,,mysterious ,,psychic ,,forces ,,mysterious ,,psychic ,,forces ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,author',s ,,investigations ,,in ,,psychical ,,research1 ,,together ,,with ,,those ,,of ,,other ,,european ,,savants ,,by ,,camille ,,flammarion ,director of ,observatory of ,jovisy1 ,france4 ,author of ,the ,unknown1 ,the ,atmosphere1 etc4 ,,boston ,,small1 ,,maynard ,,and ,,company #aiji ,copyright1 #aijg1 ,,by ,,small1 ,,maynard ,,co4 ,all rights reserved4 ,,the ,,university ,,press1 ,,cambridge1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,he who pronounces anything to be impossible1 outside of the field of pure mathematics1 is wanting in prudence4 ,,francois ,,arago4 ,a learned pedant who laughs at the possible comes very near being an idiot4 ,to purposely shun a fact1 and turn one's back upon it with a supercilious smile1 is to bankrupt ,truth4 ,,victor ,,hugo4 ,science is under bonds1 by the eternal principles of honor1 to look fearlessly in the face every problem that is presented to her4 ,,sir ,,william ,,thompson4 ,,preface ,the subject treated in the following pages has made great progress in the course of forty years4 ,now what we are concerned with in psychical studies is always unknown forces1 and these forces must belong to the natural order1 for nature embraces the entire universe1 and everything is therefore under the sway of her sceptre4 ,i do not conceal from myself1 however1 that the present work will excite discussion and bring forth legimate objections1 and will only satisfy independent and unbiased investigators4 ,but nothing is rarer upon our planet than an independent and absolutely untrammelled mind1 nor is anything rarer than a true scientific spirit of inquiry1 freed from all personal interest4 ,most readers will say3 ,what is there in these studies1 anyway8 ,the lifting of tables1 the moving of various pieces of furniture1 the displacement of easy-chairs1 the rising and falling of pianos1 the blowing about of curtains1 mysterious rappings1 responses to mental questions1 dictations of sentences in reverse order1 apparitions of hands1 of heads1 or of spectral figures1--these are only common place trivialities or cheap hoaxes1 unworthy to occupy the attention of a scientist or scholar4 ,and what would it all prove even if it were true8 ,that kind of thing does not interest us4 ,well1 there are people upon whose heads the sky might tumble without causing them any unusual emotion4 ,but ,i reply3 ,what6 is it nothing to know1 to prove1 to see with one's own eyes1 that there are unknown forces around us8 ,is it nothing to study our own proper nature and our own faculties8 ,are not the mysterious problems of our being such as are worthy to be inscribed on the program of our investigation1 and of having devoted to them laborious nights and days8 ,of course1 the independent seeker gets no thanks from anybody for his toil4 ,but what of that8 ,we work for the pleasure of working1 of fathoming the secrets of nature1 and of instructing ourselves4 ,when1 in studying the double stars at the ,paris ,observatory and cataloguing these celestial twins1 ,i established for the first time a natural classification of those distant orbs2 when ,i discovered stellar systems1 composed of several stars1 swept onward through immensity by one common impulse2 when ,i studied the planet ,mars and compared all the observations made during two hundred years in order to obtain at once an analysis and a synthesis of this next-door neighbor of ours among the planets2 when1 in examining the effect of solar radiations ,i created the new branch of physics to which has been given the name radioculture and caused variations of the most radical and sweeping nature in the dimensions1 the forms1 and the colors of certain plants2 when ,i discovered that a grasshopper1 eviscerated and kept in straw did not die1 and that these insects can live for a fortnight after having had their heads cut off2 when ,i planted in a conservatory of the ,museum of ,natural ,history1 in ,paris1 one of the ordinary oaks of our woods 7quercus robur71 thinking that1 if withdrawn from the changes of seasons1 it would always have green leaves 7a thing which everybody can prove71--when ,i was doing these things ,i was working for my own personal pleasure2 but that is no reason why these studies have not been useful in the developing work of science1 and no reason for their not being admitted within the scope of the practical work of specialists4 ,it is the same with these psychical studies of ours2 only there is a little more passion and prejudice connected with them4 ,on the one hand1 the sceptics cleave fast to their denials1 convinced that they know all the forces of nature1 that all mediums are humbugs1 and all experimenters imbeciles4 ,on the other hand1 there are the credulous ,spiritualists1 who imagine they always have spirits at their beck and call in a centre-table1 who evoke1 with the utmost sang-froid1 the spirits of ,plato1 ,zoroaster1 ,jesus ,christ1 ,st4 ,augustine1 ,charlemagne1 ,shakespeare1 ,newton1 or ,napoleon1 and who set about stoning me for the tenth or twentieth time1 affirming that ,i am sold to the ,institute on account of a deep-seated and obstinate ambition1 and that ,i dare not declare myself in favor of the identity of the spirits for fear of annoying my illustrious friends4 ,the individuals of this class refuse to be satisfied just as much as the first class4 ,so much the worse for them6 ,i insist on only saying what ,i know2 but ,i do say this4 ,and if what ,i know is displeasing1 so much the worse for the prejudices1 the general ignorance1 and the good breeding of these distinguished gentry1 in whose eyes the maximum of happiness consists in an increase of their fortune1 the pursuit of lucrative places1 sensual pleasures1 automobile-racing1 a box at the ,opera1 or five-o'clock teas at a fashionable restaurant1 and whose lives are frittered away along paths that never cross those of the rapt idealist1 and who never know the pure satisfaction of his mind and heart1 or the pleasures of thought and feeling4 ,as for me1 a humble student of the prodigious problem of the universe1 ,i am only a seeker4 ,what are we8 ,we have scarcely shed a ray more of light on this point than at the time when ,socrates laid down1 as a principle1 the maxim1 ,know thyself1--notwithstanding we have measured the distances of the stars1 analyzed the sun1 and weighed the worlds of space4 ,does it stand to reason that the knowledge of ourselves should interest us less than that of the macrocosm1 the external world8 ,it is not credible4 ,let us therefore study on1 convinced that all sincere research will further the progress of humanity4 ,juvisy ,observatory1 ,december1 #aijf4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface v ,,introduction xiii ,,chapter ,i4 ,on ,certain ,unknown ,natural ,forces #a ,,ii4 ,my ,first ,seances ,in ,the ,allen ,kardec ,group1 ,and ,with ,the ,mediums ,of ,that ,epoch #bd ,,iii4 ,my ,experiments ,with ,eusapia ,paladino #fc ,,iv4 ,other ,seances ,with ,eusapia ,paladino #ace ,v4 ,frauds1 ,tricks1 ,deceptions1 ,impostures1 ,feats ,of ,legerdemain1 ,mystifications1 ,impediments #aid ,,vi4 ,the ,experiments ,of ,count ,de ,gasparin #bbi ,,vii4 ,the ,researches ,of ,professor ,thury #bff ,,viii4 ,the ,experiments ,of ,the ,dialectical ,society ,of ,london #bhi ,,ix4 ,the ,experiments ,of ,sir ,william ,crookes #cjf ,x4 ,sundry ,experiments ,and ,observations #ceb ,,xi4 ,my ,general ,inquiry ,respecting ,observations ,of ,unexplained ,phenomena #cgf ,,xii4 ,explanatory ,hypotheses--,theories ,and ,doctrines-- ,conclusions ,of ,the ,author #djf ,,index #dee ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,plate ,i4 ,complete ,levitation of a ,table in ,professor ,flammarion's ,salon through ,mediumship of ,eusapia ,paladino ,facing page #h ,plate ,,ii4 ,house of ,zoroastre of ,jupiter from ,somnambulistic ,drawing by ,victorien ,sardou ,after page #bf ,plate ,,iii4 ,animals' ,quarters4 ,house of ,zoroastre of ,jupiter from ,somnambulistic ,drawing by ,victorien ,sardou ,after page #bf ,figure #a4 ,the ,inclination of the ,system of ,uranus ,page #ed ,figure #a;a4 ,orbits of ,satellites of ,uranus as ,seen from the ,earth ,page #ef ,plate ,,iv4 ,plaster ,cast of ,imprint ,made in ,putty without ,contact by the ,medium ,eusapia ,paladino ,after page #gf ,plate ,v4 ,eusapia ,paladino1 ,showing ,resemblance to the ,imprint in ,putty ,after page #gf ,plate ,,vi4 ,photographs ,taken by ,m4 ,g4 de ,fontenay of an ,experiment in ,table ,levitation ,facing page #hb ,plate ,,vii4 ,plaster ,casts of ,impressions in ,clay ,produced by an ,unknown ,force ,facing page #ach ,plate ,,viii4 ,drawing from ,photograph1 ,showing ,method of ,control by ,professors ,lombroso and ,richet of ,eusapia4 ,table ,completely ,raised ,facing page #aed ,plate ,,ix4 ,photographs of ,levitation of ,table ,accompanying ,colonel ,de ,rochas' ,report ,facing page #agd ,plate ,x4 ,scales ,used in ,professor ,flammarion's ,experiments ,facing page #bjj ,plate ,,xi4 ,method ,used by ,eusapia to ,surreptitiously ,free her ,hand ,facing page #bjf ,plate ,,xii4 ,cage of ,copper ,wire1 ,electrically ,charged1 ,used by ,professor ,crookes in the ,home ,accordion ,experiment ,facing page #cjh ,figure #c4 ,board and ,scale ,experiment of ,sir ,william ,crookes ,page #cab ,figures #d and #e4 ,instruments ,used in ,scale ,experiment by ,sir ,william ,crookes ,page #e ,figure #f4 ,glass ,vessel ,used by ,home ,page #cah ,figure #g4 ,automatically ,registered ,chart of ,unknown ,force ,generated by ,mr4 ,home ,page #cag ,figures #h1 #i1 #aj4 ,charts from ,sir ,william ,crookes ,instruments ,used in ,experiments with ,mr4 ,home ,page #cba ,figures #aa and #ab4 ,third ,instrument ,devised by ,sir ,william ,crookes for ,recording ,automatically the ,unknown ,force ,generated by ,home ,page #cbb ,figure #ac4 ,charts ,made by ,third ,instrument ,page #cbc ,figures #ad and #ae4 ,charts ,made by ,third ,instrument ,page #cbd ,plate ,,xiii4 ,instantaneous ,photograph ,taken by ,m4 de ,fontenay of ,table ,levitation ,produced by the ,medium ,auguste ,politi ,facing page #cfh ,,introduction ,as long ago as #ahfe ,i published1 under the title1 ,unknown ,natural ,forces1 a little monograph of a hundred and fifty pages which is still occasionally found in the book-shops1 but has not been reprinted4 ,i reprint here 7pp4 xiii-xxiii71 what ,i wrote at that time in this critical study apropos of the phenomena produced by the ,davenport brothers and mediums in general4 ,it was published by ,didier ,co41 book-sellers to the ,academy1 who had already issued my first two works1 ,the ,plurality of ,inhabited ,worlds and ,imaginary ,worlds and ,real ,worlds4 ,france has just been engaged in an exciting debate1 where the sound of voices was drowned in a great uproar1 and out of which no conclusion has emerged4 ,a disputation more noisy than intelligent has been raging around a whole group of unexplained facts1 and so completely muddled the problem that1 in place of illuminating it1 the debate has only served to shroud it in deeper darkness4 ,during the discussion a singular remark was frequently heard1 to the effect that those who shouted the loudest in this court of assize were the very ones who were least informed on the subject4 ,it was an amusing spectacle to see these persons in a death-grapple with mere phantoms4 ,panurge himself would have laughed at it4 ,the result of the matter is that less is known to-day upon the subject in dispute than at the opening of the debates4 ,in the mean time1 seated upon neighboring heights were certain excellent old fellows who observed the writs of arrest issued against the more violent combatants1 but who remained for the most part grave and silent1 though they occasionally smiled1 and withal did a deal of hard thinking4 ,i am going to state what weight should be given to the opinions of those of us who do not rashly affirm the impossibility of the facts now put under the ban and who do not add their voices to the dominant note of opposition4 ,i do not conceal from myself the consequences of such sincerity4 ,it requires a good deal of boldness to insist on affirming1 in the name of positive science1 the ,,possibility of these phenomena 7wrongly styled supernatural71 and to constitute one's self the champion of a cause apparently ridiculous1 absurd1 and dangerous1 knowing1 at the same time1 that the avowed adherents of said cause have little standing in science1 and that even its eminent partisans only venture to speak of their approval of it with bated breath4 ,however1 since the matter has just been treated momentarily in fugitive writings by a group of journalists whose exacting labors wholly forbid a study of the psychic and physical forces2 and since1 of all this multitude of writers1 the greater part have only heaped error upon error1 puerility upon extravagance2 and since it appears from every page they have written 7,i hope they will pardon me7 that not only are they ignorant of the very a1 b1 c of the subject they have so fantastically treated1 but their opinions upon this class of facts rest upon no basis whatever1--therefore ,i have thought it would serve a purpose if ,i should leave1 as a souvenir of the long wrangle1 a piece of writing better based and buttressed than the lucubrations of the above-mentioned gentlemen4 ,as a lover of truth1 ,i am willing to face a thousand reproaches4 ,be it distinctly understood that ,i do not for a moment deem my judgment superior to that of my confreres1 some of whom are in other respects highly gifted4 ,the simple fact is that they are not familiar with this subject1 but are straying in it at random1 wandering through a strange region4 ,they misunderstand the very terminology1 and imagine that facts long ago well authenticated are impossible4 ,by way of contrast1 the writer of these lines will state that for several years he has been engaged in discussions and experiments upon the subject4 7,i am not speaking of historical studies47 ,moreover1 although the old saw would have us believe that 'it is not always desirable to state the truth1' yet1 to speak frankly1 ,i am so indignant at the overweening presumption of certain polemical opponents1 and at the gall they have injected into the debate1 that ,i do not hesitate to rise and point out to the deceived public that1 without a single exception1 all the