas or       
images1 material or imaginary1 known    
only to the hypnotiser4 ,after following
 carefully all the experiments conducted
 by the late ,professor ,sidgwick and   
others1 in the presence of witnesses of 
repute1 ,i do not see how it is possible
 to deny the fact of telepathy4 ,in     
these experiments the subject or        
percipient was always hypnotised1       
remaining so to a varying degree        
throughout the experiment4  ,albeit1    
even as regards this                    
thought-transference1 we must be on our 
guard against a too rash acceptance of  
unknown or supernormal agencies in every
 bona-fide experiment4 ,certainly all   
experiments of the hypnotiser do not    
ipso facto prove that any new method of 
apprehension has been employed4 ,the    
hypnotised subject is extremely         
susceptible to suggestions1 and might   

even glean an indication of what is     
proceeding through the look1 the        
gestures1 the very breathing1 of those  
present4 ,the utmost precautions1       
therefore1 were taken by the ,society   
for ,psychical ,research when it began  
its experimental inquiries4  ,the       
subject of the picture was always       
carefully chosen by one of the          
experimenters--,mrs ,sidgwick or ,miss  
,alice ,johnson4 ,any possibility of the
 percipient being able to guess at the  
subject through chance1 association1 or 
ideas was rigorously excluded4 ,to      
prevent any hint being unconsciously    
imparted by the third experimenter1 ,mr 
,g4 ,a4 ,smith1 silence was enjoined    
upon him1 and he was placed behind the  
percipient or in another room2 yet the  
percipient actually saw and described   
the projecting impression as if it were 
a real picture before his eyes4 ,when   
,mr ,smith went downstairs with ,miss   
,johnson he was asked by her to think of
 an eagle pursuing a sparrow4 ,mrs      

,sidgwick1 who remained upstairs with   
,p41 the percipient1 in a few minutes   
induced him to see a round disc of light
 on the imaginary lantern-sheet1 and    
then he saw in it something like a bird1
 which disappeared immediately4 ,he went
 on looking 7with closed eyes1 of       
course71 and presently he thought he saw
 something like a bird--something like  
an eagle4 ,after a pause he said3 ,i    
thought ,i saw a figure there--,i saw   
#e4 ,the bird's gone4 ,i see #e again2  
now it's gone4 ,the bird came twice4 ,mr
 ,smith then came upstairs1 and ,p4 had 
another impression of an eagle4 ,he was 
told that the eagle was right1 and there
 was something else besides1 no hint    
being given of what the other thing was4
 ,he then said that the first thing he  
saw was a little bird--a sparrow1       
perhaps--he could not say--about the    
size of a sparrow2 then that            
disappeared1 and he saw the eagle4 ,he  
had told ,mrs ,sidgwick so at the time4 
,we see the mental machinery at work in 

another case1 where the subject agreed  
upon was ,the ,babes in the ,wood4 ,to  
begin with1 ,p4 sat with closed eyes1   
but1 when no impression came1 ,mr ,smith
 opened his eyes1 without speaking1 and 
made him look for the picture on a card4
 ,after we had waited a little while in 
vain1 ,mr ,smith said to him3 ,do you   
see something like a straw hat8 ,p4     
assented to this1 and then began to     
puzzle out something more3 ,a white     
apron1 something dark--a child4 ,it     
can't be another child1 unless it's a   
boy--a boy and a girl--the boy to the   
right and the girl to the left4 ,little 
girl with white socks on and shoes with 
straps4 ,mr ,smith asked3 ,what are they
 doing8 ,is it two children on a raft at
 sea8 ,p43 ,no2 it's like trees in the  
background--a copse or something4 ,like 
a fairy-story--like babes in a wood or  
something4  ,we see it in an even more  
pronounced degree where the subject sat 
on a sailing boat4 ,miss ,johnson1 who  
did not know what the subject of the    

picture was1 asked ,miss ,b4 whether it 
was anything like an animal4 ,miss ,b4  
said3 ,no2 got some prong sort of       
things--something at the bottom like a  
little boat4 ,what can that be up in the
 air8 ,cliffs1 ,i suppose--cliffs in the
 air high up--it's joining the boat4    
,oh1 sails6--a sailing-boat--not        
cliffs--sails4 ,this was not all uttered
 consecutively1 but partly in answer to 
questions put by ,miss ,johnson2 but1 as
 ,miss ,johnson was ignorant of the     
supposed picture1 her questions could1  
of course1 give no guidance4  ,many     
experiments have been made in the       
transference of imaginary scenes1 where 
both operator and subject have attempted
 to attain a conscious unity of ideas by
 means of rough drawings4 ,a slight     
sketch was made1 which was then         
projected to the brain of the           
percipient1 who proceeded to reproduce  
the unseen1 often with amazing fidelity4
  ,in these experiments actual contact  
was forbidden1 to avoid the risk of     

unconscious indications by pressure4 ,in
 many cases1 however1 the agent and     
percipient have been in the same room1  
and there has therefore still been some 
possible risk of unconscious whispering2
 but this risk has been successfully    
avoided4 ,it yet remains doubtful how   
far close proximity really operates in  
aid of telepathy1 or how far its        
advantage is a mere effect of           
self-suggestion--on the part either of  
agent or percipient4 ,some              
experimenters--notably the late ,mr     
,kirk and ,mr ,glardon--have obtained   
results of just the same type at        
distances of half-a-mile or more4 ,in   
the case of induction of hypnotic       
trance1 ,dr ,gibert1 as we have seen1   
attained at the distance of nearly a    
mile results which are commonly believed
 to exact close and actual presence4    
,hypnotic agencies1 according to ,myers1
 may be simplified into suggestion and  
self-suggestion4 ,the same author       
defines suggestion as successful appeal 

to the subliminal self4 ,many striking  
cases of moral reforms produced by this 
means have been recorded by ,dr ,auguste
 ,voisin4 ,for instance3       ,in the  
summer of #ahhd there was at the        
,salpetriere a young      woman of a    
deplorable type4 ,jeanne ,sch---- was a 
criminal      lunatic1 filthy in habits1
 violent in demeanour1 and with a       
lifelong history of impurity and theft4 
,m4 ,voisin1 who was one      of the    
physicians on the staff1 undertook to   
hypnotise her on      #cast ,may1 at a  
time when she could only be kept quiet  
by the      strait jacket and bonnet    
d'irrigation1 or perpetual cold         
douche to the head4 ,she would          
not--indeed1 she could not--look        
steadily at her operator1 but raved and 
spat at him4 ,m4 ,voisin      kept his  
face close to hers and followed her eyes
 wherever she      moved them4 ,in about
 ten minutes a stertorous sleep ensued1 
and      in five minutes more she passed
 into a sleep-waking state1 and         

began to talk incoherently4 ,the process
 was repeated on many      days1 and    
gradually she became sane when in the   
trance1 though      she still raved when
 awake4 ,gradually1 too1 she became able
 to      obey in waking hours commands  
impressed on her in the                 
trance--first trivial orders 7to sweep  
the room and so forth71      then orders
 involving a marked change of behaviour4
 ,nay1 more2      in the hypnotic state 
she voluntarily expressed repentance for
      her past life1 made a confession  
which involved more evil than      the  
police were cognisant of 7though it     
agreed with facts      otherwise known71
 and finally of her own impulse made    
good      resolves for the future4 ,two 
years later 7#cast ,july #ahhf7 ,m4     
,voisin wrote that she was then a nurse 
in a ,paris hospital1 and      that her 
conduct was irreproachable4 ,it appeared
 then that this      poor woman1 whose  
history since the age of thirteen had   
been      one of reckless folly and     

vice1 had become capable of the         
steady1 self-controlled work of a nurse 
at a hospital1 the      reformed        
character having first manifested itself
 in the      hypnotic state1 partly in  
obedience to suggestion1 and partly     
as the natural result of the            
tranquilisation of morbid      passions4
  ,there is a mass of evidence to       
testify to the marvellous cures that    
have been effected in this way4         
,kleptomania1 dipsomania1 nicotinism1   
morphinomania1 and several varieties of 
phobies have all been known to yield to 
hypnotic suggestion4 ,nor is it always  
necessary that the mind of the patient  
should be influenced by another person2 
self-suggestion is at times equally     
efficacious4 ,here is a case in point1  
taken from ,proceedings1 vol4 xi4 p4    
#dbg4 ,the narrator is ,dr ,d4 ,j4      
,parsons4       ,sixteen years ago ,i   
was a little sick2 took half-a-grain of 
opium1 and lay down upon the bed4 ,soon1
 as ,i began to feel the                

tranquillising effect of the opium1 ,i  
saw three men approaching      me2 the  
one in front said3 ',you smoke too much 
tobacco4' ,i      replied3 ',i know ,i  
do4' ,he then said3 ',why don't you quit
 it8'      ,i answered by saying3 ',i   
have been thinking about it1 but ,i am  
afraid ,i can't4' ,he extended his right
 arm1 and placing his      forefinger   
very near my face gave it a few very    
significant      shakes1 said1 in a very
 impressive manner3 ',you will never    
want      to use tobacco any more as    
long as you live4' ,he continued by     
saying3 ',you swear sometimes4' ,i      
answered3 ',yes4' ,he said3      ',will 
you promise to quit8' ,i intended to say
 ',yes1' but just      as ,i was about  
to utter the word yes1 instantly a      
change came      over me1 and ,i felt   
like ,i had been held under some unknown
      influence1 which was suddenly     
withdrawn or exhausted4 ,i had      been
 a constant smoker for more than twenty 
years4       ,since the occurrence of   

the above incident ,i have not touched  
tobacco2 have felt ever since like it   
would poison me1 and ,i      now feel   
like one draw at the pipe would kill me 
instantly4 ,my      desire for tobacco  
was suddenly and effectually torn out by
 the      roots1 but perhaps ,i shall   
never know just how it was done4        
,d4 ,j4 ,,parsons1 ,m4,d4       ,sweet  
,springs1 ,missouri4  ,it would seem in 
the above case that the suggestibility  
was heightened by the use of opium1     
which at the same time developed a      
monitory hallucination4  ,leading men of
 science now hold that the popular      
belief in the dangers of hypnotism is   
grossly exaggerated1 it being far less  
open to abuse than chloroform4          
,nevertheless some danger is only too   
manifest1 and ,parliament may yet be    
asked to do what ,continental           
governments have done--viz4 to make the 
practice of hypnotism1 save under proper
 medical supervision1 a punishable      
offence4 ,as an illustration of these   

dangers ,i may mention the testimony of 
an operator given before the ,psychical 
,research ,society4 ,owing to the ready 
susceptibility of one subject he began  
to fear that he might acquire an        
influence which might be inconvenient to
 both1 and so enjoined that he should be
 unable to hypnotise him unless he      
previously recited a formula asking the 
operator to do so4 ,after several       
failures he states3 ,i eventually       
succeeded in impressing this so strongly
 upon him that it became absolutely     
effective1 and the formula became       
requisite1 for ,i could not1 even with  
the utmost co-operation on his part1    
influence him in the least4 ,one night1 
however1 after retiring to bed ,i was   
surprised by his entering the room with 
the request that ,i should waken him4 ,i
 expressed astonishment and asked       
whether he was really asleep4 ,he       
assured me that he was1 and explained   
that while he had been conversing in the
 drawing-room after dinner1 other       

persons being present1 he had           
experimentally recited the formula sotto
 voce and had immediately1 unperceived  
by myself or others in the room1 gone   
off in the hypnotic state and could not 
get out of it again4 ,i protested that  
this was an extremely unfair trick both 
on himself and on me1 and to guard      
against its recurrence ,i enjoined that 
in future a mere repetition of the      
formula should not suffice1 but that it 
should be written down1 signed and      
handed to me4 ,this has hitherto proved 
completely successful1 and in the       
absence of the document no efforts on   
the part of either of us has had any    
effect whatever4  ,it would seem1       
however1 that the hypnotic subject is by
 no means entirely at the mercy of the  
operator4 ,thus ,dr ,milne ,bramwell1 in
 ,proceedings1 vol4 xii4 pp4 #agf-bjc1  
cites a number of cases in which        
suggestions had been refused by hypnotic
 subjects4 ,he also mentions two        
subjects who had rejected certain       

suggestions and accepted others4 ,a     
,miss ,f41 for example1 recited a poem1 
but would not help herself to a glass of
 water from the sideboard2 while a ,mr  
,g4 would play one part1 but not others1
 and committed an imaginary crime4 ,dr  
,bramwell comes to the following        
conclusion3--       ,the difference     
between the hypnotised and the normal   
subject1      as it appears to me from a
 long series of observed facts1 is      
not so much in conduct as in increased  
mental and physical      powers4 ,any   
changes in the moral sense1 ,i have     
noticed1 have      invariably been for  
the better1 the hypnotised subject      
evincing      superior refinement4 ,as  
regards obedience to suggestion1 there  
is apparently little to choose between  
the two4 ,a hypnotised      subject1 who
 has acquired the power of manifesting  
various      physical and mental        
phenomena1 will do so1 in response to   
suggestion1 for much the same reasons as
 one in the normal      condition4444   

,when the act demanded is contrary to   
the moral      sense1 it is usually     
refused by the normal subject1 and      
invariably by the hypnotised one4  ,the 
hypnotic state evinces an extraordinary 
extension of faculty4 ,dr ,bramwell's   
remarkable series of experiments on time
 appreciation shows that orders were    
carried out by the subject at expiration
 of such periods as #bj1bij minutes from
 the beginning of the order4 ,in her    
normal state the female subject of this 
experiment was incapable of correctly   
calculating how many days and hours     
#bj1bij minutes would make1 and even in 
her hypnotised condition could reckon   
only with errors2 yet1 what is singular 
to relate1 even when a blunder was made 
in the former calculation the order of  
the hypnotist was none the less         
fulfilled when the correct period       
expired4 ,the conclusion is not easy to 
avoid3 that beneath the stratum of human
 consciousness brought to the surface by
 hypnotism there is one--perhaps        

two--subliminal strata more alert and   
more capable than our ordinary workaday 
ego4  ,what light this theory of a      
subliminal self will shed on our subject
 we will see when we come to discuss    
clairvoyance and the trance utterances  
of the spiritualistic medium4           
,,chapter ,,iii  ,,phantasms ,,of ,,the 
,,living   ,we have seen that the       
hypnotic agent is able to project from  
his own brain certain thoughts and      
images into the mind of the percipient4 
,when1 writes ,professor ,barrett1 the  
subject was in the state of trance or   
profound hypnotism1 ,i noticed that not 
only sensations1 but also ideas or      
emotions1 occurring in the operator     
appeared to be reproduced in the subject
 without the intervention of any sign1  
or visible or audible communication4444 
,in many other ways ,i convinced myself 
that the existence of a distinct idea in
 my own mind gave rise to some image of 
the idea in the subject's mind1 not     
always a clear image1 but one that could

 not fail to be recognised as a more or 
less distorted reflection of my own     
thought4 ,the important point is that   
every care was taken to prevent any     
unconscious muscular action of the face1
 or otherwise giving any indication to  
the subject4  ,this presumed mode of    
communication between one individual and
 another1 without the intervention of   
any known sense1 ,professor ,barrett1   
arguing on electrical analogies1 is     
inclined to suggest might be due to some
 form of nervous induction4 ,but is this
 faculty restricted in its operation to 
a hypnotised subject8 ,if it were1 the  
significance of the phenomena would be  
very much lessened4 ,we should leave    
telepathy out of our account4 ,but it is
 not so restricted4 ,the ideas and      
images are capable of being projected   
not only to a hypnotised person1 but to 
one who is apparently not under any     
hypnotic influence whatever4 ,yet we    
still must be careful of how we call in 
the aid of any supernatural agency to   

account for the influences ,i am about  
to relate--the translation of ideas and 
motor impulses from one person to       
another without the aid of any known    
sense4 ,the transference of pictures    
which we described in the last article  
has been achieved in hundreds of cases  
by an agent upon a hypnotised           
percipient4 ,here we have telepathy     
apparently at work1 but not1 however1 at
 any great distance1 nor successful in  
conjuring up really vivid or ominous    
hallucinations4 ,the scientific term for
 these is sensory automatisms1 and many 
instances of these are given by ,edmund 
,gurney1 author of ,phantasms of the    
,living4  ,at an early period the       
,society for ,psychical ,research began 
a ,census of ,hallucinations1 which1    
with ,gurney's book1 now renders it     
possible for us to consider these       
phenomena with some certainty4 ,the net 
result of all this investigation would  
seem to demonstrate that a large number 
of sensory automatisms occur amongst    

sane and healthy persons4 ,we will later
 consider what difficulty lies in the   
way of attributing to telepathy the bulk
 of these phenomena4 ,there is a widely 
accepted theory that telepathy is       
propagated by brain-waves1 or1 in ,sir  
,w4 ,crooke's phraseology1 by           
ether-waves1 of even smaller amplitude  
and greater frequency than those which  
carry ,x-rays4 ,such waves are supposed 
to pass from one brain to another1      
arousing in the second brain an         
excitation of image similar to the      
excitation or image from which they     
start in the first place4 ,it has been  
pointed out that on this view there is  
no theoretical reason for limiting      
telepathy to human beings4 ,why may not 
the impulse pass between men and the    
lower animals1 or between the lower     
animals themselves8  ,i myself have     
exhumed from the records a case in      
point4 ,general ,j4 ,c4 ,thompson       
describes a remarkable apparition of a  
dog1 with every mark of reality1 at the 

time when the dog was killed in a city  
more than a hundred miles distant4      
,general ,thompson says3       ,jim1 the
 dog whose ghost ,i refer to1 was a     
beautiful collie1      the pet of my    
family1 residing at ,cheyenne1 ,wyoming4
 ,his      affectionate nature surpassed
 even that of his kind4 ,he had a       
wide celebrity in the city as 'the      
laughing dog1' due to the      fact that
 he manifested his recognition of       
acquaintances and      love for his     
friends by a joyful laugh1 as           
distinctively such      as that of any  
human being4       ,one evening in the  
fall of #aije1 about #g4cj ,p4,m41 ,i   
was      walking with a friend on       
,seventeenth ,street in ,denver1        
,colorado4 ,as we approached the        
entrance to the ,first ,national        
,bank1 we observed a dog lying in the   
middle of the pavement1      and on     
coming up to him ,i was amazed at his   
perfect likeness to      ,jim in        
,cheyenne4 ,the identity was greatly    

fortified by his      loving recognition
 of me1 and the peculiar laugh of ,jim's
      accompanying it4 ,i said to my    
friend that nothing but the #aje        
miles between ,denver and ,cheyenne     
would keep me from making      oath to  
the dog being ,jim1 whose peculiarities 
,i explained to      him4       ,the dog
 astral or ghost was apparently badly   
hurt--he could      not rise4 ,after    
petting him and giving him a kind adieu1
 we      crossed over ,stout ,street and
 stopped to look at him again4 ,he      
had vanished4 ,the next morning's mail  
brought a letter from my      wife      
saying that ,jim had been accidentally  
killed the evening      before at #g4cj 
,p4,m4 ,i shall always believe it was   
,jim's ghost ,i      saw4  ,this story1 
circumstantially narrated by an         
,american general1 recalls ,mr ,rider   
,haggard's celebrated dream that he saw 
his dog1 ,bob1 in a dying condition1    
probably about three hours after the    
dog's death4  ,but we need not pause on 

such bypaths as these4  ,perhaps the    
simplest form of thought-transference at
 a distance is that in which we find a  
vague mental unrest1 unaccompanied by   
any visual or auditory hallucination4   
,cases are not infrequently met with    
where the patient suffers from acute    
depression and anxiety which are not    
connected at the time with any definite 
event4 ,the ,journal of the ,society for
 ,psychical ,research1 ,july1 #ahie1    
yields the following4  ,miss ,w4 writes3
       ,on ,january #agth of this year  
7#ahie7 ,i was haunted all day with     
an indefinable dread1 amounting to      
positive terror if ,i yielded      in   
the least to its influence4 ,a little   
before six o'clock ,i      went to my   
maid's room and casually inquired of her
 whether      she believed in           
presentiments4 ,she answered3 ',don't   
let them      get hold of you2 it is a  
bad habit4' ,i replied3 ',this is no    
ordinary presentiment4 ,all day long ,i 
have felt that something      terrible  

is impending2 of what nature ,i do not  
know4 ,i have      fought against it1   
but to no purpose4 ,it is a terror ,i am
      positively possessed with4' ,i was
 proceeding to describe it      in      
fuller detail1 when my mother entered   
the room with a      telegram in her    
hand4 ,one glance at her face told me   
that my      foreboding had not been a  
groundless depression4 ,the telegram    
was to the effect that my brother had   
been taken very ill at      ,cambridge  
and needed my mother at once to nurse   
him4       ,i presume that the intensity
 of my foreboding was due to the        
very serious nature of his illness4     
,i experienced at different times what  
are in common parlance      termed      
'presentiments'2 but only on one other  
occasion has the      same peculiar     
terror 7a chilling conviction of        
impending      trouble7 beset me4  ,this
 is corroborated both by the maid and   
,miss ,w4's brother1 an undergraduate at
 ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge1 who had  

met with a serious accident the same    
afternoon4 ,the affection between       
brother and sister was1 it is related1  
very close4  ,of a well-known type of   
case the following is a good example4   
,the ,hon4 ,mrs ,fox ,powys is the      
narrator3--       ,july #ahhb4       ,i 
was expecting my husband home1 and      
shortly after the time he      ought to 
have arrived 7about ten ,p4,m47 ,i heard
 a cab drive up      to the door1 the   
bell ring1 my husband's voice talking   
with the      cabman1 the front door    
open and his step come up the stairs4 ,i
      went to the drawing-room1 opened  
it1 and to my astonishment saw      no  
one4 ,i could hardly believe he was not 
there1 the whole      thing was so      
vivid1 and the street was particularly  
quiet at      the time4 ,about twenty   
minutes or so after this my husband     
really arrived1 though nothing sounded  
to me more real than      it did the    
first time4 ,the train was late1 and he 
had been      thinking ,i might be      

anxious4  ,in response to further       
inquiries1 ,mrs ,powys added3       ,to 
me the whole thing was very noisy and   
real1 but no one else      can have     
heard anything1 for the bell ,i heard   
ring was not      answered4 ,it was a   
quiet street in town1 and there was no  
vehicle of any kind passing at the time2
 and on finding no one      on the      
landing as ,i expected1 ,i went at once 
to the window1 and      there was       
nothing to be seen1 and no sound to be  
heard1 which      would have been the   
case had the cab been driven off4  ,here
 the expectation of ,mr ,fox ,powys'    
arrival seems to have caused an auditory
 hallucination4 ,in other cases of a    
similar nature the hallucination is     
visual1 the percipient actually seeing  
the figure of the expected person4  ,the
 authors of ,phantasms of the ,living   
give the following case as an           
interesting puzzle and invite the reader
 to decide whether or not it affords    
evidence for telepathy4 ,the narrator1  

,mr ,w4 ,a4 ,s41 is described as an     
unexceptionable witness who has never   
had any other visual hallucination4     
,january #adth1 #ahhc4       ,in the    
month of ,april #ahga1 about two o'clock
 in the      afternoon1 ,i was sitting  
in the drawing-room of my father's      
house in ,pall ,mall4 ,the window of the
 room fronted south2 and      the sun   
was shining brightly in at the window4  
,i was sitting      between the         
fireplace and the window1 with my back  
to the      light2 my niece was sitting 
on the opposite side of the             
fireplace2 and opposite me at the       
farther corner of the room      was a   
door partly open1 leading directly to   
the staircase4 ,i      saw what ,i      
supposed at the first moment to be dirty
 soapy water      running in at the     
door2 and ,i was in the act of jumping  
up to      scold the housemaid for      
upsetting the water1 when ,i saw that   
the supposed water was the tail or train
 of a lady's dress4 ,the      lady      

glided in backwards1 as if she had been 
slid in on a      slide1 each part of   
her dress keeping its place without     
disturbance4 ,she glided in till ,i     
could see the whole of her1      except 
the tip of her nose1 her lips and the   
tip of her chin1      which were hidden 
by the edge of the door4 ,her head was  
slightly turned over her shoulder1 and  
her eye also turned1 so      that it    
appeared fixed upon me4 ,she held her   
arm1 which was a      very fine one1 in 
a peculiar way1 as if she were proud of 
it4      ,she was dressed in a pale blue
 evening dress1 worked with white       
lace4 ,i instantly recognised the figure
 as that of a lady whom      ,i had     
known some twenty-five years or more    
before2 and with      whom ,i had       
frequently danced4 ,she was a bright1   
dashing girl1 a      good dancer1 and we
 were good friends1 but nothing more4   
,she      had afterwards married and ,i 
had occasionally heard of her1 but      
do not think ,i had seen her for        

certainly more than twenty or           
twenty-five years4 ,she looked much as  
,i used to see her--with      long curls
 and bright eyes1 but perhaps something 
stouter and      more matronly4       ,i
 said to myself3 ',this is one of those 
strange apparitions ,i      have often  
heard of4 ,i will watch it as carefully 
as ,i can4' ,my      niece1 who did not 
see the figure1 in the course of a      
minute or      two exclaimed3 ',uncle   
,a41 what is the matter with you8 ,you  
look as if you saw a ghost6' ,i motioned
 her to be quiet1 as ,i      wished to  
observe the thing carefully2 and an     
impression came      upon me that if ,i 
moved1 the thing would disappear4 ,i    
tried to      find out whether there was
 anything in the ornaments on the       
walls1 or anything else which could     
suggest the figure2 but ,i      found   
that all the lines close to her cut the 
outline of her      figure at all sorts 
of angles1 and none of these coincided  
with      the outline of her figure1 and

 the colour of everything around        
her strongly contrasted with her colour4
 ,in the course of a few      minutes1  
,i heard the door bell ring1 and ,i     
heard my brother's      voice in the    
hall4 ,he came upstairs and walked right
 through      the figure into the room4 
,the figure then began to fade away     
rather quickly2 and though ,i tried ,i  
could in no way recall it4       ,i     
frequently told the story in society1   
treating it always as      something    
internal rather than external and       
supposing that the      lady was still  
alive2 and rather making a joke of it   
than      otherwise4 ,some years        
afterwards ,i was staying with some     
friends in ,suffolk and told the story  
at the dinner-table1      saying that it
 was no ghost as the lady was still     
alive4 ,the      lady of the house said3
 ',she is not alive1 as you suppose1 but
      she has been dead some years4' ,we
 looked at the peerage and      found   
she had died in #ahga4 7,i afterwards   

found out that she      had died in     
,november1 whereas the apparition was in
 ,april47 ,the      conversation        
continued about her1 and ,i said3 ',poor
 thing1 ,i am      sorry she is dead4 ,i
 have had many a merry dance with her4  
,what      did she die of8' ,the lady of
 the house said3 ',poor thing           
indeed1 she died a wretched death2 she  
died of cancer in the      face4' ,she  
never showed me the front of her face2  
it was always      concealed by the edge
 of the door4  ,i will now concern      
myself with the power of an agent to    
project himself phantasmally--that is1  
to make his form and features manifest  
to some percipient at a distance as     
though he were actually present4 ,in    
,gurney's ,phantasms of the ,living is  
given at length a case of a simple      
nature4 ,here there was not one but two 
percipients4       ,on a certain ,sunday
 evening in ,november #ahha1 having been
      reading of the great power which  
the human will is capable of            

exercising1 ,i determined with the whole
 force of my being that      ,i would be
 present in spirit in the front bedroom 
on the second      floor of a house     
situated at #bb ,hogarth ,road1         
,kensington1 in      which room slept   
two ladies of my acquaintance--viz4     
,miss ,l4 ,s4      ,v41 and ,miss ,e4   
,c4 ,v41 aged respectively twenty-five  
and eleven      years4 ,i was living at 
this time at #bc ,kildare ,gardens1 a   
distance of about three miles from      
,hogarth ,road1 and ,i had not          
mentioned in any way my intention of    
trying this experiment to      either of
 the above ladies1 for the simple reason
 that it was      only on retiring to   
rest upon this ,sunday night that ,i    
made up      my mind to do so4 ,the time
 at which ,i determined ,i would be     
there was one o'clock in the morning1   
and ,i also had a strong      intention 
of making my presence perceptible4      
,on the following ,thursday ,i went to  
see the ladies in      question1 and in 

the course of conversation 7without any 
allusion to the subject on my part7 the 
elder one told me that      on the      
previous ,sunday night she had been much
 terrified by      perceiving me        
standing by her bedside1 and that she   
screamed      when the apparition       
advanced towards her1 and awoke her     
little      sister1 who saw me also4    
,i asked her if she was awake at the    
time1 and she replied most              
decidedly in the affirmative1 and upon  
my inquiring the time of      the       
occurrence she replied about one o'clock
 in the morning4       ,this lady1 at my
 request1 wrote down a statement of the 
event      and signed it4       ,this   
was the first occasion upon which ,i    
tried an experiment      of this kind1  
and its complete success startled me    
very much4       ,besides exercising my 
power of volition very strongly1 ,i put 
forth an effort which ,i cannot find    
words to describe4 ,i was      conscious
 of a mysterious influence of some sort 

permeating in      my body1 and had a   
distinct impression that ,i was         
exercising      some force with which ,i
 had been hitherto unacquainted1 but    
which ,i can now at certain times set in
 motion at will4       ,s4 ,h4 ,b4  ,the
 account given by ,miss ,verity is as   
follows3--       ,january #ahth1 #ahhc4 
,on a certain ,sunday evening1 about    
twelve months since1 at our      house  
in ,hogarth ,road1 ,kensington1 ,i      
distinctly saw ,mr ,b4 in my      room1 
about one o'clock4 ,i was perfectly     
awake and was much      terrified4 ,i   
awoke my sister by screaming1 and she   
saw the      apparition herself4 ,three 
days after1 when ,i saw ,mr ,b41 ,i told
      him what had happened2 but it was 
some time before ,i could      recover  
from the shock ,i had received1 and the 
remembrance is      too vivid to be ever
 erased from my memory4       ,l4 ,s4   
,verity4  ,miss ,e4 ,c4 ,verity says3   
,i remember the occurrence of the event 
described by my sister      in the      

annexed paragraph1 and her description  
is quite correct4      ,i saw the       
apparition which she saw1 at the same   
time and under      the same            
circumstances4       ,e4 ,c4 ,verity4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,the witnesses 7comments ,gurney7 have  
been very carefully      cross-examined 
by the present writer4 ,there is not the
      slightest doubt that their mention
 of the occurrence to ,s4 ,h4      ,b4  
was spontaneous4 ,they had not at first 
intended to mention      it2 but when   
they saw him their sense of its oddness 
overcame      their resolution4 ,miss   
,verity is a perfectly sober-minded and 
sensible witness1 with no love of       
marvels1 and with a      considerable   
dread and dislike of this particular    
form of      marvel4  ,on another       
occasion the agent announced privately  
to the investigator that he would       
project himself at a stated time4 ,he   
did so2 and the lady wrote as follows3--
       #dd ,norland ,square1 ,w4        

,on ,saturday night1 ,march #bbnd1      
#ahhd1 at about midnight1 ,i had      a 
distinct impression that ,mr ,s4 ,h4 ,b4
 was present in my room1      and ,i    
distinctly saw him whilst ,i was quite  
widely awake4 ,he      came towards me1 
and stroked my hair4 ,i voluntarily gave
 him      this information when he      
called to see me on ,wednesday1 ,april  
#bnd1 telling him the time and the      
circumstances of the      apparition1   
without any suggestion on his part4 ,the
 appearance      in my room was most    
vivid and quite unmistakable4       ,l4 
,s4 ,verity4  ,mr ,b4's own account runs
 thus3       ,on ,saturday1 ,march      
#bbnd1 ,i determined to make my presence
      perceptible to ,miss ,v41 at #dd  
,norland ,square1 ,notting ,hill1 at    
twelve midnight1 and as ,i had          
previously arranged with ,mr            
,gurney that ,i should post him a letter
 on the evening on which      ,i tried  
my next experiment 7stating the time and
 other      particulars71 ,i sent a note

 to acquaint him with the above         
facts4       ,about ten days afterwards 
,i called upon ,miss ,v41 and she       
voluntarily told me that on ,march      
#bbnd1 at twelve o'clock      midnight1 
she had seen me so vividly in her room  
7whilst      widely awake7 that her     
nerves had been much shaken1 and she had
      been obliged to send for a doctor 
in the morning4       ,s4 ,h4 ,b4       
,another case of a similar nature is    
reported by the ,american branch of the 
,society for ,psychical ,research3      
,on ,july #eth1 #ahhg1 ,i left my house 
in ,lakewood to go to ,new      ,york to
 spend a few days4 ,my wife was not     
feeling well when ,i      left1 and     
after ,i had started ,i looked back and 
saw her      standing in the door       
looking disconsolate and sad at my      
leaving4 ,the picture haunted me all    
day1 and at night1 before ,i      went  
to bed1 ,i thought ,i would try to find 
out1 if possible1      her condition4 ,i
 had undressed1 and was sitting on the  

edge of      the bed1 when ,i covered my
 face with my hands and willed myself   
in ,lakewood at home to see if ,i could 
see her4 ,after a little      while ,i  
seemed to be standing in her room before
 the bed1 and      saw her lying there  
looking much better4 ,i felt satisfied  
she      was better1 and so spent the   
week more comfortably regarding      her
 condition4 ,on ,saturday ,i went home4 
,when she saw me she      remarked3 ',i 
don't know whether ,i am glad to see you
 or not1      for ,i thought something  
had happened to you4 ,i saw you standing
      in front of the bed the night     
7about #h4cj or before #i7 you          
left1 and as plain as could be1 and ,i  
have been worrying myself      about you
 ever since4 ,i sent to the office and  
to the depot      daily to get some     
message from you4' ,after explaining my 
effort      to find out her condition1  
everything became plain to her4 ,she    
had seen me when ,i was trying to see   
her and find out her      condition4 ,i 

thought at the time ,i was going to see 
her and      make her see me4       ,b4 
,f4 ,sinclair4  ,the foregoing is       
corroborated by ,mrs ,sinclair4 ,she    
states that she saw her husband1 not as 
he was dressed at the moment of the     
experiment1 but in a suit that hung in a
 closet at home4 ,the apparition caused 
her great anxiety1 so that her husband's
 view of her improved appearance was not
 really true4 ,the son1 ,mr ,george     
,sinclair1 avers that in his mother's   
vision his father's face was drawn and  
set1 as if he was either dead or trying 
to accomplish something which was beyond
 him4  ,another case investigated by the
 ,society is also striking4 ,the date is
 #ahif4       ',one night1 two or three 
years ago1 ,i came back from the        
theatre to my mother's flat at #f ,s----
 ,street2 and after ,i had      been    
into her bedroom and told her all about 
it1 ,i went to bed      about one ,a4,m4
 ,i had not been asleep long when ,i    
started up      frightened1 fancying    

that ,i had heard someone walk down the 
passage towards my mother's room2 but1  
hearing nothing more1      went to sleep
 again4 ,i started up alarmed in the    
same way three      or four times before
 dawn4       ',in the morning1 upon     
inquiry1 my mother 7who was ill at the  
time7 only told me that she had had a   
very disturbed night4       ',then ,i   
asked my brother1 who told me that he   
had suffered in      the same way as ,i 
had1 starting up several times in a     
frightened manner4 ,on hearing this my  
mother then told me that      she had   
seen an apparition of ,mr ,pelham4      
,later in the day ,mr      ,pelham came 
in1 and my mother asked him casually if 
he had been      doing anything last    
night2 upon which he told us that he had
      come to bed willing that he should
 visit and appear to us4 ,we      made  
him promise not to repeat the           
experiment4'       ,mrs ,e41 the mother1
 states that she was recovering from    
influenza at the time4 ,at half-past    

ten1 as she lay reading3       ',a      
strange1 creepy sensation came over me1 
and ,i felt my eyes      were drawn     
towards the left-hand side of the room4 
,i felt ,i      must look1 and there1   
distinct against the curtain1 was a blue
      luminous mist4       ',this time  
,i was impelled to cast my eyes downward
 to the side      of my bed1 and there1 
creeping upwards towards me1 was the    
same      blue luminous mist4 ,i was too
 terrified to move1 and remember        
keeping the book straight up before my  
face1 as though to ward      off a blow1
 at the same time exerting all my       
strength of will      and determination 
not to be afraid--when1 suddenly1 as if 
with      a jerk1 above the top of my   
book came the brow and eyes of ,mr      
,pelham4'       ,instantly her fears    
ceased4 ,she 'remembered that ,mr       
,pelham had      experimented on her    
before at night'2 and 'in one moment    
mist      and face were gone4'          
,for his part1 ,mr ,pelham explains that

 he 'carefully imagined'      himself   
going down the steps of his house1 and  
so along the      streets1 to ,mrs ,e4's
 flat1 and to her drawing-room and      
bedroom2      he then went to bed with  
his mind fixed on the visit and soon    
fell asleep4 ,he has made other trials1 
but without any positive      success1  
though during one of them ,mrs ,e4 was  
wakened suddenly      by the feeling    
that someone was in the room1 and it    
occurred to      her that ,mr ,pelham   
was again experimenting4  ,the          
occurrences above related are most      
significant1 if true1 and ,i am bound to
 say the bona fides of the narrators    
seems to me indisputable4 ,is it a      
spirit showing itself partially         
dissociated from the living organism2   
evincing independence1 a certain        
intelligence and a certain permanence8  
,or is this a mere image of the agent1  
conceived in his own brain and projected
 telepathically to the brain of the     
percipient8 ,so far1 we are merely      

groping our way4 ,yet1 is it not        
possible that we have laid hands upon a 
credible explanation of the eternal     
mystery of ghosts8 ,we shall see4       
,,chapter ,,iv  ,,dreams   ,having      
partially discussed the subject of      
phantasms projected from the brain of   
the agent to that of the percipient1 ,i 
must now briefly describe another group 
for which the evidence is very          
abundant--that of veridical dreams4     
,this is a term used to describe        
apparitions coinciding with other events
 in such a manner as to suggest a       
connection4 ,your dream or hallucination
 is said to be veridical when it conveys
 an idea which is both true and         
previously unknown to you4  ,making     
every allowance for the element of      
chance1 there is a mass of evidence     
which mere coincidence cannot explain   
away4 ,yet we must not overlook the     
frequency of dreams1 even of a striking 
character1 which may once or twice in a 
million times actually hit on the       

coincident event4 ,but besides          
coincidence1 there is at times another  
normal explanation4 ,mr ,podmore relates
 how a neighbour of his on the night of 
#bdth ,june #ahid dreamed ,president    
,carnot had been assassinated4 ,he told 
his family before the morning paper     
announcing the news had been opened4 ,as
 has been pointed out1 in a case of that
 kind it seems possible that the        
information may have reached the sleeper
 in his dreams from the shouts of a     
newsboy1 or even from the conversation  
of passers-by in the street4  ,before   
any supernormal theory1 we must admit   
the possibility of a normal             
communication1 however far-fetched it   
may seem4 ,in each of the instances     
about to be related the fact of the     
dream was either recorded by the dreamer
 or related to a friend before the fact 
of any coincidence was suspected4  ,one 
of the best-known cases is that of      
,canon ,warburton1 who writes3          
,somewhere about the year #ahdh ,i went 

up from ,oxford to spend a      day or  
two with my brother1 ,acton ,warburton1 
then a barrister1      living at #aj    
,fish ,street1 ,lincoln's ,inn4 ,when ,i
 got to his      chambers ,i found a    
note on the table apologising for his   
absence1 and saying that he had gone to 
a dance somewhere in      the ,west     
,end1 and intended to be home soon after
 one o'clock4      ,instead of going to 
bed ,i dozed in an arm-chair1 but       
started up      wide awake exactly at   
one1 ejaculating3 ',by ,jove6 he's      
down6'      and seeing him coming out of
 a drawing-room into a brightly         
illuminated landing1 catching his foot  
in the edge of the top      stair1 and  
falling headlong1 just saving himself by
 his elbows      and hands4 7,the house 
was one which ,i have never seen1 nor   
did      ,i know where it was47         
,thinking very little of the matter1 ,i 
fell a-doze again for half-an-hour and  
was awakened by my      brother suddenly
 coming in and saying1 ',oh1 there you  

are6 ,i      have just had as narrow an 
escape of breaking my neck as ,i ever   
had in my life4 ,coming out of the      
ballroom ,i caught my foot1      and    
tumbled full-length down the stairs4'   
,that is all4 ,it may have been 'only a 
dream1' but ,i always      thought it   
must have been something more4  ,a      
member of the ,society for ,psychical   
,research narrates that on #gth ,october
 #aijj he woke abruptly in the small    
hours of the morning with a painful     
conviction upon him that his wife1 who  
was that night sleeping in another part 
of the house1 had burst a varicose vein 
in the calf of her leg1 and that he     
could feel the swelled place three      
inches long3       ,i wondered whether  
,i ought to get up and go down to her   
room      on the first floor1 and       
considered whether she would be able to 
come up to me2 but ,i was only partly   
awake1 though in acute      distress4   
,my mind had been suddenly roused1 but  
my body was      still under the        

lethargy of sleep4 ,i argued with myself
 that      there was sure to be nothing 
in it1 that ,i should only disturb      
her1 and so shortly went off to sleep   
again4       ,on going to her room this 
morning ,i said ,i had had a horrid     
dream1 which had woke me up1 to the     
effect that she had burst a             
varicose vein1 of which just now care   
has to be taken4 ',why1'      she       
replied1 ',i had just the same          
experience4 ,i woke up at      #b4ae1   
feeling sure the calf of my leg was     
bleeding1 and my      hand seemed to    
feel it when ,i put it there4 ,i turned 
on the      light in alarm1 noticing the
 time1 and wondered if ,i should be     
able to get up to thee1 or whether ,i   
should have to wake the                 
housekeeper4 ,thou wast in the dream out
 of which ,i woke1      examining the   
place4'       ,though ,i did not note   
the hour1 two o'clock is about the time 
,i should have guessed it to be2 and the
 impression on my mind      was vivid   

and terrible1 knowing how dangerous such
 an accident      would be4  ,the       
foregoing is thus corroborated by the   
lady3       ,i felt twinges of pain in  
my leg off and on in my sleep           
without being entirely roused till about
 #b4ae ,a4,m4 ,then1 or      just       
before1 ,i dreamt or had a vivid        
impression that a vein had      burst1  
and that my husband1 who was sleeping in
 another room up      another flight of 
stairs1 was there and called my         
attention to      it4 ,i thought it felt
 wet1 and trickling down the leg as if  
bleeding1 passed my hand down1 and at   
first thought it seemed      wet2 but on
 gaining fuller consciousness found it  
all right1      and that it was not more
 painful than often when ,i got out and 
stood on it4 ,thought over the          
contingency of its actually             
bursting1 and whether ,i could so       
bandage it in that case as to      make 
it safe to go up to my husband's room1  
and thought ,i could      do so4        

,looking at my watch1 found it about    
#b4bj4  ,as to dreams in which a death  
occurs there is a vast mass of          
testimony4 ,the late ,dr ,hodgson1 on   
#aith ,july #ahig1 received the         
following letter3--       ,,dear        
,,hodgson1--,five minutes ago ,mr ,j4   
,f4 ,morse1 who has all      his life   
had dreams which were more or less      
verified later1      came to my room and
 said3 ',i believe my wife died last    
night1      for ,i had a dream of a most
 remarkable nature which indicates      
it4 ,i shall be able to let you know    
soon1 for ,i shall get word      at my  
office when ,i reach there4 ,i will then
 send you word4'      ,his wife is in a 
country place in ,delaware ,co4 ,pa4    
,she is ill1      but he had no idea she
 would not live for months1 as the      
enclosed letter of ,july #aeth will     
show2 but she was ill1 and      would be
 likely to decline slowly and gradually4
 ,i will get      this off or in the    
mail before ,i hear any more4       ,mr 

,morse in his appearance looks like one 
who had just lost a      dear friend1   
and is in a state of great mental       
depression1 with      tears in his      
eyes4444       ,m4 ,l4 ,,holbrook4  ,on 
the evening of the same day a telegram  
was received announcing the unexpected  
death of ,mrs ,morse at #i4ae on the    
evening of ,friday1 #afth ,july4  ,a    
prominent ,chicago journalist1 ,mr ,f4  
,b4 ,wilkie1 reported that his wife     
asked him one morning in ,october #ahhe1
 while still engaged in dressing1 and   
before either of them had left their    
sleeping-room1 if he knew anyone named  
,edsale or ,esdale4 ,a negative reply   
was given and then a ,why do you ask8   
,she replied3 ,during the night ,i      
dreamt that ,i was on the lake-shore and
 found a coffin there1 with the name of 
,edsale or ,esdale on it1 and ,i am     
confident that someone of that name has 
recently been drowned there4 ,on opening
 the morning paper the first item that  
attracted his attention was the report  

of the mysterious disappearance from his
 home in ,hyde ,park of a young man     
named ,esdale4 ,a few days afterwards   
the body of a young man was found on the
 lake-shore4  ,this case was carefully  
investigated and authenticated by ,dr   
,hodgson1 and bears some unusual        
features4  ,of dreams that may be       
reasonably regarded as telepathic the   
following is a striking example4 ,it is 
contributed to ,phantasms of the ,living
 by a ,mrs ,hilton--a lady engaged in   
active work1 and not in any respect a   
visionary4       #bcd ,burdett ,road1   
,e4       ,april #ajth1 #ahhc4          
,the dream which ,i am about to relate  
occurred about two years      ago4 ,i   
seemed to be walking in a country road1 
with high grassy      banks on either   
side4 ,suddenly ,i heard the tramp of   
many feet4      ,feeling a strange sense
 of fear ,i called out3 ',who are these 
people coming8' ,a voice above me       
replied3 ',a procession of the          
dead4' ,i then found myself on the bank1

 looking into the road      where the   
people were walking five or six abreast4
 ,hundreds of      them passed by       
me--neither looking aside nor looking at
 each      other4 ,they were people of  
all conditions and in all ranks of      
life4 ,i saw no children amongst them4  
,i watched the long line      of people 
go away into the far distance1 but ,i   
felt no special      interest in any of 
them1 until ,i saw a middle-aged        
,friend1      dressed as a gentleman    
farmer4 ,i pointed to him and called    
out3      ',who is that1 please8' ,he   
turned round and called out in a loud   
voice3 ',i am ,john ,m41 of             
,chelmsford4' ,then my dream ended4     
,next      day when my husband returned 
from the office he told me that         
,john ,m41 of ,chelmsford1 had died the 
previous day4       ,i may add that ,i  
only knew the ,friend in question by    
sight and      cannot recollect ever    
speaking to him4       ,,marie ,,hilton4
  ,about a year later ,mrs ,hilton      

experienced a dream of a similar kind1  
again coincident with the death of an   
acquaintance seen in the phantom        
procession4 ,it is worth noting remarks 
,mr ,gurney1 that these dreams--for all 
their bizarrerie--seem to belong to a   
known type4  ,in another category of    
phenomena belong precognitive dreams in 
which certain events1 especially deaths1
 are foretold4 ,mr ,alfred ,cooper1 of  
#i ,henrietta ,street1 ,cavendish       
,square1 ,w41 states1 and his statement 
is attested by the ,duchess of          
,hamilton1 that3       ,a fortnight     
before the death of the late ,earl of   
,l----1 in      #ahhb1 ,i called upon   
the ,duke of ,hamilton in ,hill ,street 
to see      him professionally4 ,after  
,i had finished seeing him we went      
into the drawing-room where the ,duchess
 was1 and the ,duke said      to me3    
',oh1 ,cooper1 how is the ,earl8'       
,the ,duchess said3 ',what ,earl8' and  
on my answering3 ',lord      ,l----1'   
she replied1 ',that is very odd4 ,i have

 had a most      extraordinary vision4  
,i went to bed1 but after being in bed a
      short time1 ,i was not exactly    
asleep1 but thought ,i saw a scene      
as if from a play before me4 ,the actors
 in it were ,lord ,l----1      in a     
chair1 as if in a fit1 with a man       
standing over him with a      red beard4
 ,he was by the side of a bath1 over    
which bath a red      lamp was          
distinctly shown4'       ,i then said3  
',i am attending ,lord ,l---- at        
present2 there is      very little the  
matter with him2 he is not going to die2
 he      will be all right very soon4'  
,well1 he got better for a week and was 
nearly well1 but at the      end of six 
or seven days after this ,i was called  
to see him      suddenly4 ,he had       
inflammation of both lungs4       ,i    
called in ,sir ,william ,jenner1 but in 
six days he was a dead      man4 ,there 
were two male nurses attending him2 one 
had been      taken ill4 ,but when ,i   
saw the other the dream of the ,duchess 

was exactly represented4 ,he was        
standing near a bath over the           
,earl1 and1 strange to say1 his beard   
was red4 ,there was the      bath with  
the red lamp over it1 it is rather rare 
to find a      bath with a red lamp over
 it1 and this brought the story to my   
mind4       ,the vision seen by the     
,duchess was told two weeks before the  
death of ,lord ,l----4 ,it is a most    
remarkable thing4 ,this      account1   
written in #ahhh1 has been revised by   
the late ,duke of      ,manchester1     
father of the ,duchess of ,hamilton1 who
 heard the      vision from his daughter
 on the morning after she had seen it4  
,,mary ,,hamilton4       ,,alfred       
,,cooper4  ,mr ,myers adds3       ,the  
,duchess only knew ,lord ,l---- by      
sight1 and had not heard      that he   
was ill4 ,she knew she was not asleep1  
for she opened      her eyes to get rid 
of the vision1 and1 shutting them1 saw  
the      same thing again4       ,an    
independent and concordant account has  

been given to me 7,f4      ,w4 ,h4 ,m47 
orally by a gentleman to whom the       
,duchess related the      dream on the  
morning after its occurrence4  ,one of  
the most interesting and                
well-authenticated cases of dreams      
foretelling a death is that of ,mr ,fred
 ,lane1 understudy to that popular actor
 the late ,william ,terriss4 ,his       
statement is as follows3--              
,adelphi ,theatre1       ,december      
#bjth1 #ahig4       ,in the early       
morning of ,december #afth1 #ahig1 ,i   
dreamt that ,i      saw the late ,mr    
,terriss lying in a state of delirium or
      unconsciousness on the stairs     
leading to the dressing-rooms in        
the ,adelphi ,theatre4 ,he was          
surrounded by people engaged at the     
theatre1 amongst whom were ,miss        
,millward and one of the footmen        
who attend the curtain1 both of whom ,i 
actually saw a few hours      later at  
the death scene4 ,his chest was bare and
 clothes torn      aside4 ,everybody who

 was around him was trying to do        
something      for his good4 ,this dream
 was in the shape of a picture4 ,i saw  
it like a tableau on which the curtain  
would rise and fall4 ,i      immediately
 after dreamt that we did not open at   
the ,adelphi      ,theatre that evening4
 ,i was in my dressing-room in the      
dream1      but this latter part was    
somewhat incoherent4 ,the next morning1 
on going down to the theatre for        
rehearsal1 the first member of      the 
company ,i met was ,miss ,h----1 to whom
 ,i mentioned this      dream4 ,on      
arriving at the theatre ,i also         
mentioned it to      several other      
members of the company including ,messrs
 ,creagh      ,henry1 ,buxton1 ,carter  
,bligh1 etc4 ,this dream1 though it made
      such an impression upon me as to  
cause me to relate it to my             
fellow-artists1 did not give me the idea
 of any coming      disaster4 ,i may    
state that ,i have dreamt formerly of   
deaths of      relatives and other      

matters which have impressed me1 but the
      dreams have never impressed me    
sufficiently to make me repeat      them
 the following morning1 and have never  
been verified4 ,my      dream of the    
present occasion was the most vivid ,i  
have ever      experienced2 in fact1    
lifelike1 and exactly represented the   
scene as ,i saw it at night4  ,three    
members of the company--,mr ,carter     
,bligh1 ,mr ,creagh ,henry1 and ,miss   
,h---- --made statements that ,mr ,lane 
related his dream in their presence on  
the morning of #afth ,december4 ,mr     
,lane was in the vicinity of the        
,adelphi ,theatre when the murderer1    
named ,prince or ,archer1 who had been  
employed as a super at the theatre1     
stabbed ,terriss at the stage entrance  
to the theatre4 ,the actor was taken to 
the ,charing ,cross ,hospital1 where he 
died almost immediately4 ,it is         
interesting to note that it was ,lane   
himself who ran to the hospital for the 
doctor1 and on his return looked in at  

the stage entrance and saw ,terriss     
lying on the stairs just as he had seen 
him in the dream4  ,while ,i am fully   
alive to the possibilities of           
coincidence1 there certainly does not   
seem to be much besides levity in the   
theory that it happened to be ,jones's  
hour to see a hallucination of ,thompson
 when it happened to be ,thompson's hour
 to die1 especially when1 as frequently 
happens1 the hallucination occurs more  
than once to the same percipient4  ,a   
,parisian journalist1 ,m4 ,henri        
,buisson1 sends to ,the ,annals of      
,psychical ,science an account of three 
premonitory dreams all of which were    
told to others before they were         
fulfilled4 ,in the first1 which occurred
 on ,june #hth1 #ahhg1 ,m4 ,buisson saw 
his grandmother stretched dead on her   
bed1 with a smile on her face as if she 
slept4 ,above the bed1 in a brilliant   
sun1 he read the date1 ,june #hth1      
#ahhh1 just a year later2 and on that   
day his grandmother died quite suddenly1

 with her face as calm as he had seen it
 in his dream4  ,on another occasion ,m4
 ,buisson saw his mother1 not dead1 but 
very ill1 and attended by a doctor1 who 
had died more than a year before1 after 
having been the family physician for    
thirty years4 ,the next day ,m4 ,buisson
 received a telegram saying that his    
mother was ill1 and1 in fact1 she died  
during the day4  ,in ,april #aijg1 ,m4  
,buisson dreamt that he received notice 
to quit his house on pretence of a      
message from the ,prefect of ,police1   
and that on looking out of the window he
 saw the ,prefect in the street1 dressed
 in a leather jacket1 with a soft hat1  
and a slipper on one foot4 ,he also     
dreamt that a fire had broken out4 ,on  
the evening of the next day he heard the
 fire-engines1 and on following them he 
found the ,prefect on the spot1 dressed 
just as in the dream1 having hurt one   
foot1 he had to go about in a slipper4  
,of still another type is the           
clairvoyant dream4 ,the following is    

related by ,mr ,herbert ,j4 ,lewis1 of  
,cardiff3--       ,in ,september #ahhj  
,i lost the landing-order of a large    
steamer      containing a cargo of iron 
ore1 which had arrived in the port      
of ,cardiff4 ,she had to commence       
discharging at six o'clock the      next
 morning4 ,i received the landing-order 
at four o'clock in      the afternoon1  
and when ,i arrived at the office at six
 ,i found      that ,i had lost it4     
,during all the evening ,i was doing my 
utmost to find the officials of the     
,customs ,house to get a      permit1 as
 the loss was of the greatest           
importance1 preventing      the ship    
from discharging4 ,i came home in a     
great degree of      trouble about the  
matter1 as ,i feared that ,i should lose
 my      situation in consequence4      
,that night ,i dreamt that ,i saw the   
lost landing-order lying in      a crack
 in the wall under a desk in the ,long  
,room of the      ,customs ,house4      
,at five the next morning ,i went down  

to the ,customs ,house and      got the 
keeper to get up and open it4 ,i went to
 the spot of      which ,i had dreamt1  
and found the paper in the very place4  
,the      ship was not ready to         
discharge at her proper time1 and ,i    
went      on board at seven and         
delivered the landing-order1 saving her 
from all delay4       ,i can certify to 
the truth of the above statement1       
,,herbert ,j4 ,,lewis1       ,,thomas   
,,lewis       7,herbert ,lewis's        
father74       ,h4 ,,wallis4  7,mr ,e4  
,j4 ,newell1 of the ,george and         
,abbotsford ,hotel1 ,melrose1 adds the  
following corroborative note47          
,august #adth1 #ahhd4       ,i made some
 inquiries about ,mr ,herbert ,lewis's  
dream before ,i      left ,cardiff4 ,he 
had been searching throughout the room  
in      which the order was found4 ,his 
theory as to how the order got      in  
the place in which it was found is that 
it was probably put      there by       
someone 7perhaps with malicious intent71

 as he does      not see how it could   
have fallen so4       ,the fact that ,mr
 ,h4 ,lewis is exceedingly short-sighted
 adds      to the probability of the    
thing which you suggest1 that the       
dream was simply an unconscious act of  
memory in sleep4 ,on the      other     
hand1 he does not believe it was there  
when he searched4       ,e4 ,j4         
,,newell4  ,now1 it seems to me in the  
above case that the dreamer's subliminal
 self may have taken note of the lost   
landing-order without his               
super-consciousness being aware of it1  
and that the fact returned to him in his
 dream4  ,in ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson's       
,across the ,plains may be found a      
striking chapter on dreams4 ,it contains
 an account of some of the most         
successful dream experiments ever       
recorded4 ,stevenson's dreams were of no
 ordinary character2 they were always of
 great vividness1 and often of a        
markedly recurrent type4 ,this faculty  
he developed to an unusual degree--to   

such an extent1 indeed1 that it became  
of great assistance to him in his work4 
,by self-suggestion before sleep1 we are
 told1 the great novelist would secure a
 visual and dramatic intensity of       
dream-representation which furnished him
 with the motives of some of his most   
striking romances4 ,but ,r4 ,l4 ,s4 is  
not the only one who has secured        
assistance of dreams4 ,here is an       
account given by a ,german1 ,professor  
,hilprecht1 of an experience of a       
similar nature 7,human ,personality1 i4 
#cgf73       ,one ,saturday evening1    
about the middle of ,march #ahic1 ,i had
      been wearying myself1 as ,i had   
done so often in the weeks              
preceding1 in the vain attempt to       
decipher two small fragments      of    
agate1 which were supposed to belong to 
the finger-rings of      some           
,babylonian4 ,the labour was much       
increased by the fact that      the     
fragments presented remnants only of    
characters and lines1      that dozens  

of similar small fragments had been     
found in the      ruins of the temple of
 ,bel at ,nippur with which nothing     
could      be done1 that in this case   
furthermore ,i never had the            
originals before me1 but only a hasty   
sketch made by one of the      members  
of the expedition sent by the           
,university of      ,pennsylvania to    
,babylonia4 ,i could not say more than  
that the      fragments1 taking into    
consideration the place in which they   
were found and the peculiar             
characteristics of the cuneiform        
characters preserved upon them1 sprang  
from the ,cassite period      of        
,babylonian history 7circa #agjj-aadj   
,b4,c472 moreover1 as      the first    
character of the third line of the first
 fragment      seemed to be ,,ku1 ,i    
ascribed this fragment1 with an         
interrogation point1 to ,king           
,kurigalzu1 while ,i placed the         
other fragment as unclassifiable with   
other ,cassite fragments      upon a    

page of my book where ,i published the  
unclassifiable      fragments4 ,the     
proofs already lay before me1 but ,i was
 far from      satisfied4 ,the whole    
problem passed yet again through my mind
      that ,march evening before ,i     
placed my mark of approval under        
the last correction in the book4 ,even  
then ,i had come to no      conclusion4 
,about midnight1 weary and exhausted1 ,i
 went to bed      and was soon in deep  
sleep4 ,then ,i dreamed the following   
remarkable dream4 ,a tall1 thin priest  
of the old pre-,christian      ,nippur1 
about forty years of age and clad in a  
simple abba1 led      me to the treasure
 chamber of the temple1 on its          
south-east      side4 ,he went with me  
into a small low-ceiled room1 without   
windows1 in which there was a large     
wooden chest1 while scraps      of agate
 and lapis-lazuli lay scattered on the  
floor4 ,here he      addressed me as    
follows3--',the two fragments which you 
have      published separately upon     

pages #bb and #bf1 belong together1 are 
not finger-rings1 and their history is  
as follows4 ,king      ,kurigalzu 7circa
 #acjj ,b4,c47 once sent to the temple  
of ,bel1      among other articles of   
agate and lapis-lazuli1 an inscribed    
votive cylinder of agate4 ,then we      
priests suddenly received the           
command to make for the statue of the   
god ,ninib a pair of      earrings of   
agate4 ,we were in great dismay1 since  
there was no      agate as raw material 
at hand4 ,in order to execute the       
command      there was nothing for us to
 do but cut the votive cylinder into    
three parts1 thus making three rings1   
each of which contained a      portion  
of the original inscription4 ,the first 
two rings served      as earrings for   
the statue of the god2 the two fragments
 which      have given you so much      
trouble are portions of them4 ,if you   
will put the two together you will have 
confirmation of my      words4 ,but the 
third ring you have not yet found in the

 course      of your excavations and you
 never will find it4' ,with this the    
priest disappeared4 ,i awoke at once and
 immediately told my      wife the      
dream1 that ,i might not forget it4     
,next      morning--,sunday--,i examined
 the fragments once more in the         
light of these disclosures1 and to my   
astonishment found all      the details 
of the dream precisely verified in so   
far as the      means of verification   
were in my hands4 ,the original         
inscription on the votive cylinder read3
 ',to the god ,ninib1 son      of ,bel1 
his lord1 has ,kurigalzu1 pontifex of   
,bel1 presented      this4' ,the problem
 was at last solved4     ,,chapter ,v   
,,hallucinations   ,from the occurrence 
in a dream of the ideas of events which 
happen to coincide with actual events1  
let us turn to apparitions occurring    
during the waking hours of the          
percipient4  ,the late ,professor       
,sidgwick1 at the head of a committee1  
sent out the following question to      

#ag1jjj educated persons not known to   
have had hallucinations3--,have you     
ever1 when believing yourself to be     
completely awake1 had a vivid impression
 of seeing or being touched by a living 
being or inanimate object1 or of hearing
 a voice1 which impression1 so far as   
you could discover1 was not due to any  
external physical cause8  ,the replies  
demonstrate how frequent are            
hallucinations amongst healthy1         
normal-minded persons4 ,no fewer than   
#afhd1 or one in ten1 of the persons    
interrogated1 had had visual and        
auditory and even tactile               
hallucinations1 realistic human         
phantoms1 and other apparitions4 ,we    
find that1 according to the age         
classification1 of #abie visual         
hallucinations #gb occurred while the   
percipients were under ten years of age1
 #bag between the ages of ten and       
nineteen1 #cjj between twenty and       
twenty-nine1 #adc between thirty and    
thirty-nine1 #ha between forty and      

forty-nine1 #dj between fifty and       
fifty-nine1 #bb between sixty and       
sixty-nine1 #e later than seventy1 and  
#dae at unstated ages4 ,some of the     
hallucinations occurred immediately     
after waking1 others while the          
percipients were awake in bed2 but the  
great bulk occurred in a fully awakened 
state1 and a large number appeared out  
of doors4  ,of hallucinations of which  
we may say that they are due to a       
projection from the agent's mind1       
commonly to a dying man or woman1 to    
that of the percipient1 perhaps one of  
the most famous is that of ,lord        
,charles ,beresford1 as described by him
 to the ,society for ,psychical         
,research3       ,it was in the spring  
of #ahfd1 whilst on board ,h4,m4,s4     
,racoon1      between ,gibraltar and    
,marseilles1 that ,i went into my office
 on      the main deck to get a pipe2   
and as ,i opened the door ,i saw my     
father lying in his coffin as plainly as
 ,i could4 ,it gave me an      awful    

jerk and ,i immediately told some of the
 fellows who were      smoking just     
outside the usual place between the     
guns1 and ,i      also told dear old    
,onslow1 our chaplain4 ,a few days after
 we      arrived at ,marseilles1 and ,i 
heard of my father's death1 and he      
had been buried that very day and at the
 time1 half-past twelve      in the day4
 ,i may add that at the time it was a   
bright1 sunny      day1 and ,i had not  
been fretting about my father1 as the   
latest      news ,i had of him was that 
although very ill he was better4 ,my    
dear old father and ,i were great chums1
 more so than is usual      between a   
man of seventy-two and a boy of twenty1 
our      respective ages then4  ,the    
evidence is so bulky that we may quote  
only a case here and there at random3   
,on ,december #ith #ahhb ,mr ,t4 ,g4    
,keulemans was living with his          
family in ,paris4 ,the outbreak of an   
epidemic of smallpox caused      him to 
remove three of his children1 including 

a favourite      little boy of five1 to 
,london1 whence he received in the      
course      of the ensuing month several
 letters giving an excellent            
account of their health4       ,on the  
#bdth of ,january #ahha1 at half-past   
seven in the      morning1 ,i was       
suddenly awoke by hearing his voice1 as 
,i      fancied1 very near me4 ,i saw a 
bright opaque white mass before      my 
eyes1 and in the centre of this light ,i
 saw the face of my      little darling1
 his eyes bright1 his mouth smiling4    
,the      apparition1 accompanied by the
 sound of his voice1 was too      short 
and too sudden to be called a dream2 it 
was too clear1      too decided1 to be  
called an effect of the imagination4 ,so
      distinctly did ,i hear his voice  
that ,i looked round the room to        
see whether he was actually there4 ,the 
sound ,i heard was that      of extreme 
delight1 such as only a happy child can 
utter4 ,i      thought it was the moment
 he woke up in ,london1 happy and       

thinking of me4 ,i said to myself3      
',thank ,god1 little ,isidore      is   
happy as always4' ,mr ,keulemans        
describes the ensuing day as      one of
 peculiar brightness and cheerfulness4  
,he took a long      walk with a friend1
 with whom he dined2 and was afterwards 
playing a game at billiards when he     
again saw the apparition of      his    
child4 ,this made him seriously uneasy1 
and in spite of      having received    
within three days the assurance of his  
child's      perfect health he expressed
 to his wife a conviction that he       
was dead4 ,next day a letter arrived    
saying that the child was      ill2 but 
the father was convinced that this was  
only an attempt      to break the news2 
and1 in fact1 the child had died1 after 
a      few hours' illness1 at the exact 
time of the first apparition4  ,another 
case as recited by ,madame ,d----1 of   
,st ,gaudens1 is to be found in         
,posthumous ,humanity4 ,she says3       
,i was still a young girl1 and slept    

with my elder sister4 ,one      evening 
we had just retired to bed and blown out
 the light4 ,the      smouldering fire  
on the hearth still feebly lighted the  
room4      ,upon turning my eyes towards
 the fireplace ,i perceived1 to my      
amazement1 a priest seated before the   
fire and warming himself4      ,he had  
the corpulence1 the features1 and the   
general appearance      of one of our   
uncles who lived in the neighbourhood1  
where he      was an archbishop4 ,i at  
once called my sister's attention4 ,she 
looked in the same direction1 and saw   
the same apparition4 ,she      also     
recognised our uncle4 ,an indescribable 
terror seized us      both1 and we cried
 ',help6' with all our might4 ,my       
father1 who      slept in an adjoining  
room1 awakened by these desperate cries1
      jumped out of bed and ran in with 
a candle in his hand4 ,the      phantom 
had disappeared1 and we saw no one in   
the room4 ,the      next morning a      
letter was received informing us that   

our uncle      had died the previous    
evening4       ,at ,wiesbaden1          
,professor ,ebenan1 whose old sister    
kept his      house1 stated that he had 
a friend residing forty or fifty        
miles off--likewise a professor--who was
 very poor and had a      large family4 
,on hearing that his wife was dying1 ,mr
 ,e---- went      to see them1 and      
brought back their eldest boy1 for whom 
a      little bed was put up in ,mr     
,e----'s room4       ,one morning1 about
 ten days after1 ,mr ,e---- called and  
asked      me3 ',do you believe that at 
the moment of death you may appear      
to one whom you love8' ,i replied3      
',yes1 ,i do4' ',well1' he said1        
'we shall see4 ,i have noted the day and
 the hour1 for last      night after ,i 
went to bed the child said sweetly 7in  
,german73      ,yes1 dear mamma1 ,i see 
you4 ,to which ,i replied3 ,no1 dear    
boy1 it is ,i2 ,i am come to bed4 ,no1  
he said1 it is dear      mamma1 she is  
standing there smiling at me1 pointing  

to the      side of the bed4' ,on his   
next visit ,mr ,ebenan told us that he  
had received a letter informing him that
 at that time1 and on      that evening1
 the wife had breathed her last4  ,in   
some cases a vague shadowy form is seen 
which gradually acquires definiteness4  
,here is an interesting example         
contributed to ,proceedings1 vol4 x41 by
 a ,mr ,t4 ,a43--       #ith ,may #ahib4
       ,i saw a darkish vapour leave my 
father's head when he died1      about  
twelve years ago1 and it formed into a  
figure full-sized1      and for seven   
consecutive nights 7,i7 saw it in my    
room1 and saw      it go each night into
 the next room1 in which he died4 ,it   
became more distinct each night and     
brighter each night1 till      it was   
quite brilliant1 even dazzling1 by the  
seventh night4 ,it      lasted1 say1 one
 and a half minutes4 ,it was quite dark 
when the      phantom used to appear4 ,i
 was quite awake1 going to bed2 age     
thirty two4  ,in other cases what is    

first seen is a glow of light--the      
apparition subsequently appearing in it4
  ,mr ,r4 ,w4 ,raper1 of ,trinity       
,college1 ,oxford1 made the following   
statement to the ,society for ,psychical
 ,research3--       ',just before       
,christmas #ahid ,i went over to        
,liverpool with one      of my brothers 
and my sister4 ,it was a very fine clear
 day and      there was a great crowd of
 people shopping in the streets4 ,we    
were walking down ,lord-street1 one of  
the principal streets1      when1       
passing me1 ,i saw an old uncle of mine 
whom ,i knew very      little1 and had  
not seen for a very long time1 though he
 lived      near me4 ,i saw three       
distinct shapes hobbling past 7he was   
lame71 one after another1 in a line4 ,it
 didn't seem to strike      me at the   
moment as being in the least curious1   
not even there      being three shapes  
in a line4 ,i said to my sister3 ,i have
 just      seen ,uncle ,e----1 and ,i am
 sure he is dead4 ,i said this1 as it   

were1 mechanically1 and not feeling at  
all impressed4 ,of course      my       
brother and sister laughed4 ,we thought 
nothing more about it      while in     
,liverpool4 ,the first thing my mother  
said to us when      getting home was3  
,i have some news2 and then she told us 
that      this uncle had died early that
 morning4 ,i don't know the             
particular hour4 ,i saw the three shapes
 at about twelve in the      morning4 ,i
 felt perfectly fit and well1 and was   
not thinking of      my uncle in the    
least1 nor did ,i know he was ill4 ,both
 my      brother and my sister heard me 
say that ,i had seen him and            
believed he was dead1 and they were     
equally astonished at      hearing of   
his death on our return home4 ,my uncle 
and ,i knew      each other very little4
 ,in fact1 he hardly knew me by sight1  
although he knew me well when ,i was a  
small child4'       ,the corroboration  
from the percipient's mother and sister 
is      quite ample2 the day of the     

agent's death coincided with the        
apparition1 but the hour is not         
certainly known4  ,another well-known   
case is that of ,prince ,victor ,duleep 
,singh1 who writes3       ,on ,saturday1
 ,october #bast1 #ahic1 ,i was in       
,berlin with ,lord      ,carnarvon4 ,we 
went to a theatre together and returned 
before      midnight4 ,i went to bed1   
leaving1 as ,i always do1 a bright      
light in the room 7electric light74 ,as 
,i lay in bed ,i found      myself      
looking at an oleograph which hung on   
the wall opposite      my bed4 ,i saw   
distinctly the face of my father1 the   
,maharajah      ,duleep ,singh1 looking 
at me1 as it were1 out of this picture2 
not like a portrait of him1 but his real
 head4 ,the head about      filled the  
picture frame4 ,i continued looking1 and
 still saw my      father looking at me 
with an intent expression4 ,though not  
in      the least alarmed1 ,i was so    
puzzled that ,i got out of bed to       
see what the picture really was4 ,it was

 an oleograph      commonplace picture  
of a girl holding a rose and leaning out
 of      a balcony1 an arch forming the 
background4 ,the girl's face was        
quite small1 whereas my father's head   
was the size of life and      filled the
 frame4  ,the ,prince's father had been 
in ill-health for some time1 but nothing
 alarming was to be expected4 ,on the   
day following the dream he mentioned it 
to ,lord ,carnarvon1 and on the evening 
of that day ,lord ,carnarvon handed him 
a telegram announcing the elder         
,prince's death4 ,he had had an         
apoplectic seizure on the previous      
evening and never recovered4 ,it is     
interesting to note that he had often   
said that he would try to appear to his 
son at death if they happened to be     
apart4 ,the account is confirmed by     
,lord ,carnarvon4  ,it sometimes happens
 that the point of hallucination is not 
quite reached4 ,the following instance1 
communicated to the ,society for        
,psychical ,research1 is straightforward

 enough3       '#bj ,rankeillor ,street1
 ,edinburgh1       ',december #bgth1    
#ahhc4       ',in ,january #ahga ,i was 
living in the ,west ,indies4 ,on the    
#gth      of that month ,i got up with a
 strong feeling that there was          
something happening at my old home in   
,scotland4 ,at seven ,a4,m4 ,i          
mentioned to my sister-in-law my strange
 dread1 and said even      at that hour 
what ,i dreaded was taking place4       
',by the next mail ,i got word that at  
eleven ,a4,m4 on the #gth of            
,january my sister died4 ,the island ,i 
lived in was at ,st ,kitts1      and the
 death took place in ,edinburgh4 ,please
 note the hours      and allow for the  
difference in time1 and you will notice 
at      least a remarkable coincidence4 
,i may add ,i never knew of her         
illness4       ',a4 ,c----,n4'       ,in
 answer to inquiries1 ,mr ,c----n adds3 
',i never at any other      time had a  
feeling in any way resembling the       
particular time ,i      wrote about4 ,at

 the time ,i wrote about ,i was in      
perfect      health1 and in every way in
 comfortable circumstances4'  ,there is 
nothing unreasonable in the assumption  
that telepathy is the agency primarily  
concerned in these manifestations4 ,the 
idea having been received1 a            
hallucination is built up1 so to speak1 
by the percipient4 ,a truly hallucinable
 person can suggest to himself his own  
hallucinations with no external aid1 but
 a non-hallucinable personage cannot    
induce these hallucinations at all4 ,dr 
,hugh ,wingfield stated to the ,society 
for ,psychical ,research that the case  
of one of his patients proved that      
hallucinations could be produced by     
self-suggestion4 ,he could1 by a simple 
effort of the mind1 himself believe     
almost any delusion--e4g4 that he was   
riding on horseback1 that he was a dog1 
or anything else1 or that he saw        
snakes--if left to himself the delusion 
vanished slowly4 ,anyone else could     
remove it at once by a                  

counter-suggestion4 ,he made1 he adds1  
these experiments without my consent1 as
 ,i consider them unsafe4               
,hallucination is at times accompanied  
by curious organic effects4 ,one of the 
commonest of these is a feeling of      
cold--generally described as a chill or 
cold shudder4 ,the following example is 
taken from the ,census of               
,hallucinations of the ,society for     
,psychical ,research3--       ,,from    
,,miss ,k4 ,m4       7,the account was  
written in #ahhi47       ,about twenty  
years ago ,i was about ten years old1   
and was      staying with friends in    
,kensington4 ,between the hours of eight
      and nine ,p4,m41 we were all      
sitting in the drawing-room with the    
door open1 it being a very warm evening4
 ,suddenly ,i      experienced a cold   
shudder1 and on looking through the door
      opposite which ,i was sitting1 ,i 
saw the figure of a little old      lady
 dressed in a long brown cloak with a   
large brown hat1      carrying a basket1

 glide down the stairs and disappear in 
the      room next the drawing-room4    
,the impression was that of someone     
,i had never seen4 ,i was talking on    
ordinary subjects1 neither      ill1 in 
grief1 or anxiety4 ,there were several  
other people in      the room1 but no   
one noticed anything but myself4 ,i have
 never      had any experience of this  
kind before or since4  ,occasionally1   
but very rarely1 pain is described as   
resulting from a hallucination4 ,other  
effects include fainting fits and       
tactile impressions4 ,noise would appear
 in some cases to produce visual        
hallucinations1 by creating in the      
hearer a strong expectation of seeing   
something corresponding to it1 or that  
may account for it4 ,from ,phantasms of 
the ,living we glean the following3--   
,between sleeping and waking this       
morning1 ,i perceived a dog      running
 about in a field 7an ideal white and   
tan sporting dog71      and the next    
moment ,i heard a dog barking outside my

 window4      ,keeping my closed eyes on
 the vision1 ,i found that it came and  
went with the barking of the dog        
outside2 getting fainter1      however1 
each time4  ,a weak state of health on  
the part of the percipient would seem to
 be conducive to hallucinatory visions4 
,here is a case in point contributed to 
the ,society for ,psychical ,research   
,proceedings1 vol4 x41 by a ,professor  
,g----3       ,saw an old woman with red
 cloak1 nursing a child in her arms4    
,she sat on a boulder4 ,place3 a grassy 
moor or upland1 near      ,shotts1 in   
,lanarkshire4 ,date3 over twenty years  
ago4 ,early      autumn1 in bright sunny
 weather4 ,made several attempts to     
reach      her1 but she always vanished 
before ,i could get up to the           
stone4 ,place far from any dwelling1 and
 no spot where anyone      could be     
concealed4       ,i was walking2 had    
been slightly troubled with insomnia    
which afterwards became worse4 ,age     
about thirty4       ,no one was with me4