arguments brought up by these writers1 and upon which they have boldly planted their banner of victory1 prove absolutely nothing1 ,,nothing1 against the possible truth of the things which they1 in the fury of their denial1 have so perverted4 ,such a snarl of opinions must be analyzed4 ,in brief1 the true must be disentangled from the false4 ,veritas1 veritas6 ,i hasten to anticipate a criticism on the part of my readers by apprising them1 on the threshold of this plea1 that ,i am not going to take the ,davenport brothers as my subject1 but only as the ostensible motive or pretext of the discussion1--as they have been1 for that matter1 of the majority of the discussions4 ,i shall deal in these pages with the facts brought to the surface again by these two ,americans1--facts inexplicable 7which they have put on the stage at ,herz ,hall here in ,paris1 but which none the less existed before this mise-en-scene1 and which none the less will exist even should the ,davenport brothers' representations prove to be counterfeit71--things which others had already exhibited1 and still exhibit with as much facility and under much better conditions2 occurrences1 in short1 which constitute the domain of the unknown forces to which have been given1 one after another1 five or six names explaining nothing4 ,these forces1 mind you1 are as real as the attraction of gravitation1 and as invisible as that4 ,it is about facts that ,i here concern myself4 ,let them be brought to the light by ,peter or by ,paul1 it concerns us little2 let them be imitated by ,sosie#a or parodied by ,harlequin1 still less does it concern us4 ,the question is1 ,do these facts exist1 and do they enter into the category of known physical forces8 ,it amazes me1 every time ,i think of it1 that the majority of men are so densely ignorant of the psychic phenomena in question1 considering the fact that they have been known1 studied1 valued1 and recorded for a good long time now by all who have impartially followed the movement of thought during the last few lustrums4 ,i not only do not make common cause with the ,davenport brothers1 but ,i ought furthermore to add that ,i consider them as placed in a very compromising situation4 ,in laying to the account of the supernatural matters in occult natural philosophy which have a tolerable resemblance to feats of prestidigitation1 they appear to a curious public to add imposture to insolence4 ,in setting a financial value upon their talents1 they seem to the moralist1 who is investigating still unexplained phenomena1 to place themselves on the level of mountebanks4 ,whatever way you look at them1 they are to blame4 ,accordingly1 ,i condemn at once both their grave error in assuming to be superior to the forces of which they are only the instruments and the venal profit they draw from powers of which they are not master and which it is no merit of theirs to possess4 ,in my opinion1 it is a piece of exaggeration to draw conclusions from these unhappy semblances of truth2 and it is to abdicate one's right of private judgment to make one's self but the echo of the vulgar herd who hiss and shout themselves hoarse before the curtain rises4 ,no1 ,i am not the advocate of the two brothers1 nor of their personal claims4 ,for me1 individual men do not exist4 ,that which ,i defend is the superiority of nature to us3 that which ,i fight against is the conceited silliness of certain persons4 ,you satirical gentlemen will have the frankness1 ,i hope1 to confess with me that the different reasons pleaded by you in explanation of these problems are not so solid as they appear to be4 ,since you have discovered nothing1 let us admit1 between ourselves1 that your explanations explain nothing4 ,i do not doubt that1 at the point in the discussion which we have actually reached1 you would like to change roles with me1 and1 stopping me here1 constitute yourselves in turn my questioners4 ,but ,i hasten to anticipate your proposal4 ,as for me1 gentlemen1 ,i am not sufficiently well informed to explain these mysteries4 ,i pass my life in a retired garden belonging to one of the nine ,muses1 and my attachment to this fair creature is such that ,i have scarcely ever quitted the approaches to her temple4 ,it is only at intervals1 in moments of relaxation or curiosity1 that ,i have allowed my eyes to wander1 from time to time1 over the landscapes which surround it4 ,therefore ask me nothing4 ,i am making a sincere confession4 ,i know nothing of the cause of these phenomena4 ,you see how modest ,i am4 ,all ,i wanted in undertaking this examination was to have the opportunity of saying this3 ,you know nothing about it4 ,neither do ,i4 ,if you acknowledge this1 we can shake hands4 ,and1 if you are tractable1 ,i will tell you a little secret4 ,in the month of ,june1 #aggf 7few among us remember it71 a young man twenty-five years old1 named ,jouffroy1 was making a trial trip on the river ,doubs of a new steamboat forty feet in length and six feet in breadth4 ,for two years he had been calling the attention of scientific authorities to his invention2 for two years he had been stoutly asserting that there is a powerful latent energy in steam1--at that time a neglected asset4 ,all ears were deaf to his words4 ,his only reward was to be completely isolated and neglected4 ,when he passed through the streets of ,baume-les-,dames1 his appearance was the signal for jests innumerable4 ,he was dubbed ',jouffroy1 the ,steam ,man' 7',jouffroy-la-,pompe'74 ,ten years later1 having built a pyroscaphe literally1 fireboat which had ascended the ,saone from ,lyons to the island of ,barbe1 he presented a petition to ,calonne1 the comptroller-general of finance1 and to the ,academy of ,sciences4 ,they would not look at his invention6 ,on ,august #i1 #ahjc1 ,fulton went up the ,seine in a new steamboat at the rate of about four miles an hour4 ,the members of the ,academy of ,sciences as well as government officials were present on the occasion4 ,the next day they had forgotten all about it1 and ,fulton went to make the fortunes of ,americans4 ,in #agia an ,italian at ,bologna1 named ,galvani1 having hung on the iron railing outside his window some skinned frogs which had been used in making a bouillon for his wife1 noted that they moved automatically1 although they had been killed since the evening before4 ,the thing was incredible1 so everybody to whom he told it opposed his statement4 ,men of sense would have thought it beneath their dignity to take the trouble to verify the story1 so convinced were they of its impossibility4 ,but ,galvani had noted that the maximum of effect was attained when he joined the lumbar nerves and the ends of the feet of a frog by a metallic arc of tin and copper4 ,the frog's muscles then jerked convulsively4 ,he believed it was due to a nervous fluid1 and so lost the fruit of his investigations4 ,it was reserved for ,volta to discover electricity4 ,and to-day the globe is threaded with a network of trains drawn by flame-breathing dragons4 ,distances have disappeared1 annihilated by improvements in the locomotive4 ,the genius of man has contracted the dimensions of the earth2 the longest voyages are but excursions over definite lines 7the curved paths of the 'ocean lanes'72 the most gigantic tasks are accomplished by the tireless and powerful hand of this unknown force4 ,a telegraphic despatch flies in the twinkling of an eye from one continent to another2 a man can talk with a citizen of ,london or ,st4 ,petersburg without getting out of his arm-chair4 ,and these wonders attract no special notice4 ,we little think through what struggles1 bitter disappointments and persecutions they came into being6 ,we forget that the impossible of yesterday is the accomplished fact of to-day4 ,so it comes to pass that we still find men who come to us saying3 ',halt there1 you little fellows6 ,we don't understand you1 therefore you don't know what you're talking about4' ,very well1 gentlemen4 ,however narrow may be your opinions1 there is no reason for thinking that your myopia is to spread over the world4 ,you are hereby informed that1 in spite of you and in spite of your obscurantism and obstruction tactics1 the car of human progress will roll on and continue its triumphal march and conquest of new forces and powers4 ,as in the case of ,galvani's frog1 the laughable occurrences that you refuse to believe reveal the existence of new unknown forces4 ,there is no effect without a cause4 ,man is the least known of all beings4 ,we have learned how to measure the sun1 cross the deeps of space1 analyze the light of the stars1 and yet have not dropped a plummet into our own souls4 ,man is dual1--homo duplex2 and this double nature remains a mystery to him4 ,we think3 what is thought8 ,no one can say4 ,we walk3 what is that organic act8 ,no one knows4 ,my will is an immaterial force2 all the faculties of my soul are immaterial4 ,nevertheless1 if ,i will to move my arm1 my will moves matter4 ,how does it act8 ,what is the mediator between mind and muscle8 ,as yet no one can say4 ,tell me how the optic nerve transmits to the thinking brain the perception of outward objects4 ,tell me how thought is born1 where it resides1 what is the nature of cerebral action4 ,tell me--but no1 gentlemen3 ,i could question you for ten years on a stretch1 and the most eminent of you could not answer the least of my interrogatories4 ,we have here1 as in the preceding cases1 the unknown element in a problem4 ,i am far from claiming that the force that comes into play in these phenomena can one day be financially exploited1 as in the case of electricity and steam4 ,such an idea has not the slightest interest for me4 ,but1 though differing essentially from these forces1 the mysterious psychic force none the less exists4 ,in the course of the long and laborious studies to which ,i have consecrated many a night1 as a relief or by-play in more important work1 ,i have always observed in these phenomena the action of a force the properties of which are to us unknown4 ,sometimes it has seemed to me analogous to that which puts to sleep the magnetized subject under the will of the hypnotizer 7a reality this1 also slighted even by men of science74 ,again1 in other circumstances1 it has seemed to me analogous to the curious freaks of the lightning4 ,still1 ,i believe ,i can affirm it to be a force distinct from all that we know1 and which more than any other resembles intelligence4 ,a certain savant with whom ,i am acquainted1 ,m4 ,fremy1 of the ,institute1 has recently presented to the ,academy of ,science1 apropos of spontaneous generation1 substances which he has called semi-organic4 ,i believe ,i am not perpetrating a neologism bolder than this when ,i say that the force of which ,i am speaking has seemed to me to belong to the semi-intellectual plane4 ,some years ago ,i gave these forces the name psychic4 ,that name can be justified4 ,but words are nothing4 ,they often resemble cuirasses1 hiding the real impression that ideas should produce in us4 ,that is the reason why it is perhaps better not to name a thing that we are not yet able to define4 ,if we did1 we should find ourselves so shackled afterwards as not to have perfect freedom in our conclusions4 ,it has often been seen in history that a premature hypothesis has arrested the progress of science1 says ,grove3 ',when natural phenomena are observed for the first time1 a tendency immediately arises to relate them to something already known4 ,the new phenomenon may be quite remote from the ideas with which one would compare it4 ,it may belong to a different order of analogies4 ,but this distinction cannot be perceived1 since the necessary data or co-ordinates are lacking4' ,now the theory originally announced is soon accepted by the public2 and when it happens that subsequent facts1 different from the preceding1 fail to fit the mould1 it is difficult to enlarge this without breaking it1 and people often prefer to abandon a theory now proved erroneous1 and silently ignore the intractable facts4 ,as to the special phenomena in question in this little volume1 ,i find them implicitly embodied in three words uttered nearly twenty centuries ago1--,,mens ,,agitat ,,molem 7mind acting on matter gives it life and motion72 and ,i leave the phenomena embedded in these words1 like fire in the flint4 ,i will not strike with the steel1 for the spark is still dangerous4 ',periculosum est credere et non credere' 7',it is dangerous to believe and not to believe'71 says the ancient fabulist ,phaedrus4 ,to deny facts a priori is mere conceit and idiocy4 ,to accept them without investigation is weakness and folly4 ,why seek to press on so eagerly and prematurely into regions to which our poor powers cannot yet attain8 ,the way is full of snares and bottomless pits4 ,the phenomena we are treating in these pages do not perhaps throw new light upon the solution of the great problem of immortality1 but they invite us to remember that there are in man elements to study1 to determine1 to analyze1--elements still unexplained1 and which belong to the psychic realm4 ,there has been much talk about ,spiritualism in connection with these phenomena4 ,some of its defenders have thought to strengthen it by supporting it on so weak a basis as that4 ,the scoffers have thought they could positively ruin the creed of the psychics1 and1 hurling it from its base1 bury it under a fallen wardrobe 7l'eboulement d'une armoire74#b ,now the first-named have rather compromised than assisted the cause3 the others have not overturned it after all4 ,even if it should be proved that ,spiritualism consists only of tricks of legerdemain1 the belief in the existence of souls separate from the body would not be affected in the slightest degree4 ,besides1 the deceptions of mediums do not prove that they are always tricky4 ,they only put us on our guard1 and induce us to keep a stern watch upon them4 ,as to the psychological question of the soul and the analysis of spiritual forces1 we are just where chemistry was at the time of ,albert the ,great3 we don't know4 ,can we not then keep the golden mean between negation1 which denies all1 and credulity1 which accepts all8 ,is it rational to deny everything that we cannot understand1 or1 on the contrary1 to believe all the follies that morbid imaginations give birth to1 one after another8 ,can we not possess at once the humility which becomes the weak and the dignity which