 ,i heard a vague report that a woman   
with      red cloak was sometimes seen  
on the moor4 ,can't now remember        
whether ,i had heard of that report     
before ,i saw the figure--but      think
 ,i had not4       ,saw many years ago  
7age about twenty-one71 a dog sitting   
beside me in my room3 saw this only     
once3 was troubled slightly      with   
insomnia at the time which afterwards   
became worse4  ,the percipient's own    
view1 the collector tells us1 is that   
the experience on the moor was entirely 
due to nerves1 as both then and         
previously when he saw the dog he had   
been much overworked1 and in each case a
 severe illness followed4  ,not always  
does a visual hallucination take the    
form of a living human form4            
,occasionally the object seen or the    
sound heard is non-human in character4  
,in insanity and in diseases such cases 
are frequently met with1 the            
hallucination being often of a grotesque
 or horrible sort4 ,thus we have a case 

in which a young child beheld a vision  
of dwarfish gnomes dancing on the wall4 
,among the phantasms of inanimate       
objects in the collection of the late   
,e4 ,gurney were a star1 a firework     
bursting into stars1 a firefly1 a crown1
 landscape vignettes1 a statue1 the end 
of a draped coffin coming in through the
 door1 and a bright oval surrounding the
 words ,wednesday1 ,october #ae1 ,death4
 ,geometrical patterns1 sometimes taking
 very complicated forms1 comprise       
another known type of hallucination4    
,as to a theory for hallucinations1 the 
most acceptable one is that they have   
their origin in the brain1 and that the 
senses are made to share in the         
deception4 ,there is little doubt that  
,william ,blake's hallucinations were   
voluntary4 ,gurney refers to a friend1 a
 painter1 who was able to project a     
vision of his sitter out into space and 
paint from it4 ,we have already seen    
that a hypnotic agent can cause his     
subject not merely to see things but to 

feel them1 even to the extent of crying 
out with pain when an imaginary lighted 
match is applied to his finger4         
,,chapter ,,vi  ,,phantasms ,,of ,,the  
,,dead   ,thus far ,i have devoted      
myself to an investigation of phenomena 
for which the theory of telepathy is not
 inapplicable4 ,it is1 however1 when we 
come to discuss hallucinations from     
which the idea of a living agent is     
apparently excluded that ,i feel myself 
entering on even more delicate and      
mysterious territory4 ,having dealt with
 phantasms of persons at the point of   
death1 ,i now propose to deal with      
phantasms of persons already dead4      
,where1 indeed1 the death has been very 
recent1 the telepathic theory still     
serves1 for the reception conveyed by   
the dying agent might conceivably remain
 dormant in the sub-consciousness of the
 percipient1 and only be aroused in a   
dream or during a propitious waking     
moment4  ,this would apply to the case  
of a lady who saw the body of a         

well-known ,london physician1 about ten 
hours after death1 lying in a bare      
unfurnished room1 which turned out to be
 a cottage hospital abroad4 ,mr ,myers1 
in his ,human ,personality1 has         
collected a large number of examples of 
apparitions of departed spirits1 upon   
which he lays the utmost stress1 because
 they1 more than any other kind of      
evidence1 tend to support his great     
theory of the survival of personality4  
,if1 he reasons1 we can gain a number of
 well-authenticated cases of            
hallucinations projected telepathically 
from an agent before death1 an equal    
amount of evidence of hallucinations    
projected by an agent after death would 
prove the continuance of life beyond the
 grave6 ,and some of the cases which the
 ,society of ,psychical ,research1 both 
in this country and ,america1 have      
collected are certainly of an impressive
 character4  ,unhappily1 most of the    
best and most convincing cases are too  
long to be given here2 they cannot even 

profitably be summarised4  ,in one      
instance ,mr ,f4 ,g4 of ,boston1 whose  
high character and good position are    
vouched for by ,professor ,royce and ,dr
 ,hodgson1 states that nine years after 
the death of a favourite sister an      
apparition appeared before him3         
,the hour was high noon1 and the sun was
 shining cheerfully      into my room4  
,while busily smoking my cigar and      
writing out my      orders1 ,i suddenly 
became conscious that someone was       
sitting on      my left1 with one arm   
resting on the table4 ,quick as a flash 
,i      turned1 and distinctly saw the  
form of my dead sister1 and for      a  
brief second or so looked her squarely  
in the face2 and so      sure was ,i    
that it was she1 that ,i sprang forward 
in delight1      calling her by name1   
and as ,i did so the apparition         
instantly      vanished4  ,but that is  
not the most extraordinary part of the  
story4 ,the visitation so impressed the 
percipient that he took the next train  

home and related to his parents what had
 occurred4 ,he particularly mentioned a 
bright red line or scratch on the       
right-hand side of his sister's face1   
which he had distinctly seen3       444 
,when ,i mentioned this1 my mother rose 
trembling to her      feet1 and nearly  
fainted away1 and as soon as she        
sufficiently      recovered her         
self-possession1 with tears streaming   
down her      face1 she exclaimed that  
,i had indeed seen my sister1 as no     
living mortal but herself was aware of  
the scratch1 which she      had         
accidentally made while doing some      
little act of kindness      after my    
sister's death4444 ,in proof1 neither my
 father nor any      of our family had  
detected it1 and positively were unaware
 of      the incident1 yet ,i saw the   
scratch as bright as if just      made4 
,so strangely impressed was my mother1  
that even after      she had retired to 
rest she got up and dressed1 came to me1
 and      told me she knew that ,i had  

seen my sister4 ,a few weeks later      
my mother died4  ,now1 is it not a      
little singular that1 although both ,dr 
,hodgson and ,mr ,myers record this     
incident1 the theory of telepathy       
between a living agent and a living     
percipient does not occur to them8 ,is  
it not conceivable that the mother1 on  
whose mind the incident of the scratch  
on the features of the corpse had       
admittedly preyed1 should have          
unwittingly communicated her secret to  
her son8 ,in other words1 the mother    
projected a phantasm of her dead        
daughter to the mind of her son4  ,in   
the ,proceedings of the ,society there  
is a case which1 according to ,mr       
,stead1 appears to suggest that the     
deceased are continuing to take an      
interest in mundane affairs4 ,the story 
is communicated by ,miss ,dodson4 ,on   
,sunday1 #eth ,june #ahhg1 close upon   
midnight1 ,miss ,dodson was roused by   
hearing her name called three times4    
,she answered twice1 thinking it was her

 uncle4 ,the third time she recognised  
the voice of her mother1 who had been   
dead sixteen years4 ,i said1 continued  
,miss ,dodson1 ',mamma6'       ,she then
 came round a screen near my bedside    
with two children      in her arms and  
placed them in my arms and put the      
bedclothes      over them1 and said3    
',lucy1 promise me to take care of them1
      for their mother is just dead4' ,i
 said3 ',yes1 mamma4' ,she              
repeated3 ',promise me to take care of  
them4' ,i replied3 ',yes1      ,i       
promise you1' and added1 ',oh1 mamma1   
stay and speak to me1 ,i      am so     
wretched4' ,she replied3 ',not yet1 my  
child1' then she      seemed to go round
 the screen again and ,i remained1      
feeling the      children to be still in
 my arms and fell asleep4 ,when ,i awoke
      there was nothing4 ,tuesday       
morning1 #gth ,june1 ,i received the    
news of my sister-in-law's death4 ,she  
had given birth to a      child three   
weeks before1 which ,i did not know till

 after her      death4  ,professor      
,sidgwick says1 as the result of an     
interesting conversation with ,miss     
,dodson1 that the children were of the  
ages corresponding with the ages of the 
children of her sister-in-law2 they     
seemed to be a little girl and a baby   
newly born4 ,the only way an ingenious  
sceptic can get round this case is by   
supposing that a telepathic impulse from
 the living brother might conceivably   
embody itself in the form of his mother4
 ,but the idea of a brother in ,belgium 
being able to transmit a telepathic     
message in the assumed shape and with   
the voice of his mother1 who had been   
dead for sixteen years1 and also to     
telepath into existence in ,london the  
two little children who were living in  
his house at ,bruges1 is rather a clumsy
 hypothesis4 ,but what other have we8   
,mr ,theobald1 an ,australian1 forwards 
to the ,society a paper      discovered 
amongst the effects of his uncle1 now   
dead4 ,the      apparition1 as will be  

seen1 occurred on ,october #bdth1 #ahfj1
      and the account is endorsed on    
#ith ,november by the percipient's      
father4 ,further particulars sent to ,mr
 ,b---- by the percipient      7who is  
here called ,mr ,d----7 are dated       
,november #acth1 #ahfj4      ,the first 
account seems to have been sent by the  
percipient to      his father1 and by   
the father to ,mr ,b----  ,the          
percipient had been identified1 and     
confirms1 as will be seen1 this early   
narrative1 which is as follows3--       
,on the evening of ,wednesday1 ,october 
#bdth1 #ahfj1 having      retired to bed
 about nine o'clock1 ,i had slept1 ,i   
conclude1      about two hours1 making  
it then about eleven o'clock ,p4,m4 ,i  
was      awoke from my sleep by a hand  
touching my forehead1 and the           
well-known voice of ,mrs ,b----         
pronouncing my name1 ,e----4 ,i         
started up and sat in bed1 rubbed my    
eyes1 and then saw ,mrs      ,b----4    
,from the head to the waist the figure  

was distinct1      clear1 and well      
defined2 but from the waist downwards it
 was      all misty1 and the lower part 
transparent4 ,she appeared to be        
dressed in black silk4 ,her countenance 
was grave and rather      sad1 but not  
unhappy4       ,the words she first     
uttered were3 ',i have left dear ,john4'
      ,what followed related entirely to
 myself1 and she was permitted      by a
 most kind ,providence to speak words of
 mercy1 promise1 and      comfort1 and  
assurance that what ,i most wished would
 come to      pass4 ,she came to me in  
an hour of bitter mental agony1 and was 
sent as a messenger of mercy4444        
,occasionally there is a curious        
variant1 when the phantasm is auditory  
and not visible4 ,in the case published 
in ,proceedings of the ,society for     
,psychical ,research1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ij1 
,mr ,wambey heard a phantasmal voice as 
though in colloquy with his own thought4
 ,he was planning a congratulatory      
letter to a friend1 when the words      

,what1 write to a dead man8 write to a  
dead man8 sounded clearly in his ears4  
,the friend had been dead for some days4
  ,gurney was much impressed by the     
unexpectedly large proportion of cases  
where the percipient informed us that   
there had been a compact between himself
 and the deceased person that whichever 
passed away first should try to appear  
to the other4 ,considering1 he adds1    
what an extremely small number of       
persons make such a compact1 compared   
with those who do not1 it is difficult  
to resist the conclusion that its       
existence has a certain efficacy4  ,a   
characteristic case is thus reported by 
a ,mr ,bellamy3       ,when a girl at   
school my wife made an agreement with a 
fellow-pupil1 ,miss ,w41 that the one of
 them who died first      should1 if    
divinely permitted1 appear after her    
decease to the      survivor4 ,in #ahgd 
my wife1 who had not seen or heard      
anything      of her former school      
friend for some years1 casually heard of

      her death4 ,the news reminded her 
of her former agreement1 and      then1 
becoming nervous1 she told me of it4 ,i 
knew of my wife's      compact1 but ,i  
had never seen a photograph of her      
friend1 or      heard any description of
 her4 7,mr ,bellamy told ,gurney in     
conversation that his mind had not been 
in the least dwelling      on the       
compact47       ,a night or two         
afterwards1 as ,i was sleeping with my  
wife1 a      fire brightly burning in my
 room and a candle alight1 ,i           
suddenly awoke and saw a lady sitting by
 the side of the bed      where my wife 
was sleeping soundly4 ,at once ,i sat up
 in the bed      and gazed so intently  
that even now ,i can recall her form and
      features4 ,had ,i the pencil or   
the brush of a ,millais ,i could        
transfer to canvas an exact likeness of 
the ghostly visitant4 ,i      remember  
that ,i was much struck1 as ,i looked   
intently at her1      with the careful  
arrangement of her coiffure1 every      

single hair      being most carefully   
brushed down4 ,how long ,i sat and gazed
 ,i      cannot say1 but directly the   
apparition ceased to be1 ,i got      out
 of bed to see if any of my wife's      
garments had by any means      optically
 deluded me4 ,i found nothing in the    
line of vision but      a bare wall4    
,hallucination on my part ,i rejected as
 out of the      question1 and ,i       
doubted not that ,i had really seen an  
apparition4 ,returning to bed1 ,i lay   
till my wife some hours      after      
awoke1 and then ,i gave her an account  
of her friend's      appearance4 ,i     
described her colour1 form1 etc41 all of
 which      exactly tallied with my     
wife's recollection of ,miss ,w4        
,finally      ,i asked1 ',but was there 
any special point to strike one in her  
appearance8' ',yes1' my wife promptly   
replied1 'we girls used to      tease   
her at school for devoting so much time 
to the      arrangement of her hair4'   
,this was the very thing which ,i have  

said so much struck me4 ,such are the   
simple facts4       ,i will only add    
that till #ahgd ,i had never seen an    
apparition1      and that ,i have not   
seen one since4       ,,arthur          
,,bellamy4  ,the following case1 from   
,proceedings1 vol4 viii4 p4 #agh1 bears 
a distinct resemblance to the           
old-fashioned ghost stories4 ,mrs ,m41  
the informant1 writes under date #aeth  
,december #ahia3       ,before relating 
my experience of having seen a ghost1 ,i
 should      like my readers thoroughly 
to understand that ,i had not the       
slightest idea that the house in which  
my husband and ,i were      living was  
haunted1 or that the family residing    
there for many      years before us had 
had any family troubles4 ,the house was 
delightfully situated etc44 ,the house  
being partly new and      partly old we 
occupied the old part for our sleeping  
apartments4 ,there were two staircases  
leading to them1 with a      landing and
 window1 adjoining a morning            

sitting-room4 ,one night      on        
retiring to my bedroom about #aa        
o'clock1 ,i thought ,i heard a          
peculiar moaning sound1 and someone     
sobbing as if in great      distress of 
mind4 ,i listened very attentively1 and 
still it      continued2 so ,i raised   
the gas in my bedroom1 and then went to 
the landing window of which ,i have     
spoken1 drew the blind      aside2 and  
there on the grass was a very beautiful 
young girl      in kneeling posture     
before a soldier1 in a general's        
uniform1      sobbing and clasping her  
hands together1 entreating for pardon2  
but alas6 he only waved her away from   
him4 ,so much did ,i feel      for the  
girl1 that without a moment's hesitation
 ,i ran down the      staircase to the  
door opening upon the lawn1 and begged  
her to      come in and tell me her     
sorrow4 ,the figures then disappeared6  
,not in the least nervous did ,i feel   
then2--went again to my      bedroom1   
took a sheet of writing paper and wrote 

down what ,i      had seen4 ,mrs ,m4 has
 found and sent us this paper4 ,the     
following words are written in pencil on
 a half sheet of      notepaper3--,march
 #acth1 #ahhf4 ,have just seen visions  
on      lawn3--a soldier in general's   
uniform1--a young lady kneeling      to 
him4 #aa4dj ,p4,m4 ,my husband was away 
from home when this      event occurred1
 but a lady friend was staying with me1 
so ,i      went to her bedroom and told 
her that ,i had been rather             
frightened by some noises2--could ,i    
stay with her a little      while8 ,a   
few days afterwards ,i found myself in a
 very nervous      state2 but it seemed 
so strange that ,i was not frightened at
      the time4       ,it appears the   
story is only too true4 ,the youngest   
daughter      of this very old proud    
family had had an illegitimate child2   
and her parents and relatives would not 
recognise her again1      and she died  
broken-hearted4 ,the soldier was a near 
relative      7also a connection of my  

husband's72 and it was in vain she      
tried to gain his--the                  
soldier's--forgiveness4 ,in a subsequent
      letter ,sir ,x4 ,y4's career is   
described4 ,he was a distinguished      
officer4       ,so vivid was my         
remembrance of the features of the      
soldier      that some months after the 
occurrence1 when ,i happened to be      
calling with my husband at a house where
 there was a portrait      of him1 ,i   
stepped before it and said3 ',why1 look6
 ,there is the      ,general6' ,and sure
 enough it was4  ,in a subsequent letter
 ,mrs ,m4 writes3       ,i did see the  
figures on the lawn after opening the   
door      leading on to the lawn2 and   
they by no means disappeared            
instantly1 but more like a dissolving   
view--viz4 gradually2 and      ,i did   
not leave the door until they had passed
 away4 ,it was      impossible for any  
real persons to act such a scene4444    
,the      ,general was born and died 7in
 the house where ,i saw him74444 ,i     

was not aware that the portrait of the  
,general was in that room      7where ,i
 saw it72 it was the first time ,i had  
been in that      room4 ,the misfortune 
to the poor girl happened in #ahdg or   
#ahdh4  ,mrs ,m4 then mentions that a   
respectable local tradesman hearing of  
the incident remarked3 ,that is not an  
uncommon thing to see her about the     
place1 poor soul6 ,she was a badly used 
girl4  ,mr ,m4 writes as follows under  
date #bcrd ,december #ahia3--       ,i  
have seen my wife's letter in regard to 
the recognition of      ,sir ,x4 ,y4's  
picture at ----4 ,nothing was said by me
 to her on      the subject2 but knowing
 the portrait to be a remarkably good   
likeness ,i proposed calling at the     
house 7which was that of a      nephew  
of ,sir ,x4 ,y4's71 being anxious to see
 what effect it      would have upon my 
wife4 ,immediately on entering the room 
she      almost staggered back1 and     
turned pale1 saying--looking hard       
at the picture--',why1 there's the      

,general6' 444 ,being a      connection 
of the family ,i knew all about the     
people1 but my      wife was then a     
stranger1 and ,i had never mentioned    
such things      to her2 in fact they   
had been almost forgotten4  ,here is a  
case where the phantasm was visible to  
several persons at the same time4 ,it is
 given by ,mr ,charles ,a4 ,w4 ,lett1 of
 the ,military and ,royal ,naval ,club1 
,albemarle ,street1 ,w4       ,december 
#crd1 #ahhe4       ,on the #eth ,april  
#ahgc my wife's father1 ,captain ,towns1
 died at      his residence1 ,cranbrook1
 ,rose ,bay1 near ,sydney1 ,n4 ,s4      
,wales4      ,about six weeks after his 
death my wife had occasion one          
evening about nine o'clock to go to one 
of the bedrooms in the      house4 ,she 
was accompanied by a young lady1 ,miss  
,berthon1 and      as they entered the  
room--the gas burning all the time--they
      were amazed to see1 reflected as  
it were on the polished      surface of 
the wardrobe1 the image of ,captain     

,towns4 ,it was      barely half figure1
 the head1 shoulders1 and part of the   
arms      only showing--in fact1 it was 
like an ordinary medallion              
portrait1 but life-size4 ,the face      
appeared wan and pale1 as it      did   
before his death1 and he wore a kind of 
grey flannel      jacket1 in which he   
had been accustomed to sleep4 ,surprised
 and      half-alarmed at what they saw1
 their first idea was that a            
portrait had been hung in the room1 and 
that what they saw was      its         
reflection2 but there was no picture of 
the kind4       ,whilst they were       
looking and wondering1 my wife's sister1
 ,miss      ,towns1 came into the room1 
and before either of the others had     
time to speak1 she exclaimed1 ',good    
gracious6 ,do you see papa8'      ,one  
of the housemaids happened to be passing
 downstairs at the      moment1 and she 
was called in and asked if she saw      
anything1      and her reply was1 ',oh1 
miss6 the master4' ,graham--,captain    

,towns' old body-servant--was then sent 
for1 and he also      immediately       
exclaimed1 ',oh1 ,lord save us6 ,mrs    
,lett1 it's the      captain6' ,the     
butler was called1 and then ,mrs ,crane1
 my wife's      nurse1 and they both    
said what they saw4 ,finally1 ,mrs      
,towns      was sent for1 and1 seeing   
the apparition1 she advanced towards    
it with her arm extended as if to touch 
it1 and as she passed      her hand over
 the panel of the wardrobe the figure   
gradually      faded away1 and never    
again appeared1 though the room was     
regularly occupied for a long time      
after4       ,these are the simple facts
 of the case1 and they admit of no      
doubt2 no kind of intimation was given  
to any of the witnesses2      the same  
question was put to each one as they    
came into the      room1 and the reply  
was given without hesitation by each4   
,it      was by the merest accident that
 ,i did not see the apparition4 ,i      
was in the house at the time1 but did   

not hear when ,i was      called4       
,c4 ,a4 ,w4 ,,lett4       ,we the       
undersigned1 having read the above      
statement1 certify      that it is      
strictly accurate1 as we were both      
witnesses of the      apparition4       
,,sara ,,lett1       ,,sibbie ,,smyth   
7nee ,,towns47  ,mrs ,lett assures me1  
wrote ,gurney1 that neither she nor her 
sister ever experienced a hallucination 
of the senses on any other occasion4    
,she is positive that the recognition of
 the appearance on the part of each of  
the later witnesses was independent1 and
 not due to any suggestion from the     
persons already in the room4  ,the      
following1 taken from the ,report on the
 ,census of ,hallucinations1 may belong 
to either the ante-mortem or post-mortem
 category3--       ,at ,redhill on      
,thanksgiving ,day1 between eight and   
nine in the      evening1 when ,i was   
taking charge of the little daughter of 
a      friend1 during my friend's       
absence on that evening1 ,i left the    

child sleeping in the bedroom1 and went 
to drop the blinds in      two          
neighbouring rooms1 being absent about  
three minutes4 ,on      returning to the
 child's room in the full light of the  
gas-burner from above ,i distinctly saw1
 coming from the child's      cot1 a    
white figure1 which figure turned1      
looked me full in the      face1 and    
passed down the staircase4 ,i instantly 
followed1      leaned over the banisters
 in astonishment1 and saw the           
glistening of the white drapery as the  
figure passed down the      staircase1  
through the lighted hall1 and silently  
through the      hall door itself1 which
 was barred1 chained1 and locked4 ,i    
felt      for the moment perfectly      
staggered1 went back to the bedroom1    
and found the child peacefully sleeping4
 ,i related the      circumstance to the
 mother immediately on her return late  
that      night4 ,she was incredulous1  
but said that my description of the     
figure answered to that of an invalid   

aunt of the child's4 ,the      next     
morning came a telegram to say that this
 relation who had      greatly wished to
 see her niece had died between eight   
and nine      the previous evening4     
,i had just put down the ',pickwick     
,papers1' with which ,i had      been   
whiling away the time1 was free from    
trouble and in good      health4        
,sister ,bertha1 ,superior of the ,house
 of ,mercy at ,bovey ,tracey1 ,newton   
,abbot1 states3       ,on the night of  
,november #ajth1 #ahfa1 ,i was up in my 
bed      watching1 because there was a  
person not quite well in the next       
room4 ,i heard a voice which ,i         
recognised at once as familiar to       
me1 and at first thought of my sister4  
,it said in the brightest      and most 
cheerful tone1 ',i am here with you4' ,i
 answered1      looking and seeing      
nothing1 ',who are you8' ,the voice     
said1 ',you      mustn't know yet4' ,i  
heard nothing more and saw nothing1 and 
am      certain that the door was not   

opened or shut4 ,i was not in the       
least frightened1 and felt convinced it 
was ,lucy's ,miss ,lucy      ,gambier   
,parry's voice4       ,i have never     
doubted it from that moment4 ,i had not 
heard of      her being worse4 ,the last
 account had been good1 and ,i was      
expecting to hear that she was at       
,torquay4 ,in the course of the         
next day 7the #aath71 mother told me    
that she had died on the      morning of
 the #ajth1 rather more than twelve     
hours before ,i      heard her voice4   
,a case reported by ,mr ,john ,e4       
,husbands1 of ,melbourne ,house1 ,town  
,hall ,square1 ,grimsby1 is interesting3
       ,i was sleeping in a hotel in    
,madeira in ,january #ahhe4 ,it was a   
bright moonlight night4 ,the windows    
were open1 and the blinds      up4 ,i   
felt someone was in my room4 ,on opening
 my eyes ,i saw a      young fellow     
about twenty-five1 dressed in flannels1 
standing      at the side of my bed1 and
 pointing with the first finger of      

his right hand to the place where ,i was
 lying4 ,i lay for some      seconds to 
convince myself of someone being really 
there4 ,i      then sat up and looked at
 him4 ,i saw his features so plainly    
that ,i recognised them in a photograph 
which was shown me some      days       
afterwards4 ,i asked him what he wanted4
 ,he did not speak1      but his eyes   
and hands seemed to tell me that ,i was 
in his      place4 ,as he did not       
answer1 ,i struck at him with my fist as
 ,i      sat up1 but did not reach him1 
and as ,i was going to spring out       
of bed he slowly vanished through the   
door1 which was shut1      keeping his  
eyes upon me all the time4 ,upon inquiry
 ,i found      that the young fellow who
 appeared to me died in the room ,i was 
occupying4  ,there is1 too1 the famous  
case of ,mrs de ,freville and the       
gardener ,bard4 ,the percipient1 who had
 formerly been in the employ of this    
somewhat eccentric lady1 who was        
especially morbid on the subject of     

tombs and so forth1 was in the          
churchyard of ,hinxton1 ,saffron        
,walden1 on ,friday1 #hth ,may #ahhe4   
,he happened to look at the square ,de  
,freville stone vault1 when1 to his     
amazement1 he distinctly saw the old    
lady1 with a white face1 leaning on the 
rails4 ,when he looked again she was    
gone1 although it puzzled him to know   
how she could have got out of the       
churchyard1 as1 in order to reach any of
 the gates1 she must have passed him4   
,next day he was told that ,mrs de      
,freville was dead4 ,as the apparition  
was seen about seven and a half hours   
after death1 it could1 as ,i have       
suggested1 be considered a telepathic   
impression transmitted at the moment of 
death and remaining latent in the brain 
of the percipient2 otherwise1 the case  
belongs to the category of ,haunting1   
which we will glance at in the next     
chapter4     ,,chapter ,,vii  ,,on      
,,hauntings ,,and ,,kindred ,,phenomena 
,do ,i believe in ghosts8 asks ,mr      

,andrew ,lang4 ,one can only answer3    
',how do you define a ghost8' ,i do     
believe1 with all students of human     
nature1 in hallucinations of one1 or of 
several1 or even of all the senses4 ,but
 as to whether such hallucinations among
 the sane are ever caused by physical   
influence from the minds of others1     
alive or dead1 not communicated through 
the ordinary channels of sense1 my mind 
is in a balance of doubt4 ,it is a      
question of evidence4  ,if the evidence 
of hauntings were measurable by bulk    
alone1 no phase of occultism would be   
more completely demonstrated4 ,it is    
only when we come to examine the quality
 of the available data that we realise  
how formidable a task it is we have     
undertaken4 ,in nothing1 perhaps1 have  
credulity and superstition been allowed 
so wide a scope2 nowhere is it more     
difficult to winnow the grain of        
reliable testimony from the chaff of    
mythology and invention4 ,for we must   
remember that the belief in ghosts is as

 old as the hills themselves4 ,it is    
common to all countries and to all      
nations1 and in the literature of every 
language are to be found tales of the   
supernatural scarcely less plausible    
than many which assail our ears to-day4 
,what ,i now set myself to investigate  
is that class of phenomena seemingly    
attached to various localities and      
comprising1 besides apparitions1 sights 
and sounds of various kinds and degrees4
 ,according to ,mr ,e4 ,t4 ,bennett1 for
 twenty years assistant secretary of the
 ,psychical ,research ,society1 the     
records of the ,society contain         
descriptions of a large number of cases 
in which the evidence of the reality of 
phenomena incapable of ordinary         
explanation is absolutely conclusive4   
,when the sounds are intelligible1 or a 
sentence is spelt out in response to the
 inquiry of the auditor1 the raison     
d'etre of the manifestation is more or  
less obvious4 ,but there is evidence of 
a large number of so-called hauntings   

where steps are heard1 or noises which  
convey no intelligible information4     
,sometimes1 also1 we are told that      
simultaneously with the death of a      
friend bangs have been heard1 which1 but
 for the coincidence of their occurrence
 in association with a death1 are       
without meaning4 ,m4 ,flammarion cites  
several cases of this sort4 ,the        
following will serve as an              
illustration3--#b  ,footnote #b3 ,it    
will be found on page #agh of           
,l',inconnu et les ,problemes           
,psychiques4       ,m4 ,e4 ,deschaux    
relates that his grandfather was        
awakened one      evening at eleven     
,p4,m4 by three very distinct raps on   
the door      of his room4 ,astonished1 
he rose1 lit the lamp1 opened the       
door1 but saw no one4 ,supposing that   
some trickster had been      the cause  
of his disturbance1 he returned to bed  
grumbling1 but      again three knocks  
were heard on the door4 ,he got up      
quickly1      intending that the culprit

 should pay dearly for his untimely     
joke1 but in spite of careful search1   
both in the passage and      on the     
staircase1 he could not discover where  
this mysterious      culprit had        
disappeared to4 ,a third time1 when he  
was again in      bed1 three raps were  
audible on the door4 ,this time the     
grandfather had a presentiment that the 
sound was caused by the      spirit of  
his mother1 although nothing in the     
tidings he had      previously received 
from his family incited him to this     
supposition4 ,five or six days after    
this manifestation a letter      arrived
 from his own country announcing the    
death of his mother      which had      
occurred precisely at the hour at which 
he had heard      the knocks4 ,at the   
moment of her death1 his mother1 who had
 a      particular affection for him1   
had insisted that a dress which      her
 'boy in ,paris' had some time before   
sent her as a present      should be    
brought and placed on her bed4  ,here we

 seem to have a distinct motive for the 
visitation2 but on the other hand       
observe how many cases we come across   
where the phenomena appears to be due   
solely to the wanton and mischievous    
impulses of the invisible agents4       
,there is for example the case of a     
house in which spiritual manifestations1
 often of a disturbing character1 were  
continually being produced1 related by  
,mr ,inkster ,gilbertson in ,the ,occult
 ,review on the authority of a ,west    
,end physician who is called ,dr        
,macdonald4 ,the swish of a silk dress  
and the slamming of doors were among the
 least important of the phenomena from a
 psychical point of view1 though the    
sound of someone coming through a       
skylight and dropping on to the landing 
was certainly calculated to terrify the 
ladies1 who came up from the            
drawing-room screaming and shouting1    
expecting to find some dreadful tragedy 
being enacted4 ,these manifestations    
consisted entirely of sounds1 but at the

 regular sittings which were held in the
 house a drawer was taken from its place
 in the bedroom and left on the hall    
stand1 the loose wooden leaves which    
converted a billiard-table into a       
dining-table were slid off the end and  
deposited on the floor1 and a screen was
 several times seen to fold itself up   
without being touched4  ,the most       
peculiar occurrences1 however1 were the 
antics of certain keys belonging to     
doors in the house4 ,the door of the    
front bedroom was often found locked1   
and the key would disappear4 ,the doctor
 kept his eye on the key and presently  
saw it move round1 locking the door1 and
 then he saw the last of the key        
disappearing through the hole4 ,at      
another time the lady of the house1 her 
children1 and the maid were locked in   
for some hours4 ,the key would be kept  
away for days2 then it would suddenly   
appear4 ,one day it was found in ,mrs   
,macdonald's lap2 once it was quietly   
laid on the doctor's head1 and so forth4

 ,on one occasion when the key was not  
given up the doctor called out3 ,won't  
you send us down the key before we go8  
,they were passing down the stairs and1 
before they reached the bottom1 the key 
was gently dropped on the doctor's head4
 ,the most careful observations failed  
to discover the known means by which the
 feats could be accomplished4 ,the      
evidence of the intelligence and of the 
mischievous disposition of these uncanny
 tricksters was borne out by sounds of  
dancing being heard outside the door    
just afterwards4  ,the possible         
non-ghostly explanations1 says ,mrs     
,sidgwick1 of what pass as ghostly      
phenomena may be conveniently classed   
with reference to the various sorts of  
error by which the evidence to such     
phenomena is liable to be affected4 ,i  
should state these as 7#a7 hoaxing1 7#b7
 exaggeration or inadequate description1
 7#c7 illusion1 7#d7 mistaken identity1 
7#e7 hallucination4444 ,i think1        
however1 that anyone who has read the   

evidence will at once discard the first 
of these alternatives so far as the     
great mass of the first-hand narratives 
is concerned4  ,there are not a few     
cases1 however1 where the ghostly       
manifestations have been found to be due
 to human agency4 ,the following        
instance was brought to my notice by a  
well-known firm of estate agents at     
,tunbridge ,wells3--       ,there is an 
old ,manor ,house in this district which
 is locally      known as the ',haunted 
,house4' ,the original mansion was1     
according to ,hasted1 one of the homes  
of the ,colepepers4 ,in      the reign  
of ,charles ,,ii4 the mansion was       
rebuilt in the style      of the period4
 ,it has1 however1 outlived its purpose1
 is out of      repair and was for many 
years let in tenements to labourers4 ,it
      is now untenanted4 ,some few      
months ago the lurid tales of           
ghostly visitors induced a local        
spiritualist1 encouraged by      some   
mischievous friends1 to hold a seance in

 the house at      midnight1 and to     
perambulate the rambling building from  
time to      time during the night4 ,the
 spirits lived up to their reputation   
and gave all kinds of manifestations    
which included streams of      water    
from invisible buckets that met the     
investigator as he      groped up the   
staircase and along the passages4 ,in   
the end the      whole thing was found  
to be a hoax and to have been organised 
by the spiritualist's friends4 ,he is   
not communicative on the      subject4  
,the old house still stands empty and   
deserves a better      fate4  ,the      
classic case of haunting in ,england is1
 perhaps1 that of ,willingdon ,mill4    
,other spectre-ridden edifices in the   
kingdom there may well be1 but their    
stories1 however grim and ghastly1 are  
apt to relapse into insignificance      
beside those narrated of this famous    
,tyneside building4  ,willingdon ,mill1 
which is situated in ,northumberland    
nearly half-way between ,newcastle and  