becomes the strong8 ,i end this plea1 as ,i began it1 by declaring that it is not for the sake of the brothers ,davenport1 nor of any sect1 nor of any group1 nor1 in short1 of any person whatever1 that ,i have entered the lists of controversy1 but solely for the sake of facts the reality of which ,i ascertained several years ago1 without having discovered their cause4 ,however1 ,i have no reason to fear that those who do not know me will take a fancy to misrepresent my thought2 and ,i think that those who are acquainted with me know that ,i am not accustomed to swing a censer in any one's honor4 ,i repeat for the last time3 ,i am not concerned with individuals4 ,my mind seeks the truth1 and recognizes it wherever it finds it4 ',gallus escam quaerens margaritam reperit4'#c ,a certain number of my readers have been for some time kindly expressing a wish for a new edition of this early book4 ,but strictly speaking ,i could not do this without considerably enlarging my original plan and composing an entirely new work4 ,the daily routine of my astronomical labors has constantly hindered me from devoting myself to that task4 ,the starry heaven is a vast and absorbing field of work1 and it is difficult to turn aside 7even for a relaxation in itself scientific7 from the exacting claims of a science which goes on developing unceasingly at a most prodigious rate4 ,still1 the present work may be considered as1 in a sense1 an enlarged edition of the earlier one4 ,the foregoing citation of a little book written for the purpose of proving the existence of unknown forces in nature has seemed to me necessary here2 useful in this new volume1 brought out for the same purpose after more than forty years of study1 since it may serve to show the continuity and consistent development of my thought on the subject4 ,,mysterious ,,psychic ,,forces ,,chapter ,i ,,on ,,certain ,,unknown ,,natural ,,forces ,i purpose to show in this book what truth there is in the phenomena of table-turnings1 table-movings1 and table-rappings1 in the communications received therefrom1 in levitations that contradict the laws of gravity1 in the moving of objects without contact1 in unexplained noises1 in the stories told of haunted houses1--all to be considered from the physical and mechanical point of view4 ,under all the just mentioned heads we can group material facts produced by causes still unknown to science1 and it is with these physical phenomena that we shall specially occupy ourselves here2 for the first point is to definitely prove1 by sufficient observations1 their real existence4 ,hypotheses1 theories1 doctrines1 will come later4 ,in the country of ,rabelais1 of ,montaigne1 of ,voltaire1 we are inclined to smile at everything that relates to the marvellous1 to tales of enchantment1 the extravagances of occultism1 the mysteries of magic4 ,this arises from a reasonable prudence4 ,but it does not go far enough4 ,to deny and prejudge a phenomenon has never proved anything4 ,the truth of almost every fact which constitutes the sum of the positive sciences of our day has been denied4 ,what we ought to do is to admit no unverified statement1 to apply to every subject of study1 no matter what1 the experimental method1 without any preconceived idea whatever1 either for or against4 ,we are dealing here with a great problem1 which touches on that of the survival of human consciousness4 ,we may study it1 in spite of smiles4 ,when we consecrate our lives to an idea1 useful1 noble1 exalted1 we should not hesitate for a moment to sacrifice personalities2 above all1 our own self1 our interest1 our self-esteem1 our natural vanity4 ,this sacrifice is a criterion by which ,i have estimated a good many characters4 ,how many men1 how many women1 put their miserable little personality above everything else6 ,if the forces of which we are to treat are real1 they cannot but be natural forces4 ,we ought to admit1 as an absolute principle1 that everything is in nature1 even ,god himself1 as ,i have shown in another work4 ,before any attempt at theory1 the first thing to do is to scientifically establish the real existence of these forces4 ,mediumistic experiences might form 7and doubtless soon will form7 a chapter in physics4 ,only it is a kind of transcendental physics which touches on life and thought1 and the forces in play are pre-eminently living forces1 psychic forces4 ,i shall relate in the following chapter the experiments ,i made between the years #ahfa and #ahfe1 previous to the penning of the protest1 reprinted in the long citation above given 7in the ,introduction74 ,but1 since in certain respects they are summed up in those ,i have just had1 in #aijf1 ,i will begin by describing the latter in this first chapter4 ,in fact1 ,i have recently renewed these investigations with a celebrated medium1--,mme4 ,eusapia ,paladino1 of ,naples1 who has been several times in ,paris2 namely1 in #ahih1 #aije1 and1 very recently1 in #aijf4 ,the things ,i am going to speak of happened in the salon of my home in ,paris1--the last ones in full light without any preparation1 very simply1 as if during after-dinner talks4 ,let me add that this medium came to ,paris during the first months of the year1 #aijf1 at the invitation of the ,psychological ,institute1 several members of which have been recently engaged in researches begun long ago4 ,among these savants ,i will mention the name of the lamented ,pierre ,curie1 the eminent chemist1 with whom ,i had a conversation a few days before his unfortunate and terrible death4 ,my mediumistic experiences with ,mme4 ,paladino formed for him a new chapter in the great book of nature1 and he also was convinced that there exist hidden forces to the investigation of which it is not unscientific to consecrate one's self4 ,his subtle and penetrating genius would perhaps have quickly determined the character of these forces4 ,those who have given some little attention to these psychological studies are acquainted with the powers of ,mme4 ,paladino4 ,the published works of ,count de ,rochas1 of ,professor ,richet1 of ,dr4 ,dariex1 of ,m4 ,g4 de ,fontenay1 and notably the ,annales des sciences psychiques1 have pointed them out and described them in such detail that it would be superfluous to recur to them at this point4 ,farther on we shall find a place for discussing them4 ,running underneath all the observations of the above-mentioned writers1 one dominant idea can be read as if in palimpsest2 namely1 the imperious necessity the experimenters are constantly under of suspecting tricks in this medium 7,mme4 ,paladino74 ,but all mediums1 men and women1 have to be watched4 ,during a period of more than forty years ,i believe that ,i have received at my home nearly all of them1 men and women of divers nationalities and from every quarter of the globe4 ,one may lay it down as a principle that all professional mediums cheat4 ,but they do not always cheat2 and they possess real1 undeniable psychic powers4 ,their case is nearly that of the hysterical folk under observation at the ,salpetriere or elsewhere4 ,i have seen some of them outwit with their profound craft not only ,dr4 ,charcot1 but especially ,dr4 ,luys1 and all the physicians who were making a study of their case4 ,but1 because hysteriacs deceive and simulate1 it would be a gross error to conclude that hysteria does not exist4 ,and1 because mediums frequently descend to the most brazen-faced imposture1 it would not be less absurd to conclude that mediumship has no existence4 ,disreputable somnambulists do not forbid the existence of magnetism1 hypnotism1 and genuine somnambulism4 ,this necessity of being constantly on our guard has discouraged more than one investigator1 as the illustrious astronomer ,schiaparelli1 director of the ,observatory of ,milan1 specially wrote me1 in a letter which will appear farther on4 ,still1 we have got to endure this evil4 ,the words fraud 7supercherie7 and trickery 7tricherie7 have in this connection a sense a little different from their ordinary meaning4 ,sometimes the mediums deceive purposely1 knowing well what they are doing1 and enjoying the fun4 ,but oftener they unconsciously deceive1 impelled by the desire to produce the phenomena that people are expecting4 ,they help on the success of the experiment when that success is slow in its appearance4 ,mediums who deal with objective phenomena are gifted with the power of causing objects at a distance to move1 of lifting tables1 etc4 ,but they usually appear to apply this power at the ends of their fingers1 and the objects to be moved have to be within reach of their hands or feet1 a very regrettable thing1 and one which furnishes fine sport for the prejudiced sceptics4 ,sometimes the mediums act like the billiard player1 who continues for an instant the gesture of hand and arm1 holding his cue pointed at the rolling ivory ball1 and leaning forward as if by his will he could push it to a carom4 ,he knows very well that he has no further power over the fate of the ball1 which his initial stroke alone impels2 but he guides its course by his thought and his gesture4 ,it may not be superfluous to caution the reader that the word medium is employed in these pages without any preconceived idea1 and not in the etymological sense in which it took its rise at the time of the first ,spiritualistic theories1 which affirmed that the man or the woman endowed with psychic powers is an intermediary between spirits and those who are experimenting4 ,the person who has the power of causing objects to move contrary to the laws of gravity 7even sometimes without touching them71 of causing sounds to be heard at a distance and without any exertion of muscular force1 and of bringing before the eyes various apparitions1 has not necessarily1 on that account1 any bond of union with disembodied minds or souls4 ,we shall keep this word medium1 however1 now so long in use4 ,we are concerned here only with facts4 ,i hope to convince the reader that these things really exist1 and are neither illusions nor farces1 nor feats of prestidigitation4 ,my object is to prove their reality with absolute certainty1 to do for them what 7in my volume ,the ,unknown and the ,psychic ,problems7 ,i have done for telepathy1 the apparitions of the dying1 premonitory dreams1 and clairvoyance4 ,i shall begin1 ,i repeat1 with experiments which ,i have recently renewed2 namely1 during four seances on ,march #bi1 ,april #e1 ,may #cj1 and ,june #g1 of #aijf4 #a4 ,take the case of the levitation of a round table4 ,i have so often seen a rather heavy table lifted to a height of eight1 twelve1 sixteen inches from the floor1 and ,i have taken such undeniably authentic photographs of these2 ,i have so often proved to myself that the suspension of this article of furniture by the imposition upon it of the hands of four or five persons produces the effect of a floating in a tub full of water or other elastic fluid1 that1 for me1 the levitation of objects is no more doubtful than that of a pair of scissors lifted by the aid of a magnet4 ,but one evening when ,i was almost alone with ,eusapia1 ,march #bi1 #aijf 7there were four of us altogether71 being desirous of examining at leisure how the thing was done1 ,i asked her to place her hands with mine upon the table1 the other persons remaining at a distance4 ,the table very soon rose to a height of fifteen or twenty inches while we were both standing4 ,at the moment of the production of the phenomenon the medium placed one of her hands on one of mine1 which she pressed energetically1 our two other hands resting side by side4 ,moreover1 on her part1 as on mine1 there was an act of will expressed in words of command addressed to the spirit3 ,come now6 ,lift the table6 ,take courage6 ,come6 ,try now6 etc4 ,we ascertained at once that there were two elements or constituents present4 ,on the one hand1 the experimenters address an invisible entity4 ,on the other hand1 the medium experiences a nervous and muscular fatigue1 and her weight increases in proportion to that of the object lifted 7but not in exact proportion74 ,we are obliged to act as if there really were a being present who is listening4 ,this being appears to come into existence1 and then become non-existent as soon as the experiment is ended4 ,it seems to be created by the medium4 ,is it an auto-suggestion of hers or of the dynamic ensemble of the experimenters that creates a special force8 ,is it a doubling of her personality8 ,is it the condensation of a psychic milieu in the midst of which we live8 ,if we seek to obtain proofs of actual and permanent individuality1 and above all of the identity of a particular soul called up in our memory1 we never obtain any satisfaction4 ,there lies the mystery4 ,conclusion3 we have here an unknown force of the psychic class1 a living force1 the life of a moment only4 ,may it not be possible that1 in exerting ourselves1 we give rise to a detachment of forces which acts exteriorly to our body8 ,but this is not the place1 in these first pages1 to make hypotheses4 ,the experiment of which ,i have just spoken was repeated three times running1 in the full light of a gas chandelier1 and under the same conditions of complete proof in each case4 ,a round table weighing about fourteen pounds is lifted by this unknown force4 ,a table of twenty-five or fifty pounds or more requires a greater number of persons4 ,but they will get no result if one at least among them is not gifted with the mediumistic power4 ,and let me add1 on the other hand1 that there is in such an experiment so great an expenditure of nervous and muscular energy that such an extraordinary medium as ,eusapia1 for instance1 can obtain scarcely any results six hours1 twelve hours1 even twenty-four hours1 after a seance in which she has so lavishly expended her psychic energy4 ,i will add that quite often the table continues to rise even after the experimenters have ceased to touch it4 ,this is movement without contact4 ,this phenomenon of levitation is1 to me1 absolutely proved1 although we cannot explain it4 ,it is like what would happen if one had his hands gloved with loadstone1 and1 placing them on a table of iron1 should lift it from the ground4 ,but the action is not so simple as that3 it is a case of psychic activity exterior to ourselves1 momentarily in operation4#d ,now how are these levitations and movements produced8 ,how is it that a stick of sealing-wax or a lamp-chimney1 when rubbed1 attracts bits of paper or elder pith8 ,how is it that a particle of iron grips so firmly to the loadstone when brought near it8 ,how is it that electricity accumulates in the vapor of water1 in the molecules of a cloud1 until it gives rise to the thunder1 the thunderbolt1 the lightning flash1 and all their formidable results8 ,how is it that the thunderbolt strips the clothes from a man or a woman with its characteristic nonchalance8 ,and 7to take a simple instance71 without departing from our common and normal condition of life1 how is it that we raise our arm8 #b4 ,take now a specimen of another group of cases4 ,the medium places one of her hands upon that of some person1 and with the other beats the air1 with one1 two1 three1 or four strokes or raps4 ,the raps are heard in the table1 and you feel the vibrations at the same time that you hear them1--sharp blows which make you think of electric shocks4 ,it is superfluous to state that the feet of the medium do not touch those of the table1 but are kept at a distance from them4 ,the medium next places her hands with ours upon the table1 and the taps heard in the table are stronger than in the preceding case4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4 ,,complete ,,levitation ,,of ,a ,,table ,,in ,,professor ,,flammarion',s ,,salon ,,through ,,mediumship ,,of ,,eusapia ,,paladino4 ,these taps audible in the table1 this typtology well known to ,spiritualists1 have been frequently attributed to some kind of trickery or another1 to a cracking muscle or to various actions of the medium4 ,after the comparative study ,i have made of these special occurrences ,i believe ,i am right in affirming that this fact also is not less certain than the first4 ,rappings1 as is well known1 are obtained in all kinds of rhythms1 and responses to all questions are obtained through simple conventions1 by which it is agreed1 for instance1 that three taps shall mean yes and two mean no1 and that1 while the letters of the alphabet are being read1 words can be dictated by taps made as each letter is named4 #c4 ,during our experiments1 while we four persons are seated around a table asking for a communication which does not arrive1 an arm-chair1 placed about twenty-four inches from the medium's foot 7upon which ,i have placed my foot to make sure that she cannot use hers71--an arm-chair1 ,i say1 begins to move1 and comes sliding up to us4 ,i push it back2 it returns4 ,it is a stuffed affair 7pouf71 very heavy1 but easily capable of gliding over the floor4 ,this thing happened on the #bith of last ,march1 and again on ,april #eth4 ,it could have been done by drawing the chair with a string or by the medium putting her foot sufficiently far out4 ,but it happened over and over again 7five or six times71 automatically moving1 and that so violently that the chair jumped about the floor in a topsy-turvy fashion and ended by falling bottom side up without anybody having touched it4 #d4 ,here is a fourth case re-observed this year1 after having been several times verified by me1 notably in #ahih4 ,curtains near the medium1 but which it is impossible for her to touch1 either with the hand or the foot1 swell out their whole length1 as if inflated by a gusty wind4 ,i have several times seen them envelop the heads of the spectators as if with cowls of ,capuchin monks4 #e4 ,here is a fifth instance1 authenticated by me several times1 and always with the same care4 ,while ,i am holding one hand of ,eusapia in mine1 and one of my astronomical friends1 tutor at the ,ecole ,polytechnique1 is holding the other1 we are touched1 first one and then the other1 upon the side and on the shoulders1 as if by an invisible hand4 ,the medium usually tries to get together her two hands1 held separately by each of us1 and by a skilful substitution to make us believe we hold both when she has succeeded in disengaging one4 ,this fraud being well known by us1 we act the part of forewarned spectators1 and are positive that we have each succeeded in holding her hands apart4 ,the touchings in this experiment seem to proceed from an invisible entity and are rather disagreeable4 ,those which take place in the immediate vicinity of the medium could be due to fraud2 but to some of them this explanation is inapplicable4 ,this is the place to remark that1 unfortunately1 the extraordinary character of the phenomena is in direct ratio with the absence of light1 and we are continually asked by the medium to turn down the gas1 almost to the vanishing point3 ,meno luce6 meno luce6 7,less light1 less light74 ,this1 of course1 is advantageous to all kinds of fraud4 ,but it is a condition no more obligatory than the others4 ,there is in it no implication of a threat4 ,we can get a large number of mediumistic phenomena with a light strong enough for us to distinguish things with certainty4 ,still1 it is a fact that light is unfavorable to the production of phenomena4 ,this is annoying4 ,yet we have no right to impose the opposite condition4 ,we have no right to demand of nature conditions which happen to suit us4 ,it would be just as reasonable to try to get a photographic negative without a dark room1 or to draw electricity from a rotating machine in the midst of an atmosphere saturated with moisture4 ,light is a natural agent capable of producing certain effects and of opposing the production of others4 ,this aphorism calls to my mind an anecdote in the life of ,daguerre1 related in the first edition of this book4 ,one evening this illustrious natural philosopher meets an elegant and fashionable woman in the neighborhood of the ,opera ,house1 of which he was at that time the decorator4 ,enthusiastic over his progress in natural philosophy1 he happens to speak of his photogenic studies4 ,he tells her of a marvellous discovery by which the features of the face can be fixed upon a plate of silver4 ,the lady1 who is a person of plain common sense1 courteously laughs in his face4 ,the savant goes on with his story1 without being disconcerted4 ,he even adds that it is possible for the phenomenon to take place instantaneously when the processes become perfected4 ,but he has his pains for his trouble4 ,his charming companion is not credulous enough to accept such an extravagance4 ,paint without colors and without a brush6 design without pen or crayon6 as if a portrait could get painted all by itself1 etc4 ,but the inventor is not discouraged1 and1 to convince her1 offers to make her portrait by this process4 ,the lady is unwilling to be thought a dupe and refuses4 ,but the skilful artist pleads his cause so well that he overcomes her objections4 ,the blond daughter of ,eve consents to pose before the object-glass4 ,but she makes one condition1--only one4 ,her beauty is at its best in the evening1 and she feels a little faded in the garish light of day4 ,if you could take me in the evening-- ,but1 madame1 it is impossible-- ,why8 ,you say that your invention reproduces the face1 feature by feature4 ,i prefer my features of the evening over those of the morning4 ,madame1 it is the light itself which pencils the image1 and without it ,i can do nothing4 ,we will light a chandelier1 a lamp1 do anything to please you4 ,no1 madame1 the light of day is imperative4 ,will you please tell me why8 ,because the light of the sun exhibits an intense activity1 sufficient to decompose the iodide of silver4 ,so far1 ,i have not been able to take a photograph except in full sunlight4 ,both remained obstinate1 the lady maintaining that what could be done at ten o'clock in the morning could also easily be done at ten o'clock in the evening4 ,the inventor affirmed the contrary4 ,so1 then1 all you have to do1 gentlemen1 is to forbid the light to blacken iodine1 or order it to blacken lime1 and condemn the photographer to develop his negative in full light4 ,ask ,electricity why it will pass instantaneously from one end to the other of an iron wire a thousand miles long and why it refuses to traverse a thread of glass half an inch long4 ,beg the night-blooming flowers to expand in the day1 or those that only bloom in the light not to close at dusk4 ,give me the explanation of the respiration of plants1 diurnal and nocturnal1 and of the production of chlorophyll and how plants develop a green color in the light2 why they breathe in oxygen and exhale carbonic acid gas during the night1 and reverse the process during the day4 ,change the equivalents of simple substances in chemistry1 and order combinations to be produced4 ,forbid azotic acid to boil at the freezing temperature1 and command water to boil at zero4 ,you have only to ask these accommodations and nature will obey you1 gentlemen1 depend upon it4 ,a good many phenomena of nature only occur in obscurity4 ,the germs of plants1 animals1 man1 in forming a new being1 work their miracle only in the dark4 ,here1 in a flask1 is a mixture of hydrogen and chlorine in equal volumes4 ,if you wish to preserve the mixture1 you must keep the flask in the dark1 whether you want to or not4 ,such is the law4 ,as long as it remains in the dark1 it will retain its properties4 ,but suppose you take a schoolboy notion to expose the thing to the action of light4 ,instantly a violent explosion is heard2 the hydrogen and the chlorine disappear1 and you find in the flask a new substance1--chloridic acid4 ,there is no use in your finding fault3 darkness respects the two substances1 while light explodes them4 ,if we should hear a malignant sceptic of some clique or other say1 ,i will only believe in jack-o'-lanterns when ,i see them in the light of day1 what should we think of his sanity8 ,about what we should think if he should add that the stars are not certainties1 since they are only seen at night4 ,in all the observations and experiments of physics there are conditions to be observed4 ,in those of which we are speaking a too strong light seems to imperil the success of the experiment4 ,but it goes without saying that precautions against deception ought to increase in direct ratio with the decrease of visibility and other means of verification4 ,let us return to our experiments4 #f4 ,taps are heard in the table1 or it moves1 rises1 falls back1 raps with its leg4 ,a kind of interior movement is produced in the wood1 violent enough1 sometimes1 to break it4 ,the round table ,i made use of 7with others7 in my home was dislocated and repaired more than once1 and it was by no means the pressure of the hands upon it that could have caused the dislocations4 ,no1 there is something more than that in it3 there is in the actions of the table the intervention of mind1 of which ,i have already spoken4 ,the table is questioned1 by means of the conventional signs described a few pages back1 and it responds4 ,phrases are rapped out1 usually banal and without any literary1 scientific1 or philosophical value4 ,but1 at any rate1 words are rapped out1 phrases are dictated4 ,these phrases do not come of their own accord1 nor is it the medium who taps them--consciously--either with her foot or her hand1 or by the aid of a snapping muscle1 for we obtain them in seances held without professional mediums and at scientific reunions where the existence of trickery would be a thing of the greatest absurdity4 ,the mind of the medium and that of the experimenters most assuredly have something to do with the mystery4 ,the replies obtained generally tally the intellectual status of the company1 as if the intellectual faculties of the persons present were exterior to their brains and were acting in the table wholly unknown to the experimenters themselves4 ,how can this thing be8 ,how can we compose and dictate phrases without knowing it4 ,sometimes the ideas broached seem to come from a personality unknown to the company1 and the hypothesis of spirits quite naturally presents itself4 ,a word is begun2 some one thinks he can divine its ending2 to save time1 he writes it down2 the table parries1 is agitated1 impatient4 ,it is the wrong word2 another was being dictated4 ,there is here1 then1 a psychic element which we are obliged to recognize1 whatever its nature may be when analyzed4 ,the success of experiments does not always depend on the will of the medium4 ,of course that is the chief element in it2 but certain conditions independent of her are necessary4 ,the psychical atmosphere created by the persons present has an influence that cannot be neglected4 ,so the state of health of the medium is not without its influence4 ,if he is fatigued1 although he may have the best will in the world1 the value of the results will be affected4 ,i had a new proof of this thing1 so often observed1 at my house1 with ,eusapia ,paladino1 on ,may #cj1 #aijf4 ,she had for more than a month been suffering from a rather painful affection of the eyes2 and furthermore her legs were considerably swollen4 ,we were seven1 of whom two lookers-on were sceptics4 ,the results were almost nil2 namely1 the lifting1 during scarcely two seconds of time1 of a round table weighing about four pounds2 the tipping up of one side of a four-legged table2 and a few rappings4 ,still1 the medium seemed animated by a real wish to obtain some result4 ,she confessed to me1 however1 that what had chiefly paralyzed her faculties was the sceptical and sarcastic spirit of one of the two incredulous persons4 ,i knew of the absolute scepticism of this man4 ,it had not been manifested in any way2 but ,eusapia had at once divined it4 ,the state of mind of the by-standers1 sympathetic or antipathetic1 has an influence upon the production of the phenomena4 ,this is an incontestable matter of observation4 ,i am not speaking here merely of a tricky medium rendered powerless to act by a too close critical inspection1 but also of a hostile force which may more or less neutralize the sincerest volition4 ,is it not the same1 moreover1 in assemblies1 large or small1 in conferences1 in salons1 etc48 ,do we not often see persons of baleful and antipathetic spirit defeat at their very beginning the accomplishment of the noblest purposes4 ,here are the results of another sitting of the same medium held a few days afterwards4 ,on the #gth of ,june1 #aijf1 ,i had been informed by my friend ,dr4 ,ostwalt1 the skilled oculist1 who was at that time treating ,eusapia1 that she was to be at his house that evening and that perhaps ,i would be able to try a new experiment4 ,i accepted with all the more readiness because the mother-in-law of the doctor1 ,mme4 ,werner1 