,north ,shields1 was built about the    
year #ahjj4 ,when1 thirty-four years    
later1 certain unaccountable noises and 
other phenomena began to attract        
attention the occupants consisted of a  
worthy ,quaker1 ,joseph ,proctor by     
name1 his wife1 servants and family4    
,joseph ,proctor used to keep a diary   
wherein he chronicled the strange       
happenings in his house4 ,the greater   
portion of this was published in ,the   
,journal of the ,society for ,psychical 
,research1 vol4 v41 but full accounts of
 the affair have appeared in many       
publications1 among which may be        
mentioned ,howitt's ,visits to          
,remarkable ,places1 ,crowe's ,night    
,side of ,nature1 ,the ,local           
,historian's ,table ,book1 and ,stead's 
,real ,ghost ,stories4  ,it was a       
servant girl that first called attention
 to the mysterious noises4 ,she         
positively affirmed that she had heard a
 dull heavy tread on the boarded floor  
of the room unoccupied above1 commonly  

pacing backwards and forwards and1 on   
coming over to the window1 giving the   
floor such a shake as to cause the      
windows of the nursery to rattle        
violently in their frames4 ,this        
disturbance usually lasted about ten    
minutes at a time4 ,at first the girl's 
tale was discredited1 but before many   
days had elapsed every member of the    
family had heard precisely what the girl
 described4 ,the room was vigorously    
searched but no clue to the phantom     
footsteps was forthcoming4 ,even the    
expedient of covering the floor with    
flour was without result2 the dull1     
heavy tread left no traces upon the     
whitened boards4  ,it was not long      
before other unaccountable noises were  
heard all over the house and ghostly    
figures were seen by several persons4   
,to illustrate the kind of occurrence   
that was constantly going on in the     
house1 and which1 indeed1 became so     
frequent that they were thought very    
little of1 ,i quote the following       

extracts from ,joseph ,proctor's        
diary3--       #g mo41 #adth1           
#ahda3--;,j4 and ,e4 ,p4 heard the      
spirit in their own      room1 and in   
the room overhead1 making a noise as of 
something      heavy being hoisted or   
rolled1 or like a barrel set down on its
      end2 also noises in the ,camproom 
of various and unaccountable            
character4              99       99     
99       99       99       #h mo41      
#crd4--,since the last night there have 
been few nights      during which some  
branch of the family has not heard our  
visitor4 ,one night1 ,j4 ,p4 was awoke  
and heard something hastily      walk1  
with a step like that of a child of #h  
or #aj years1 from      the foot of the 
bed towards the side of the room1 and   
come back      seemingly towards the    
door1 in a run2 then it gave two stamps 
with one foot2 there was a loud rustling
 as if of a frock or      night-dress4  
,i need scarcely say the door was       
locked1 and ,i am      quite certain    

there was no other human being in the   
room save      ,e4 ,p41 who was asleep4 
,the two stamps aroused ,e4 ,p4 out of  
her      sleep4 ,about this time        
,joseph1 on two or three occasions1 said
      he had heard voices from          
underneath his bed and from other       
parts of the room1 and described seeing 
on one occasion a boy      in a drab hat
 much like his own1 the boy much like   
himself too1      walking backwards and 
forwards between the windows and the    
wardrobe4 ,he was afraid1 but did not   
speak4       ,noises as of a band-box   
falling close at hand1 as of someone    
running upstairs when no one was there1 
and like the raking of      a coal rake1
 were heard about this time by different
 members of      the family4            
99       99       99       99       99  
#h mo41 #fth4--,on the night of the     
third1 just after the      previous     
memorandum was written1 about #aj4cj    
,p4,m41 the servants      having all    
retired to bed1 ,j4 and ,e4 ,p4 heard a 

noise like a      clothes horse being   
thrown down in the kitchen4 ,soon the   
noises      became louder and appeared  
as though some persons had burst        
into the house on the ground floor and  
were clashing the doors      and        
throwing things down4 ,eventually ,j4   
,p4 got one of the      servants to go  
downstairs with him1 when all was found 
right1      no one there1 and apparently
 nothing moved4 ,the noises now         
began on the third storey1 and the      
servants were so much      alarmed that 
it was difficult to get them to go to   
bed at all      that night4             
99       99       99       99       99  
#h mo41 #fth to #abth4--,my             
brother-in-law1 ,george ,carr1 was with 
us4 ,he heard steppings and loud        
rumblings in the middle of the          
night1 and other noises4  ,a curious    
feature in this case was the number of  
apparitions seen4 ,thus we have clear   
testimony of the presence of a lady in a
 lavender silk dress1 of an old         

bald-headed man in a flowing robe like a
 surplice1 of a lady in grey1 and of a  
horrid eyeless spectre who glared       
fixedly at the world through empty      
eyeholes4 ,added to these there were    
animals of all sorts and descriptions1  
cats1 monkeys1 rabbits and sheep4       
,on one occasion1 during the period that
 ,thomas was courting      ,mary1 he was
 standing at the window outside 7no     
followers being      allowed inside1    
lest fabulous reports were sent abroad74
 ,he had      given the usual signal4   
,the night was clear1 and the stars     
beamed forth their light from a         
cloudless sky4 ,suddenly      something 
appeared which arrested my father's     
attention4      ,looking towards the    
mill1 which was divided from the house  
by      an open space1 he beheld what he
 supposed was a whitish cat4 ,it        
came walking along in close proximity to
 his feet4 ,thinking      ,miss ,puss   
very cheeky he gave her a kick2 but his 
foot felt      nothing and the cat      

quietly continued its march1 followed by
 my      father1 until it suddenly      
disappeared from his gaze4 ,still the   
ghost was not thought of by him4        
,returning to the window and            
looking in the same direction1 he again 
beheld it suddenly come      into       
existence4 ,this time it came hopping   
like a rabbit1 coming      quite as     
close to his feet as before4 ,he        
determined to have a      good rap at   
it1 and took deliberate aim2 but1 as    
before1 his      foot went through it   
and felt nothing4 ,again he followed it1
      and it disappeared at the same    
spot as its predecessor4 ,the      third
 time he went to the window1 and in a   
few moments it made      its third      
appearance1 not like unto a cat or a    
rabbit1 but      fully as large as a    
sheep1 and quite luminous4 ,on it came  
and      my father was fixed to the     
spot4 ,all muscular power seemed for    
the moment paralysed4 ,it moved on1     
disappearing at the same      spot as   

the preceding apparitions4 ,my father   
declared that if      it was possible   
for 'hair to stand on end' his did just 
then4      ,thinking that for once he   
had seen sufficient1 he went home1      
keeping the knowledge of this scene to  
himself4  ,it is not to be wondered at  
if the queer doings at ,willingdon ,mill
 began to be rumoured abroad4 ,they     
reached the ears of a certain ,dr       
,edward ,drury of ,sunderland1 who was1 
not unnaturally1 rather sceptical4 ,he  
asked and obtained permission to sit up 
alone in the house one night accompanied
 only by his faithful dog and with a    
pair of pistols in his pocket4 ,his     
opportunity came in ,july1 #ahdj1 when  
all the family1 with the exception of   
,joseph ,proctor himself1 was away from 
the mill4 ,the night was fruitful with  
horror1 and the following letter        
addressed to the miller nearly a week   
after the event tells its own tale3--   
,monday ,morning1       #fth ,july1     
#ahdj4       ,to ,,mr ,,proctor4        

,,dear ,,sir1--,i am sorry ,i was not at
 home to receive you      yesterday1    
when you kindly called to inquire for   
me4 ,i am happy      to state that ,i am
 really surprised that ,i have been so  
little      affected as ,i am after that
 horrid and most awful affair4 ,the     
only bad effect ,i feel is a heavy      
dulness in one of my      ears--the     
right one4 ,i call it a heavy dullness1 
because ,i not      only do not hear    
distinctly but feel in it a constant    
noise4      ,this ,i never was affected 
with before2 but ,i doubt not it will   
go off4 ,i am persuaded that no one went
 to your house at any      time more    
disbelieving in respect to seeing       
anything      peculiar2 now no one can  
be more satisfied than myself4 ,i       
will1 in the course of a few days1 send 
you a full detail of      all ,i saw and
 heard4 ,mr ,spence and two other       
gentlemen came      down to my house in 
the afternoon to hear my detail2 but1   
sir1      could ,i account for these    

noises from natural causes1 yet1 so     
firmly am ,i persuaded of the horrid    
apparition1 that ,i would      affirm   
that what ,i saw with my eyes was a     
punishment to me for      my scoffing   
and unbelief2 that ,i am assured that1  
as far as the      horror is concerned1 
they are happy that believe and have not
      seen 444 it will be a great source
 of joy to me if you never      allow   
your young family to be in that horrid  
house again4      ,hoping you will write
 a few lines at your leisure1 ,i remain1
      dear sir1 yours very truly1       
,,edward ,,drury4  ,to this letter the  
sturdy ,quaker sent a characteristic    
reply4       ,willingdon1       #gth    
mo41 #i1 #ahdj4       ,respected        
,friend1 ,e4 ,,drury1--,have been at    
,sunderland1 ,i did      not receive    
thine of the #fth till yesterday        
morning4 ,i am glad      to hear thou   
art getting well over the effects of thy
      unlooked-for visitation4 ,i hold  
in respect thy bold and manly           

assertion of the truth in the face of   
that ridicule and      ignorant conceit 
with which that which is called the     
supernatural1 in the present day1 is    
usually assailed4       ,i shall be glad
 to receive thy detail1 in which it will
 be      needful to be very particular  
in showing that thou couldst not      be
 asleep1 or attacked by nightmare1 or   
mistake a reflection of      the candle1
 as some sagaciously suppose4 ,i remain1
      respectfully1 thy friend1         
,,josh4 ,,proctor4       ,p4,s4--,i have
 about thirty witnesses to various      
things which      cannot be             
satisfactorily accounted for on any     
other principle      than that of       
spiritual agency4   ,four days later ,dr
 ,drury wrote out a full account of his 
experience4       ,sunderland1          
#acth ,july #ahdj4       ,,dear         
,,sir1--,i hereby1 according to promise 
in my last letter1      forward you a   
true account of what ,i saw and heard at
 your      house1 in which ,i was led to

 pass the night from various            
rumours circulated by most respectable  
parties1 particularly      from an      
account by my esteemed friend1 ,mr      
,davison1 whose name ,i      mentioned  
to you in a former letter4 ,having      
received your      sanction to visit    
your mysterious dwelling1 ,i went1 on   
the #crd      of ,july1 accompanied by a
 friend of mine1 ,t4 ,hudson4 ,this was 
not according to promise1 nor in        
accordance with my first      intent1 as
 ,i wrote you ,i would come alone2 but  
,i felt gratified      at your kindness 
in not alluding to the liberty ,i had   
taken1 as      it ultimately proved for 
the best4 ,i must here mention that1    
not expecting you at home1 ,i had in my 
pocket a brace of      pistols1         
determining in my mind to let one of    
them drop before      the miller1 as if 
by accident1 for fear he should presume 
to      play tricks upon me2 but after  
my interview with you1 ,i felt          
there was no occasion for weapons1 and  

did not load them1 after      you had   
allowed us to inspect as minutely as we 
pleased every      portion of the house4
 ,i sat down on the third storey        
landing1      fully expecting to account
 for any noises that ,i might hear1 in  
a philosophical manner4 ,this was about 
eleven o'clock ,p4,m4      ,about ten   
minutes to twelve we both heard a noise1
 as if a      number of people were     
pattering with their bare feet upon the 
floor2 and yet1 so singular was the     
noise1 that ,i could not      minutely  
determine from whence it proceeded4 ,a  
few minutes      afterwards we heard a  
noise1 as if someone was knocking with  
his knuckles among our feet2 this was   
followed by a hollow      cough from the
 very room from which the apparition    
proceeded4      ,the only noise after   
this1 was as if a person was rustling   
against the wall in coming upstairs4 ,at
 a quarter to one ,i told      my friend
 that1 feeling a little cold1 ,i would  
like to go to      bed1 as we might hear

 the noise equally well there2 he       
replied      he would not go to bed till
 daylight4 ,i took up a note which ,i   
had accidentally dropped and began to   
read it1 after which ,i      took out my
 watch to ascertain the time1 and found 
that it      wanted ten minutes to one4 
,in taking my eyes from the watch       
they became riveted upon a closet door1 
which ,i distinctly saw      open1 and  
saw also the figure of a female attired 
in greyish      garments1 with the head 
inclining downwards1 and one hand       
pressed upon the chest as if in pain1   
and the other--viz4 the      right      
hand--extended towards the floor1 with  
the index finger      pointing downward4
 ,it advanced with an apparently        
cautious      step across the floor     
towards me2 immediately as it approached
      my friend1 who was slumbering1 its
 right hand was extended      towards   
him2 ,i then rushed at it1 giving1 as   
,mr ,proctor states1      a most awful  
yell2 but instead of grasping it ,i fell

 upon my      friend1 and ,i recollected
 nothing distinctly for nearly three    
hours afterwards4 ,i have since learned 
that ,i was carried      downstairs in  
an agony of fear and terror4            
99       99       99       99       99  
,i hereby certify that the above account
 is strictly true and      correct in   
every respect4       ,,edward ,,drury4  
,so intolerable became life in this     
uncanny house that1 in #ahdg1 ,joseph   
,proctor and his family moved to ,south 
,shields4 ,for the last night of their  
residence was reserved a more than      
usually turbulent demonstration4 ,there 
were1 says ,mr ,edmund ,proctor1        
continuous noises during the night1     
boxes being apparently dragged with     
heavy thuds down the now carpetless     
stairs1 non-human footsteps stumped on  
the floors1 doors were1 or seemed to be1
 clashed1 and impossible furniture      
corded at random or dragged hither and  
thither by inscrutable agency2 in short1
 a pantomimic or spiritualistic         

repetition of all the noises incident to
 a household flitting4 ,a miserable     
night my father and mother had of it1 as
 ,i have often heard from their own     
lips2 not so much from terror at the    
unearthly noises1 for to these they were
 habituated1 as dread lest this wretched
 fanfaronade might portend the          
contemporary flight of the unwelcome    
visitors to the new abode4 ,fortunately 
for the family this dread was not       
realised4  ,after undergoing various    
vicissitudes1 the house was finally     
divided into small tenements1 in which  
condition it still remains4 ,but of late
 years nothing has been seen or heard of
 the ghostly visitors4 ,perhaps1 smitten
 with dismay by the deterioration of    
their former dwelling-place1 they have  
taken up their abode elsewhere4 ,for    
,willingdon ,mill1 formerly gay with    
flowers and creepers1 is now a wreck of 
its former self4 ,the mill is used as a 
warehouse2 the stables and outhouses    
have been pulled down2 while the house  

stands out gaunt and forbidding1 a      
picture of desolation and decay4  ,mr   
,w4 ,t4 ,stead1 in his ,real ,ghost     
,stories1 has given us many thrilling   
examples of nocturnal apparitions1 and  
of these the uncanny experience of the  
,rev4 ,h4 ,elwyn ,thomas1 of #ce ,park  
,village ,east1 ,n4 ,w41 is well worth  
repeating4  ,mr ,thomas1 after having   
conducted a service at the church at    
,llangynidr1 accompanied three young    
friends of his for about half-a-mile on 
their homeward way4       ,when ,i      
wished good-night to my friends1 it was 
about twenty      minutes to nine1 but  
still light enough to see a good        
distance4      ,the subject of our      
conversation all the way from the chapel
      until we parted was a certain     
eccentric old character who then        
belonged to the ,crickhowell church4    
,many laughable incidents in      his   
life had been related by my friends for 
my amusement1 at      which ,i laughed  
heartily again and again4 ,i walked a   

little      farther down the road than  
,i intended1 in order to hear the end   
of a very amusing story about him and   
the vicar of a      neighbouring parish4
 ,our conversation had no reference     
whatever      to ghosts or ghostly      
things4 ,neither were we in the mood    
befitting a ghostly visitation4         
,personally ,i was a strong             
disbeliever in ghosts1 and invariably   
ridiculed those who ,i      then thought
 superstitious enough to believe in     
them4       ,when ,i had walked about a 
hundred yards away from my friends ,i   
saw on the bank of the canal 7which runs
 parallel with the road      for six or 
seven miles7 what ,i thought at the     
moment was an old      beggar4 ,the spot
 was a very lonely one4 ,the nearest    
house was a      good quarter of a mile 
away4 ,the night was as silent as death4
      ,not a single sound broke upon the
 silence from any quarter4 ,i      could
 not help asking myself where this old  
man had come from      to such a place4 

,i had not seen him in going down the   
road4       ,i then turned round quite  
unconcernedly to have another look      
at him1 and had no sooner done so than  
,i saw within half-a-yard      of me one
 of the most remarkable and startling   
sights ,i hope      it will ever be my  
lot to see4 ,almost on a level with my  
own      face ,i saw that of an old man1
 over every feature of which the        
putty-coloured skin was drawn tightly1  
except the forehead      which was lined
 with deep wrinkles4 ,the lips were     
extremely      thin1 and appeared       
perfectly bloodless4 ,the toothless     
mouth      stood half open4 ,the cheeks 
were hollow and sunken like those       
of a corpse1 and the eyes1 which seemed 
far back in the middle      of the head1
 were unnaturally luminous and piercing4
 ,this      terrible object was wrapped 
in two bands of old yellow calico1      
one of which was drawn under the chin   
and over the cheeks and      tied at the
 top of the head1 the other was drawn   

round the top      of the wrinkled      
forehead and fastened at the back of the
 head4      ,so deep and indelible an   
impression it made on my mind1 that     
were ,i an artist ,i could paint that   
face to-day1 and reproduce      the     
original 7excepting1 perhaps1 the       
luminous eyes7 as      accurately as if 
it were photographed4       ,what ,i    
have thus tried to describe in many     
words1 ,i saw at a      glance4 ,acting 
on the impulse of the moment1 ,i turned 
my face      again towards the village1 
and ran away from the horrible          
vision with all my might for about sixty
 yards4 ,i then stopped      and turned 
round to see how far ,i had outdistanced
 it1 and1 to      my unspeakable horror1
 there it was still face to face with   
me1      as if ,i had not moved an inch4
 ,i grasped my umbrella and raised      
it to strike him1 and you can imagine my
 feelings when ,i could      see nothing
 between the face and the ground except 
an irregular      column of intense     

darkness1 through which my umbrella went
 as a      stick goes through water6    
,i am sorry to confess that ,i again    
took to my heels with      increasing   
speed4 ,a little farther than the place 
of this      second encounter1 the road 
which led towards my host's house       
branched off the main road1 the main    
road itself running right      through  
the centre of the village1 in the lower 
end of which it      ran parallel with  
the churchyard wall4 ,having gone a few 
yards      down the branch road1 ,i     
reached a crisis in my fear and         
confusion when ,i felt ,i could act     
rationally3 ,i determined to      speak 
to the strange pursuer whatever he was1 
and ,i boldly      turned round to face 
him for the third time1 intending to ask
      him what he wanted1 etc41         
,he had not followed me after ,i left   
the main road1 but ,i could      see the
 horribly fascinating face quite as     
plainly as when it      was close by4   
,it stood for two or three minutes      

looking      intently at me from the    
centre of the main road4 ,i then        
realised fully it was not a human being 
in flesh and blood2 and      with every 
vestige of fear gone ,i quickly walked  
towards it to      put my questions4    
,but ,i was disappointed1 for no sooner 
had ,i      made towards it than it     
moved quickly in the direction of the   
village4 ,i saw it moving along1 keeping
 the same distance from      the ground1
 until it reached the churchyard wall2  
it then      crossed the wall1 and      
disappeared near where the yew-tree     
stood      inside4 ,the moment it       
disappeared ,i became unconscious4 ,when
 ,i      came to myself1 two hours      
later1 ,i was lying in the middle of    
the road1 cold and ill4 ,it took me     
quite an hour to reach my      host's   
house1 which was less than half-a-mile  
away1 and when ,i      reached it ,i    
looked so white and strange that my     
host's      daughter1 who had sat down  
with her father to wait my return1      

uttered a loud scream4 ,i could not say 
a word to explain what      had         
happened1 though ,i tried hard several  
times4 ,it was five      o'clock in the 
morning when ,i regained my power of    
speech2 even      then ,i could only    
speak in broken sentences4 ,the whole of
 the      following week ,i was laid up 
with great nervous prostration4         
,the strangest part of my story remains 
yet to be told4 ,my      host1 after    
questioning me closely in regard to the 
features of      the face1 the place ,i 
had first seen it and the spot where it 
disappeared1 told me that fifteen years 
before that time an old      recluse1   
answering in every detail to my         
description 7calicoes1      bands and   
all71 lived in a house whose ruins still
 stand close      by where ,i first saw 
it1 that he was buried in the exact spot
      in the churchyard where ,i saw the
 face disappearing1 and that      he was
 a very strange character altogether4   
,i should like to add that ,i had not   

heard a syllable about      this old man
 before the night in question1 and that 
all the      persons referred to in the 
above story are still alive4  ,here is a
 curious story which recently attracted 
my attention in ,light4 ,the narrator is
 a ,colonel ,x4       ,when ,i was a    
young chap ,i was on guard at the       
,tower4 ,one night      the sentry came 
to tell me that there was something very
      extraordinary going on in the     
,white ,chapel1 which1 in those         
days1 was used as a storeroom4       ,i 
went out with him1 and we saw the       
windows lit up4 ,we climbed      up and 
looked in1 and saw a chapter with an    
altar brilliantly      lit up1 and      
presently priests in vestments and boys 
swinging      silver censers came in and
 arranged themselves before an altar4   
,then the large entrance doors opened   
and a procession of      persons in old 
quaint costumes filed in4 ,walking alone
 was a      lady in black1 and behind   
her was a masked man1 also in black1    

who carried an axe4 ,while we looked it 
all faded away1 and      there was utter
 darkness4       ,of course1 ,i talked  
about this vision everywhere and got so 
laughed at that ,i resolved to keep it  
to myself4 ,one day a      gentleman    
introduced himself as the keeper of the 
records of      the ,tower1 and said    
that he had heard my story1 but wished  
to      hear it again from my own lips2 
and when ,i had told it he              
remarked3 ',strange to say1 that very   
same vision has been seen      by       
someone every thirty years since ,anne  
,boleyn's death4'  ,it not infrequently 
happens that houses reputed to be       
haunted figure in a court of law4 ,the  
late ,dr ,frederick ,lee1 in ,sights and
 ,shadows1 gives an account of such a   
case which occurred in ,ireland in the  
year #ahij4       ,a house on the marsh 
at ,drogheda had been let by its owner1 
,miss ,weir1 to a ,mr and ,mrs ,kinney1 
at an annual rental of ,l#bc4       ,the
 last-named persons took possession of  

it in due course2      but two days     
subsequently they became aware of the   
presence of      a spirit or ghost in   
their sleeping chamber1 which1 as ,mrs  
,kinney asserted1 'threw heavy things at
 her1' and so alarmed      and          
inconvenienced her1 that in a very short
 period both      husband and wife were 
forced to quit their abode4       ,this 
they did shortly after they had taken   
possession of it2      and1 because of  
occurrences referred to1 were legally   
advised      to decline to pay any rent4
 ,the landlady1 however1 refusing to    
release them from their bargain1 at once
 claimed a quarter's      rent2 and when
 this remained for sometime unpaid1 sued
 them for      it before ,judge ,kisby4 
,a solicitor1 ,mr ,smith1 of ,drogheda1 
appeared for the tenants1      who1     
having given evidence of the facts      
concerning the ghost in      question1  
asked leave to support their sworn      
testimony by that      of several other 
people4 ,this1 however1 was disallowed  

by the      judge4       ,it was        
admitted by ,miss ,weir that nothing    
either on one side      or the other had
 been said regarding the haunting when  
the      house was let2 yet that the    
rent was due and must be paid4       ,a 
judgment was consequently entered for   
the landlady although      it had been  
shown indirectly that unquestionably the
 house had      the reputation of being 
haunted1 and that previous tenants had  
been much inconvenienced and affrighted4
  ,another case is chronicled which took
 place in ,dublin in #ahhe4 ,dr ,lee's  
account is confirmed by ,the ,evening   
,standard of ,february #bcrd of that    
year4       ,mr ,waldron1 a solicitor1  
sued his next-door neighbour1 one       
,kiernan1 a mate in the merchant        
service1 to recover ,l#ejj for          
damages done to his house4 ,kiernan     
altogether denied the      charges1 but 
asserted that ,waldron's residence was  
notoriously      haunted4 ,witnesses    
proved that every night from ,august    

#ahhd1 to      ,january #ahhe1 stones   
were thrown at the windows and doors and
      other serious damage done--in fact
 that numerous extraordinary      and   
inexplicable occurrences constantly took
 place4       ,mrs ,waldron1 wife of the
 plaintiff1 swore that one night she    
saw one of the panes of glass of a      
certain window cut through      with a  
diamond1 and a white hand inserted      
through the hole4 ,she      at once     
caught up a bill-hook and aimed a blow  
at the hand1      cutting off one of the
 fingers4 ,neither this finger1 however1
      could be found nor were any traces
 of blood seen4       ,a servant of hers
 was sorely persecuted by noises and the
      sound of footsteps4 ,mr ,waldron1 
with the aid of detectives and          
policemen1 endeavoured to find the      
cause1 but with no avail4      ,the     
witnesses in this case were closely     
cross-examined1 but      without shaking
 their testimony4 ,the facts appeared to
 be      proved1 so the jury found for  

,kiernan1 the defendant4 ,at least      
twenty persons had testified on oath to 
the fact that the house      had been   
known to have been haunted4  ,the       
possible agency of small boys in the    
matter of stone-throwing is apparently  
overlooked1 while it can be easily      
imagined that a servant girl1 well aware
 of the uncanny reputation of the house 
she lived in1 would very soon develop a 
capacity for hearing mysterious sounds  
and footsteps on the smallest           
provocation4 ,then again the testimony  
of the plaintiff's wife was surely very 
damaging to her own case since she was1 
presumably1 endeavouring to prove that  
the whole of the extraordinary and      
inexplicable occurrences were due to    
some mad freak on the part of her       
neighbour4  ,on the whole ,i can find no
 class of occult phenomena of greater   
antiquity and persistence than that of  
haunting4 ,even though the ghost may not
 be as visible as that of ,hamlet's     
father1 yet the idea of a perturbed     

spirit revisiting its former haunts or  
the scene of its bodily murder finds    
credence amongst all peoples and epochs 
in the world's history4 ,fable is       
usually the dulled image of the truth3  
just as what we call presentiment or    
rumour is a kind of aura or van-wind of 
truth4 ,on these grounds alone ,i should
 be inclined to take the legendary      
evidence for haunting seriously1 just as
 every man who investigates its         
astonishing history now perceives that  
witchcraft is not to be dismissed as a  
mere groundless superstition4 ,indeed1  
,i lay it down as a proposition that any
 belief which spontaneously and         
universally arises and persistently     
survives must have truth in the web of  
it4 ,but the modern authentic testimony 
for haunting is so clear and strong and 
the attestors so clear-headed and indeed
 inexpugnable that we must really       
believe the physical sounds1 with their 
revealed significance1 actually occurred
 and do occur4 ,hallucination ,i put    

here out of the question4 ,neither will 
the theory of telepathy between the     
living serve to account for anything    
here4  ,there is some other solution of 
the mystery4 ,has it been propounded8   
,we shall see4 ,cock ,lane is not now to
 be dismissed derisively4 ,nor are these
 manifestations to be treated in the    
spirit of one of the characters in ,mr  
,wells' ,love and ,mr ,lewisham--,even  
if it be true--it is all wrong4         
,,chapter ,,viii  ,,the ,,dowsing ,,or  
,,divining ,,rod   ,no serious inquirer 
into the mysteries of occultism should  
neglect to study the peculiar human     
faculty locally known as ,dowsing4      
,science has hitherto turned a cold     
shoulder to the skilled wielders of the 
divining rod1 and at first sight perhaps
 few subjects appear to be so little    
worthy of investigation4 ,to begin with 
it is a matter of common geological     
knowledge that the mode of distribution 
of underground water is very different  
from that imagined by the professional  

dowser4 ,the latter will locate a spring
 in a certain spot and give you         
scrupulous details as to its depth and  
the amount of water it will yield4 ,he  
may go on to tell you that a few feet   
distant is another spring1 of a totally 
different depth1 and that between the   
two no water will be found4 ,the        
assertions are ridiculed by the         
practical geologist1 whose point of view
 is admirably expressed in the following
 letter4 ,the writer is the ,rev4       
,osmond ,fisher1 ,m4,a4 7author of      
,physics of the ,earth's ,crust74       
,harlton ,rectory1 ,cambridge1          
,february #dth1 #ahif4       ,it appears
 to me that the assumption which        
underlies the      belief in the        
divining rod is erroneous4 ,it is only  
under      exceptional circumstances1 as
 among crystalline rocks1 or where      
the strata are much disturbed1 that     
underground water runs in      channels 
like water in a pipe1 so that a person  
can say1 ',i am      now standing over a

 spring1' whereas a few paces off he was
 not      over one4 ,what is called a   
spring1 such as is reached in a         
well1 is usually a widely extended      
water-saturated stratum4                
,ordinarily where water can be reached  
by a well1 there are few      spots in  
the neighbourhood where a well would not
 find it4       ,the question which is  
really worthy of investigation in this  
and similar cases seems to be how such  
an idea ever originated      and to what
 it owes its vitality4  ,from the       
geologist's point of view1 then1 the    
so-called diviner is the merest         
charlatan1 who1 so far as the finding of
 water or mineral veins is concerned1   
would be equally successful were he to  
substitute the dice-box or the coin for 
his more usual implement the hazel wand4
 ,it is1 he argues1 a matter of         
guessing--and nothing more4 ,the        
question becomes complicated when we    
remember that among the ardent devotees 
of the rod are to be numbered country   

squires1 ,m4,p4's1 doctors1 clergymen1  
and farmers1 who would have nothing to  
gain by pretending to a power which they
 did not possess4  ,the ,society for    
,psychical ,research has devoted a      
considerable amount of attention to the 
subject4 ,so far back as #ahhd a paper  
on ,the ,divining ,rod1 prepared by ,mr 
,e4 ,r4 ,pease1 was read at a general   
meeting of the ,society4 ,the following 
is an abstract3--       ,the ,divining  
,rod is a ,v-shaped twig1 commonly of   
hazelwood1      but sometimes of steel  
watchspring1 whalebone and other        
substances4 ,it first came into use     
about three centuries ago1      and     
during the seventeenth century it was   
the subject of much      controversy and
 of numerous experiments by the learned 
men of      the time4 ,many theories    
were proposed to explain its action1    
but none of them would now be regarded  
as plausible1 and      various test     
experiments which were made uniformly   
failed4 ,in      #agja1 the ,inquisition

 condemned the use of the rod1 and after
      this date the popularity of       
divining greatly diminished4 ,in the    
seventeenth century it was used to      
discover murderers and      thieves1    
buried treasures1 lost boundaries1 and  
other hidden      objects1 as well as   
metals and water springs4 ,at present it
      appears to be chiefly used in the 
,west of ,england for the      discovery
 of water springs1 and in ,america for  
oil wells and      mines4 ,mr ,e4       
,vaughan ,jenkins1 of ,cheltenham1 has  
made and      presented to the ,society 
for ,psychical ,research a very valuable
      collection of evidence of its use 
in ,england for locating      wells4 ,he
 has communicated with various          
well-known 'diviners1'      and has     
received direct from landowners1        
architects1 builders1      commercial   
firms and others1 careful records of the
 successful      choosing of well sites 
by diviners in places where professional
      geologists or local experts were  

hopeless of success4 ,it seems      also
 that diviners travel about the country 
and 'dowse' in      localities new and  
strange to them4444 ,the divining rod is
      always held in a position of      
extreme tension1 and at the same        
time of unstable equilibrium4 ,slight   
muscular contractions      produce      
violent and startling effects4 ,it would
 seem therefore      that the action of 
the rod may be caused by unconscious    
movements of the diviner's hands1 due   
possibly to a sensation      of chill on
 reaching water-bearing spots1 or       
perhaps merely to      an unwritten     
practical science of the surface signs  
of hidden      water4  ,mr ,pease       
eventually came to the conclusion that  
the evidence for the success of dowsing 
as a practical art is very strong--and  
there seems to be an unexplained        
residuum when all possible deductions   
have been made4 ,fifty years ago ,dr    
,mayo1 ,f4,r4,s41 came to a similar     
conclusion after exhaustive experiments 

with the divining rod1 both in ,england 
and abroad1 and in #ahhc1 ,dr ,r4       
,raymond1 the distinguished secretary of
 the ,american ,institute of ,mining    
,engineers1 summed up the result of his 
investigations in the following         
opinion3--,that there is a residuum of  
scientific value1 after making all      
necessary deductions for exaggeration1  
self-deception and fraud in the use of  
the divining rod for finding springs and
 deposits of ore4  ,in #ahib1 ,professor
 ,w4 ,f4 ,barrett1 yielding to the      
earnest request of the ,council of the  
,society for ,psychical ,research1 began
 an investigation of the matter4 ,it was
 with considerable reluctance that      
,professor ,barrett undertook the work1 
since1 as he has told us1 his own       
prejudice against the subject was not   
less than that of others4 ,he hoped1    
however1 that a few weeks' work would   
enable him to relegate it      ,into a  
limbo large and broad1 since called     
,the ,paradise of fools4  ,six years    

later ,professor ,barrett presented to  
the ,society a voluminous report1 which 
occupies a considerable part of two     
volumes of the ,proceedings4 ,embodied  
in this ,report1 which is a veritable   
masterpiece of patient and indefatigable
 research1 is a mass of evidence so vast
 that it is only possible to pick out a 
case here and there at random4  ,the    
following case was sent by ,miss        
,grantham3--       #ajj ,eaton ,square1 
,london1 ,s4,w41       ,february #ast1  
#ahic4       ,my father 7,judge         
,grantham7 was going to dig a well on   
one of      his farms4 ,the ,rev4 ,j4   
,blunt was then residing in our parish1 
and as he had previously told us he was 
able to discover the      presence of   
water underground by means of a twig1 we
 asked him      to go with us one day to
 see if he could find water4 ,mr ,b4    
began by cutting a twig out of the      
hedge1 of hazel or      blackthorn1     
,v-shaped1 each side about eight inches 
long1 then      taking hold of one end  

in each hand between the thumb and first
      finger1 and pointing the angle to 
the ground1 he walked about      the    
field in which my father proposed       
digging a well1 and at      two spots   
the point of the twig turned right up1  
exactly      reversing its previous     
position2 in fact so strong was its     
impulse to point upwards1 that we found 
that unless ,mr ,b4      relaxed his    
hold the twig broke off near his        
fingers4 ,we put      small sticks in   
these spots1 and then took a boy about  
twelve      years old who was in ,mr    
,b4's employment1 and who had since     
quite a child shown that he possessed   
this power1 over the same      ground2  
he had not seen the spots at which ,mr  
,b4's twig found      water1 neither did
 we point them out to him1 but at these 
places his twig behaved in the same way 
as ,mr ,b4's4 ,my father1      mother1  
and four or five others1 then cut       
similar twigs out of      the hedge1 but
 with none of us would they divine      

water4 ,my      father then took ,mr ,b4
 over some ground where he knew of the  
existence of an underground stream2 he  
did not tell ,mr ,b4 this1      but     
directly ,mr ,b4 passed over the places 
the twig again turned      upwards as it
 had done before4 ,a well has since been
 dug at one      of the spots in the    
first field where the twig indicated    
water1      and it was found at the     
depth of fifteen feet4 ,mr ,b4 and the  
boy both said that they did not feel any
 abnormal influence      whatever when  
the twig divined water4       ,,emma ,l4
 ,,grantham4  ,another case 7from       
,somersetshire7 is quoted from in ,the  
,western ,gazette of #ajth ,february    
#ahic4 ,evercreech is at the foot of the
 ,mendips4       ,a well has recently   
been sunk on the premises of ,messrs ,w4
      ,roles  ,son1 of ,evercreech      
,junction1 on the site of the           
proposed milk factory4 ,mr ,henry       
,smart1 head gardener at ,pennard       
,house1 was successful with the divining