to whom ,i had been attached by a friendship of more than thirty years1 had been dead a year1 and had many a time promised me1 in the most formal manner1 to appear after her death for the purpose of giving completeness to my psychical researches by a manifestation1 if the thing was possible4 ,we had so often conversed on these subjects1 and she was so deeply interested in them1 that she had renewed her promise very emphatically a few days before her death4 ,and at the same time she made a similar promise to her daughter and to her son-in-law4 ,eusapia1 also1 on her part1 grateful for the care she had received at the doctor's hands and for the curing of her eye1 wished to be agreeable to him in any way she could4 ,the conditions1 then1 were in all respects excellent4 ,i agreed with the doctor that we had before us four possible hypotheses1 and that we should seek to fix on the most probable one4 a4 ,what would take place might be due to fraud1 conscious or unconscious4 b4 ,the phenomena might be produced by a physical force emanating from the medium4 c4 ,or by one or several invisible entities making use of this force4 d4 ,or by ,mme4 ,werner herself4 ,we had on that evening some movements of the table and a complete lifting of the four feet to a height of about eight inches4 ,six of us sat around the table1--,eusapia1 ,madame and ,monsieur ,ostwalt1 their son ,pierre1 sixteen years old1 my wife and myself4 ,our hands placed above the table scarcely touched it1 and were almost wholly detached at the moment it rose from the floor4 ,no fraud possible4 ,full light4 ,the seance then continued in the dark4 ,the two portieres of a great double-folding door1 against which the medium was seated1 her back to the door1 were blown about for nearly an hour1 sometimes so violently as to form something like a monk's hood on the head of the doctor and that of his wife4 ,this great door was several times shaken violently1 and tremendous blows were struck upon it4 ,we tried to obtain words by means of the alphabet1 but without success4 7,i will remark in this connection that ,eusapia knows neither how to read nor to write47 ,pierre ,ostwalt was able to write a word with the pencil4 ,it seemed as if an invisible force was guiding his hand4 ,the word he pencilled down was the first name of ,mme4 ,werner1 well known to him4 ,in spite of all our efforts1 we were unable to obtain a single proof of identity4 ,yet it would have been very easy for ,mme4 ,werner to find one1 as she had so solemnly promised us to do4 ,in spite of the announcement by raps that an apparition would appear which we would be permitted to see1 we were only able to perceive a dim white form1 devoid of precise outline1 even when we manipulated the light so as to get almost complete darkness4 ,from this new sitting the following conclusions are deduced3 a4 ,fraud cannot explain the phenomena1 especially the levitation of the table1 the violent blows and shakings given to the door1 and the projection of the curtain into the room4 b4 ,these phenomena are certainly produced by a force emanating from the medium1 for they all occur in her immediate neighborhood4 c4 ,this force is intelligent4 ,but it is possible that this intelligence which obeys our requests is only that of the medium4 d4 ,nothing proves that the spirit evoked had any influence4 ,these propositions1 however1 will be examined and developed one by one in the pages that follow4 ,all the experiments described in this first chapter reveal to us unknown forces in operation4 ,it will be the same in the chapters that follow4 ,these phenomena are so unexplained1 so inexplicable1 so incredible1 that the simplest plan is to deny them1 to attribute them all to fraud or to hallucination1 and to believe that all the participators are sand-blind4 ,unfortunately for our opponents1 this hypothesis is inadmissible4 ,let me say here that there are very few men--and above all1 women--whose spirit is completely free2 that is1 in a condition capable of accepting1 without any preconceived idea1 new or unexplained facts4 ,in general1 people are disposed to admit only those facts or things for which they are prepared by the ideas they have received1 cherished1 and maintained4 ,perhaps there is not one human being in a hundred who is capable of making a mental record of a new impression1 simply1 freely1 exactly1 with the accuracy of a photographic camera4 ,absolute independence of judgment is a rare thing among men4 ,a single fact accurately observed1 even if it should contradict all science1 is worth more than all the hypotheses4 ,but only the independent minds1 free from the classic leading-strings which tie the dogmatists to their chairs1 dare to study extra-scientific facts or consider them possible4 ,i am acquainted with erudite men of genius1 members of the ,academy of ,sciences1 professors at the university1 masters in our great schools1 who reason in the following way3 ,such and such phenomena are impossible because they are in contradiction with the actual state of science4 ,we should only admit what we can explain4 ,they call that scientific reasoning6 ,examples4--,frauenhofer discovers that the solar spectrum is crossed by dark lines4 ,these dark lines could not be explained in his time4 ,therefore we ought not to believe in them4 ,newton discovers that the stars move as if they were governed by an attractive force4 ,this attraction could not be explained in his time4 ,nor is it explained to-day4 ,newton himself takes the pains to declare that he does not wish to explain it by an hypothesis4 ,hypotheses non fingo 7,i do not make hypotheses74 ,so1 after the reasoning of our pseudo-logicians1 we ought not to admit universal gravitation4 ,oxygen combined with hydrogen forms water4 ,how8 ,we don't know4 ,hence we ought not to admit the fact4 ,stones sometimes fall from the sky4 ,the ,academy of ,sciences of the eighteenth century1 not being able to divine where they came from1 simply denied the fact1 which had been observed for thousands of years4 ,they denied also that fish and toads can fall from the clouds1 because it had not then been observed that waterspouts draw them up by suction and transport them from one place to another4 ,a medium places his hand upon a table and seems actually to transmit to it independent life4 ,it is inexplicable1 therefore it is false4 ,yet that is the predominant method of reasoning of a great number of scholars4 ,they are only willing to admit what is known and explained4 ,they declared that locomotives would not be able to move1 or1 if they did succeed1 railways would introduce no change in social relations2 that the transatlantic telegraph would never transmit a despatch2 that vaccine would not render immune2 and at one time they stoutly maintained 7this was long ago7 that the earth does not revolve4 ,it seems that they even condemned ,galileo4 ,everything has been denied4 ,apropos of facts somewhat similar to those we are here studying1--,i mean the stigmata of ,louise ,lateau1--a very famous ,german scholar1 ,professor ,virchow1 closed his report to the ,berlin ,academy with this dilemma3 ,fraud or ,miracle4 ,this conclusion acquired a classic vogue4 ,but it was an error1 for it is now known that stigmata are due neither to fraud nor miracle4 ,another rather common objection is presented by certain persons apparently scientific4 ,confounding experience with observation1 they imagine that a natural phenomenon1 in order to be real1 ought to be able to be produced at will1 as in a laboratory4 ,after this manner of looking at things1 an eclipse of the sun would not be a real thing1 nor a stroke of lightning which sets fire to a house1 nor an aerolite that falls from the sky4 ,an earthquake1 a volcanic eruption1 are phenomena of observation1 not of experiment4 ,but they none the less exist1 often to the great damage of the human race4 ,now1 in the order of facts that we are studying here1 we can almost never experiment1 but only observe1 and this reduces considerably the range of the field of study4 ,and1 even when we do experiment1 the phenomena are not produced at will3 certain elements1 several of which we have not yet been able to get hold of1 intervene to cross1 modify1 and thwart them1 so that for the most part we can only play the role of observers4 ,the difference is analogous to that which separates chemistry from astronomy4 ,in chemistry we experiment3 in astronomy we observe4 ,but this does not hinder astronomy from being the most exact of the sciences4 ,mediumistic phenomena that come directly under the observation1 notably those ,i have described some pages back1 have for me the stamp of absolute certainty and incontestability1 and amply suffice to prove that unknown physical forces exist outside of the ordinary and established domain of natural philosophy4 ,as a principle1 moreover1 this is an unimpeachable tenet4#e ,i could adduce still other instances1 for example the following3 #g4 ,during seance experiments1 phantoms often appear1--hands1 arms1 a head1 a bust1 an entire human figure4 ,i was a witness of this thing1 especially on ,july #bg1 #ahig1 at ,montfort-l',amaury 7see ,chapter ,,iii74 ,m4 de ,fontenay having declared that he perceived an image or spirit over the table1 between himself and me 7we were sitting face to face1 keeping watch over ,eusapia1 he holding one of her hands1 and ,i the other71 and ,i seeing nothing at all1 ,i asked him to change places with me4 ,and then ,i1 too1 perceived this spirit-shadow1 the head of a bearded man1 rather vaguely outlined1 which was moving like a silhouette1 advancing and retiring in front of a red lantern placed on a piece of furniture4 ,i had not been able to see at first from where ,i sat1 because the lantern was then behind me1 and the spectral appearance was formed between ,m4 de ,fontenay and me4 ,as this dark silhouette remained rather vague1 ,i asked if ,i could not touch its beard4 ,the medium replied1 ,stretch out your hand4 ,i then felt upon the back of my hand the brushing of a very soft beard4 ,this case did not have for me the same absolute certainty as the preceding4 ,there are degrees in the feeling of security we have in observations4 ,in astronomy1 even1 there are stars at the limit of visibility4 ,and yet in the opinion of all the participators in the seance there was no trick4 ,besides1 on another occasion1 at my own home1 ,i saw another figure1 that of a young girl1 as the reader will see in the third chapter4 #h4 ,that same day1 at ,montfort1 in the course of the conversation1 some one recalled the circumstance that the spirits have sometimes impressed on paraffin or putty or clay the print of their head or of their hands1--a thing that seems in the last degree absurd4 ,but we bought some putty at a glazier's and fixed up in a wooden box a perfectly soft cake4 ,at the end of the seance there was the imprint of a head1 of a face1 in this putty4 ,in this case1 no more than in the other1 am ,i absolutely certain there was no trickery4 ,we will speak of it farther on4 ,other manifestations will be noted in subsequent pages of this book4 ,stopping right here1 for the present1 at the special point of view of the proved existence of unknown forces1 ,i will confine myself to the six preceding cases1 regarding them as incontestable1 in the judgment of any man of good faith or of any observer4 ,if ,i have considered these particular cases so early in the work1 it is in response to readers of my works who have been begging me for a long time to give my personal observations4 ,the simplest of these manifestations--that of raps1 for example--is not a negligible asset4 ,there is no doubt that it is one or another of the experimenters1 or their dynamic resultant1 that raps in the table without knowing how4 ,so1 even if it should be a psychic entity unknown to the mediums1 it evidently makes use of them1 of their physiological properties4 ,such a fact is not without scientific interest4 ,the denials of scepticism prove nothing1 unless it be that the deniers themselves have not observed the phenomena4 ,i have no other aim in this first chapter than to give a preliminary summary of the observed facts4 ,i do not desire to put forth in these first pages any explanatory hypothesis4 ,my readers will themselves form an opinion from the narratives that follow1 and the last chapter of the volume will be devoted to theories4 ,yet ,i believe it will be useful to call attention at once to the fact that matter is not1 in reality1 what it appears to be to our vulgar senses1--to our sense of touch1 to our vision1--but that it is identical with energy1 and is only a manifestation of the movement of invisible and imponderable elements4 ,the universe is a dynamism4 ,matter is only an appearance4 ,it will be useful for the reader to bear this truth in mind1 as it will help him to comprehend the studies we are about to make4 ,the mysterious forces we are here studying are themselves manifestations of the universal dynamism with which our five senses put us very imperfectly into relation4 ,these things belong to the psychical order as well as to the physical4 ,they prove that we are living in the midst of an unexplored world1 in which the psychic forces play a role as yet very imperfectly studied4 ,we have here a situation analogous to that in which ,christopher ,columbus found himself on the evening of the day when he perceived the first hints of land in the ,new ,world4 ,we are pushing our prow through an absolutely unknown sea4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,my ,,first ,,seances ,,in ,,the ,,allan ,,kardec ,,group ,,and ,,with ,,the ,,mediums ,,of ,,that ,,epoch ,one day in the month of ,november1 #ahfa1 under the ,galeries de l',odeon1#f ,i spied a book1 the title of which struck me1--,le ,livre des ,esprits 7,the ,book of ,spirits71 by ,allan ,kardec4 ,i bought it and read it with avidity1 several chapters seeming to me to agree with the scientific bases of the book ,i was then writing1 ,the ,plurality of ,inhabited ,worlds4 ,i hunted up the author1 who proposed that ,i should enter1 as a free associated member1 the ,parisian ,society for ,spiritualistic ,studies1 which he had founded1 and of which he was president4 ,i accepted1 and by chance have just found the green ticket signed by him on the fifteenth day of ,november1 #ahfa4 ,this is the date of my debut in psychic studies4 ,i was then nineteen1 and for three years had been an