 twig 7or rod71 and a      well was sunk
 to a depth of #fj feet1 when a spring  
was found      which yielded no less    
than #ae1jjj gallons of water in ten    
hours4 ,water came at such a rate that a
 powerful pump had to be      erected   
temporarily by ,messrs ,hill  ,son1 of  
,bruton1 and was      kept working day  
and night in order to keep the water    
down for      the purpose of walling    
7the well74 ,at the present time there  
is      #ej feet of water in the well1  
the supply increasing daily4  ,professor
 ,barrett wrote to ,messrs ,roles to    
know if a well had been sunk previously1
 and if the above statement was correct4
 ,they reply that the account is quite  
correct1 and add3 ,we had previously    
sunk a well without the use of the rod1 
to nearly the same depth1 but it was    
unsuccessful4 ,six yards from this      
useless well the diviner found the      
spring which now yields enough to supply
 a small village if required4  ,the     
,rev4 ,martin ,r4 ,knapp1 ,m4,a41 vicar 

of ,holy ,trinity1 ,dalston1 writes to  
,professor ,barrett as follows3--       
#gb ,forest ,road1 ,dalston1 ,n4,e41    
,november #adth1 #ahif4       ,in the   
summer of #ahib1 ,i entered on the      
vicarage of ,north      ,wootton in     
,north ,somerset1 and had reason at once
 to look for      water4 ,i was advised 
to try a 'water-finder1' and did so4    
,the      dowser was a retired miller1  
and came provided with a number of      
forked twigs4 ,holding one he traversed 
the place1 and at      certain points   
the twig oscillated violently in his    
hands1 and      there1 he professed1 he 
should find water4       ,there was an  
interesting sidelight in the matter that
 ,i will      tell you of4 ,my builder1 
who came from ,bath1 was very sceptical 
about the whole thing4 ,three or four of
 us who were on the spot      tried to  
see if the twigs would 'play up' with   
us4       ,we were unsuccessful till    
this man tried his hand1 scoffing       
the while4 ,but directly that he came to

 the spots the dowser      had found the
 twig showed vigorous signs of          
animation4 ,when his      hand was being
 twisted in his efforts to keep the twig
 steady1      ,i cried to him to hold   
fast1 with the result that the twig     
twisted itself into two pieces4         
,at ,wells1 close by1 lived a coachman1 
who was reported to have      the power 
to find1 not only water but minerals4   
,he carries      neither rod nor twig1  
and told me when ,i inquired1 that his  
sensations are undoubted and            
extraordinary whenever he is            
directly above either water or minerals4
       ,,martin ,r4 ,,knapp4  ,in answer
 to inquiries ,mr ,knapp informed       
,professor ,barrett the builder was a   
stranger to the locality1 and the spots 
where the rod moved were unlikely to    
suggest water below4 ,the twig in the   
builder's hand1 ,mr ,knapp says1 in     
every case corroborated the dowser's    
indications1 and hence he 7the builder7 
was unmercifully chaffed1 as he had     

treated the whole thing with such       
contempt4 ,mr ,knapp says it is possible
 that the places indicated by the dowser
 might have been perceived by the       
builder1 but it was the spontaneous and 
vigorous movement of the twig1 evidently
 contrary to the holder's intention and 
against his will1 that excited their    
astonishment4  ,dr ,hutton1 ,f4,r4,s41  
the distinguished mathematician--to whom
 the ,royal ,society entrusted the      
gigantic labour of making an abridgment 
of the whole of the ,transactions of the
 ,royal ,society from its foundation in 
#afff to the beginning of this          
century--gives the following account of 
his experiments with the divining rod as
 used by ,lady ,milbanke3--       ,at   
the time appointed 7eleven ,a4,m41 #cjth
 ,may #ahjf7 the lady1      with all her
 family1 arrived at my house on         
,woolwich ,common1      where1 after    
preparing the rods1 etc41 they walked to
 the      grounds1 accompanied by the   
individuals of my own family and        

some friends1 when ,lady ,milbanke      
showed the experiment several      times
 in different places1 holding the rod in
 the manner      described elsewhere4   
,in the places where ,i had good reason 
to      know that no water was to be    
found the rod was always      quiescent1
 but in other places1 where ,i knew     
there was water      below the surface1 
the rods turned slowly and regularly in 
the      manner above described1 till   
the twigs twisted themselves off        
below the fingers1 which are            
considerably indented by so             
forcibly holding the rod between them4#c
       ,all the company stood close to  
,lady ,m4 with all eyes intensely       
fixed on her hands and the rods to watch
 if any particular      motion might be 
made by the fingers1 but in vain2       
nothing of      the kind was perceived1 
and all the company could observe no    
cause or reason why the rods should move
 in the manner they      were seen to   
do4       ,after the experiments were   

ended1 everyone of the company          
tried the rods in the same manner as    
they saw ,lady ,m4 had done1      but   
without the least motion from any of    
them4 ,and in my      family1 among     
ourselves1 we have since then1 several  
times1      tried if we could possibly  
cause the rod to turn by means of       
any trick or twisting of the fingers1   
held in the manner ,lady      ,milbanke 
did1 but in vain2 we had no power to    
accomplish it4  ,footnote #c3 ,dr       
,hutton does not say how he knew that   
water was1 or was not1 below the        
surface4 ,he was not1 however1 one      
likely to make loose and random         
statements4 ,according to a footnote in 
,the ,quarterly ,review1 vol4 xxii4 p4  
#cgd1 it appears that the ground chosen 
for the experiment was a field ,dr      
,hutton had bought1 adjoining the new   
,college at ,woolwich1 then building4   
,the following is a remarkable case1 and
 an important one from an evidential    
point of view4 ,it is not known whether 

the diviner in this case was an amateur 
or not2 he is now dead4  ,the ,bristol  
,times and ,mirror of #afth ,june #ahia 
states3       ,the ,anglo-,bavarian     
,brewery at ,shepton ,mallet needed a   
large      water supply2 accordingly    
excavations had been made to find       
water1 but without success4 ,about two  
years since1 during an                  
exceptionally dry season1 it became     
absolutely necessary to      obtain a   
further supply of brewing water2 hence  
several boring      experiments were    
made on the property4 ,at the suggestion
 of a      gentleman in the locality1   
the services of a 'diviner' were        
obtained1 and although the principal    
members of the firm      professed to   
have no faith in his 'art1' yet he was  
allowed to      try the fields on the   
company's property1 and those on the    
neighbouring estate1 and discovered the 
well now used by the      brewery4444   
,the soothsayer who carried the divining
 rod1 a      hazel branch1 was ,mr      

,charles ,sims1 a local farmer1 and a   
notable discoverer of wells in the      
district4 ,operations were              
immediately commenced1 and1 after       
excavating and dynamiting      through  
the rock1 to the depth of fifty feet1 a 
magnificent      spring was discovered  
in a fault of the rock1 which proved to 
be of exceptionally fine water1 and of  
even a finer quality      than the      
town's supply4  ,professor ,barrett     
wrote to the ,secretary of the brewery  
to make inquiries and he replied as     
follows3--       ,shepton ,mallet1      
,somersetshire1       ,september #abth1 
#ahif4       ,replying to your letter in
 regard to a local diviner1 we had      
one of the name of ,sims1 from ,pilton1 
who successfully denoted      a spot on 
our ground where we have had an abundant
 supply of      water since4 ,this was  
some eight years ago4       ,the writer 
of this letter also has had some        
considerable      experience with ,mr   
,lawrence of ,bristol1 who was one of   

the most      noted divining rod men in 
the ,west of ,england4 ,he also was     
successful in denoting a supply for a   
,bristol brewery with      which the    
writer was connected2 and in numerous   
other instances      in the             
neighbourhood4 ,mr ,lawrence bore a very
 high reputation4      ,we believe he   
died a few months ago at a ripe old age4
       ,the ,anglo-,bavarian ,brewery   
,ltd41       ,j4 ,,clifford1            
,manager4  ,having written to ask if a  
previous boring had been made1 and if   
so1 what depth1 and with what result1   
the following reply was received3--     
,shepton ,mallet1 ,somersetshire1       
,september #ahth1 #ahif4       ,replying
 to yours of the #adth1 a boring was    
carried out to the      extent of some  
#adj feet without success on another    
portion of      our premises1 before it 
was successfully done at the spot       
indicated by the water finder2 here1 a  
well was sunk and      abundant water   
obtained at a depth of #dj feet4        

,the ,anglo-,bavarian ,brewery ,ltd41   
,j4 ,,clifford1       ,manager4  ,in the
 following case1 the best advice was    
obtained and some ,l#ajjj spent         
fruitlessly searching for an underground
 spring prior to the dowser's visit4    
,the first notice of it appeared in a   
local newspaper1 ,the ,west ,sussex     
,times and ,sussex ,standard1 from which
 the following letter is reprinted3--   
,warnham ,lodge1 ,horsham1              
,january #crd1 #ahic4       ,having had 
very great difficulty in the supply of  
water to      this house1 ,i sent for   
,john ,mullins1 of ,colerne1 near       
,chippenham1 who1 by the aid of a twig  
of hazel1 pointed out      several      
places where water could be found4 ,i   
have sunk wells in      four of the     
places and it each case have been most  
successful4       ,it may be said that  
water can be found anywhere--this is not
      my experience4 ,i have had the    
best engineering advice and have        
spent many hundreds of pounds1 and      

hitherto have not obtained              
sufficient water for my requirements1   
but now ,i have an      abundant supply4
       ,i certainly should not think of 
sinking another well without            
previously consulting ,john ,mullins4   
,,henry ,,harden4  ,it is sometimes     
urged that only springs yielding a      
limited supply of water are found by    
dowsers1 who fix on spots where more or 
less surface water can be got from      
shallow wells rather than run the risk  
of sinking a deep well4 ,many of the    
cases already cited refute this notion1 
and the following bears on the same     
point4 ,it is from ,messrs ,beamish     
,crawford1 the well-known brewers1 of   
,cork4       ,cork ,porter ,brewery1    
,cork1       ,december #cjth1 #ahif4    
,in reply to your letter of #bfth inst41
 we beg to state3       #a4 ,we had an  
old well yielding a small supply of     
water4 ,it was      about #cj feet deep4
       #b4 ,no new well was fixed on by 
,mullins4 ,he bored down to a      depth

 of about #fj feet below the bottom of  
the old well1 and      therefore about  
#ij feet below the surface of the       
ground4       #c4 ,the supply of water  
now obtained from the new pipes sunk by 
,mullins is1 as nearly as we can        
estimate1 about #aj1jjj gallons      per
 hour4       ,,beamish  ,,crawford      
,,ltd4  ,it goes without saying that    
professional dowsers are not always     
successful in their quests4 ,i am       
inclined1 states ,professor ,barrett1 to
 think we may take from ten to fifteen  
per cent4 as the average percentage of  
failures which occur with most ,english 
dowsers of to-day1 allowing a larger    
percentage for partial failures1 meaning
 by this that the quantity of water     
estimated and the depth at which it is  
found have not realised the estimate    
formed by the dowser4  ,what then is the
 secret of the dowser's often remarkable
 success8 ,the question is whether1     
after making every allowance for        
shrewdness of eye1 chance1 coincidence1 

and local geological knowledge1 the     
dowser has any instinctive or           
supernormal power of discovering the    
presence of underground water4          
,professor ,barrett1 who has perhaps    
devoted more time to the subject than   
any other man living1 is inclined to    
answer in the affirmative4  ,there      
appears to be evidence1 he writes1 that 
a more profound stratum of our          
personality1 glimpses of which we get   
elsewhere in our ',proceedings1' is     
associated with the dowser's art2 and   
the latter seems to afford a further    
striking instance of information        
obtained through automatic means being  
more remarkable than1 and beyond the    
reach of1 that derived from conscious   
observation and inference4  ,in another 
passage he adds3      ,for my own part1 
,i have been driven to believe that some
 dowsers--      ,whose exterior         
semblance doth belie     ,the soul's    
immensity      nevertheless give us a   
glimpse of      ,the eternal deep       

,haunted for ever by the eternal mind4  
,,chapter ,,ix  ,,mediumistic           
,,phenomena   ,in my inquiry so far the 
reader will note that ,i have taken one 
thing for granted--the fact of          
telepathy4 ,in order to convince him to 
the extent to which this great          
scientific truth has convinced me1 it   
would be necessary for me to lead him   
through a thousand pages of evidence for
 telepathic phenomena1 attested by some 
of the leading physicists of the day4 ,i
 am aware that there are still sceptics 
on the subject of telepathy1 but the    
testimony is overwhelming1 and every    
year sees the ranks of scepticism       
growing thinner4  ,not many years ago a 
very learned man1 the late ,professor   
von ,helmholtz1 although confronted with
 prima-facie evidence of thought        
transference or telepathy1 declared3 ,i 
cannot believe it4 ,neither the         
testimony of all the ,fellows of the    
,royal ,society1 nor even the evidence  
of my own senses1 would lead me to      

believe in the transmission of them from
 one person to another4 ,it is clearly  
impossible4 ,an opinion in these terms  
is very rare to-day4 ,we are apt to     
express our incredulity in language far 
more guarded and less emphatic4  ,about 
hallucinations1 however1 there is no    
scepticism4 ,we have remarked sensory   
hallucinations of an occasional nature2 
we now come to regard them as a cult1   
for ,i suppose there is no manifestation
 in the world1 no gift1 no prodigy even1
 that is not prone to the fate of being 
exploited for particular ends4  ,a poet1
 we will say1 by some rare subliminal   
uprush1 produces a beautiful poem4 ,he  
is at once chained to his desk by       
publishers and compelled to go on       
producing poetry for the rest of his    
life4 ,it is inevitable that many of his
 manifestations will be false2 and for  
that reason1 in spite of an occasional  
jewel of truth1 he runs serious risks of
 being denounced in the end as no poet4 
,i have no doubt it is the same with the

 producers or the agents of occult      
phenomena4 ,sensory hallucinations may  
be stimulated4 ,they may be stimulated  
by intoxication and disease1 or they may
 be stimulated by the morbid conditions 
of a spiritualistic seance4 ,everything 
in these conditions--the prolonged      
darkness1 the emotional                 
expectancy--promotes the peculiar frame 
of mind apparently requisite4 ,constant 
exercise--perpetual aspiration develops 
the power of seeing visions4 ,after a   
time1 in well-known cases1 they appear  
to need no inducement to come           
spontaneously4  ,one well-known medium1 
,mr ,hill ,tout1 confesses that building
 and peopling chateaux en ,espagne was a
 favourite occupation of his in his     
earlier days4 ,this long-practised      
faculty is doubtless a potent factor in 
all his characterisations1 and probably 
also in those of many another           
full-fledged medium4  ,hallucinations   
need not be visual only2 they are       
frequently auditory4 ,miss ,freer gives 

an account of one induced by merely     
holding a shell to the ear4 ,there is   
another case of a young woman in whom   
auditory hallucinations would be excited
 on hearing the sound of water running  
through a tap4 ,given the basis of      
actual sound1 the hallucinable person   
quickly causes it to become articulate  
and intelligible4 ,thus1 is it          
unreasonable to suppose that the vague1 
nebulous lights seen at dark seances    
would furnish the raw material1 so to   
speak1 for sense deception8  ,thus1 we  
have the basis and beginning1 from one  
point of view1 of modern spiritualism4  
,but before we examine the question of  
clairvoyance or trance utterances of    
spiritualistic mediums we must first of 
all go into the subject of physical     
phenomena4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,so-called physical        
phenomena are a comparatively modern    
excrescence on the main growth4 ,it is  
only within the last half-century that  
they have attained any considerable     

development4 ,the faith in the communion
 and intervention of spirits originated 
before their appearance and will        
probably outlast their final discredit4 
,at the best1 whatever effect they may  
have had in advertising the movement    
with the vulgar1 they seem to have      
exerted only a subsidiary influence in  
inducing belief with more thoughtful men
 and women4  ,these physical phenomena  
consist chiefly of table rapping1 table 
moving1 ringing of bells1 and various   
other manifestations for which a normal 
cause is not apparent4 ,for a long time1
 in the early days of modern            
spiritualism1 the cult was chiefly      
confined to miracles of this sort4 ,one 
of its most notable props was the       
manifestations1 long continued and      
observed by many thousands1 of the      
famous ,daniel ,dunglas ,home4 ,it is   
fifty years ago now since ,home came to 
,england and began his seances1 which   
were attended by ,lord ,dunraven1 ,lord 
,brougham1 ,sir ,d4 ,brewster1 ,robert  

,owen1 ,bulwer ,lytton1 ,t4 ,a4         
,trollope1 ,garth ,wilkinson1 and       
others4 ,for thirty years ,home was     
brought before the public as a medium1  
dying in #ahhf4 ,he seems to have been  
an amiable1 highly emotional man1 full  
of generous impulses1 and of            
considerable personal charm4 ,his       
frankness and sincerity impressed all   
those who came in touch with the man4   
,mr ,andrew ,lang has called him a      
,harold ,skimpole1 with the gift of     
divination4  ,home dealt with both      
clairvoyance and physical               
manifestations4 ,ostensibly through him 
came an enormous number of messages     
purporting to proceed from the dead     
friends of certain of those attending   
the seances4 ,in the records of these   
seances will be found the signed        
statements of ,dr ,garth ,wilkinson1 ,dr
 ,gully1 ,mr and ,mrs ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 the
 present ,earl of ,dunraven1 ,earl of   
,crawford1 ,dr ,hawksley1 ,mrs ,nassau  
,senior1 ,mr ,p4 ,p4 ,alexander1 ,mr    

,perdicaris1 and others1 that they had  
received messages giving details of a   
private nature that it seemed in the    
last degree probable could be known to  
the medium4 ,home's manifestations were 
for the most part those which any       
attendant at a spiritualistic seance can
 witness for himself to-day4 ,the room  
he used was1 compared with those used by
 other mediums who insisted on complete 
darkness1 well lighted1 as he had a     
shaded lamp1 a gas-burner1 or one or two
 candles lighted4 ,the manifestations   
generally began with raps2 then followed
 a quivering movement of the table1     
which one present described as like the 
vibration on a small steamer when the   
engines begin to work2 by another as a  
ship in distress1 with its timbers      
straining in a heavy sea4 ,then1        
suspended in the air1 the table would   
float1 and in its shelter musical       
instruments performing could be heard2  
the sitters could feel their knees being
 clasped and their dresses pulled2 many 

things would be handed about the circle1
 such as handkerchiefs1 flowers1 and    
even heavy bells4 ,during the           
performance messages were rapped out by 
the spirits1 or delivered through the   
mouth of the medium4 ,in this respect1  
where intelligence is shown1 they would 
partake of the nature of trance         
utterance1 a thing to be analysed later4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,robert ,bell1 a dramatist and      
critic1 having been present at one of   
these seances1 acknowledged that he had 
seen things which he was satisfied were 
beyond the pale of material experiences4
 ,after describing various              
manifestations1 hands felt under the    
table1 touching the knees1 and pulling  
the clothes1 bells rung by invisible    
agency1 and various articles thrown     
about the room1 he proceeds to describe 
levitation3       ,mr ,home was seated  
next the window4 ,through the           
semi-darkness      his head was dimly   
visible against the curtains1 and his   

hands      might be seen in a faint     
white heap before him4 ,presently he    
said1 in a quiet voice1 ',my chair is   
moving--,i am off the      ground--don't
 notice me--talk of something else1' or 
words to      that effect4 ,it was very 
difficult to restrain the curiosity1    
not unmixed with a more serious feeling1
 which these few words      awakened2   
but we talked1 incoherently enough1 upon
 some      different topic4 ,i was      
sitting nearly opposite ,mr ,home1 and  
,i      saw his hands disappear from the
 table1 and his head vanish      into   
the deep shadow beyond4 ,in a moment or 
two more he spoke      again4 ,this time
 his voice was in the air above our     
heads4 ,he      had risen from his chair
 to a height of four or five feet from  
the ground4 ,as he ascended higher he   
described his position1      which at   
first was perpendicular1 and afterwards 
became      horizontal4 ,he said he felt
 as if he had been turned in the        
gentlest manner1 as a child is turned in

 the arms of a nurse4      ,in a moment 
or two more he told us that he was going
 to pass      across the window1 against
 the grey1 silvery light of which he    
would be visible4 ,we watched in        
profound stillness1 and saw his         
figure pass from one side of the window 
to the other1 feet      foremost1 lying 
horizontally in the air4 ,he spoke to us
 as he      passed1 and told us that he 
would turn the reverse way and          
recross the window1 which he did4 ,his  
own tranquil confidence      in the     
safety of what seemed from below a      
situation of the most      novel peril  
gave confidence to everybody else2 but  
with the      strongest nerves it was   
impossible not to be conscious of a     
certain sensation of fear or awe4 ,he   
hovered round the circle      for       
several minutes1 and passed1 this time  
perpendicularly1      over our heads4 ,i
 heard his voice behind me in the air1  
and      felt something lightly brush my
 chair4 ,it was his foot1 which      he 

gave me leave to touch4 ,turning to the 
spot where it was on      the top of the
 chair1 ,i placed my hand gently upon   
it1 when he      uttered a cry of pain1 
and the foot was withdrawn quickly1 with
      a palpable shudder4 ,it was       
evidently not resting on the chair1     
but floating2 and it sprang from the    
touch as a bird would4 ,he      now     
passed over to the farthest extremity of
 the room1 and we      could judge by   
his voice of the altitude and distance  
he had      attained4 ,he had reached   
the ceiling1 upon which he made a       
slight mark1 and soon afterwards        
descended and resumed his      place at 
the table4 ,an incident which occurred  
during this      aerial passage1 and    
imparted a strange solemnity to it1 was 
that the accordion1 which we supposed to
 be on the ground under      the window 
close to us1 played a strain of wild    
pathos in the      air from the distant 
corner of the room4  ,a well-known      
physician1 ,dr ,gully1 who was present  

at this seance1 wrote confirming the    
account in ,the ,cornhill ,magazine     
given by the above writer4  ,during the 
ensuing forty years mediumistic         
performances became of common and almost
 daily occurrence in this country4 ,two 
or three forms of so-called spirit      
manifestation--such as materialisation1 
spirit photography1 and                 
slate-writing--afterwards became        
connected with many of the seances4 ,but
 first the manifestations in daylight   
consisted of raps and tiltings of a     
table2 afterwards1 when the lights were 
turned out or turned very low1 spirit   
voices1 touches of spirit hands1 spirit 
lights1 spirit-born flowers1 floating   
musical instruments1 and moving about or
 levitation of the furniture4  ,until   
,sir ,william ,crookes began to         
investigate the alleged spiritualistic  
phenomena1 all investigation had been   
undertaken by persons without scientific
 training4 ,after a year of experiments 
he issued a detailed description of     

those conducted in his own laboratory in
 the presence of four other persons1 two
 of whom1 ,sir ,william ,huggins and    
,sergeant ,fox1 confirmed the accuracy  
of his report4 ,the result was that he  
was able to demonstrate1 he said1 the   
existence of a hitherto unknown force1  
and had measured the effect produced4   
,at all events1 these inquirers were    
convinced of the genuineness of ,home's 
powers4  ,suppose we glance at the      
possible alternative--viz4 that ,home   
was a conjurer of consummate skill and  
ingenuity4 ,for one of the physical     
phenomena1 that of tilting a table at a 
precarious angle without displacing     
various small objects resting on its    
polished surface1 ,mr ,podmore suggests 
an explanation4 ,he thinks that the     
articles were probably held in position 
on the table when it was tilted by means
 of hairs and fine threads attached to  
,home's dress4 ,he has various          
explanations for other of the phenomena1
 but he confesses that there remain a   

few manifestations which the hypothesis 
of simple trickery does not seem to fit4
 ,in going over a mass of evidence      
relating to ,home1 the hypothesis of    
conjuring seems to be rather incredible2
 when one bears in mind ,home's long    
career as a medium1 how his private life
 was watched by the lynx-eyed sceptics1 
eager to pounce upon the evidence of    
trickery1 and that he was never         
detected1 it certainly seems to me1 at  
all events1 that ,home's immunity from  
exposure is strong evidence against the 
assumption of fraud4 ,home was merely   
the type of a large class of mediums    
purporting to be controlled by spirit   
power1 whose seances are a feature of   
modern life4  ,certain experiments of   
,sir ,william ,crookes with ,home came  
very near to satisfying the most        
stringent scientific conditions1        
especially those in the alteration in   
the weight of a board4 ,in these        
experiments one end of the board was on 
a spring balance and the other rested on

 a table4 ,the board became heavier or  
lighter as ,home placed his fingers on  
the end resting on the table and willed 
it1 and the different weights were      
recorded by an automatic register4 ,this
 effect might have been produced1 says  
,mr ,podmore1 by using a dark thread    
with a loop attached to some part of the
 apparatus--possibly the hook of the    
spring balance--and the ends fastened to
 ,home's trousers4 ,but this particular 
trick does not seem to have occurred to 
those experimenting1 and the description
 of the seances does not exclude it4    
,suggesting an explanation of an event  
does not prove that it so occurred1 and 
,mr ,podmore adds3 ,it is not easy to   
see how the investigators 444 could have
 been deceived1 and repeatedly deceived1
 by any device of the kind suggested4   
,one of the most remarkable of ,daniel  
,dunglas ,home's manifestations occurred
 on #afth ,december #ahfh1 at #e        
,buckingham ,gate1 ,london4 ,there were 
present the ,master of ,lindsay 7now the

 ,earl of ,crawford71 ,viscount ,adare  
7the present ,earl of ,dunraven71 and   
,captain ,wynne4 ,the ,master of        
,lindsay has recorded the circumstances1
 as follows3--       ,i was sitting with
 ,mr ,home and ,lord ,adare and a cousin
 of his4      ,during the sitting ,mr   
,home went into a trance1 and in that   
state was carried out of the window in  
the room next to where      we were1 and
 was brought in at our window4 ,the     
distance between      the windows was   
about seven feet six inches1 and there  
was not      the slightest foothold     
between them1 nor was there more than a 
twelve-inch projection to each window1  
which served as a ledge      to put     
flowers on4 ,we heard the window in the 
next room lifted      up1 and almost    
immediately after we saw ,home floating 
in air      outside our window4 ,the    
moon was shining full into the room2 my 
back was to the light1 and ,i saw the   
shadow on the wall of the               
window-sill1 and ,home's feet about six 

inches above it4 ,he      remained in   
this position for a few seconds1 then   
raised the      window and glided into  
the room feet foremost and sat down4    
,here is ,lord ,adare's account of the  
central incident3       ,we heard ,home 
go into the next room1 heard the window 
thrown      up1 and presently ,home     
appeared standing upright outside our   
window2 he opened the window and walked 
in quite coolly4  ,captain ,wynne1      
writing to ,home in #ahgg1 refers to    
this occasion in the following words3   
,the fact of your having gone out of the
 one window and in at      the other ,i 
can swear to4  ,it is surely not a      
little remarkable that an occurrence of 
so extraordinary a nature should be     
testified to by three such clear-headed 
men as ,captain ,wynne and ,lords       
,lindsay and ,adare4 ,to cross from one 
window to another by ordinary means was 
clearly impossible1 and it would be a   
brave conjurer indeed who would essay   
such a feat at a distance of eighty-five

 feet from the ground4 ,what then is the
 explanation8 ,mr ,podmore suggests that
 the three witnesses were the victims of
 a collective hallucination2 but this   
theory is not easy to accept1 and ,mr   
,andrew ,lang has heaped it with        
ridicule4 ,there are1 he writes1 two    
other points to be urged against ,mr    
,podmore's theory that observers of     
,home were hallucinated4 ,the ,society's
 records contain plenty of 'collective1 
so-called telepathic hallucinations4'   
,but surely these hallucinations offered
 visionary figures of persons and things
 not present in fact4 ,has ,mr ,podmore 
one case1 except ,home's1 of a          
collective hallucination in which a     
person actually present is the          
hallucination2 floats in the air1 holds 
red-hot coals and so forth--appears     
outside of the window1 for instance1    
when he is inside the room8 ,of course1 
where conjuring is barred4 ,again1      
,home's marvels are attested by         
witnesses violently prejudiced against  

him1 and 7far from being attentively    
expectant7 most anxious to detect and   
expose him4  ,if the case of ,home      
presents difficulties to the rational   
sceptic1 that of ,william ,stainton     
,moses1 who died in #ahib1 presents an  
even harder problem4 ,i will refer to   
,moses later when we come to discuss    
clairvoyance1 but at first his          
mediumistic powers were manifested in   
physical phenomena4 ,he was a clergyman 
and a scholar1 an ,m4,a4 of ,oxford1 and
 for nearly eighteen years ,english     
master in ,university ,college ,school4 
,he was held in esteem and even         
affection by all who were most          
intimately associated with him4 ,yet    
,moses was responsible for table        
rapping1 levitation of furniture1       
playing of musical instruments and      
apports--the latter term expressing the 
movement or introduction of various     
articles either by the request of the   
sitters or spontaneously1 such as books1
 stones1 shells1 opera-glasses1         

candle-sticks1 and so forth4 ,all this  
began in #ahgb1 and the phenomena       
observed at the various seances were    
carefully recorded by the medium's      
friends1 ,dr and ,mrs ,speer1 ,c4 ,t4   
,speer1 and ,f4 ,w4 ,percival4 ,it must 
be borne in mind that ,moses was in his 
thirty-third year before he suspected   
mediumistic powers4 ,there have been any
 number of hypotheses to account for the
 physical phenomena furnished at these  
seances4 ,jewels1 cameos1 seed pearls1  
and other precious things were brought  
and given to the sitters4 ,scent was    
introduced2 familiar perfumes--such as  
sandalwood1 jasmine1 heliotrope1 not    
always recognised--were a frequent      
occurrence at these seances4            
,occasionally it would be sprayed in the
 air1 sometimes poured into the hands of
 the sitters1 and often it was found    
oozing from the medium's head and even  
running down4  ,in ,mrs ,speer's diary  
for #cjth ,august there is the following
 record3--       ,many things were      

brought from different parts of the     
house      through the locked door this 
evening4 ,mr ,s4 ,m4 was levitated1     
and when he felt for his feet they were 
hanging in mid-air1      while his head 
must have almost touched the ceiling4   
,dr ,speer also records a levitation on 
#crd ,december3       ,mr ,m4 was       
floated about1 and a large dining-room  
chair was      placed on the table4     
,mrs ,speer tells us that they sat in   
the fire-light1 and that the seances    
were held in more or less complete      
darkness4 ,moses' own account of the    
levitation is much fuller4 ,he says that
 he was fully conscious that he was     
floating about the room1 and that he    
marked a place on the wall with a       
pencil1 which was afterwards found to be
 more than six feet from the floor4     
,subsequently musical sounds became a   
feature of the manifestations4 ,in      
,september #ahgd ,mrs ,speer gives a    
list of them1 mentioning ten or more    
different kinds1 including the          

tambourine1 harp1 fairy-bells1 and many 
stringed instruments1 and ascribes their
 production to eight different spirits4 
,in the early materialisations of       
,stainton ,moses we find that hands1 and
 occasionally the fore arm1 were seen   
holding lights4 ,these spirit lights are
 described as hard1 round1 and cold to  
the touch4 ,in his description of one   
incident at a seance ,moses himself pens
 a significant passage1 which seems to  
confirm the suspicion that the spirit   
lights were really bottles of           
phosphorised oil3       ,suddenly there 
arose from below me1 apparently under   
the      table1 or near the floor1 right
 under my nose1 a cloud of      luminous
 smoke1 just like phosphorus4 ,it fumed 
up in great      clouds1 until ,i seemed
 to be on fire1 and rushed from the room
      in a panic4 ,i was fairly         
frightened1 and could not tell what     
was happening4 ,i rushed to the door and
 opened it1 and so to      the front    
door4 ,my hands seemed to be ablaze1 and

 left their      impress on the door and
 handles4 ,it blazed for a while after  
,i      had touched it1 but soon went   
out1 and no smell or trace              
remained4444 ,there seemed to be no end 
of smoke4 ,it smelt      distinctly     
phosphoric1 but the smell evaporated as 
soon as ,i      got out of the room into
 the air4  ,such candour disarms us3 can
 there be any ground for the theory that
 here was a case of self-deception on a 
large scale8 ,or is there yet an        
alternative explanation8 ,perhaps we    
shall discover one4     ,,chapter ,x    
,,more ,,physical ,,phenomena   ,what we
 have to remember is that by far the    
greater part of the physical phenomena  
which is said to occur at a seance is   
really nothing extraordinary4 ,all      
physical occurrences are normal that are
 capable of being produced by a clever  
conjurer2 and there is no doubt that    
with due preparation such a one could   
achieve table rapping1 introduce flowers
 and move furniture4 ,but the problem   

is1 how1 under the stringent conditions 
imposed1 and in the face of the close   
scrutiny1 to which these manifestations 
are subjected1 they can be done4 ,as    
,sir ,oliver ,lodge says3 ,i am disposed
 to maintain that ,i have myself        
witnessed1 in a dim light1 occasional   
abnormal instances of movement of       
untouched objects4 ,he goes on to say   
that suppose an untouched object comes  
sailing or hurtling through the air1 or 
suppose an object is raised or floated  
from the ground1 how are we to regard   
it8 ,this is just what a live animal    
could do1 and so the first natural      
hypothesis is that some living thing is 
doing it3 7a7 the medium himself1 acting
 by tricks or concealed mechanism2 7b7 a
 confederate--an unconscious confederate
 perhaps1 among the sitters2 7c7 an     
unknown and invisible live entity1 other
 than the people present4 ,if in any    
such action the extraordinary laws of   
nature were superseded1 if the weight of
 a piece of matter could be shown to    

have disappeared1 or if fresh energy    
were introduced beyond the recognised   
categories of energy1 then there would  
be no additional difficulties2 but      
hitherto there has been no attempt to   
establish either of these things4       
,indeed1 it must be admitted that       
insufficient attention is usually paid  
to this aspect of ordinary1 commonplace1
 abnormal physical phenomena4 ,if a     
heavy body is raised under good         
conditions1 we should always try to     
ascertain 7he does not say that it is   
easy to ascertain7 where its weight has 
gone to--that is to say1 what supports  
it--what ultimately supports it4 ,for   
instance1 if experiments were conducted 
in a suspended room1 would the whole    
weight of that room1 as ascertained by  
outside balance1 remain unaltered when a
 table or person was levitated inside   
it8 ,or1 could the agencies operating   
inside affect the bodies                
outside8--questions1 these1 which appear
 capable of answer1 with sufficient     

trouble1 in an organised physical       
laboratory2 such a laboratory as does   
not1 he supposes1 yet exist1 but which  
might exist and which will exist in the 
future1 if the physical aspect of       
experimental psychology is ever to      
become recognised as a branch of        
orthodox physics4  ,recently1 ,dr       
,maxwell1 of ,paris1 published his      
researches and observations on physical 
phenomena1 and he states that under     
material and physical phenomena are     
comprised 7#a7 raps2 7#b7 movements of  
objects 7a7 without contact1 or 7b7 only
 with such contact as is insufficient to
 effect the particular movement in      
question2 7#c7 apports--i4e4 the        
production of objects by some           
supernormal agency2 7#d7 visual         
phenomena--i4e4 the appearance of lights
 and of forms1 luminous or otherwise1   
including among the latter the class of 
alleged phenomena known as              
materialisations1 and 7#e7 phenomena    
leaving some permanent trace1 such as   

imprints or direct writings or drawings1
 etc4 ,under the class of intellectual  
phenomena may be included such          
occurrences as automatic writing1 table 
tilting1 etc4  ,as regards raps ,dr     
,maxwell hazards certain conclusions1 of
 which he says the most certain is the  
close connection of the raps with the   
muscular movements on the part of the   
sitters4 ,every muscular movement1 even 
a slight one1 appears to be followed by 
a rap4 ,thus if1 without anyone         
necessarily touching the table1 one of  
the sitters frees his hand from the     
chain made round the table by others1   
moves it about in a circle over the     
surface of the table1 then raises it in 
the centre and brings it down towards   
the table1 stopping suddenly within a   
few inches of it1 a rap will be produced
 on the table corresponding with the    
sudden stoppage of the hand4 ,similarly1
 a rap will be produced by a pressure of
 the foot on the floor1 by speaking1 by 
blowing slightly1 or by touching the    