astronomical pupil at the ,paris ,observatory4 ,at this time ,i was putting the last touches to the book ,i just mentioned1 the first edition of which was published some months afterwards by the printer-publisher of the ,observatory4 ,the members came together every ,friday evening in the assembly room of the society1 in the little passageway of ,sainte ,anne1 which was placed under the protection of ,saint ,louis4 ,the president opened the seance by an invocation to the good spirits4 ,it was admitted1 as a principle1 that invisible spirits were present there and revealed themselves4 ,after this invocation a certain number of persons1 seated at a large table1 were besought to abandon themselves to their inspiration and to write4 ,they were called writing mediums4 ,their dissertations were afterwards read before an attentive audience4 ,there were no physical experiments of table-turning1 or tables moving or speaking4 ,the president1 ,allan ,kardec1 said he attached no value to such things4 ,it seemed to him that the instructions communicated by the spirits ought to form the basis of a new doctrine1 of a sort of religion4 ,at the same period1 but several years earlier1 my illustrious friend ,victorien ,sardou1 who had been an occasional frequenter of the ,observatory1 had written1 as a medium1 some curious pages on the inhabitants of the planet ,jupiter1 and had produced picturesque and surprising designs1 having as their aim to represent men and things as they appeared in this giant of worlds4 ,he designed the dwellings of people in ,jupiter4 ,one of his sketches showed us the house of ,mozart1 others the houses of ,zoroaster and of ,bernard ,palissy1 who were country neighbors in one of the landscapes of this immense planet4 ,the dwellings are ethereal and of an exquisite lightness4 ,they may be judged of by the two figures here reproduced 7,pl4 ,,ii and ,,iii74 ,the first represents a residence of ,zoroaster1 the second the animals' quarters belonging to the same4 ,on the grounds are flowers1 hammocks1 swings1 flying creatures1 and1 below1 intelligent animals playing a special kind of ninepins where the fun is not to knock down the pins1 but to put a cap on them1 as in the cup and ball toy1 etc4 ,these curious drawings prove indubitably that the signature ,bernard ,palissy1 of ,jupiter1 is apocryphal and that the hand of ,victorien ,sardou was not directed by a spirit from that planet4 ,nor was it the gifted author himself who planned these sketches and executed them in accordance with a definite plan4 ,they were made while he was in the condition of mediumship4 ,a person is not magnetized1 nor hypnotized1 nor put to sleep in any way while in that state4 ,but the brain is not ignorant of what is taking place3 its cells perform their functions1 and act 7doubtless by a reflex movement7 upon the motor nerves4 ,at that time we all thought ,jupiter was inhabited by a superior race of beings4 ,the spiritistic communications were the reflex of the general ideas in the air4 ,to-day1 with our present knowledge of the planets1 we should not imagine anything of the kind about that globe4 ,and1 moreover1 spiritualistic seances have never taught us anything upon the subject of astronomy4 ,such results as were attained fail utterly to prove the intervention of spirits4 ,have the writing mediums given any more convincing proofs of it than these8 ,this is what we shall have to examine in as impartial a way as we can4 ,i myself tried to see if ,i1 too1 could not write4 ,by collecting and concentrating my powers and allowing my hand to be passive and unresistant1 ,i soon found that1 after it had traced certain dashes1 and o's1 and sinuous lines more or less interlaced1 very much as a four-year-old child learning to write might do1 it finally did actually write words and phrases4 ,in these meetings of the ,parisian ,society for ,spiritualistic ,studies1 ,i wrote for my part1 some pages on astronomical subjects signed ,galileo4 ,the communications remained in the possession of the society1 and in #ahfg ,allan ,kardec published them under the head ,general ,uranography1 in his work entitled ,genesis4 7,i have preserved one of the first copies1 with his dedication47 ,these astronomical pages taught me nothing4 ,so ,i was not slow in concluding that they were only the echo of what ,i already knew1 and that ,galileo had no hand in them4 ,when ,i wrote the pages1 ,i was in a kind of waking dream4 ,besides1 my hand stopped writing when ,i began to think of other subjects4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4 ,,house ,,of ,,zoroastre ,,of ,,jupiter ,,from ,,somnambulistic ,,drawing ,,by ,,victorien ,,sardou4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4 ,,animals' ,,quarters4 ,,house ,,of ,,zoroastre ,,of ,,jupiter ,,from ,,somnambulistic ,,drawing ,,by ,,victorien ,,sardou4 ,i may quote here what ,i said on this subject in my work1 ,the ,worlds of ,space 7,les ,terres du ,ciel71 in the edition of #ahhd1 p4 #aha3-- ,the writing medium is not put to sleep1 nor is he magnetized or hypnotized in any way4 ,one is simply received into a circle of determinate ideas4 ,the brain acts 7by the mediation of the nervous system7 a little differently from what it does in its normal state4 ,the difference is not so great as one might suppose4 ,the chief difference may be described as follows3 ,in the normal state we think of what we are going to write before the act of writing begins4 ,there is a direct action of the will in causing the pen1 the hand1 and the fore-arm to move over the paper4 ,in the abnormal state1 on the other hand1 we do not think before writing2 we do not move the hand1 but let it remain inert1 passive1 free2 we place it upon the paper1 taking care merely that it shall meet with the least possible resistance2 we think of a word1 a figure1 a stroke of the pen1 and the hand of its own volition begins to write4 ,but the writing medium must think of what he is doing1 not beforehand1 but continuously2 otherwise the hand stops4 ,for example1 try to write the word ocean1 not voluntarily 7the ordinary way71 but by simply taking a lead-pencil1 and letting the hand rest lightly and freely upon the paper1 while you think of your word and observe carefully whether the hand will write4 ,very good2 it does begin to move over the paper1 writing first an o1 then a c1 and the rest4 ,at least that was my experience when ,i was studying the new problems of spiritualism and magnetism4 ,i have always thought that the circle of science is not a closed one1 and that there are many things for us still to learn4 ,in the mediumistic writing experiments it is very easy to deceive ourselves and to believe that the hand is under the influence of another mind than our own4 ,the most probable conclusion regarding these experiences has been that the theory of the action of foreign spirits is not necessary for the explanation of such phenomena4 ,but this is not the place to enter into details upon a subject which1 up to the present time1 has been only slightly examined by scientific criticism1 having more often been exploited by speculators than studied by scientists4 ,so ,i wrote in #ahhd2 and ,i will indorse every word ,i then wrote1 just as it stands4 ,in these first experiences with ,spiritualists1 of which ,i have just been speaking1 ,i soon had the entree of the chief ,parisian circles devoted to these matters1 and for a couple of years ,i even took the position of honorary secretary of one of them4 ,a natural or necessary result of this was that ,i did not miss a single seance4 ,three different methods were employed to receive communications3 7#a7 writing with the hand2 7#b7 the use of the planchette to which a lead-pencil was attached1 and on which the hands were placed2 and 7#c7 table-rapping 7or table-moving71 operated by the alphabetic code1 these raps or the movements of the table marking the desired letter as the alphabet was read aloud by one of those present4 ,the first of these methods was the only one employed at the ,society for ,spiritualistic ,studies1 of which ,allan ,kardec was president4 ,it was the one which permitted the margin for the most doubt4 ,in fact1 at the end of two years of investigations of this kind1 which ,i had varied as much as possible1 and which ,i had entered upon without any preconceived idea for or against1 and with the most ardent desire to arrive at the truth1 ,i came to the positive conclusion that not only are the signatures of these papers not authentic1 but that the intervention of another mind from the spirit world is not proved at all1 the fact being that we ourselves are the more or less conscious authors of the communications by some cerebral process which yet remains to be investigated4 ,the explanation is not so simple as it seems1 and there are certain reservations to be made in the general statement above4 ,when writing in the exalted and abnormal state of mind of the medium1 we do not1 as ,i have just said1 form our phrases as in the normal condition2 rather we wait for them to be produced4 ,but all the same our own mind mingles in the process4 ,the subject treated follows the lines of our own customary thoughts2 the language employed is our native tongue1 and1 if we are uncertain about the spelling of certain words1 errors will appear4 ,furthermore1 so intimately are our own mental processes mingled with what is being written that1 if we allow our thoughts to wander to another topic1 the hand either stops writing or produces incoherent words and scrawls4 ,this is the mental state of the writing medium1--at least that which ,i have observed in myself4 ,it is a kind of auto-suggestion4 ,i hasten to add1 however1 that this opinion only binds me to the extent of my own personal experiences4 ,i am assured that there are mediums who act in an absolutely mechanical way1 knowing nothing of the nature of what they are writing 7see further on1 pp4 #eh1 #ei71 who treat subjects of which they are ignorant1 and also even write in foreign languages4 ,such cases would be different from that of which ,i have just been speaking1 and would indicate either a special cerebral state or great keenness of intellect1 or a source of ideas exterior to the medium2 i4e41 if it were once proved that our mind cannot divine that of which it is ignorant4 ,but now the transference of thought from one brain to another1 from one mind to another1 is a fact proved by telepathy4 ,we could conceive1 then1 that a medium might write under the influence of some one near by--or even at a distance4 ,several mediums have also composed 7in successive seances7 genuine romances1 such as ,the ,history of ,joan of ,arc1 ,written by ,herself1 or certain voyages to other planets1--seeming to indicate that there is a kind of doubling of the personality of the subject1 a secondary personality4 ,but there is no authentication of this4 ,there is also a psychic milieu1 of which ,i shall speak farther on4 ,at present ,i must concern myself only with the subject of this chapter1 and say with ,newton1 ,hypotheses non fingo4 ,allan ,kardec died on the #cjth of ,march1 #ahfi1 and1 when the ,society of ,spiritualists came to ask me to deliver a funeral oration at his tomb1 ,i took occasion1 during this discourse1 to direct the attention of the ,spiritualists to the scientific character of investigations of this class and to the manifest danger of allowing ourselves to be drawn into mysticism4 ,i will reproduce at this point a few paragraphs taken from this address3 ,i wish ,i could impress upon you who hear me1 as well as upon the millions of men throughout ,europe and in the ,new ,world who are studying the still mysterious problem of spiritualism1 what a deep scientific interest and what a philosophic future there is in the study of these phenomena1 to which1 as you know1 many of our most eminent living scholars have given their time and attention4 ,i wish ,i could present to your imagination and theirs the new and vast horizons we shall see opening up before us in proportion as we broaden our scientific knowledge of the forces of nature at work around us2 and ,i would that ,i could show both you and them that such conquests of the mind are the most efficacious antidote to the leprosy of atheism which seems to be particularly the malignant degenerative element in this our epoch of transition4 ,what a salutary thing it would be could ,i but prove here1 before this eloquent tomb1 that the methodical examination of the phenomena erroneously called supernatural1 far from calling back the spirit of superstition1 and weakening the energy of the reason1 serves1 on the contrary1 to banish the errors and illusions of ignorance1 and assists the progress of truth much more than do the irrational negations of those who will not take the trouble to look at the facts4 ,it is high time now that this complex subject of study should enter upon its scientific period4 ,enough stress has not been laid upon the physical side of the subject1 which should be critically studied2 for without rigid scientific experiment no proof is valid4 ,this objective a priori method of investigation1 to which we owe the glory of modern progress and the marvels of electricity and steam1 should take up the still unexplained and mysterious phenomena with which we are acquainted1 to dissect them1 measure them1 and to define them4 ,for1 gentlemen1 spiritualism is not a religion1 but a science1 a science of which we as yet scarcely know the a1 b1 c4 ,the age of dogma is past4 ,nature includes the ,universe2 and ,god himself1 who was in old times conceived of as a being of similar shape and form as man1 cannot be considered by modern metaphysics as other than ,mind in ,nature4 ,the supernatural does not exist4 ,the manifestations obtained by the agency of mediums1 such as those of magnetism and somnambulism1 belong to the order of nature and ought to be inexorably submitted to the test of experiment4 ,there are no more miracles4 ,we are witnessing the dawning of a new science4 ,who is there so bold as to predict whither the scientific study of the new psychology will lead1 and what the results will be8 ,the limitations of human vision are such that the eye only sees things between narrow bounds1 and beyond these limits1 on this side and on that1 it sees nothing4 ,the body may be compared to a harp of two chords1--the optic nerve and the auditory nerve4 ,one kind of vibrations excites the first and another kind