medium or one of the sitters4 ,raps     
produced in this way by the sitters are 
often stronger than those produced by   
the medium himself4 ,dr ,maxwell        
suggests as a working hypothesis that   
there is a certain accumulated force1   
and that if its equilibrium be suddenly 
disturbed by the addition of the excess 
of energy required for the movement1 a  
discharge takes place producing the     
effect4  ,dr ,maxwell has made a series 
of experiments with ,eusapia ,paladino4 
,it was about five o'clock in the       
evening1 he writes1 and      there was  
broad daylight in the drawing-room at   
l',aguelas4 ,we      were standing      
around the table4 ,eusapia took the hand
 of one of      our number and rested it
 on the right-hand corner of the table4 
,the table was raised to the level of   
our foreheads--that is1      the top    
reached a height of at least four and   
three-quarter      feet from the        
floor4444 ,it was impossible for        
,eusapia to have      lifted the table  

by normal means4 ,one has but to        
consider that      she touched but the  
corner of the table to realise what the 
weight must have been had she           
accomplished the feat by      muscular  
effort4 ,further1 she never had         
sufficient hold of it4      ,it was     
clearly impossible for her1 under the   
conditions of the      experiment1 to   
have used any of the means suggested by 
her      critics--straps1 or hooks of   
some kind4  ,most of the phenomena      
discussed by ,dr ,maxwell were obtained 
through the mediumship of ,eusapia      
,paladino4 ,he was a member of the      
committee which met in #ahif to         
investigate this medium1 who had just   
concluded the series of performances    
held under the auspices of the society  
at ,cambridge1 which were entirely      
unfavourable to her claims4 ,the ,french
 committee was made aware of the        
fraudulent devices which the ,cambridge 
investigators claimed to have           
discovered4 ,he recommends all who      

believe that ,dr ,hodgson and his       
,cambridge colleagues have had the last 
word in the controversy to read the     
report which will be found in the       
,annales des ,psychiques1 for #ahif4    
,the ,english sitters arrive at         
conclusions in direct conflict with     
those of the ,french1 who claim that    
they had long known of the tricks       
discovered at ,cambridge1 and in        
consequence took means to guard against 
them4 ,dr ,maxwell indicts the          
,cambridge way of controlling the       
medium1 which he says consisted1 for a  
time at least1 in affording the medium  
opportunities to cheat to see if she    
would avail herself of them4            
,opportunities of which she took the    
fullest advantage4  ,nevertheless1 ,dr  
,maxwell offers but little encouragement
 for the theory of spiritualistic       
agency4 ,i believe1 he says1 in the     
reality of certain phenomena1 of which  
,i have repeatedly been a witness4 ,i do
 not consider it necessary to attribute 

them to a supernatural intervention of  
any kind1 but am disposed to think that 
they are produced by some force existing
 within ourselves4  ,in the same way as 
certain psychical phenomena1 such as    
automatic writing1 trance1 controls1    
crystal vision1 and so forth1 in which  
an intelligence seems to be present     
independent of the intelligence of the  
medium1 can be shown beyond dispute to  
be merely manifestations of his         
subliminal intelligence1 frequently     
taking the form of a dramatic           
personification2 so may the agency1     
revealing itself in raps1 movements of  
objects1 and other phenomena of a       
physical character1 perhaps be          
traceable1 not to any power external to 
the medium and the sitters1 but merely  
to a force latent within themselves1 and
 may be an exteriorisation in a dynamic 
form1 in a way not yet ascertained1 of  
their collective subliminal capacities4 
,however strange new and unknown facts  
may be1 we need not fear they are going 

to destroy the truth of the old ones4   
,would the science of physics be        
overthrown if1 for example1 we admit the
 phenomenon of raps--i4e4 audible       
vibrations in wood and other            
substances--is a real phenomenon1 and   
that in certain cases there may be blows
 which cannot be explained by any       
mechanical force known to us8 ,it would 
be a new force exercised on matter1 but 
none the less would the old forces      
preserve their activity4 ,pressure1     
temperature1 and the density of air or  
of wood might still exercise their usual
 influence1 and it is even likely that  
the transmission of vibrations by this  
new force would follow the same laws as 
other vibrations4  ,in the opinion of   
the leading members of this society1    
some of the physical phenomena which    
have been adduced as among those        
proclaimed to have occurred1 such as    
apports1 scent1 movement of objects1    
passage of matter through matter1 bear a
 perilous resemblance to conjuring      

tricks1 of a kind fairly well known2    
which tricks if well done can be very   
deceptive4 ,hence extreme caution is    
necessary1 and full control must be     
allowed to the observers--a thing which 
conjurers never really allow4 ,sir      
,oliver ,lodge says that he has never   
seen a silent and genuinely controlled  
conjurer2 and in so far as mediums find 
it necessary to insist on their own     
conditions1 so far they must be content 
to be treated as conjurers4 ,for        
instance1 no self-registering           
thermometer has ever recorded the       
intense cold felt at a seance4 ,flowers 
and fruit have made their appearance in 
closed rooms1 but no arsenic has        
penetrated the walls of the hermetically
 sealed tube4 ,various investigators    
have smelt1 seen1 and handled curious   
objects1 but no trace has been          
preserved4 ,we have to depend on the    
recollection of the observer's passing  
glimpse of spirit lights1 of the hearing
 of the rustle of spirit garments1 the  

touch1 in the dark1 of unknown bodies4  
,exquisite scents1 strange draperies1   
human forms have appeared seemingly out 
of nothing1 and have returned whence    
they came unrecorded by photography1    
unweighed1 unanalysed4  ,briefly1 then1 
the result of my carefully formed       
judgment is that a large part of the    
physical phenomena heard1 seen1 felt at 
the average spiritualistic seance must  
be placed on a level with ordinary      
conjuring4 ,to return to the recent case
 of ,eusapia ,paladino4 ,a number of    
,english scientists1 interested in the  
reports of her seances1 induced her to  
come to ,england and repeat them at     
,cambridge4 ,every effort was made to   
make the experiments as satisfactory as 
possible4 ,they used netting for        
confining the medium or separating her  
from objects which they hoped would move
 without contact2 different ways of     
tying her were tried2 also sufficient   
light was used in the seance room4 ,she 
refused to submit to any of these       

conditions4 ,the investigators pressed  
her at each sitting to allow some light 
in the room1 and they long persevered in
 making the control in every case as    
complete as she would allow it to be4   
,she permitted a very faint light       
usually at the beginning1 but before    
long she insisted on complete darkness1 
and until the lights were extinguished  
the touches were never felt4 ,the       
sitters then held the medium1 the only  
method of control allowed1 as firmly and
 continuously as possible4 ,this she    
resisted1 and then every form of        
persuasion was used1 short of physical  
force1 to induce her to submit4 ,but she
 was allowed to take her own way without
 remonstrance when the sitters were     
convinced of the constant fraud         
practised4  ,it is only fair to state   
that recent experiments on the          
,continent have convinced a number of   
leading scientists of the genuineness of
 ,eusapia ,paladino's powers1 and the   
conclusions arrived at by the ,cambridge

 investigators are condemned as hasty   
and premature4  ,but1 even of the other 
class1 those who have lent themselves to
 the conditions of the investigator1    
while admitting the bona-fides of the   
medium1 we are by no means prepared to  
regard them as necessarily the result of
 the action of disembodied spirits4 ,nor
 do many leading spiritualists          
themselves4  ,for1 as we have just seen1
 there is still another explanation for 
supernormal physical movements4 ,may    
there not be an unknown1 or at least an 
unrecognised1 extension of human        
muscular faculty8 ,such a hypothesis is 
no more extravagant than would have been
 the hypothesis of the ,hertzian waves  
or a prediction of wireless telegraphy a
 few short years ago4  ,this is not all4
 ,we must remember that there is a mass 
of phenomena which cannot lightly be    
explained away by glib references to    
unknown extensions of muscular faculty4 
,of such is the fire ordeal1 one of the 
most inexplicable and best attested of  

the manifestations presented by ,daniel 
,dunglas ,home4 ,the evidence is        
abundant and of high quality1 the       
witnesses of undoubted integrity1 and1  
from the nature of the experiment1 the  
illuminations of the room were generally
 more adequate than in the case of the  
levitations and elongations4 ,on one    
occasion1 ,home thrust his hand into the
 fire1 and bringing out a red-hot cinder
 laid it upon a pocket-handkerchief4    
,when at the end of half-a-minute it was
 removed1 the handkerchief was quite    
free from any traces of burning4  ,not  
content with handling glowing embers    
himself1 ,home would hand them on to    
others present at the seance1 who were  
generally able to receive them with     
impunity4 ,this effectually disposes of 
the theory formulated by an ingenious   
critic that ,home was in the custom of  
covering his hands with some fire-proof 
preparation as yet unknown to science6  
,even if ,home possessed and used such a
 preparation he would find considerable 

difficulty in transferring it to the    
hands of his spectators4  ,here is an   
account of a seance which took place on 
the #ith ,may #ahga4 ,after various     
manifestations1 two out of the four     
candles in the room were extinguished4  
,home went to the fire1 took out a piece
 of red-hot charcoal1 and placed it on a
 folded cambric pocket-handkerchief     
which he borrowed for the purpose from  
one of the guests4 ,he fanned the       
charcoal to white heat with his breath1 
but the handkerchief was only burnt in  
one small hole4 ,mr ,crookes1 who was   
present at the seance1 tested the       
handkerchief afterwards in his          
laboratory and found that it had not    
been chemically prepared to resist the  
action of fire4  ,after this            
exhibition--       ,mr ,home again went 
to the fire1 and1 after stirring the hot
      coal about with his hand1 took out
 a red-hot piece nearly as      big as  
an orange1 and putting it on his right  
hand1 so as      almost completely to   

enclose it1 and then blew into the small
      furnace thus extemporised until   
the lump of charcoal was nearly         
white hot1 and then drew my attention to
 the lambent flame      which was       
flickering over the coal and licking    
round his      fingers2 he fell on his  
knees1 looked up in a reverent manner1  
held up the coal in front1 and said1    
',is not ,god good8 ,are not      his   
laws wonderful8'  ,among those who have 
left on record their testimony to this  
manifestation are ,lord ,lindsay1 ,lord 
,adare1 ,h4 ,d4 ,jencken1 ,w4 ,m4       
,wilkinson1 ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 etc4 etc4    
,as the great mathematician ,professor  
de ,morgan once wittily and wisely      
wrote3       ,if ,i were bound to choose
 among things which ,i can conceive1 ,i 
should say that there is some sort of   
action of some      combination of will1
 intellect1 and physical power1 which is
      not that of any of the human      
beings present4 ,but1 thinking it       
very likely that the universe may       

contain a few agencies--say1            
half-a-million--about which no man knows
 anything1 ,i cannot but      suspect   
that a small proportion of these        
agencies--say1 five      thousand--may  
be severally competent to the production
 of all      the phenomena1 or may be   
quite up to the task among them4 ,the   
physical explanations which ,i have seen
 are easy1 but      miserably           
insufficient2 the spiritual hypothesis  
is sufficient1      but ponderously     
difficult4 ,time and thought will       
decide1 the      second asking the first
 for more results of trial4  ,it is     
inconceivable that such a man as        
,stainton ,moses--a hard-working parish 
priest and a respected                  
schoolmaster--should deliberately have  
entered upon a course of trickery for   
the mere pleasure of mystifying a small 
circle of acquaintances4 ,the whole     
course of his previous life1 his        
apparently sincere religious feeling1   
all combine to contradict such a        

supposition4 ,neither is it credible    
that such a petty swindler would have   
carried out his deceptions to the end1  
and have left behind fresh problems1 the
 elucidation of which his eyes could    
never behold4     ,,chapter ,,xi  ,,the 
,,materialisation ,,of ,,ghosts   ,if   
much of the physical phenomena just     
described be well within the scope of   
natural possibility1 it is somewhat     
otherwise with the class of             
manifestations ,i shall now touch upon4 
,it is one thing to exert consciously or
 unconsciously1 as ,home1 ,cook1        
,paladino1 ,moses and other mediums have
 done1 in the presence of scientifically
 trained witnesses1 unknown and         
supernormal muscular power4 ,table      
rapping1 levitation1 apports1 may all be
 genuine enough and accounted for in a  
manner which1 if not wholly satisfying1 
is at least not unreasonable4 ,but when 
those assisting at a seance actually    
behold with their eyes and touch with   
their hands1 and even photograph with a 

camera1 the materialised objects of the 
spirits with whom the medium is in      
communion1 the pulse of the inquirer    
quickens4 ,he is now indeed approaching 
the crucial problem1 the crowning       
achievement of spiritualism4 ,for       
although in a former chapter we have the
 testimony of people who saw ghosts1    
these ghosts might1 to my mind1 clearly 
be the result of telepathy4 ,they appear
 on special occasions at important and  
significant crises1 but the claim of the
 spiritualistic medium is that he can   
casually1 and on the demand of one of   
the circle1 produce a visible1 tangible 
figure of a deceased husband1 wife1     
parent1 or friend4  ,this               
materialisation is wholly a recent      
species of manifestation4 ,one of the   
first to testify to having seen a       
materialised figure at a seance was the 
well-known ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 who recognised
 during one of ,home's seances the      
figure of his deceased sister4 ,other   
mediums repeated the feat1 and shadowy  

forms and faces began to appear and move
 about during their dark seances4 ,it is
 a suspicious fact that in some cases   
these forms1 made visible by a faintly  
luminous vapour1 were accompanied by an 
odour of phosphorus4 ,sceptics naturally
 took great advantage of the alleged    
circumstance4 ,soon1 however1 a new     
medium1 ,florence ,cook1 was rumoured to
 have produced materialised forms in a  
good light which baffled all the        
sceptics4 ,miss ,cook claimed to be     
controlled by a spirit known under the  
name of ,katie4  ,we have this account  
from a writer who early attended to     
examine the mystery fairly3       ,in a 
short time1 however1 ,katie--as the     
familiar of ,miss ,b4      was          
termed--thought she would be able to    
'materialise' herself      so far as to 
present the whole form1 if we arranged  
the corner      cupboard so as to admit 
of her doing so4 ,accordingly we opened 
the door1 and from it suspended a rug or
 two opening in the      centre1 after  

the fashion of a ,bedouin ,arab's tent2 
formed a      semicircle2 sat and sang  
,longfellow's ',footsteps of ,angels4'  
,therein occurs the passage1 ',then the 
forms of the departed      enter at the 
open door4' ,and1 lo and behold6 though 
we had left      ,miss ,b4 tied and     
sealed to her chair and clad in an      
ordinary      black dress somewhat      
voluminous as to the skirts1 a tall1    
female figure1 draped classically in    
white1 with bare arms and      feet1 did
 enter at the open door1 or rather down 
the centre      from between the two    
rugs1 and stood statuelike before us1   
spoke a few words1 and retired2 after   
which we entered the      ,bedouin tent 
and found pretty ,miss ,b4 with her     
dress as before1      knots and seals   
secure1 and her boots on6 ,this was     
,form ,no4 #a1      the first ,i had    
ever seen4 ,it looked as material as    
myself2 and      on a subsequent        
occasion--for ,i have seen it several   
times--we      took four very good      

photographic portraits of it by         
magnesium      light4 ,the difficulty ,i
 still felt1 with the form as with the  
faces1 was that it seemed so thoroughly 
material and      flesh-and-blood-like4 
,it is not my intention to speak of the 
multitude of early materialisations4 ,as
 ,mr ,podmore points out1 at these      
manifestations practically no           
precautions were taken against trickery4
 ,there was nothing1 so far as can be   
discovered1 to throw any hindrance in   
the way of the medium1 if she chose1    
impersonating the spirit by exhibiting a
 mask through the opening of the curtain
 or by dressing herself up and walking  
about the room4 ,nor were there any     
collateral circumstances to justify     
belief in the genuineness of the        
manifestations4  ,nevertheless1 ,miss   
,cook's claims attracted the attention  
of ,sir ,william ,crookes4 ,he attended 
several seances--one1 once1 at the house
 of ,mr ,luxmoor1 when ,katie was       
standing before him in the room4 ,he had

 distinctly heard from behind the       
curtain the sobbing and moaning         
habitually made by ,miss ,cook during   
such seances4 ,at another seance1 held  
at his own house1 #abth ,march #ahgd1   
,katie1 robed in white1 came to the     
opening of the curtain and summoned him 
to the assistance of her medium4 ,the   
man of science instantly obeyed the     
call1 and found ,miss ,cook1 attired in 
her ordinary black velvet dress1 prone  
on the sofa4 ,on another occasion he    
declares he saw two forms together in a 
good light2 more than this1 he actually 
procured a photograph of ,katie4 ,but of
 this ,i will speak later1 when ,i come 
to discuss spirit photography4  ,one of 
the most noted materialising mediums of 
to-day is ,charles ,miller1 of ,san     
,francisco1 of whom a certain ,professor
 ,reichel has recently written a lengthy
 account4  ,miller's seances are        
described as very conclusive4 ,at the   
first one1 after ,miller had retired    
into the cabinet1 the curtain was pulled

 aside1 showing the medium asleep1 and  
six fully developed phantoms standing   
beside him4 ,two spoke ,german to       
friends from their native land1 and one 
discussed matters of a private nature   
with ,professor ,reichel4 ,similar      
occurrences were many times repeated1   
and dematerialisations were often made  
before the curtain1 in full view of the 
sitters and in ample light to observe   
everything4 ,professor ,reichel says3   
,in the seances with ,mr ,miller ,i     
heard the spirits speak in              
,english1 ,french1 and ,german1 but ,i  
have been assured repeatedly      that  
in a seance of seventy-five persons1    
representing many      of the various   
nationalities in ,san ,francisco1       
twenty-seven      languages were spoken 
by materialised spirits1 addressing     
different sitters4  ,equally good       
results were obtained in a room taken at
 the ,palace ,hotel1 for a special      
testsetting1 the results of which were  
communicated to ,colonel de ,rochas1 and

 again when ,mr ,miller visited the     
,professor at ,los ,angeles4 ,the       
following incidents are of special      
interest1 as throwing light on the      
forces made use of in the production of 
the phenomena1 and in reference to      
allegations of fraud or personation3--  
,a sitting took place at noon4 ,before  
it began1 and while      ,miller was    
standing in front of the cabinet1 ,i    
heard ',betsy's'      voice whisper3    
',go out for a moment into the sun with 
the      professor4' ,accordingly ,i    
took ,mr ,miller by the arm1 and        
together we went out into the sunshine4 
,after a few moments we      returned1  
and at the moment we entered the dark   
room the      writer1 as well as        
everyone else present1 saw ,mr ,miller  
completely strewn with a shining1 white1
 glittering1 snowlike      mass1 that   
entirely covered his dark cheviot suit4 
,this      singular occurrence had been 
witnessed repeatedly--even when      the
 medium had not previously been in the  

sun4 ,at such times it      appeared    
gradually after the room had been       
darkened4  ,this snowlike mass the      
author regards as the white element of  
magnetism1 which the phantoms use in    
their development4 ,he also says3       
,in another seance held by ,miller1     
',betsy' told me that she      would    
show me something that often happened in
 seances with      other materialisation
 mediums--namely1 that the medium       
himself      frequently appeared        
disguised as a spirit4 ,she asked me to 
come      to the curtain1 where she told
 me that the medium himself would       
come out draped in white muslin1 and the
 muslin would then      suddenly        
disappear4 ,this was verified4 ,when the
 medium came out      in his disguise1  
,i grasped him by the hand1 and like a  
flash of      lightning the white       
veiling vanished4  ,reichel quotes      
,kiesewetter to the effect that in these
 cases there is a kind of               
pseudo-materialisation1 in which the    

medium1 in hypnosis1 walks in a         
somnambulistic condition1 playing the   
part of the spirit1 in which case the   
mysterious vanishing of the spiritual   
veilings points to an incipient magical 
activity on the part of the psyche4     
,large numbers of ,miller's             
materialisations were photographed1     
showing1 besides the fully materialised 
forms1 several spirits who could not be 
seen with the physical eyes1 one of whom
 was immediately recognised4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,the     
experiments of ,sir ,william ,crookes   
and others by ,mr ,cromwell ,varley1    
with various mediums1 supply us with the
 best proof we have that medium and     
spirit possess separate identities4 ,of 
course there were1 and are still1       
numerous so-called exposures of mediums 
in the act of materialisation4 ,on other
 occasions the materialised form has    
been seized and found to be the medium  
himself4  ,a typical incident of this   
kind was the exposure of the mediums    

,william and ,rita1 which took place in 
,amsterdam1 under circumstances which   
made it difficult for the most hardened 
believer to lay all the blame upon the  
spirits4 ,the incident took place in the
 rooms of a spiritualist2 the members of
 the circle were spiritualists2 and it  
was aggrieved and indignant             
spiritualists who made the facts public4
 ,suspicion had been aroused2 one of the
 sitters clutched at the spirit form of 
,charlie1 and grasped ,rita by the coat 
collar4 ,up to this point1 no doubt1 the
 spiritualist theories already referred 
to were elastic enough to cover the     
facts4 ,but when the mediums were       
searched there were found in their      
pockets or hidden in various parts of   
their clothing--on ,rita a nearly new   
beard1 six handkerchiefs1 assorted1 and 
a small1 round scent bottle1 containing 
phosphorised oil1 bearing a resemblance 
all too convincing to ,charlie's spirit 
lamp2 on ,williams a dirty black beard1 
with brown silk ribbon1 and several     

yards of very dirty muslin--the simple  
ingredients which represented the       
spiritual make-up of the repentant      
pirate1 ,john ,king--together with      
another bottle of phosphorised oil1 a   
bottle of scent1 and other properties4  
,but we have not to deal here with the  
obviously fraudulent features of modern 
spiritualism4 ,years ago ,mr ,h4 ,w4    
,harrison summed up the position4 ,he   
pointed out that there were two classes 
of so-called materialisations3 7#a7     
forms with flexible features1 commonly  
bearing a strong resemblance to the     
medium1 which move and speak4 ,these are
 the forms which come out when the      
medium is in the cabinet2 7#b7 ,forms   
with features which are inflexible and  
masklike 7the epithet is not ,mr        
,harrison's7 and which do not move about
 or speak4 ,such inflexible faces are   
seen chiefly when the medium is held by 
the sitters1 or is in full view of the  
circle4 ,mr ,harrison then continues3   
,we have patiently watched for years for

 a living1 flexible face1 in a good     
light1 which face bore no resemblance to
 that of the medium1 and was not        
produced on his or her own premises4    
,hitherto this search has been          
prosecuted without success4 ,mr ,a4 ,r4 
,wallace and ,mr ,crookes have witnessed
 a great number of form manifestations1 
without once recording that off the     
premises of the medium they have seen a 
living1 flexible1 materialised          
spirit-form bearing no resemblance to   
the sensitive4 ,neither has ,mr ,varley 
made any such record4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,the     
presumption must be one of fraud1       
especially when conditions are laid down
 which serve to prevent full            
investigation4 ,i have before me the    
printed conditions of a ,north ,london  
,spiritualistic society3       ,as a    
member of the society you must bear in  
mind that you will      be bound in     
honour to accept all the rules laid down
 by our      ,spirit controls1 and by   

the leader of the meeting1 as to the    
conditions under which the meetings are 
held1 such as the      darkened room1   
the holding of hands so as to form a    
strongly      magnetic ring in front of 
the medium1 etc4--and it is             
interesting to note that the great      
,mesmer1 when he was      conducting his
 experiments in magnetism more than one 
hundred      years ago1 had discovered  
the advantage of 'a circle' formed in   
this way1 for he writes3 ',the power of 
magnetism is augmented      by          
establishing a direct communication     
between several persons4      ,this can 
be done in two ways3 the more simple is 
to form a      chain1 with a certain    
number of persons made to hold each     
other's hands2 it can also be done by   
means of the 'baquet' 7a      mechanical
 contrivance invented by himself74      
,no one should ever attempt to touch a  
spirit unless invited to      do so by  
the spirits themselves1 and the circle1 
once formed1      must never be broken  

by unloosing of hands4 ,if this becomes 
really necessary at any time1 permission
 should first be      asked1 when the   
controlling spirit will give            
instructions as to      how it is to be 
carried out4  ,i cannot forbear from    
quoting further the following passage   
addressed to members of the society3--  
,you will greatly assist us in obtaining
 good results if you      will kindly   
use a little discretion in the matter of
 your food1      especially on the day  
of the meeting1 when fish1 vegetables1  
fruit 7especially bananas71 and light   
food of that description      are most  
helpful1 but meat1 wine1 beer1 or       
spirits 7wine and      spirits          
especially7 should be carefully avoided2
 and we find      that it is better to  
make a good meal in the middle of the   
day1      a substantial tea at #e4cj1   
and supper after the meeting1 as by     
following this plan the members of the  
circle are able to give      off more of
 the spiritual aura which is used by the

 controls      in building up the forms 
which appear to us1 each member of the  
circle contributing his or her share    
unconsciously4       ,the use of        
non-actinic light1 such as that obtained
 from a      small dark lantern1 is     
defended on the grounds that the actinic
      rays coming from the violet end of
 the spectrum are so rapid in      their
 movements that they immediately break  
up any combination      of matter       
produced under such circumstances4 ,any 
form of light1      except the red1 or  
perhaps the yellow1 rays would have this
      effect4 ,that is one reason why   
the cabinet is employed1      because   
that would shut off any form of light   
from the medium      whilst the forms   
are building up2 although on several    
occasions1 from time to time1 when the  
form has thus been built      up fully1 
we have been able to use a red light    
strong enough to      illuminate the    
whole of the room4  ,so long as         
spiritualists1 as ,i have before        

remarked1 maintain this attitude1 so    
long must they meet with incredulity on 
the part of official science4 ,in nearly
 all these private circles the          
precautions taken against trickery are  
absurdly lacking1 and1 as we have just  
seen1 frequently purposely omitted4     
,thus we have to fall back in           
considering the genuine character of the
 phenomena on the good faith of the     
medium4 ,when the medium is known to be 
a man of blameless life1 and has long   
been before the public undetected in any
 deception1 the presumption would       
certainly appear to be in favour of his 
bona-fides4 ,but of what value is this  
presumption should the medium not be    
conscious of his actions when his       
impersonation of this or that character 
is wholly undertaken by his secondary or
 subliminal self8 ,here we begin to have
 glimmerings of the great truth which   
may conceivably underlie the parable of 
,dr ,jekyll and ,mr ,hyde1 and          
investigations into the marvels of      

multiple personalities lead us further  
towards the light4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,on the whole1 the
 conclusion ,i have arrived at is that1 
where the element of fraud is           
eliminated1 we might rationally seek for
 an explanation in hallucination4 ,take 
the famous case of ,archdeacon ,colley  
and ,mr ,monck4 ,the ,archdeacon        
actually declared that he saw the       
psychic or spirit form grow out of his  
left side3       ,first1 several faces1 
one after another1 of great beauty      
appeared1 and in amazement we saw--and  
as ,i was standing close      up to the 
medium1 even touching him--,i saw most  
plainly1      several times1 a perfect  
face and form of exquisite womanhood    
partially issue from ,dr ,monck1 about  
the region of the heart4      ,then1    
after several attempts1 the full-formed 
figure1 in a      nebulous condition at 
first1 but growing solider as it issued 
from the medium1 left ,dr ,monck and    
stood1 a separate      individuality1   

two or three feet off1 bound to him by a
 slender      attachment1 as of         
gossamer1 which1 at my request1         
',samuel1' the      control1 severed    
with the medium's left hand1 and there  
stood      embodied a spirit form of    
unutterable loveliness1 robed in        
attire spirit-spun--a meshy webwork from
 no mortal loom1 of a      fleeciness   
inimitable1 and of transfiguration      
whiteness truly      glistening4  ,now1 
as ,mr ,podmore somewhat satirically    
points out3       ,it is difficult to   
believe that the exquisite spirit form  
which presented itself to ,mr ,colley's 
glowing imagination was      merely a   
confection of masks1 stuffed gloves1 and
 muslin1      actuated by a jointed rod1
 but we cannot help remembering1 if     
,mr ,colley did not1 that articles of   
this kind had1 a      twelve-month      
previously1 been found1 under           
compromising      circumstances1 in the 
possession of ,dr ,monck4  ,the         
recognitions which take place at seances

 are undoubtedly to a large extent sense
 deceptions4 ,there is now a            
professional medium at whose seances    
spirit faces are constantly being       
recognised4 ,of course the performance  
takes place in the dark4 ,a faintly     
illuminated slate shows the profiles    
against the background1 and one or other
 of the members generally recognises it4
 ,the mouth and chin of the female faces
 shown at these seances are generally   
veiled1 but this does not appear to     
affect the recognition4  ,on the whole1 
the testimony for and against the       
reality of spirits at the better class  
of seance is pretty evenly balanced4 ,i 
hesitate to disturb it1 although        
remarking1 parenthetically1 that the    
believers have the most1 if not the     
best1 of the literature on the subject4 
,and for those who are deeply perplexed 
there is always the theory of           
hallucination to fall back upon4        
,,chapter ,,xii  ,,spirit ,,photography 
,if the claim of the spiritualists to   

having achieved the materialisation of  
the spirits of deceased persons were    
restricted to the mere ocular1 oral1 and
 tactile evidence of the dark seance1   
the theory of hallucination would       
account for much that is perplexing4    
,but the problem becomes complicated    
when the spiritualists come forward with
 proof that their senses have not misled
 them4 ,it is only a few months since   
that a young man in the north of        
,england1 on photographing his mother   
and sisters1 was greatly startled to    
find his late father's face also on the 
plate4 ,he had not made use of the      
camera1 we are told1 for eighteen       
months4 ,recently1 too1 a professional  
photographer in ,london was commissioned
 to photograph a grave which was        
surmounted by a beautiful basket of     
flowers4 ,to his consternation1 within  
the handle appeared the facial          
lineaments of the deceased4  ,the       
earliest spirit photograph1 as far as   
can be ascertained1 dates from #ahfb1   

when an ,american photographer named    
,mumler1 on developing a photograph of  
himself1 discovered the likeness of a   
cousin who had been dead some dozen     
years previously4 ,the case was         
investigated by ,dr ,mumler of ,boston1 
who considered that many of the spirit  
photographs afterwards taken by ,mumler 
were genuine1 but that others were1 in  
our modern phrase1 indubitably faked4   
,this was put down to ,mumler's desire  
to cope with the unusual demand and     
satisfy his host of sitters4  ,mumler1  
after twelve years' experience1 writing 
to ,mr ,james ,burns1 says3       ,i    
have been investigated by the best      
photographers in ,america1      and have
 their testimony in my favour1 given    
under oath2 ,i have      been tried in a
 court of justice1 and been honourably  
acquitted2 and1 lastly1 ,i have the     
evidence of thousands of      people who
 have had pictures taken1 and recognised
 the      likenesses of their spirit    
friends1 many of whom never had a       

picture taken during life4 ,i have been 
a humble instrument in      the hands of
 the ,almighty1 to place a link in the  
great chain      of evidence that binds 
the two worlds together4 ,flowers1      
birds1      and animals have frequently 
appeared upon the plates and one        
lady was delighted to recognise by her  
side her faithful old      black        
retriever4  ,not till ten years later   
did a photographer named ,hudson        
succeed1 with the aid of a medium1 in   
producing spirit pictures4 ,the modus   
operandi appeared simple4 ,the sitter   
was posed before the camera1 and the    
picture was subsequently developed1 when
 besides the sitter's own image there   
appeared another figure or figures      
usually draped1 with the features       
blurred or only partly distinguishable4 
,usually these figures were recognised  
unhesitatingly by the sitters as        
portraits of deceased relatives or      
friends4 ,afterwards the practice of    
spirit photography received a rude      

shock4 ,they were examined carefully by 
professional photographers1 and some of 
them were found to bear clear marks of  
double exposure1 the background in each 
case being visible through the dress of 
the sitter--a fatal defect in spirit    
photography4 ,moreover it was found that
 in some cases the medium had dressed up
 to play the role of spirit4 ,whereupon 
several of those who had professed to   
recognise the ghosts now hastened to    
repudiate their recognition4 ,but spirit
 photography was not to be quashed so   
easily4 ,the experiments went on1 and   
faces and figures appeared on the       
developed plate which seem to have      
considerably baffled the experts4 ,sir  
,william ,crookes now resolved to put   
the matter to a test by attempting to   
obtain a photograph of ,katie1 the      
famous control of ,miss ,cook1 the      
medium4 ,the young lady gave a series of
 sittings in ,may #ahgd at ,sir         
,william's house for the purpose4 ,these
 sittings took place by electric light1 

no fewer than five cameras being        
simultaneously at work4 ,the medium lay 
down on the floor behind a curtain1 her 
face muffled in a shawl4 ,when the      
materialisation was complete ,katie     
would appear in the full light in front 
of the curtain3       ,i frequently1    
writes ,sir ,william ,crookes1 drew the 
curtain      on one side when ,katie was
 standing near2 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 time1 under the  
full blaze of      the electric light4  
,we did not on these occasions actually 
see      the face of the medium1 because
 of the shawl1 but we saw her      hands
 and feet2 we saw her move uneasily     
under the influence of      the intense 
light1 and we heard her moan            
occasionally4 ,i have      one          
photograph of the two together1 but     
,katie is seated in      front of ,miss 
,cook's head4  ,i have not seen these   
photographs of ,katie1 but ,mr ,podmore 

has1 and when comparing them with       
contemporary portraits of ,miss ,cook   
herself he is inclined to consider the  
likeness between the two sets           
unmistakable4 ,the apparently greater   
breadth of 'spirit' face1 he writes1 may
 well be due to the fact that1 whereas  
,miss ,cook wore hanging ringlets1      
',katie's' hair is effectually concealed
 by the drapery1 which in most cases    
comes down over the forehead1 and falls 
in two thick folds on either side of the
 head1 something like the headgear of a 
sphinx4 ,again1 as ,miss ,cook1 when    
photographed1 wore her ordinary dress1  
which concealed her feet1 the apparent  
difference in height on some occasions  
between herself and the spirit figure   
cannot be relied upon4 ,one piece of    
evidence would1 indeed1 have been       
conclusive--that the ears of the spirit 
form should have appeared intact1 for   
,miss ,cook's ears were pierced for     
earrings4 ,but the encircling drapery   
effectually concealed both the ears and 

the hair of the spirit ',katie4'  ,the  
evidence for photographs of invisible   
people which we sometimes hear abduced  
as adequate is surprisingly feeble4 ,for
 instance1 in a recent anonymous and    
weak book1 said to be written by a      
member of the ,society for ,psychical   
,research1 two photographs are          
reproduced which are said to have been  
obtained under what are considered      
crucial conditions2 but the narrative   
itself at once suggests a simple trick  
on the part of the photographer--viz4   
the provision of backgrounds for sitters
 with vague human forms all ready       
depicted on them in sulphate of quinine4
  ,sir ,oliver ,lodge is of opinion that
 it is by no means physically impossible
 that some of these temporary           
semi-material accretions might be       
inadequate to appeal to our eyes1 and   
yet be of a kind able to impress a      
photographic plate2 but here he         
confesses that the evidence1 to his     
mind1 wholly breaks down1 and he admits 

that he has never yet seen a satisfying 
instance of what is termed a spirit     
photograph2 nor is it easy to imagine   
the kind of record apart from testimony 
which in such a case would be           
convincing1 unless such photographs     
could be produced at will4  ,a          
conviction of fraud having entered the  
minds of the sceptically inclined1 the  
exposure of a certain ,parisian         
photographer1 ,buguet1 shook the faith  
of the credulous4 ,buguet enjoyed in    
,london an extraordinary success4 ,many 
leading people sat to him and obtained  
spirit photographs1 by them clearly     
recognisable1 of their deceased         
relations4 ,no less than forty out of   
one hundred and twenty photographs      
examined by ,stainton ,moses were       
pronounced by the sitters to be genuine 
likenesses of spirits1 and baffled the  
scrutiny of the sceptics4 ,nevertheless 
,buguet was arrested and charged by the 
,french ,government for fraudulent      
production of spirit photographs4 ,at   

his trial ,buguet disconcerted the whole
 spiritualistic world by confessing1 he 
said that the whole of his spirit       
photographs were obtained by means of   
double exposure4 ,to begin with1 he     
employed three or four assistants to    
play the part of ghost4 ,nevertheless1  
in spite of his confession1 in spite of 
the trick apparatus confiscated by the  
police1 at ,buguet's trial witness after
 witness1 people high in the social and 
professional world1 came forward to     
testify that they had not been deceived1
 that the spirit photographs were       
genuine4 ,they refused to doubt the     
evidence of their own eyesight4 ,one ,m4
 ,dessenon1 a picture dealer1 had       
obtained a spirit portrait of his wife2 
he had been instantly struck with the   
likeness1 and had shown it to the lady's
 relatives1 who exclaimed at once on its
 exactness4 ,the judge asked ,buguet for
 an explanation4 ,the prisoner replied  
that it was pure chance4 ,i had1 he     
said1 no photograph of ,madame          

,dessenon4 ,but1 cried the witness1 my  
children1 like myself1 thought the      
likeness perfect4 ,when ,i showed them  
the picture1 they cried1 ',it is mamma6'
 ,i have seen all ,m4 ,buguet's         
properties and pictures1 and there is   
nothing in the least like the picture ,i
 have obtained4 ,i am convinced it is my
 wife4 ,as a result1 many spiritualists1
 including ,stainton ,moses and ,william
 ,howitt1 refused to consider the case  
one of fraud4 ,they regarded ,buguet as 
a genuine medium who had been bound to  
confess to imaginary trickery4 ,yet     
after this spirit photography as a      
profession has not flourished in this   
country4 ,there is one professional who 
is responsible for many ghost pictures4 
,but in his productions appear          
unmistakable signs of double exposures4 
,you see the pattern of the carpet and  
the curtain of the study visible through
 the sitter's body and clothes4 ,in one 
instance at all events1 where the ghost 
represents a well-known statesman1 the  

head has obviously been cut from the    
photograph and the contour draped to    
hide the cut edges4 ,but the phenomena  
of spirit photography are abundant      
enough in private circles4  ,i have     
before me as ,i write a number of       
reputed spirit photographs obtained by  
private persons both with and without   
the aid of a professional medium4 ,in   
one sent me by a gentleman resident at  
,finsbury ,park1 which is a very        
impressive specimen of its kind1 the    
fact of a double exposure is obvious to 
the least experienced in dark-room      
matters4 ,notwithstanding1 the          
photographer has apparently made a      
speciality of this kind of work4        
,in my collection he writes of over two 
thousand specimens      are portraits of
 ,atlantean priests1 who flourished     
about #ab1jjj      years ago1 ,biblical 
patriarchs1 poets1 ,royalties1 clerics1 
scientists1 literary men1 etc41 pioneer 
spiritualists1 like      ,emma ,h4      
,britten1 ,luther ,marsh1 ,wallace1 and 

,john ,lamont4 ,the      latest         
additions are1 ,i am happy to say1 my   
kind old friend      ,mrs ,glendinning1 
and a worthy quartette of earnest       
workers in      ,dr ,younger1 ,mr       
,thomas ,everitt1 ,mr ,c4 ,lacey1 and   
,david ,duguid4  ,one of the most       
curious instances of a ghost photograph 
occurred in the summer of #ahib4 ,six   
months previously a lady had taken a    
photograph of the library at ,d----     
,hall4 ,she kept the plate a long time  
before developing it1 and when developed
 it showed the faint but clearly        
recognisable figure of a man sitting in 
a large arm-chair4 ,a print from the    
photograph was obtained and shown1 when 
the image was immediately recognised as 
the likeness of the late ,lord ,d----1  
the owner of ,d---- ,hall4 ,what was    
more1 it was ascertained that ,lord     
,d---- had actually been buried on the  
day the photograph was taken4 ,a copy of
 the photograph was sent to ,professor  
,barrett1 who examined it and reported  

7#a7 that the image is too faint and    
blurred for any likeness to be          
substantiated2 7#b7 that the plate had  
been exposed in the camera for an hour  
and the room left unguarded2 7#c7 that  
actual experiments show that an         
appearance such as that on the plate    
could have been produced if a man--there
 were four men in the house--had sat in 
the chair for a few seconds during the  
exposure1 moving his head and limbs the 
while4  ,another ghost picture described
 by ,mr ,podmore was probably caused in 
a similar way4 ,a chapel was            
photographed1 and when the plate was    
developed a face was faintly seen in a  
panel of the woodwork1 which the        
photographer recognised as a young      
acquaintance who had not long since met 
with a tragic death4 ,in fact1 writes   
,mr ,podmore1 when he told me the story 
and showed me the picture1 ,i could     
easily see the faint but well-marked    
features of a handsome melancholy lad of
 eighteen4 ,a colleague1 however1 to    

whom ,i showed the photograph without   
relating the story1 at once identified  
the face as that of a woman of thirty4  
,the outlines are in reality so         
indistinct as to leave ample room for   
the imagination to work on2 and there is
 no reason to doubt that1 as in the     
ghost of the library1 the camera had    
merely preserved faint traces of some   
intruder who1 during prolonged exposure1
 stood for a few seconds in front of it4
  ,in spite of all the damaging exposes 
and these discouraging explanations many
 intelligent persons the world over will
 still go on believing in the           
genuineness of spirit photography4 ,let 
me give a few examples of their         
testimony4 ,m4 ,reichel1 to whom        
allusion has already been made1 states  
that at one of ,miller's seances in     
,america1 held on #bith ,october #aije1 
those present suddenly heard a great    
number of voices behind the curtain3    
,betsy told us that sometimes there are 
,egyptian women and      sometimes      

,indians who come in a crowd to produce 
their      phenomena4 ,on ,october #bith
 and again on ,november #bnd ,i sent for
      a ,san ,francisco photographer1   
,mr ,edward ,wyllie1 to see what        
impression would be made on a           
photographic plate by the beings        
who appeared4 ,some remarkable pictures 
were taken by      flashlight4 ,besides 
the fully materialised forms1 there were
      shown on the photographs several  
spirits who could not be seen      by   
the physical eyes4       ,in one of the 
latter figures ,i instantly recognised  
an uncle      of mine1 whom ,i had made 
acquainted with spiritualism about      
twelve years previously1 through the    
assistance of another      medium4  ,a  
correspondent sends me an interesting   
account of investigating materialised   
spirits in daylight3       ,miss        
,fairlamb 7afterwards ,mrs ,mellon7 was 
the medium1 and the      photographs of 
',geordie' and others taken in the      
garden in      broad daylight were quite

 successful4 ,the conditions must have  
been most harmonious1 as ',geordie'     
afterwards1 when twilight      came on1 
walked about the lawn1 and even ventured
 into the      house1 returning to the  
tent1 which served as a cabinet1 with   
an umbrella and hassock in his hands4   
,dr ,theodore ,hausmann1 one of the     
oldest physicians in ,washington1       
,u4,s4,a41 has devoted many years to    
this particular phase of mediumship4 ,he
 places himself before his camera in the
 study and photographs his spirit       
visitors1 who have included his father1 
son1 and ,president ,lincoln4 ,the      
opening paragraph in an article he wrote
 is as follows3--       ,grieving       
parents1 the bereaved widow and mother1 
will only be      too happy if they can 
see the pictures of those again who were
      so dear to their hearts1 and whose
 image gradually will vanish      if    
nothing is left to renew their memories4
  ,there have been many touching letters
 from relatives of grateful thanks1 who 

imagine themselves in this way to have  
received portraits of their dear ones   
who have passed away4  ,in a work which 
,i have come across in which            
spiritualism is by no means supported   
,mr ,j4 ,g4 ,raupert acknowledges3      
,that as regards spirit photographs1 he 
'obtained many striking      pictures of
 this character1 under good test        
conditions1 and      attended by        
circumstances yielding unique and       
exceptionally      valuable evidence4444
 ,the evidence in favour of some of     
these      psychic pictures is as good  
as it is ever likely to be1 and1        
respecting some of these obtained by the
 present writer1 expert                 
photographic authorities have expressed 
their verdict4 ,sir      ,william       
,crookes has obtained them in his own   
house under      personally imposed     
conditions1 and many private            
experimenters      in different parts of
 the world have been equally successful4
  ,this from an avowed opponent is      

striking testimony to some kind of      
manifestation which is not1 in intent1  
at least1 fraudulent4     ,,chapter     
,,xiii  ,,clairvoyance   ,it was natural
 that out of all these mystic           
practices--those ,i have already        
indicated and the others ,i am about to 
indicate--a cult or religion should have
 been moulded4 ,to this cult has been   
given the name of spiritualism 7or      
spiritism1 as some of the newer devotees
 prefer to call it74 ,its great         
outstanding feature and essential       
mystery is1 of course1 physical         
mediumship4 ,the creed of the believer  
in disembodied spirits is that the      
medium acts as the passive agent for    
certain physical and intellectual       
manifestations which do not belong to   
the role of the visible1 tangible world 
in which we live4 ,one of the forms of  
those manifestations is clairvoyance2   
others are materialisation--i4e4 the    
actual incarnation of spiritual         
forms--physical manifestations such as  

table rapping1 levitation1 slate        
writing1 etc41 trance utterances and    
spirit photography4  ,from the physical 
phenomena to the intellectual phenomena 
of clairvoyance4  ,clairvoyance         
literally means clear seeing2 but in    
spiritualism it has a technical meaning1
 and may be either objective or         
subjective4 ,in the terminology of the  
cult1 objective clairvoyance is         
described as that psychic power or      
function of seeing1 objectively1 by and 
through the spiritualism sensorium of   
sight which pervades the physical       
mechanism of vision1 spiritual beings   
and things4 ,a few persons are born with
 this power2 in some it is developed1   
and in others it has but a casual       
quickening4 ,its extent is governed by  
the rate of vibration under which it    
operates2 thus1 one clairvoyant may see 
spiritual things which to another may be
 invisible because of the degree of     
difference in the intensity of the      
powers4  ,further1 subjective           

clairvoyance is that psychic condition  
of a person which enables spirit        
intelligences to impress or photograph  
upon the brain of that person1 at will1 
pictures and images which are seen as   
visions by that person1 without the aid 
of the physical eye4 ,these pictures and
 images may be of things spiritual or   
material1 past or present1 remote or    
near1 hidden or uncovered1 or they may  
have their existence simply in the      
conception or imagination of the spirit 
communicating them4  ,putting aside1    
however1 all supernatural explanation1  
let us consider how we can best account 
for the fact1 if fact it be1 of         
clairvoyance4 ,what we see is this3 that
 under given conditions the mouth of a  
man or woman by no means above1 and     
often below1 the intellectual average   
utters1 and the hand writes of1 matters 
absolutely outside the normal ken of the
 minds of such a man or woman4 ,evidence
 for this phenomena is1 to put it       
bluntly1 staggering4 ,if1 unknown to a  

living soul1 your wife or sister        
accidentally dropped half-a-sovereign   
down a deep well1 and whilst she was    
still continuing to hug her little      
secret to her bosom you were present at 
a clairvoyant sitting where the medium  
in a trance informed you of the         
circumstances1 you would no doubt be    
astounded4 ,well1 the manifestations of 
a conjurer are occasionally astounding4 
,no matter how our reason is baffled at 
first1 it behoves us not only to seek a 
natural explanation of the fact but also
 to ascertain and authenticate the fact 
itself4 ,but a man may not implicitly   
trust his senses4  ,i soon found that   
merely having been a witness of a       
mysterious phenomenon no more qualified 
me for passing judgment upon it1 or even
 furnished me with a more advantageous  
standpoint from which to deliver my     
opinions1 than a man who has first seen 
the ocean and even tasted it can explain
 why it is salt4 ,no1 a man after all1  
unless he is equipped with unusual      

facilities1 had best stick to the       
recorded testimony of the cloud of      
witnesses4 ,amongst these witnesses1 who
 are also acute and experienced         
investigators1 are ,lord ,rayleigh1 ,mr 
,balfour1 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 ,sir  
,oliver ,lodge1 ,alfred ,russel         
,wallace1 ,dr ,hodgson1 ,frederic       
,myers1 ,professor ,hyslop1 ,m4 ,camille
 ,flammarion1 ,professor ,richet1       
,professor ,william ,james1 ,professor  
,janet1 ,mr ,frank ,podmore and         
,professor ,lombroso4 ,i think it fair  
to assume that these men represent the  
white light of human intelligence of the
 decade4 ,they have made a special study
 of the matter1 and they all seem to be 
agreed that in the case of trance       
lucidity and clairvoyance the normal    
mind of the writer or speaker is not at 
work4 ,yet there certainly would seem to
 be an operating intelligence1 having a 
special character and a special         
knowledge4  ,what1 then1 is that        
operating intelligence8 ,by what means  

does it obtain its special knowledge8   
,sir ,oliver ,lodge formulates two      
answers to the second question4  #a4 ,by
 telepathy from living people4  #b4 ,by 
direct information imparted to it by the
 continued1 conscious1 individual agency
 of deceased persons4  ,these he regards
 as the chief customary alternative     
answers4 ,but there is a wide1 perhaps  
an impassable1 gulf between these two   
alternatives4 ,we can here do no more   
than glance at the nature of the        
evidence4  ,the mystery of mediumship   
has probably received more attention    
from ,m4 ,flournoy1 ,professor of       
,psychology in the ,university of       
,geneva1 than from anyone else1 not     
excepting ,janet and ,hodgson1 and our  
,english investigators4 ,certainly his  
opportunities for studying at close     
quarters subjects of a more normal type 
than the ,salpetriere patients are      
unparalleled4 ,m4 ,flournoy's most      
famous case is that of ,helene ,smith4  
,helene he writes was as a child quiet  

and dreamy1 and had      occasional     
visions1 but was1 on the whole1 not     
specially      remarkable4 ,she is1 to  
all outward appearances at the present  
time1 healthy even to robustness4 ,from 
the age of fifteen she      has been    
employed in a large commercial          
establishment in      ,geneva1 and holds
 a position of some responsibility4 ,but
 it is      in #ahib that her real      
history begins4 ,in that year she was   
persuaded by some friends to join a     
spiritualistic circle4 ,it      soon    
appeared that she was herself a powerful
 medium4 ,at first      her mediumship  
consisted in seeing visions1 hearing    
voices1 and      assisting in tilting   
the table1 whilst still retaining more  
or      less consciousness and          
subsequent memory of her experiences4   
,shortly after ,m4 ,flournoy's admission
 to the circle1 in the      winter of   
#ahid-ie1 ,miss ,smith's mediumship     
advanced a stage1      and she          
habitually passed at the seance into a  

trance state1      retaining            
subsequently no memory of her visions   
and doings in      that state4 ,her     
development followed at first the normal
      course4 ,she delivered messages of
 a personal character to her            
sitters1 purporting to emanate from     
deceased friends and the      like4 ,she
 offered numerous proofs of             
clairvoyance4 ,she was from      time to
 time controlled by spirits of the      
famous dead4 ,some of      her earliest 
trances were under the guidance and     
inspiration of      ,victor ,hugo4      
,within a few months the spirit of the  
poet--too      late1 indeed1 for his own
 post-mortem reputation1 for he had     
already perpetrated some verses--was    
expelled with ignominy by      a more   
masterful demon who called himself      
,leopold4 ,the newcomer      was at     
first somewhat reticent on his own past1
 and when      urgently questioned was  
apt to take refuge in moral platitudes4 
,later1 however1 he revealed himself as 

,giuseppe ,balsamo1 ,count              
,cagliostro4 ,it then appeared that in  
,helene herself was      reincarnated   
the hapless ,queen ,marie ,antoinette1  
and that      others of the mortals     
represented ,mirabeau1 ,prince of       
,orleans1      etc4444       ,it is     
,helene's extra-planetary experiences1  
however1 which      have excited most   
attention1 and which furnished to the   
attendants at her circle the most       
convincing proofs of her      dealings  
with the spiritual world4 ,in ,november 
#ahid1 the spirit      of the entranced 
medium was wafted--not without          
threatenings of                         
sea-sickness--through the cosmic void1  
to arrive eventually on      the planet 
,mars4 ,thereafter night after night she
 described to      the listening circle 
the people of our neighbouring planet1  
their food1 dress1 and ways of life4 ,at
 times she drew pictures      of the    
inhabitants1 human and animal--of their 
houses1 bridges1      and other         

edifices1 and of the surrounding        
landscape4 ,later she      both spoke   
and wrote freely in the ,martian        
language4 ,from the      writings       
reproduced in ,m4 ,flournoy's book it is
 clear that the      characters of the  
,martian script are unlike any in use on
      earth1 and that the words 7of     
which a translation is furnished7       
bear no resemblance1 superficially at   
least1 to any known      tongue4 ,the   
spirits--for several dwellers upon ,mars
 used      ,helene's organism to speak  
and write through--delivered            
themselves with freedom and fluency1 and
 were consistent in      their usage    
both of the spoken and the written      
words4 ,in fact1      ,martian1 as used 
by the entranced ,helene1 has many of   
the      characteristics of a genuine   
language2 and it is not surprising      
that some of the onlookers1 who may have
 hesitated over the      authenticity of
 the other revelations1 were apparently 
convinced that these ,martian utterances

 were beyond the common      order of   
nature4  ,all his powers ,m4 ,flournoy  
bent to elucidate the mystery4 ,he made 
up his mind that ,helene must somewhere 
have come across one of the works       
containing ,flammarion's speculations   
concerning ,mars4 ,the landscapes were  
suggested by ,japanese lacquer and      
,nankin dishes4 ,as for the language1 it
 is just such a work of art as one might
 form by substituting for each word in  
the ,french dictionary an arbitrary     
collocation of letters1 and for each    
letter a new and arbitrary symbol4 ,the 
vowel and consonant signs are the same  
as in ,french2 so are the inflections1  
the grammar1 the construction4 7,take1  
for example1 the negative ke anine pas1 
the employment of the same word zi to   
express both la the and la there47 ,if  
it is childish as a work of art1 it is  
miraculous enough as a feat of memory4  
,but the reader has not forgotten what  
the subliminal self is capable of       
achieving as regards time appreciation  

mentioned in an early chapter4 ,when1   
however1 it comes to ,helene's          
telepathic and clairvoyant powers1 ,m4  
,flournoy1 in spite of his long         
investigation1 can find no explanation  
of the supernormal to fit the case4 ,her
 mediumship since #ahib included        
manifestations of all kinds4 ,they began
 with physical phenomena1 but they soon 
ceased4 ,her clairvoyant messages during
 trance are certainly of a remarkable   
character4 ,her reception of distant    
scenes and persons1 of which she was    
apparently unacquainted1 has been       
carefully investigated and authenticated
 by numerous persons of reputation4 ,it 
is this aspect of spiritualism which has
 of recent years commanded most         
attention from trained observers4 ,the  
trance utterances of such well-known    
clairvoyants as the late ,stainton      
,moses1 ,mrs ,thompson1 and ,mrs ,piper 
have been subjected to rigid and precise
 inquiry1 and on the whole it is on this
 type of evidence that the strongest    

arguments of the genuineness of         
spiritualism really rests4 ,it is at    
once the most impressive1 the most      
interesting1 and the most voluminous4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,of ,stainton ,moses ,i have already    
spoken4 ,this medium was1 as we have    
seen1 a man of character and probity1   
,english ,professor at the ,university  
,college ,school for eighteen years1 a  
man who was never detected in the       
slightest fraud1 and who died in #ahib  
regretted by a host of intimate friends4
 ,stainton ,moses left a mass of        
published testimony to his pretended    
communications from the spirits of      
deceased persons4 ,he attached great    
importance to the evidence for          
spiritualistic doctrines4 ,altogether   
the controls or communicators numbered  
thirty-eight4 ,some of these ,moses or  
other members of the circles had known  
in life2 others--such as ,swedenborg1   
,bishop ,wilberforce1 and ,president    
,garfield--were historical personages4  

,besides these there was a class of     
individuals of no particular importance1
 and apparently unknown to the medium   
and his friends4 ,yet it is worthy of   
remark that the spirits by whom ,moses  
was controlled never withheld any data  
which would faciliate verification4 ,for
 instance1 at one seance a spirit put in
 an appearance by raps1 giving the name 
,rosmira4 ,she said that she lived at   
,kilburn and had died at ,torquay on    
#ajth ,january #ahgd4 ,she said that her
 husband's name was ,ben1 and that his  
surname was ,lancaster4 ,it turned out  
that a fortnight before the whole       
particulars were to be found in the     
,death notices in ,the ,daily           
,telegraph4 ,mr ,moses' spirits1        
comments ,mr ,podmore in his ,history of
 ,spiritualism1 habitually furnished    
accurate obituaries1 or gave such other 
particulars of their lives as could be  
gathered from the daily papers1 from    
published biographies1 or from the      
,annual ,register and other works of    

reference4 ,all the spirits1 indeed1    
gave their names1 with one exception--an
 exception so significant that the case 
is worth recording4 ,the ,pall ,mall    
,gazette for #bast ,february #ahgd      
contains the following item of          
intelligence3--       ,a cabdriver out  
of employment this morning threw himself
 under      a steam-roller which was    
being used in repairing the road in     
,york-place1 ,marylebone1 and was killed
 immediately4       ,mr ,moses was      
present at a seance that evening1 and   
his hand      was controlled1 ostensibly
 by the spirit of the unhappy           
suicide1 to write an account of the     
incident1 and to draw a      rough      
picture of a horse attached to a        
vehicle4 ,the name of the      dead man1
 it will be seen1 does not appear in the
 newspaper      account1 and out of the 
thirty-eight spirits who gave proofs of 
their identity through the mediumship of
 ,mr ,moses this      particular spirit 
alone chose to remain anonymous4  ,but a

 great part of ,moses' mediumistic      
career was taken up with trance         
utterances purporting to come from      
various spirits4 ,these writings1       
couched in clear1 vigorous ,english1    
seems to flow readily without any       
conscious intervention on the part of   
the mortal penman4 ,in fact1 so far was 
this so that he was able to read a book1
 or otherwise occupy his mind1 during   
their production4  ,the claims of the   
celebrated medium ,mrs ,thompson were   
carefully investigated by a competent   
observer1 ,mrs ,a4 ,w4 ,verrall1 the    
wife of an eminent ,cambridge scholar1  
and herself of no mean scholastic       
attainments4  ,i will endeavour to      
summarise ,mrs ,verrall's conclusions as
 follows3--       ,mrs ,verrall says    
that ,mrs ,thompson was unable to       
ascertain the      correct statements of
 facts which have been grouped under the
      four following heads3--       7a7 
,things known to the sitter and directly
 present in his      consciousness4     

7b7 ,things known to the sitter but not 
immediately present in      his         
consciousness4       7c7 ,things that   
have been well known to the sitter but  
are at      the moment so far forgotten 
as only to be recalled by the           
statements of the medium4       7d7     
,things unknown to the sitter4  ,with   
regard to things under head 7a7 ,mrs    
,verrall says3       ,some very clearly 
marked instances have come within my own
      observation2 the cases are not    
very numerous1 but the response         
from the 'control' to what has been     
thought but not uttered by      me has  
been so rapid and complete that1 were it
 not for the      evidence of the other 
sitter1 ,i should have been disposed to 
believe that ,i had unconsciously       
uttered the thought aloud4       ,thus1 
on one occasion1 ',nelly' said that a   
red-haired girl was      in my house    
that day1 and ,i was wondering whether a
 certain      friend of my daughter's1  
who is often at the house1 would be     

there1 when ',nelly' added3 ',not       
,so-and-so1' mentioning by name      my 
daughter's friend1 exactly as though ,i 
had uttered the      passing thought4   
,again1 when ',nelly' was describing a  
certain      bag given to me for my     
birthday1 something she said made me for
      a moment think of a small leather 
handbag left in my house by a           
cousin and occasionally used by me1 and 
she said3 ',you had an      uncle that  
died2 it was not long after that4' ,the 
father of the      cousin whom ,i had   
just thought of is the only uncle ,i    
have      known1 but his death long     
preceded the giving to me of the bag    
as a birthday present1 which was what   
she had quite correctly      described  
till my momentary thought apparently    
distracted her      attention to the    
other bag4 ,i have had in all some five 
or six      instances of such apparently
 direct responses as the above to a     
thought in the sitter's mind2 but when  
at ',nelly's' suggestion      ,i have   

fixed my attention on some detail for   
the sake of      helping her to get it1 
,i have never succeeded in doing        
anything      but what she calls        
'muggling her4'  ,another difficulty    
arises from the fact that mediums and   
their controls not infrequently receive 
impressions as pictures1 and these      
pictures are liable to be               
misinterpreted4 ,mrs ,verrall writes in 
her report of her sitting with ,mrs     
,thompson3       ,merrifield was said to
 be the name of a lady in my family4    
,the      name was given at first thus3 
',merrifield1 ,merryman1                
,merrythought1 ,merrifield2 there is an 
old lady named one of      these who1'  
etc4 ,later1 ',nelly' said3 ',mrs       
,merrythought1 that's      not quite    
right2 it's like the name of a garden'2 
and after in      vain trying to give   
her the name exactly1 she said3 ',i will
      tell you how names come to us4    
,it's like a picture2 ,i see      school
 children enjoying themselves4 ,you     

can't say ,merryman      because that's 
not a name1 or ,merrypeople4' ',nelly'  
later on      spoke of my mother as ,mrs
 ,happyfield or ,mrs ,merryfield with   
indifference 7,proceedings1 part xliv4  
p4 #bjh74  ,it is probably for this     
reason that so much use is made in      
spirit communications of symbolism4 ,the
 passage in which ,mr ,myers deals with 
the use of symbolism in automatic       
messages1 in his work on ,human         
,personality1 should be studied in this 
connection4 ,he points out that there is
 no a priori ground for supposing that  
language will have the power to express 
all the thoughts and emotions of man4   
,and if this is true of man in his      
present state1 how much more does it    
apply to man in another and more        
advanced state8 ,with reference to      
automatic writings he says3 ,there is a 
certain quality which reminds one of    
translation1 or of the composition of a 
person writing in a language in which he
 is not accustomed to talk4  ,as a      

result of her investigations1 ,mrs      
,verrall declares3       ,that ,mrs     
,thompson is possessed of knowledge not 
normally      obtained ,i regard as     
established beyond a doubt2 that the    
hypothesis of fraud1 conscious or       
unconscious1 on her part      fails to  
explain the phenomena seems to be       
equally certain2      that to more      
causes than one is to be attributed the 
success      which ,i have recorded     
seems to me likely4 ,there is1 ,i       
believe1      some evidence to indicate 
that telepathy between the sitter and   
the trance personality is one of these  
contributory causes4      ,but that     
telepathy from the living1 even in an   
extended sense      of the term1 does   
not furnish a complete explanation of   
the      occurrences observed by me1 is 
my present belief4  ,instances of       
clairvoyance in children are remarkably 
numerous4 ,a few weeks ago the ,rome    
correspondent of ,the ,tribune reported 
that a boy of twelve1 at ,capua1 was    

discovered sobbing and crying as if his 
heart would break4 ,asked by his mother 
the reason of his distress1 he said that
 he had just seen his father1 who was   
absent in ,america1 at the point of     
death1 assisted by two ,sisters of      
,charity4 ,next day a letter came from  
,america announcing the father's death4 
,remembering the boy's vision1 his      
mother tried to keep the tale a secret  
lest he should be regarded as           
'possessed1' but her efforts were vain1 
several persons having been present when
 he explained the cause of his grief4   
,the explanation of telepathy would     
hardly seem to fit the case1 since the  
father's death must have occurred at    
least eight or ten days previous to the 
vision4  ,i shall reserve for my next   
chapter what may be regarded as the     
classic illustration of the marvels of  
clairvoyance--that of ,mrs ,piper4      
,,chapter ,,xiv  ,,mrs ,,piper',s       
,,trance ,,utterances   ,almost alone   
amongst mediums of note1 ,mrs ,piper of 

,boston has never resorted to physical  
phenomena1 her powers being entirely    
confined to trance manifestations4 ,no  
single medium1 not even ,helene ,smith1 
has been subjected to such close and    
continuous observation by expert        
scientific observers4 ,in #ahhe1 this   
lady's case was first investigated by   
,professor ,william ,james1 of ,harvard 
7brother of the famous novelist74 ,two  
years later ,dr ,hodgson and other      
members of the ,society for ,psychical  
,research began their observation of her
 trance utterances4 ,this course of     
observation has continued for twenty    
years1 and nearly all ,mrs ,piper's     
utterances have been placed on record4  
,the late ,dr ,hodgson was indefatigable
 in his labours to test the genuineness 
of the phenomena4 ,he spared no pains1  
and died1 ,i believe1 convinced that all
 means of accounting for them had been  
exhausted4  ,there is so much evidence  
concerning ,mrs ,piper1 who1 two years  
ago came to ,england at the invitation  

of the ,society for ,psychical          
,research1 and was subjected to numerous
 tests1 that ,i hesitate how best to    
typify its purport4 ,most striking is a 
letter to ,professor ,james in the      
,society's ,proceedings from a          
well-known professor1 ,shaler of        
,harvard1 who attended a seance1 with a 
very open mind indeed1 on #beth ,may    
#ahid1 at ,professor ,james's house in  
,cambridge 7,boston74  ,professor       
,shaler was disposed to favour neither  
the medium nor even the telepathic      
theory4 ,he writes3       ,,my ,,dear   
,,james1--,at the sitting with ,mrs     
,piper on ,may #beth ,i      made the   
following notes3--       ,as you        
remember1 ,i came to the meeting with my
 wife2 when ,mrs      ,piper entered the
 trance state ,mrs ,shaler took her     
hand4 ,after      a few irrelevant      
words1 my wife handed ,mrs ,piper an    
engraved      seal1 which she knew1     
though ,i did not1 had belonged to her  
brother1 a gentleman from ,richmond1    

,virginia1 who died about a      year   
ago4 ,at once ,mrs ,piper began to make 
statements clearly      relating to the 
deceased1 and in the course of the      
following      hour she showed a        
somewhat intimate acquaintance with his 
affairs1 those of his immediate family1 
and those of the family      in         
,hartford1 ,conn41 with which the       
,richmond family had had      close     
social relations4       ,the statements 
made by ,mrs ,piper1 in my opinion1     
entirely      exclude the hypothesis    
that they were the results of           
conjectures1 directed by the answers    
made by my wife4 ,i took no      part in
 the questioning1 but observed very     
closely all that was      done4         
,on the supposition that the medium had 
made very careful      preparation for  
her sittings in ,cambridge1 it would    
have been      possible for her to have 
gathered all the information which she  
rendered by means of agents in the two  
cities1 though ,i must      confess that

 it would have been rather difficult to 
have done      the work4       ,the only
 distinctly suspicious features were    
that certain      familiar baptismal    
names were properly given1 while those  
of an      unusual sort could not be    
extracted1 and also that one or two     
names were given correctly as regards   
the ceremony of baptism      or the     
directory1 but utterly wrong from the   
point of view of      family usage4     
,thus the name of a sister-in-law of    
mine1 a      sister of my wife's1 was   
given as ,jane1 which is true by the    
record1 but in forty years' experience  
of an intimate sort ,i      never knew  
her to be called ,jane--in fact1 ,i did 
not at first      recognise who was     
meant4       ,while ,i am disposed to   
hold to the hypothesis that the         
performance is one that is founded on   
some kind of deceit1 ,i      must       
confess that close observation of the   
medium made on me      the impression   
that she was honest4 ,seeing her under  

any other      conditions1 ,i should not
 hesitate to trust my instinctive sense 
as to the truthfulness of the woman4    
,i venture also to note1 though with    
some hesitancy1 the fact      that the  
ghost of the ancient ,frenchman who     
never existed1 but      who purports to 
control ,mrs ,piper1 though he speaks   
with a      first-rate stage ,french    
accent1 does not1 so far as ,i can find1
      make the characteristic blunders  
in the order of his ,english      words 
which we find in actual life4 ,whatever 
the medium is1 ,i      am convinced that
 this 'influence' is a preposterous     
scoundrel4       ,i think ,i did not put
 strongly enough the peculiar kind of   
knowledge that the medium seems to have 
concerning my wife's      brother's     
affairs4 ,certain of the facts1 as1 for 
instance1      those relating to the    
failure to find his will after his      
sudden      death1 were very neatly and 
dramatically rendered4 ,they had the    
real-life quality4 ,so1 too1 the name of

 a man who was to have      married my  
wife's brother's daughter1 but who died 
a month      before the time fixed for  
the wedding1 was correctly given1       
both as regards surname and ,christian  
name1 though the      ,christian name   
was not remembered by my wife or me4    
,i cannot determine how probable it is  
that the medium1 knowing      she was to
 have a sitting with you in ,cambridge1 
or rather a      number of them1 took   
pains to prepare for the tests by       
carefully working up the family history 
of your friends4 ,if she      had done  
this for thirty or so persons1 ,i think 
she could1      though with some        
difficulty1 have gained just the kind of
      knowledge which she rendered4 ,she
 would probably have forgotten      that
 my wife's brother's given name was     
,legh1 and that of his      mother      
,gabriella1 while she remembered that of
 ,mary and      ,charles1 and also that 
of a son in ,cambridge1 who is called   
,waller4 ,so1 too1 the fact that all    

trouble on account of the      missing  
will was within a fortnight after the   
death of ,mr ,page      cleared away by 
the action of the children was unknown4 
,the      deceased is represented as    
still troubled1 though he purported     
to see just what was going on in his    
family4       ,i have given you a       
mixture of observations and criticisms2 
let      me say that ,i have no firm    
mind about the matter4 ,i am            
curiously and yet absolutely            
uninterested in it1 for the reason      
that ,i don't see how ,i can exclude the
 hypothesis of fraud1      and until    
that can be excluded no advance can be  
made4       ,when ,i took the medium's  
hand1 ,i had my usual experience with   
them--a few preposterous compliments    
concerning the clearness      of my     
understanding1 and nothing more4  ,among
 those who have made a careful study at 
first hand of ,mrs ,piper's clairvoyance
 besides ,dr ,hodgson and ,professor    
,james are ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 the late

 ,frederic ,myers1 ,mrs ,sidgwick1      
,walter ,leaf1 ,professor ,romaine      
,newbold1 and ,professor ,j4 ,h4        
,hyslop1 and all of these have recorded 
their conviction that the results are   
not explicable by fraud or              
misrepresentation4  ,another account    
which sheds light on what occurs at ,mrs
 ,piper's seances is furnished by       
,professor ,estlin ,carpenter1 ,oxford4 
,it is dated #adth ,december #ahid3     
,,dear ,,professor ,,james1--,i had a   
sitting yesterday with ,mrs      ,piper 
at your house1 and was greatly          
interested with the      results        
obtained1 as they were entirely         
unexpected by me4      ,various persons 
were named and described whom we could  
not      identify 7my wife was present72
 but the names of my father and         
mother were correctly given1 with       
several details which were in      no   
way present to my mind at the time4 ,the
 illness from which      my father was  
suffering at the time of his death was  

identified1 but not the accident which  
took him from us4 ,a      penknife which
 ,i happened to have with me was rightly
 referred      to its place on the desk 
in his study1 and after considerable    
hesitation ,mrs ,piper wrote out the    
word organ when ,i asked      concerning
 other objects in the room4 ,she added  
spontaneously a      very remarkable    
item about which ,i was in no way       
thinking--viz4      that on ,sunday     
afternoons or evenings 7her phrase was  
'twilight'7 we were accustomed to sing  
there together4 ,she      stated        
correctly that my mother was older than 
my father1 but      died after him2 and 
she connected her death with my return  
from      ,switzerland in a manner that 
wholly surprised me1 the fact      being
 that her last illness began two or     
three days after my      arrival home   
from ,lucerne4 ,she gave the initials of
 my wife's      name rightly1 and       
addressed words to her from her father1 
whose first name1 ,george1 was correct4 