the second4 ,that is the whole story of human sensation1 which is even inferior to that of many of the lower animals2 certain insects1 for example1 in whom the nerves of vision and of hearing are more delicate than in man4 ,now there are in nature1 not two1 but ten1 a hundred1 a thousand kinds of movement or vibration4 ,we learn1 then1 from physical science1 that we are living in the midst of a world invisible to us1 and that it is not impossible that there may be living upon the earth a class of beings1 also invisible to us1 endowed with a wholly different kind of senses1 so that there is no way by which they can make themselves known to us1 unless they can manifest themselves in acts and ways that can come within the range of our own order of sensations4 ,in the presence of such truths as these1 which have as yet only been barely announced1 how absurd and worthless seems mere blind denial6 ,when we compare the little that we know and the narrow limits of our range of perception with the vast extent of the field of knowledge1 we can scarcely refrain from the conclusion that we know nothing and that everything yet remains to be known4 ,with what right do we pronounce the word impossible in the presence of facts which we prove to be genuine without yet being able to discover their causes8 ,it is by the scientific study of effects that we arrive at the determination of causes4 ,in the class of investigations which we group under the general head ,spiritualism1 ,,facts ,,exist4 ,but no one understands the method of their production4 ,their existence1 nevertheless1 is just as true as the phenomena of electricity4 ,but1 as for understanding them--why1 gentlemen1 nobody understands biology1 physiology1 psychology4 ,what is the human body8 ,what is the brain8 ,what is the absolute action of the soul or mind8 ,we do not know4 ,and1 neither do we know anything whatever of the essence of electricity or the essence of light4 ,it is prudent1 then1 to observe with unbiased judgment all such matters as these1 and to try to determine their causes1 which are perhaps of different kinds and more numerous than has ever been supposed up to the present time4#g ,it will be seen that what ,i publicly uttered as ,i stood on the hillock above the grave into which ,allan ,kardec's coffin had just been lowered differs not at all from the purely scientific program of the present work4 ,i have just said that there were three methods employed in our spiritistic experiments4 ,i have given my opinion of the first 7writing mediums71 basing it on my personal observations1 and without desiring to weaken other proofs1 if there are any4 ,as to the second 7planchette71 ,i became familiar with it more especially by the seances of ,mme4 de ,girardin1 at the home of ,victor ,hugo in the ,isle of ,jersey4 ,it works more independently than the first method2 but it is still only a prolongation1 as it were1 of the hand and the brain4 ,the third method--table-rapping1 or typtology2 ,i mean taps in the table--seems to me still more emphatically an extension of the hand and brain1 and some forty-five years ago ,i often made use of this form of experiment4 ,rappings made on the floor by one foot of the table1 as letters are spelled out1 have no special value4 ,the least pressure can produce these see-saw movements4 ,the chief experimenter himself makes the responses1 sometimes without suspecting it4 ,several persons group themselves about a table1 place their hands upon it1 and wait for something to happen4 ,at the end of five1 ten1 fifteen1 twenty minutes1 the time depending on the psychic atmosphere#h and the faculties of the experimenters1 raps are heard in the table1 or the sitters help in the movements of the table1 which seems possessed4 ,why choose a table8 ,because it is the only article of furniture around which folks usually sit4 ,sometimes the table is lifted on one or more of its feet and is gently rocked to and fro4 ,sometimes it comes up as if glued to the hands placed on it1 remaining suspended in the air two1 three1 five1 ten1 twenty seconds4 ,again1 it is nailed to the floor with such force that it seems to have double or triple its usual weight4 ,at other times1 and usually on demand1 it gives forth the sound of a saw1 of a hatchet1 of a lead-pencil writing1 etc4 ,we have here material results coming under direct observation1 and they prove irrefragably the existence of an unknown force4 ,this force is a material force in the psychic class4 ,if we confined our attention to blind senseless movements of one kind or another1 in relation only with the volitions of the experimenters1 and not capable of being explained by the mere imposition of their hands1 we might see proof of the existence of a new unknown force1 explicable as a transformation of nervous force1 of organic electricity2 and that would be much in itself4 ,but the raps made in the table1 or by the feet of it1 are made in reply to questions asked4 ,since we know the table is only a piece of wood1 when we ask it questions1 we are really addressing some mental agent who hears and replies4 ,it was in this class of phenomena that modern ,spiritualism took its rise2 namely1 in the ,united ,states1 in #ahdh1 when the ,fox sisters heard sounds in their chamber1--raps in the walls and in the furniture4 ,their father1 after several months of vexatious investigation1 finally had recourse to the traditional theory of ghosts1 and1 addressing his questions to the wall1 demanded some kind of an explanation from the invisible thing therein4 ,this thing responded by conventional taps to the questions asked1 and declared that it was the spirit of the former proprietor once assassinated in this his very home4 ,the spirit asked for prayers and the burial of its body4 7,from this time on the replies were so arranged that one rap in response to a question signified yes1 two meant no while three meant an emphatic yes47 ,i hasten to remark at once that the tapped replies prove nothing1 and could have been made unconsciously by the ,fox sisters themselves1 whom we can not consider to have been playing a little comedy since the raps produced by them in the walls astounded and overwhelmed them more1 indeed1 than they did any one else4 ,the hypothesis of jugglery and mystification1 dear to certain critics1 has not the least application to this case1 although ,i admit that rappings and movements are often produced as practical jokes by waggish persons4 ,there is1 of course1 an unseen cause that originates these rappings4 ,is it within us or outside of us8 ,is it possible that we might be capable of doubling our personality in some way without knowing it1 of acting by mental suggestion1 of answering our own questions without suspecting it1 of producing material results without being conscious of it8 ,or does there exist1 around and about us1 an intelligent medium or atmosphere1 a kind of spiritual cosmos8 ,or1 again1 is it possible that we are surrounded by invisible non-human beings1--gnomes1 spirits1 and hobgoblins 7there may be an unknown world about us78 ,or1 finally1 is it possible that the spirits of the dead may survive1 and wander to and fro1 and hold communication with us8 ,all these hypotheses present themselves to our minds1 nor have we the scientific absolute right to reject any one of them4 ,the lifting of a table1 the displacement of an object1 may be attributed to an unknown force developed by our nervous system or otherwise4 ,at least these movements do not prove the existence of a mind extraneous to that of the subject4 ,but when some one is naming the letters of the alphabet or pointing them out on a sheet of pasteboard1 and the table1 either by raps in the wood or by levitations1 puts together an intelligible sentence1 we are forced to attribute this intelligent effect to an intelligent cause4 ,this cause may be the medium himself2 and the simplest way is1 evidently1 to suppose that he himself raps out the letters4 ,but experiments can be arranged in such a way that he cannot possibly do this1 even unconsciously4 ,our first duty is1 in reality1 to make fraud impossible4 ,those who have sufficiently studied the subject know that fraud does not explain what they have observed4 ,to be sure1 in fashionable ,spiritualistic soirees people sometimes amuse themselves4 ,especially when the seances take place in the dark1 and the alternation of the sexes is provided for so as to reinforce the fluids1 it is not altogether an unheard of thing for the gentlemen to profit by the temptation to temporarily forget the object of the meeting and break the established chain of hands in order to begin another on their own account4 ,the ladies and the young girls like these changes in the program1 and scarcely a complaint is heard4 ,on the other hand1 apart from fashionable soirees1 to which everybody is invited for their amusement1 the more serious reunions are frequently no safer2 for the medium1 who is1 in one way or another1 an interested person1 is anxious to give the most he can--and something to boot4 ,upon the leaf of an old note-book of mine which has just turned up1 ,i classed ,spiritualistic soirees in the following order1 which is doubtless a slightly original one3-- #a4 ,amorous caresses4 7,a similar reproach was made against the ancient ,christian love-feasts or agapes47 #b4 ,charlatanry of mediums1 abusing the credulity of the sitters4 #c4 ,some serious inquirers4 ,at the time of which ,i was just now speaking 7#ahfa-fc7 ,i took part1 as secretary1 in experiments conducted regularly once a week1 in the salon of a well-known medium1--,mlle4 ,huet1 of ,mont-,thabor ,street4 ,mediumship was1 in a way1 her trade1 and she had more than once been flagrantly detected in some most remarkable trickery4 ,accordingly1 it may be imagined that she would quite often give the raps herself by hitting the table-legs with her feet4 ,but quite often we also obtained noises of sawing1 of planing1 of drum-beating1 and torrents of rain1 which it would have been impossible for her to imitate4 ,neither could the holding fast of the table to the floor be the work of fraud4 ,as to the levitations of the table1 ,i said awhile ago that1 when one of us showed an inclination to resist with his hand the upward movement1 he received an impression as if the table were floating on a fluid4 ,now it is hard to see how the medium could produce this result4 ,everything took place in broad daylight4 ,the communications received at the very many seances 7several hundred7 at which ,i have been present1 both at that time and since1 have always shown me that the results were in direct ratio with the cultivation of mind of the participants4 ,i naturally asked a great many questions on astronomy4 ,the replies never taught us anything new whatever2 and1 to be perfectly loyal to the truth1 ,i must say that if1 in these experiments1 there are spirits1 or beings independent of us in action1 they know no more than we do about the other worlds4 ,a distinguished poet1 ,p4 ,f4 ,mathieu1 was usually present at the reunions at the ,mont-,thabor salon1 and hence we sometimes obtained very pretty bits of verse1 which ,i am sure he did not himself consciously produce2 for1 like all of us1 he was there to learn4 ,m4 ,joubert1 vice-president of the civil tribunal of ,carcassonne1 has published a work1 entitled ,various ,fables and ,poems1 by a ,spirit-rapper1 which bears on its face evidence that it is but the reflex of his customary thoughts4 ,we had ,christian philosophers with us at our reunions4 ,accordingly1 the table dictated to us fine thoughts signed ,pascal1 ,fenelon1 ,vincent de ,paul1 and ,sainte ,therese4 ,one spirit1 who signed himself ,balthasar ,grimod de la ,reyniere1 dictated funny dissertations on the art of cooking4 ,his specialty was to make the heavy table dance about in all kinds of contortions4 ,rabelais sometimes appeared1 still loving the perfumes of savory viands as of old4 ,some of the spirits took pleasure in making tours de force in cryptology 7secret writing74 ,the following are specimens of these table-rapping communications4 ,the first is from the vulgate version of the ,bible1 the ,gospel of ,john iii4 #h3 ,spiritus ubi vult spirat2 et vocem ejus audis1 sed nescis unde veniat aut quo vadat4 ,sic est omnis qui natus est ex spiritu4 7,the wind bloweth where it listeth1 and thou hearest the sound thereof1 but canst not tell whence it cometh1 and whither it goeth4 ,so is every one that is born of the ,spirit47 ,dear little sister1 ,i am here1 and see that you are as good as ever4 ,you are a medium4 ,i will go to you with great happiness4 ,tell my mother her dear daughter loves her from this world4#i ,,louisa4 ,some one asked one of the spirits if he could indicate by taps the words engraved inside of her ring4 ,the response was3 ,i love that one should love me as ,i love when ,i love4 ,a member of the company suspected that the table around which we were sitting might conceal a piece of mechanism for producing the raps4 ,accordingly1 one of the sentences was dictated by raps made in the air4 ,here is another series3 ,je suis ung ioyeux compaignon qui vous esmarveilleray avecques mes discours1 je ne suis pas ung ,esperict mateologien1 je vestiray non liripipion et je diray3 ,beuvez l'eaue de la cave1 poy plus1 poy moins1 serez content4 ,,alcofribaz ,,nazier4 7,i am a jollie blade who will astonie you by my speech4 ,i am not a vaine-babbling sperit4 ,i will wear my graduate's hood and saie3 ,drinke ye water of ye cellar wine1--no more1 no less4 ,be content4 ,,francois ,,rabelais47#aj ,a rather lively discussion arose upon the subject of this unexpected visit1--and of the language1 which some erudite persons present thought not to be pure ,rabelaisian4 ,whereupon the table rapped3 ,bons enfants estes de vous esgousiller a ceste besterie4 ,mieux vault que beuviez froid que parliez chaud4 ,rabelais4 7,ye're regular babies to bawle yourselves hoarse over this selynesse4 ,it is bettaire to drinke cauld than to speak warme47 ,liesse et ,noel6 ,monsieur ,satan est defun1 et de male mort4 ,bien marrys sont les moynes1 moynillons1 bigotz et cagotz1 carmes chaulx et dechaulx1 papelards et frocards1 mitrez et encapuchonnez3 les vecy sans couraige1 les ,esperictz les ont destrosnez4 ,plus ne serez roustiz et eschaubouillez ez marmites monachales et roustissoires diaboliques2 foin de ces billevesees papales et clericquales4 ,dieu est bon1 iuste et plein de miserichorde2 