,she also desired me1 in      my        
father's name1 not to be anxious about  
some family matters      7which have    
only recently come to my knowledge71    
though their      nature was not        
specified4 ,finally1 though ,i should   
have      mentioned this first1 as it   
was at the outset of the interview1     
she told me that ,i was about to start  
on a voyage1 and      described the     
vessel in general terms1 though she     
could not      give its name or tell me 
the place where it was going4 ,i saw    
enough to convince me that ,mrs ,piper  
possesses some very      extraordinary  
powers1 but ,i have no theory at all as 
to their      nature or mode of         
exercise4  ,another who visited ,mrs    
,piper was the famous ,french author1   
,m4 ,paul ,bourget1 who was astonished  
at what he heard4 ,he happened to have  
on his watch-chain a small seal which   
had been given him by a painter1 long   
since dead1 under the saddest           
circumstances1 of whom it was impossible

 the medium could ever have heard2 yet  
no sooner had she touched the object    
than she related to him the             
circumstance4 ,one could quote case     
after case in the ,society's reports1   
but in all the time ,mrs ,piper has been
 under such rigid scrutiny not one      
suspicious instance or one pointing to  
normal acquisition of facts has been    
discovered4  ,some have boldly hazarded 
the conjecture that ,mrs ,piper worked  
up the dossiers of her sitters          
beforehand2 inasmuch as she could easily
 obtain her facts in many ways2 by      
reading private letters1 for instance1  
or information derived from other       
mediums1 or by employing private inquiry
 agents4 ,these things are said to be   
habitually done by professional         
clairvoyants1 by either going themselves
 or sending an agent in the capacity of1
 say1 a book canvasser1 to some town or 
district1 and get all the information   
they can1 to return some months later   
and give clairvoyant sittings4 ,there is

 a belief1 and it is possibly correct1  
that there is an organisation which     
gives and exchanges information thus    
obtained by the members of the ,society4
 ,perhaps this may account for the      
extraordinary good fortune of some      
spiritualists in obtaining tests4 ,some 
sitters who went to ,mrs ,piper had     
visited other mediums previously4 ,but  
one may be sure that all precautions    
were taken to ensure against her knowing
 the names of the sitters1 so that she  
could not use any information1 even if  
she had obtained any1 in this way4      
,those best qualified to judge are      
convinced that her knowledge was not    
gained in this way1 partly because of   
the precautions used and partly by      
reason of the information itself4  ,as  
has been said1 ,mrs ,piper was under the
 close scrutiny of ,dr ,hodgson for many
 years1 and nothing of the kind has ever
 come to light4 ,also ,dr ,hodgson      
arranged beforehand her sittings for    
more than ten years1 never telling her  

the names of the sitters1 who in almost 
every instance were unknown to her by   
sight1 and were without distinction     
introduced under the name of ,smith4    
,she made so many correct statements at 
many individual sittings1 and the       
proportion of successful sittings is so 
high1 that it is very difficult to      
attribute fraud to her4 ,about dates she
 appears to be very vague4 ,she prefers 
to give ,christian names to surnames1   
and of the former those in common use   
rather than those out of the way4 ,as   
her descriptions of houses or places are
 generally failures1 she seldom attempts
 them4 ,mrs ,piper seems to be weakest1 
indeed1 just where the so-called medium 
is most successful4 ,her strongest      
points are describing diseases1 the     
character of the sitter1 his            
idiosyncrasies1 and the character of his
 friends1 their sympathies1 loves1      
hates1 and relationships in general1    
unimportant incidents in their past     
histories1 and so on4 ,to retain such   

information in the memory is very       
difficult1 and to obtain it by general  
means well-nigh impossible4  ,many of   
the personalities or controls of ,mrs   
,piper speak1 write1 and act in a way   
extraordinarily in consonance with those
 characters as they were on earth4 ,in  
other words1 her controls have          
well-differentiated identities4 ,each   
has a different manner1 a different     
voice1 different acts1 different ways of
 looking at things2 in fact1 has a      
different character4 ,for example1 there
 is the spirit of ,g4 ,p41 a young      
journalist and author who died suddenly 
in ,february #ahib4 ,a few weeks later  
his spirit possessed ,mrs ,piper's      
organism1 and although he was unknown to
 ,mrs ,piper in life1 yet for years     
since then he has carried on numerous   
prolonged conversations with his        
friends1 including ,dr ,hodgson1 and    
supplied numerous proofs of his         
knowledge of the concerns of the        
deceased ,g4 ,p4 ,g4 ,p4's personal     

effects1 ,,mss41 etc41 are referred to1 
as well as private conversations of the 
past1 and1 moreover1 he suddenly        
recognises amongst those attending ,mrs 
,piper's seances those whom he knew     
during life4 ,dr ,hodgson was unable to 
find any instance when such recognition 
has been incorrectly given4 ,but ,g4 ,p4
 is only one of several trance          
personations speaking through ,mrs      
,piper's organism and recognised by     
friends4  ,after a contemplation of ,mrs
 ,piper's trance utterances alone we are
 inevitably faced by a choice of three  
conclusions3 either 7#a7 fraud 7and     
fraud ,i hold here to be absolutely     
inadmissible72 or 7#b7 the possession of
 some supernormal power of apprehension2
 or 7#c7 communication with the spirits 
of deceased persons4  ,dr ,hodgson was  
driven by sheer force of logic to accept
 the third of these hypotheses4 ,others 
who have studied the phenomena have     
followed4 ,dr ,j4 ,h4 ,hyslop has       
published a record of the sittings held 

with ,mrs ,piper in #ahih and #ahii4    
,his report contains the verbatim record
 of seventeen sittings1 and no pains    
have been spared to make the record     
complete4 ,it has exhaustive            
commentaries and accounts of experiments
 intended to elucidate the supposed     
difficulties of trance communication4   
,professor ,hyslop finally arrives at   
the conclusion1 after an extensive      
investigation1 during which no item of  
the evidence has failed to be weighed   
and no possible source of error would   
seem to have escaped consideration1 that
 spirit communication is the only       
explanation which fits all the facts1   
and he altogether rejects telepathy as  
being inadequate4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,i hope that those
 who have so far followed me in this    
brief inquiry into the mysteries of     
occult phenomena will recognise the     
impartiality with which ,i have         
endeavoured to conduct it4 ,i said in   
the beginning that ,i set out with a    

light heart as well as an open mind4 ,i 
had no idea of the extent of the        
territory1 ,i knew little of its        
voluminous literature1 of the           
extraordinary ramifications of          
occultism1 of the labours of the many   
learned men who have spent their whole  
lives in seeking to separate fact from  
superstition4 ,my mind was light        
because1 frankly1 ,i believed--with a   
sort of inherent1 temperamental         
belief--that1 however much the testimony
 concerning coincident dreams1          
hallucinations1 mediumistic             
manifestations1 materialisation1 and    
clairvoyance might mystify1 it was all  
capable of normal explanation--there was
 nothing supernatural about it4 ,and so 
throughout the inquiry ,i sought to show
 how1 chiefly1 telepathy was a working  
hypothesis in most of the               
manifestations1 while for the physical  
ones1 such as table rapping1            
levitations1 and the rest1 an unknown   
extension of human muscular power might 

possibly exist to solve the mystery4 ,so
 far ,i strode forward with some        
confidence4 ,but now the time has come  
when my confidence deserts me4          
,telepathy breaks down4 ,it is a key    
which by no amount of wriggling will    
turn the lock4 ,it is not1 as one       
leading inquirer has said1 that         
telepathy is insufficient3 it is        
superfluous4 ,if the existence of       
disembodied spirits is proved1 then all 
the other phenomena are also proved4    
,if the case of ,mrs ,piper--under rigid
 surveillance for years--has convinced  
some of the profoundest intellects of   
the day--men who began by being         
sceptical--that disembodied spirits are 
responsible for her utterances1 it would
 certainly tend to convince me4 ,but ,i 
carefully guarded myself from conviction
 until ,i had read the evidence--even to
 a resume of this medium's utterances   
last year in ,london under the auspices 
of the ,society for ,psychical          
,research--and ,i assert with confidence

 that no metaphysical theory has ever   
been formulated that will account for   
these manifestations save one--the      
survival of the human personality after 
death4 ,once ,mrs ,piper is admitted as 
genuine1 then it follows that the       
spiritistic manifestations which have   
puzzled mankind1 not merely for         
generations or during the modern cult of
 spiritism1 but ever since primitive    
times1 become1 as it were1 emancipated4 
,it does seem to me1 said ,mr ,balfour1 
in his famous ,society for ,psychical   
,research address1 that there is at     
least strong ground for supposing that  
outside the world1 as we have1 from the 
point of science1 been in the habit of  
conceiving it1 there does lie a region1 
not open indeed to experimental         
observation in the same way as the more 
familiar regions of the material world  
are open to it1 but still with regard to
 which some experimental information may
 be laboriously gleaned2 and even if we 
cannot entertain any confident hope of  

discovering what laws these half-seen   
phenomena obey1 at all events it will be
 some gain to have shown1 not as a      
matter of speculation or conjecture1 but
 as a matter of ascertained fact1 that  
there are things in heaven and earth not
 hitherto dreamed of in our scientific  
philosophy4     ,,afterword   ,and so   
our little tour into the occult is ended
 and we return into the glare of common 
things--things which we know and can    
touch and find a practical use for4 ,if 
only a little of this light we hold so  
cheap were to illumine the tenebrous    
fastnesses we have just left1 then1     
perhaps we1 in our dull worldly way1    
might be able to assimilate the mystic  
to the common1 the unseen to the seen1  
the unknown to the known4 ,but we are   
not vouchsafed this white light2 yet1   
even in the shadows to which our eyes   
have grown accustomed1 we have heard    
enough to make us wonder and maybe make 
us doubtful when some voice1 even such a
 voice as ,matthew ,arnold's1 cries out 

to us3 ,miracles are touched by         
,ithuriel's spear--,miracles do not     
happen4  ,true1 miracles do not happen3 
but there are events of frequent        
occurrence in this age1 as in all ages  
of which we have a record1 which are    
miraculous in the sense of their being  
supernormal--for which science offers no
 consistent explanation4 ,is not        
hypnotism a miracle8 ,is not telepathy a
 miracle8 ,is not the divining rod a    
miracle8 ,would ,sir ,william ,ramsay or
 ,sir ,james ,crichton-,browne throw    
these manifestations into the limbo of  
humbug and charlatanism8 ,and supposing 
they1 and such as they1 continue        
incredulous--is not incredulity a fixed 
quantity in any society8 ,were men ever 
unanimous in their impressions--in their
 prepossessions1 in the chromatic       
quality with which they steep every     
surrounding fact before they allow their
 critical faculties to be focussed upon 
it8  ,it may be objected by the reader  
that ,i who have led him on this little 

tour into the wilderness of the occult  
have myself seen no ghosts4 ,where are  
my own experiences8 ,where the relation 
of my own personal contact with         
hypnotists1 telepathists1 mediums1      
mysteries8 ,would not that have been of 
interest8 ,it may be so3 if the         
phenomena appertaining to those in their
 best and most convincing quality were  
always to appear on a casual summons and
 if ,i were confided in by the public at
 large as a sane1 unprejudiced witness4 
,granted that ,i have seen no ghosts1 ,i
 have at least done this3 ,i have met   
the men--better men--who have4 ,that at 
the beginning was the real purpose of my
 brief itinerary4 ,i designed less a    
tour into the occult itself than an     
examination of witnesses for the occult 
whom ,i met on the literary bypaths of  
occultism4 ,this ,i hope ,i have done1  
not satisfactorily--very hurriedly--yet 
honestly1 and wanting like a returned   
traveller to tell folks more ignorant   
than myself of what ,i had heard of     

wonders which each man must1 in the last
 resort1 see for himself and meditate   
upon for himself4  ,the blind leading   
the blind--yea--but--he who hath ears   
let him hear6  ,one word more4 ,i should
 like to see a census of all the minds  
which embrace a belief in the truth of  
supernormal phenomena4 ,it would        
astonish the sceptic4 ,it would reveal  
to him that the attitude of society at  
large towards spiritualism and the other
 world is not the attitude of any but a 
fraction of the component parts of      
society--not even the evenly balanced   
attitude of ,huxley towards ,god        
,almighty4 ,we should see something     
quite different2 something even distinct
 and apart from religion4 ,we should see
 men1 often without any religion at all 
properly speaking1 breaking out into the
 ejaculation of ,hamlet to ,horatio and 
refusing to believe that certain        
occurrences in their experience are to  
be explained away by chance or delusion4
 ,and even in religious men the         

conviction seems to me secular rather   
than arising from orthodox faith4  ,far 
be it from me1 wrote ,emerson1 the      
impatience which cannot brook the       
supernatural1 the vast3 far be it from  
me the lust of explaining away all which
 appeals to the imagination and the     
great presentiments which haunt us4     
,willingly ,i1 too1 say ,hail6 to the   
unknown artful powers which transcend   
the ken of the understanding4 ,amen6    
,only yesterday ,i picked up a book1 a  
sort of literary autobiography1 by the  
author of ,sherlock ,holmes1 to find the
 following passage3--  ,i do not think  
the hypothesis of coincidence can cover 
the facts4 ,it is one of several        
incidents in my life which have         
convinced me of spiritual               
interposition--of the promptings of some
 beneficent force outside ourselves     
which tries to help us where it can4    
,a ,catalogue of the ,publications of   
,t4 ,werner ,laurie4   ,,abbeys ,,of    
,,great ,,britain1 ,the 7,h4 ,clairborne

 ,dixon and ,e4 ,ramsden74 #fs4 net4    
7,cathedral ,series47  ,,abbeys ,,of    
,,england1 ,the 7,elsie ,m4 ,lang74     
,leather1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4 7,leather     
,booklets47  ,,adam 7,h4 ,l471 ,the     
,story of ,crime4 ,fully ,illustrated4  
,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,addison 
7,,julia71 ,classic ,myths in ,art4     
,illustrated with #dj plate             
reproductions from famous painters4     
,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #fs4 net4      
,,adventures ,,of ,,an ,,empress        
7,helene ,vacaresco74 #fs4  ,,aflalo    
7,f4 ,g471 ,sunshine and ,sport in      
,florida and the ,west ,indies4 #fj     
,illustrations4 ,demy #hvo1 #afs4 net4  
,,alien1 ,the 7,helene ,vacaresco74 #fs4
  ,,anthony 7,e47 7,cut ,cavendish71    
,the ,complete ,bridge ,player4 ,with a 
,chapter on ,misery ,bridge4 7,vol4 ,i41
 ,library of ,sports47 #cbj pages4      
,crown #hvo1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,armour  
7,j4 ,,ogden71 ,the ,packers and the    
,people4 ,eight ,illustrations4 #chj    
,pages4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 net4          

,,arncliffe ,,puzzle1 ,the 7,gordon     
,holmes74 #fs4  ,,art ,,in ,,the ,,dumps
 7,eugene ,merrill74 #as4 net4          
,,artist',s ,,life1 ,the 7,john ,oliver 
,hobbes74 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,beauty     
,,shop1 ,the 7,daniel ,woodroffe74 #fs4 
,,becke 7,l471 ,notes from ,my ,south   
,sea ,log4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #fs4
 net4  ,,becke 7,l471 ,my ,wanderings in
 the ,south ,seas4 ,illustrated4 ,crown 
#hvo1 #fs4 net4  ,,becke 7,l471         
,sketches in ,normandy4 ,crown #hvo1    
cloth1 #fs4  ,,bell ,,and ,,arrow4 ,the 
7,nora ,hopper71 #fs4  ,,bennett 7,a474 
,see ,phillpotts4  ,,biography ,,for    
,,beginners1 ,the 7,e4 ,clerihew74 #fs4 
net4  ,,bland 7,hubert7 7,hubert of the 
,sunday ,chronicle71 ,letters to a      
,daughter4 ,illustrated ,frontispiece4  
,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 net2     
paper1 #as4 net4  ,,bland 7,hubert7     
7,hubert of the ,sunday ,chronicle71    
,with the ,eyes of a ,man4 ,crown #hvo1 
cloth gilt1 #cs4 #f;d4  ,,blind         
,,redeemer1 ,the 7,david ,christie      

,murray71 #fs4  ,,blindman',s ,,marriage
 7,florence ,warden74 #fs4  ,,blyth     
7,j471 ,a ,new ,atonement4 ,a ,novel4   
,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,bridge ,,player1   
,the ,complete 7,edwyn ,anthony74 #bs4  
#f;d4 net4  ,,bridges 7,j4 ,a471        
,reminiscences of a ,country            
,politician4 ,demy #hvo1 #hs4 #f;d4 net4
  ,,browne 7,j4 ,penman71 ,travel and   
,adventure in the ,ituri ,forests4 ,demy
 #hvo1 #afs4 net4  ,,building ,,of ,a   
,,book1 ,the 7,f4 ,h4 ,hitchcock74 #fs4 
net4  ,,bullock 7,shan ,f471 ,the ,cubs4
 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs42 ,prize   
,edition1 #cs4 #f;d4  ,,bullock 7,shan  
,f471 ,robert ,thorne3 ,the ,story of a 
,london ,clerk4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 
#fs4  ,,bumpus 7,t4 ,f471 ,the          
,cathedrals of ,england and ,wales4     
7,the ,cathedral ,series1 ,vols4 ,,iii41
 ,,iv41 ,v474 ,with many plates and     
minor decorations1 and specially        
designed heads and tailpieces to each   
chapter4 ,octavo1 decorative cover1     
cloth gilt1 #fs4 net each2 in leather1  

#ajs4 #f;d4 net per vol4  ,,bumpus 7,t4 
,f471 ,the ,cathedrals and ,churches of 
,northern ,italy4 ,with #hj plates1 nine
 of them in colour1 and a coloured      
frontispiece by ,f4 ,l4 ,griggs1 #i x   
#f-a_/b4 #afs4 net4  ,,bumpus 7,t4 ,f471
 ,the ,cathedrals of ,northern ,germany 
and the ,rhine4 7,the ,cathedral        
,series1 ,vol4 ,,vi474 ,with many plates
 and minor decorations4 #hvo1 cloth     
gilt1 #fs4 net2 leather1 #ajs4 #f;d4    
net4  ,,bumpus 7,t4 ,f471 ,old ,london  
,churches4 ,in #b vols4 7,uniform with  
the ,cathedral ,series47 ,many          
illustrations4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 
#fs4 net each4  ,,burlesque ,,napoleon1 
,the 7,philip ,w4 ,sergeant71 #ajs4     
#f;d4 net4  ,,burrows 7,g4 ,t471 ,some  
,old ,inns of ,england4 7,the ,leather  
,booklets1 ,vol4 ,,ii47 #bd             
illustrations4 #e x #c1 stamped leather1
 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,butler 7,w4 ,m471   
,the ,golfers' ,guide4 ,with an         
,introduction by ,dr4 ,macnamara4 7,vol4
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#hvo41 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,camp ,,fires  
,,in ,,the ,,canadian ,,rockies 7,w4 ,t4
 ,hornaday71 #afs4 net4  ,,captains     
,,and ,,the ,,kings1 ,the 7,henry       
,haynie74 #fs4 net4  ,,carrel           
7,frederic71 ,the ,adventures of ,john  
,johns4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #bs4    
#f;d4 net4  ,,castles ,,of ,,england1   
,the 7,e4 ,b4 ,d',auvergne74 ,leather1  
#bs4 #f;d4 net4 7,leather ,booklets47   
,,cathedral ,,guide1 ,the ,pocket 7,w4  
,j4 ,roberts74 ,leather4 #bs4 #f;d4 net4
 7,leather ,booklets47  ,,cathedral     
,,series1 ,the4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1
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,cathedrals of ,northern ,france4 ,by   
,francis ,miltoun4      ,with #hj       
,illustrations from original drawings1  
and many minor      decorations1 by     
,blanche ,m',manus4 #a vol41 decorative 
cover4       ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the           
,cathedrals of ,southern ,france4 ,by   
,francis ,miltoun4       ,vols4 ,,iii41 
,,iv41 ,v4 ,the ,cathedrals of ,england 
and ,wales4 ,b4 ,t4      ,francis       

,bumpus4 ,with many plates and minor    
decorations1 and      specially designed
 heads and tailpieces to each chapter4  
#c      vols1 decorative cover2 also in 
leather1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net per vol4       
,vol4 ,,vi4 ,the ,cathedrals of         
,northern ,germany and the ,rhine4 ,by  
,t4 ,francis ,bumpus4 ,with many plates 
and minor decorations4 ,also      in    
leather1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4       ,vol4   
,,vii4 ,the ,cathedrals of ,northern    
,spain4 ,by ,charles ,rudy4      ,many  
,illustrations4  ,,catharine3 ,the      
,human ,weed 7,l4 ,parry ,truscott74    
#fs4  ,,chain ,,invisible1 ,the 7,ranger
 ,gull74 #fs4  ,,classic ,,myths ,,in   
,,art 7,julia ,addison74 #fs4 net4      
,,classical ,,library1 ,the4 ,crown     
#hvo1 cloth gilt1 #bs4 #f;d4 net each4  
,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,works of ,virgil4       
,translated into ,english by ,c4        
,davidson4 ,with notes and a memoir4    
,with photogravure      frontispiece4   
,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,works of ,horace4     
,translated into ,english by ,c4        

,smart4 ,with notes and a memoir4 ,with 
photogravure frontispiece4  ,,clerihew  
7,e471 ,biography for ,beginners4 ,a    
,new ,nonsense ,book4 ,with #dj diagrams
 by ,g4 ,k4 ,chesterton4 ,medium #dto1  
#fs4 net4  ,,cobb 7,t471 ,a ,sentimental
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,,coenen 7,frans71 ,essays on ,glass1   
,china1 ,silver1 etc4 ,in connection    
with the ,willet-,holthuysen ,museum    
,collection1 ,amsterdam4 ,with #cb      
,illustrations4 ,crown #dto1 #fs4 net4  
,,confessions ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man     
7,george ,moore71 #fs4  ,,cost1 ,the    
7,d4 ,g4 ,phillips74 #fs4  ,,courtships 
,,of ,,catherine ,,the ,,great1 ,the    
7,p4 ,w4 ,sergeant71 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4   
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,irishman4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #es4
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,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #fs4   
,,cross 7,victoria71 ,life's ,shop      
,window4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4   
,,crowned ,,skull1 ,the 7,fergus ,hume74
 #fs4  ,,cubs1 ,the 7,shan ,f4          

,bullock74 #fs4  ,d',,auvernge 7,e4     
,b471 ,the ,castles of ,england4 7,the  
,leather ,booklets ,series1 ,vol4       
,,iii474 ,with #cj illustrations4 #e x  
#c1 stamped leather1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4    
,,davidson 7,c471 ,the ,works of        
,virgil4 ,translated into ,english4     
,with notes and a memoir4 ,with         
photogravure frontispiece 7,classical   
,library1 ,vol4 ,i47 ,crown #hvo1 cloth 
gilt1 #b,s4 #f;d4  ,,davidson           
7,,gladys71 ,stories from the ,operas4  
,in #b ,vols4 7,music ,lovers' ,library1
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net4  ,,days ,,stolen ,,from ,,sport    
7,philip ,geen74 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4       
,,dick ,,donovan 7see ,muddock74        
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,,drake 7,m471 ,the ,salving of the     
,derelict4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 
,,drake 7,m471 ,lethbridge of the ,moor4
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7,j4 ,c4 ,van71 ,the ,opal ,sea4 ,crown 
#hvo1 #fs4 net4  ,,dyke 7,j4 ,c4 ,van71 
,studies in ,pictures4 ,an ,introduction
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,the ,scarlet ,letter4 ,by ,nathaniel   
,hawthorne4 #cbj pages4  ,,england ,,and
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,francis ,bumpus74 ,in three vols4 #fs4 
net each2 leather1 #ajs4 #f;d4 each4    
,,england1 ,the ,cathedrals of 7,mary   
,taber74 #fs4 net4  ,,evil ,,eye1 ,the  
7,daniel ,woodroffe74 #fs4  ,,fair      
,,women1 ,the ,book of 7,translated by  
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,,financier',s ,,wife1 ,the 7,florence  
,warden74 #fs4  ,,fisherman1 ,the       
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net4  ,,france1 ,the ,cathedrals of     
,northern 7,francis ,miltoun74 #fs4 net4

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net4  ,,geen 7,p471 ,days ,stolen for   
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#f;d4 net4  ,,giberne 7,agnes71 ,rowena4
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,essays on 7,frans ,coenen74 #fs4 net4  
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cloth1 #bs4  ,,hawthorne 7,n471 ,the    

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cloth gilt1 #as4 net4  ,,haynie 7,h471  
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pages4 #h-a_/d x #e-a_/b1 cloth gilt1   
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net4  ,,hobbes 7,j4 ,o471 ,the ,artist's
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frontispiece and a cover design by      
,charles ,e4 ,dawson4 ,crown #hvo1 #bs4 
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,arncliffe ,puzzle4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown   
#hvo1 #fs4  ,,hopper 7,nora7 7,mrs4     
,hugh ,chesson71 ,the ,bell and the     
,arrow4 ,an ,english ,love ,story4      
,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4  ,,horace1 ,the
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illustrations from photographs taken by 
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#hvo1 #afs4 net4  ,,hosken 7,heath74    
,see ,stanton4  ,,hume 7,fergus71 ,lady 

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,cover design by ,charles ,e4 ,dawson4  
,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #fs2 paper1    
#as4 net2 cloth1 #as4 #f;d4 net4  ,,hume
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,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,hume       
7,fergus71 ,the ,path of ,pain4 ,a      
,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,huneker    
7,j471 ,melomaniacs3 ,wagner1 ,ibsen1   
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,illuminating critical studies of modern
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,visionaries4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,hunt 
7,violet71 ,the ,workaday ,woman4 ,a    
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,,hunter1 ,the 7,olivia ,roy74 #fs4     
,,iconoclasts 7,james ,huneker74 #fs4   
net4  ,,india 7,pierre ,loti74 #ajs4    
#f;d4 net4  ,,ingleby 7,l4 ,c471 ,oscar 
,wilde3 ,a ,literary ,appreciation4     
,demy #hvo1 #abs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,irvine  
7,a4 ,m471 ,roger ,dinwiddie1 ,soul     

,doctor4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4   
,,italy1 ,the ,cathedrals of ,northern  
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,,japp 7,a4 ,h471 ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson3 ,a
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 cloth gilt1 #fs4 net4  ,,john ,,bull   
,,and ,,jonathan1 ,with 7,john ,morgan  
,richards74 #afs4 net4  ,,john ,,johns1 
,the ,adventures of 7,frederic ,carrel74
 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,johnson 7,trench    
,h471 ,phrases and ,names3 ,their       
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cloth gilt1 #fs4 net4  ,,jungle ,,trails
 ,,and ,,jungle ,,people 7,caspar       
,whitney74 #abs4 net4  ,,kennard 7,h4   
,p471 ,the ,russian ,peasant4 #ai       
illustrations4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 
#fs4 net4  ,,king',s ,,wife1 ,the       
7,helene ,vacaresco74 #fs4              
,,kuropatkin1 ,the ,campaign with       
7,douglas ,story74 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4     
,,lady ,,jim ,,of ,,curzon ,,street     
7,fergus ,hume74 ,cloth1 #fs42 paper1   

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#fs4 net4  ,,lang 7,e4 ,m471 ,the ,book 
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,vol4 ,v47 ,illustrated4 #e x #c1       
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,guide4 ,by ,w4 ,j4 ,roberts4 #cj       

illustrations4       ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,some  
,old ,inns of ,england4 ,by ,g4 ,t4     
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,roberts4 ,with #be      photographs by 
the author4       ,vol4 ,v4 ,the ,abbeys
 of ,england4 ,by ,elsie ,m4 ,lang4 #bj 
illustrations4  ,,lethbridge ,,of ,,the 
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,,letters ,,to ,a ,,daughter 7,hubert   
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net4  ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,law 7,john    
,george ,witt74 #fs4 net4  ,,life',s    
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7,pierre71 ,india4 ,demy #hvo1 #ajs4    
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,thompson74 #afs4 net4  ,,lover ,,of    
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,richardson74 #abs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,lowe  

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7,frederick ,palmer74 #fs4  ,,machray   
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,pictures in ,umbria4 ,with #ej original
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#as4 #f;d42 paper1 #as4 net4  ,,moore   
7,george71 ,confessions of a ,young     
,man4 ,new ,edition revised4 ,crown     
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dates1 runs1 time1 distances1 weather1  

roads1 cost of repairs1 petrol1         
entertaining1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 leather1
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club edition1 #bas4 net4  ,,muddock 7,j4
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#f;d4 net each4       ,vol4 ,i4 ,chats  
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,,iii4 ,stories from the ,operas4 ,by   
,gladys ,davidson4      ,illustrated4   
,vol4 ,,iv4 ,chats with ,music ,lovers4 

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,vol4 ,v4 ,chats on the ,violoncello4   
,by ,olga ,racster4 ,fully              
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7,a471 ,my ,racing ,adventures4 ,edited 
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net4  ,,nightside ,,of ,,paris1 ,the    
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,,oscar ,,wilde3 ,a ,literary           

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,ingleby74 #abs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,packers  
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,armour74 #fs4 net4  ,,pages ,,from ,,an
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#afs4 net2 club edition1 #bas4 net4     
,,palmer 7,frederick71 ,lucy of the     
,stars4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4    
,,pater 7,calvin71 ,how to ,live the    
,simple ,life4 ,the wisdom of ancient   
and modern writers crystallised into a  
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#as4 net4  ,,path ,,of ,,pain1 ,the     
7,fergus ,hume74 #fs4  ,,patterson 7,a4 
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7,music ,lovers' ,library1 ,vol4 ,,iv47 
,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1 #cs4 #f;d4 net4
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7,arnold71 ,the ,sinews of ,war4 ,a     
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7,florence ,warden74 #fs4  ,,poison     
,,dealer1 ,the 7,georges ,ohnet74 #fs4  
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7,arthur ,train74 #hs4 #f;d4  ,,proofs  
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,thompson74 #gs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,queen',s 
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,nightingall74 #gs4 #f;d4 net4          
,,racster 7,olga71 ,chats on ,violins4  
7,music ,lovers' ,library1 ,vol4 ,i47   
,fully ,illustrated4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth 
gilt1 #cs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,racster 7,o47  
,chats on the ,violoncello4 7,music     
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#hvo1 cloth gilt1 #fs4 net4  ,,red ,o'  
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,bridges74 #hs4 #f;d4 net4              
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#fs4 net2 leather1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4     
,,richards 7,j4 ,m471 ,with ,john ,bull 
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,england and the ,united ,states4 ,very 
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photogravure frontispiece4 ,demy #hvo1  
cloth gilt1 #afs4 net4  ,,richardson    
7,aubrey71 ,the ,lover of ,queen        
,elizabeth4 ,illustrated4 ,demy #hvo1   
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,illustrations4 #e x #c1 stamped        
leather1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,roberts 7,w4

 ,j471 ,some ,old ,london ,memorials4   
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,with #be photographs by the ,author4 #e
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gilt1 #as42 paper wrappers1 #c;d4 net4  
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7,agnes ,giberne74 #fs4  ,,roy          
7,olivia71 ,the ,husband ,hunter4 ,a    
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7,the ,cathedral ,series1 ,vol4 ,,vii47 
,many ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth
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,the 7,fred ,whishaw74 #fs4  ,,russian  
,,peasant1 ,the 7,h4 ,p4 ,kennard74 #fs4
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,e471 ,the ,queen's ,progress and other 
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#ajs4 net4  ,,sentimental ,,season1 ,a  

7,thomas ,cobb74 #fs4  ,,sedgwick       
7,lt4-,col4 ,w471 ,man and ,his ,future4
 ,demy #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,sergeant
 7,p4 ,w471 ,the ,burlesque ,napoleon4  
,being the ,story of the ,life and      
,kingship of ,jerome ,napoleon          
,bonaparte1 youngest brother of         
,napoleon the ,great4 ,fully            
,illustrated4 ,demy #hvo1 cloth gilt1   
#ajs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,sergeant 7,p4 ,w471 
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gilt1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,sergeant 7,p4 
,w471 ,the ,last ,empress of the        
,french4 ,fully ,illustrated4           
,hand-,coloured ,frontispiece4 ,demy    
#hvo1 #abs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,sherard 7,r4  
,h47 ,my ,friends the ,french4          
,reminiscences of ,paris1 and           
,observations of ,modern ,social ,life  
in ,france4 ,very ,fully ,illustrated4  
,demy #hvo1 #afs4 net4  ,,sherard 7,r4  
,h471 ,the ,life of ,oscar ,wilde4 ,very
 ,fully ,illustrated and with           
photogravure frontispiece4 ,demy #hvo1  

cloth gilt1 #abs4 #f;d4 net2 fine       
edition1 ,l#a #aas4 #f;d4 net4          
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#f;d4 net4  ,,shiel 7,m4 ,p471 ,the     
,last ,miracle4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 
#fs4  ,,shiel 7,m4,p471 ,the ,white     
,wedding4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  
,,simple ,,life1 ,how to ,live the      
7,calvin ,pater71 #as4 net4  ,,sinews   
,,of ,,war1 ,the 7,eden ,phillpotts and 
,arnold ,bennett74 #fs4  ,,six ,,women  
7,victoria ,cross74 #fs4  ,,sketches    
,,in ,,normandy 7,louis ,becke74 #fs4   
,,smart 7,c471 ,the ,works of ,horace4  
,translated into ,english4 ,with notes  
and a memoir4 ,with photogravure        
frontispiece4 7,classical ,library1     
,vol4 ,,ii47 ,crown #hvo1 cloth gilt1   
#bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,some ,,old ,,london  
,,memorials 7,w4 ,j4 ,roberts47         
,leather1 #bs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,south ,,sea
 ,,log1 ,notes from ,my 7,louis ,becke74
 #fs4 net4  ,,spain1 ,the ,cathedrals of
 ,northern 7,charles ,rudy74 #fs4 net4  

,,speculator1 ,the 7,olive ,christian   
,malvery74 #fs4  ,,sports1 ,the ,library
 of4 ,crown #hvo1 #bs4 #f;d4 net each4  
,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,complete ,bridge        
,player4 ,by ,edwyn ,anthony 7,cut      
,cavendish74 #bdd pages4       ,vol     
,,ii4 ,the ,complete ,fisherman4 ,by ,w4
 ,m4 ,gallichan4      ,illustrated4     
,vol4 ,,iii4 ,the ,golfer's ,manual4 ,by
 ,w4 ,meredith ,butler4 ,with an        
,introduction by ,dr4 ,macnamara4       
,illustrated4  ,,stanton 7,c47 and      
,hosken 7,heath71 ,a ,widow by ,choice4 
,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,stanton 
7,c47 and ,hosken 7,heath71 ,the ,tears 
of ,desire4 ,a ,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4
  ,,stevenson1 ,,robert ,,louis         
7,alexander ,h4 ,japp74 #fs4 net4       
,,story 7,douglas71 ,the ,campaign with 
,kuropatkin4 ,fully ,illustrated4 ,demy 
#hvo1 cloth gilt1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4      
,,story ,,of ,,crime1 ,the 7,h4 ,l4     
,adam74 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4  ,,stringer    
7,arthur71 ,the ,wire ,tappers4 ,a      
,novel4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4  ,,studies    

,,in ,,pictures 7,j4 ,c4 ,van ,dyke74   
#fs4 net4  ,,sunshine ,,and ,,sport ,,in
 ,,florida 7,f4 ,g4 ,afialo74 #afs4 net4
         99       99       99       99  
99      ,,the ,,physical ,,phenomena    
,,of ,,spiritualism3 ,fraudulent and    
,genuine4 ,by     ,,hereward            
,,carrington4 ,eleven ,plates4 #dce pp4 
,demy #hvo4 #ajs4     #f;d4 net4  ,in   
its first part this book deals with the 
exposure of all kinds of trickery       
resorted to by fraudulent mediums in    
producing alleged spiritistic           
phenomena--slate-writing1 sealed        
letters1 materialisation etc41--and     
explains clearly1 by description and    
illustrative pictures1 exactly how the  
tricks are effected4 ,in the second part
 of the volume is given an account of   
the most important phenomena which are  
vouched for by eminent scientists1      
which1 after the most careful analysis1 
cannot be explained by any of the means 
known to legerdemain4 ,among those are  
recorded the famous experiments of ,sir 

,william ,crookes1 ,professor ,richet1  
,doctor ,lombroso1 etc4  ,as will appear
 from the description of the book's     
contents ,mr ,carrington's position is  
that1 while a very great portion of     
alleged psychic phenomena is spurious or
 fraudulent1 there yet remains a        
substantial residuum of cases apparently
 genuine which can only as yet be       
classed as supernormal4       ,,proofs  
,,of ,,life ,,after ,,death4 ,by ,r4 ,j4
 ,,thompson4 ,a ,collation     of       
,opinions as to a ,future ,life by the  
,most ,eminent ,scientific ,men     and 
,thinkers of the ,day4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 
#f;d4 net4  ,a ,collation of ,opinions  
as to a ,future ,life by such ,eminent  
,scientific ,men and ,thinkers as ,prof4
 ,n4 ,s4 ,shaler1 ,prof4 ,c4 ,richet1   
,camille ,flammarion1 ,prof4 ,brunot1   
,sir ,william ,crookes1 ,prof4 ,th4     
,flournoy1 ,prof4 ,elmer ,gates1 ,prof4 
,william ,james1 ,dr ,paul ,joire1 ,dr  
,lombroso1 ,prof4 ,s4 ,newcomb1 ,prof4  
,hyslop1 ,dr ,m4 ,j4 ,savage1 ,sir      

,oliver ,lodge1 ,prof4 ,alfred ,russel  
,wallace1 ,cardinal ,gibbons1 ,andrew   
,lang1 and many others4 ,the book       
contains many arguments from a          
scientific standpoint that will interest
 all who wish evidence other than       
theological4       ,,do ,,the ,,dead    
,,depart8 and ,other ,questions4 ,by ,e4
 ,,katharine ,,bates1     author of     
,,seen ,,and ,,unseen4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4
 net4  ,this somewhat original way of   
putting a well-worn query1 prepares the 
reader for another book from the pen of 
,miss ,e4 ,katharine ,bates4  ,in the   
present volume psychic matters are      
treated from a more philosophical       
standpoint than in ,seen and ,unseen1   
which made no claim to be other than a  
truthful record of personal experiences4
 ,,contents--,,some ,,objections ,,to   
,,spirit ,,return--,,some ,,instances   
,,of ,,spirit ,,return--,a ,,mother',s  
,,guardianship ,,in ,,america--,a       
,,curious ,,illustration ,,of ,,spirit  
,,methods--,,biblical                   

,,incidents--,,clairvoyance--,,clairaudi
ence--,,re-,,incarnation--,,automatic   
,,writing--,,materialisation--,,how     
,,the ,,dead ,,depart--,,guardian       
,,children--,,appendix