it dict a ses petits enfancts3 aimez-vous les ungs les autres et it pardoint a la repentance4 ,le grand dyable d'enfer est mort2 vive ,dieu6 7,hurrah for a merry life6 ,maister ,satan is dead1 dead as a door-nail4 ,the monks and the poor-devil friars are married1--bigots and fanatics1 ,carmelites shod and unshod1 the hypocrites and the cowled fellows1 the mitres and the hoods4 ,there they stand trembling in their tracks2 the ,spirits have dethroned them4 ,gone are the roastings and soup-makings in the ,devil's ,dutch ovens and in monastic kettles4 ,a plague of these trashy tales of pope and priest6 ,god is good1 just1 and full of pity4 ,he says to his little children1 ',love one another'2 and he pardons the repentant4 ,the great devil in hell is dead4 ,hurrah for ,god67 ,here is still another series3 ,suov ruop eretsym nu sruojuot tnores emem srueisulp2 erdnerpmoc ed simrep erocne sap tse suov en li uq snoitseuq sed ridnoforppa ruop tirpse'l sap retnemruot suov en4 ,liesnoc nob nu zevius4 ,suov imrap enger en edrocsid ed tirpse'l siamaj euq4 ,arevele suov ueid te sererf sov imrap sreinred sel zeyos2 evele ares essiaba's iuq iulec essiaba ares evele's iuq iulec4 ,these sentences must be read backwards1 beginning at the end4 ,some one asked1 ,why have you dictated thus8 ,the reply was3 ,in order to give you new and unexpected proofs4 ,read backwards1 these ,russian-like sentences are as follows3 ,celui qui s'eleve sera abaisse1 celui qui s'abaisse sera eleve2 soyez les derniers parmi vos freres et ,dieu vous elevera4 ,que jamais l'esprit de discorde ne regne parmi vous4 ,suivez un bon conseil4 ,ne vous tourmenter pas l'esprit pour approfondir des questions qu'il ne vous est pas encore permis de comprendre2 plusieurs meme seront toujours un mystere pour vous4 7,whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased2 and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted6 ,be the least among your brethren1 and ,god will exalt you4 ,never let the spirit of discord reign among you4 ,follow good counsel4 ,do not torment your mind in attempting to fathom questions that it is not yet permitted you to comprehend3 several of these will always be a mystery to you47 ,here is another of a different kind3 ,acmairsvnoouussevtoeussbaoinmsoentsfbii deenlteosuss4 ,sloeysepzruintissaeinndtieetuesnudrrvao suessmaairlises4 ,i asked the meaning of this bizarre and portentous conglomeration of letters4 ,the reply was3 ,to conquer your doubts1 read by skipping every other letter4 ,this arrangement using the skipped letters in their turn for the second and fourth lines gives the four following verses3 ,amis1 nous vous aimons bien tous1 ,car vous etes bons et fideles4 ,soyez unis en ,dieu3 sur vous ,l',esprit-,saint etendra ses ailes4 7,friends1 we love you all1 ,for you are good and faithful4 ,be united in ,god3 over you ,the ,holy ,spirit will spread his wings47 ,this is innocent enough1 surely and without any great poetic pretensions4 ,but it must be admitted that this method of dictating is rather difficult4#aa ,some one spoke of human plans4 ,the table dictated as follows3#ab ,when the shining sun scatters the stars1 know ye1 ,o mortal men1 whether ye will see the evening of that day8 ,and1 when the sombre curtains of night are let fall from the sky1 can you tell whether you will see the dawn of another morn8 ,another person asked1 ,what is faith8 ,faith8 ',tis a blessed field that breeds a superb harvest1 and every laborer may therein reap and garner to his heart's content1 and carry home his sheaves4 ,here are three prose dictations3 ,science is a forest where some are laying out roads1 where many lose their way1 and where all see the bounds of the forest recede as fast as they go forward4 ,god does not illuminate the world with the lightning and the meteors4 ,he guides peacefully in their courses the stars of the night1 which fill the sky with their light4 ,so the divine revelations succeed one another in order1 reason1 and harmony4 ,religion and ,friendship are twin companions1 who aid us to traverse the painful path of life4 ,i cannot forego the pleasure of inserting here1 at the close of this chapter1 a fable1 dictated like the others by table-rappings1 and sent to me by ,m4 ,joubert1 vice-president of the civil tribunal of ,carcassonne4#ac ,the sentiment of it may be queried by some2 but is not the central principle applicable to all epochs and to all governments3 ,do not the arrivistes#ad belong to all times8 ,,the ,,king ,,and ,,the ,,peasant ,a king who had profaned the public liberties1 who for twenty years had slaked his thirst in the blood of heretics2 awaiting the quiet peace of the hangman in his declining days2 decrepit1 surfeited with adulterous amours2 this king1 this haughty monster of whom they had made a great man1--,louis the ,fourteenth1 in short1 if ,i must name him1--was one day airing under the leafy arches of his vast gardens his ,scarron1 his infamy and his troubles4 ,the noble band of court flunkeys came along4 ,each one at once lost at least six inches of his height4 ,pages1 counts1 marquises1 dukes1 princes1 marshals1 ministers1 bowed low before insulting rivals1 the creatures of the king4 ,grave magistrates made their deep reverences1 each humbler than a suitor asking for audience4 ',twas pleasant to see how the ribbons1 crosses and decorations on their embroidered coats went ever backwards4 ,always and always that ignoble bowing and scraping and cringing4 ,i should like to wake up some morning an emperor1 that ,i might sting with my whip the backbone of a flatterer4 ,but see6 alone1 confronting the despot1 yet without abasing his head1 forging along with slow steps on his own way1 modest1 clad in coarse homespun garments1 comes one who seems a peasant1 perhaps a philosopher1 and passes by the groups of insolent courtiers4 ,oh1 cries the king1 in great surprise1 why do you alone confront me without bending the knee8 ,sire1 said the unknown1 must ,i be frank8 ,it is because ,i alone here expect nothing from you4 ,if we stop to think how these sentences and phrases and different bits of literature were produced1 letter by letter1 rap by rap1 following the alphabet as it was read out1 we shall appreciate the difficulty of the thing4 ,the rappings are made either in the interior of the wood of the table 7the vibrations of which are perceptible7 or in some other piece of furniture1 or even in the air4 ,the table1 as ,i have already said1 is alive1 pregnant with a kind of momentary vitality4 ,melodies of well-known airs1 sounds of sawing and of the workshop1 and the report of fusillades can be drawn from it4 ,sometimes it becomes so light that it floats for a moment in the air1 then so heavy that two men can scarcely lift it from the floor or budge it in any way4 ,you must have a distinct picture in your mind of all these manifestations1--often puerile1 no doubt1 sometimes vulgar and grotesque1 yet striking in their method of operation1--if you would accurately understand the phenomena1 and realize that you are in the presence of an unknown element which jugglery and prestidigitation cannot explain4 ,some folks can move their toes separately and crack the joints4 ,if we should grant that the dictations1 by combinations of letters 7quoted above71 were arranged in advance1 learned by heart1 and thus rapped1 the matter would be simple enough4 ,but this particular faculty is very rare1 and it does not explain the noises in the table1 the vibrations of which are felt by the hands4 ,again1 one could fancy the medium tapping the table-legs with his foot1 and thus constructing such sentences as he pleases4 ,but it would require a wonderful memory in the medium to enable him to remember the precise arrangement of letters 7for he has no memorandum before him71 and1 further1 these curious dictations have been secured just the same in select companies where no one would cheat4 ,as to the theory that the spirits of eminent men are in communication with the experimenters the mere statement of the hypothesis shows its absurdity4 ,imagine a table-rapper calling up from the vasty deep the spirits of ,paul or ,saint ,augustine1 ,archimedes or ,newton1 ,pythagoras or ,copernicus1 ,leonardo da ,vinci or ,william ,herschel1 and receiving their dictations from the interior of a table6 ,we were speaking1 a few pages back1 of the seance drawings and descriptions of ,jupiter made by ,victorien ,sardou4 ,this is the proper place to insert a letter written by him to ,m4 ,jules ,claretie1 and published by the latter in ,le ,temps at the date when that learned ,academician was putting on the boards his drama ,spiritisme4 ,the letter is here appended3 444 ,as to ,spiritualism1 ,i could better tell you verbally in three words what ,i think of it than ,i could write here in three pages4 ,you are half right and half wrong4 ,pardon my freedom of speech4 ,there are two things in ,spiritualism1--7#a7 curious facts1 inexplicable in the present state of our knowledge1 and yet authenticated2 and 7#b7 the folks who explain them4 ,the facts are real4 ,those who explain them belong to three categories3 there are1 first1 ,spiritualists who are imbecile1 ignorant1 or mad1 the chaps who call up ,epaminondas and whom you justly make fun of1 or who believe in the intervention of the devil2 those1 in short1 who end in the lunatic asylum in ,charenton4 ,secundo1 there are the charlatans1 commencing with ,d42 impostors of all sorts1 prophets1 consulting mediums1 such as ,a4 ,k41 and tutti quanti4 ,finally1 there are the scholars and scientists1 who think they can explain everything by juggleries1 hallucination1 and unconscious movements1 men like ,chevreul and ,faraday1 who1 while they are right about some of the phenomena described to them1 and which really are jugglery or hallucination1 are yet wrong about the whole series of original facts1 which they will not take the trouble to look at1 though they are highly important4 ,these men are much to blame2 for1 by their plea-in-bar against earnest investigators 7such as ,gasparin1 for example7 and by their insufficient explanations1 they have left ,spiritualism to be exploited by charlatans of all kinds1 and at the same time authorized serious amateurs to no longer waste their time over these studies4 ,last of all1 there are observers like myself 7there are not many of us7 who are incredulous by nature1 but who have been obliged to admit1 in the long run1 that ,spiritualism concerns itself with facts which defy any present scientific explication1 but who do not despair of seeing them explained some day1 and who therefore apply themselves to the study of the facts1 and are trying to reduce them to some kind of classification which may later prove to be law4 ,we of this persuasion hold ourselves aloof from every coterie1 from every clique1 from all the prophets1 and1 satisfied with the convictions to which we have already attained1 are content to see in ,spiritualism the dawn of a truth1 as yet very obscure1 which will some day find its ,ampere1 as did the magnetic currents1 and who grieve to see this truth choked out of existence by a dual foe1--excess of credulous ignorance which believes everything and excess of incredulous science which believes nothing4 ,we find in our conviction and our conscience the wherewithal to brave the petty martyrdom of ridicule inflicted upon us for the faith we profess1 a faith exaggerated and caricatured by the mass of follies people never fail to attribute to us1 nor do we deem that the myth in which they dress us up merits even the honor of a refutation4 ,similarly1 ,i have never had any desire to prove to anybody whatever that the influence of either ,moliere or ,beaumarchais cannot be detected in my plays4 ,it seems to me that that is more than evident4 ,respecting the dwellings of the planet ,jupiter1 ,i must ask the good folks who suppose that ,i am convinced of the real existence of these things whether they are well persuaded that ,gulliver believed in ,lilliput1#ae ,campanella in the ,city of the ,sun1 and ,sir ,thomas ,more in his ,utopia4 ,what is true1 however1 is that the design of which you speak ,pl4 ,,iii4 was made in less than ten hours4 ,as to its origin1 ,i would not give a penny to know about that2 but the fact of its production is another matter ,v4 ,,sardou4 ,scarcely a year passes that mediums do not bring me drawings of plants and animals in the ,moon1 in ,mars1 ,venus1 ,jupiter1 or certain of the stars4 ,these designs are more or less pretty1 and more or less curious4 ,but there is nothing in them that leads us to admit their actual resemblance to real things in other worlds4 ,on the contrary1 everything proves that they are the products of imagination1 essentially terrestrial1 both in look and shape1 not even tallying what we know to be the vital possibilities of those worlds4 ,the designers of them are the dupes of illusion4 ,these plants and animal are metamorphoses 7sometimes elegantly conceived and drawn7 of terrestrial organisms4 ,perhaps the most curious thing of all is that they have a family resemblance in the manner of their execution1 and have stamped on them1 in some way or other1 the mediumistic hall-mark4 ,to return to my own experiences4 ,when ,i took the role of writing-medium1 ,i generally produced astronomical or philosophical dissertations signed ,galileo4 ,i will quote but one of them as a sample4 ,it is taken from my notebooks of #ahfb4 ,,science4 ,the human intellect holds in its powerful grasp the infinite universe of space and time2 it has penetrated the inaccessible domain of the ,past1 sounded the mystery of the unfathomable heavens1 and believes that it has explained the riddle of the universe4 ,the objective world has unrolled before the eyes of science its splendid panorama and its magnificent wealth of forms4 ,the studies of man have led him to a knowledge of truth2 he has explored the universe1 discovered the inexorable reign of law1 and the application of the forces that sustain all things4 ,if it has not been permitted to him to see the ,first ,cause face to face1 at least he has attained a true mathematical idea of the series of secondary causes4 ,in this latest century1 above all1 the experimental a priori method1 the only really scientific one1 has been put into practice in the natural sciences1 and by its aid man has freed himself from the prejudices of the old school of thought1 one by one1 and from subjective or speculative theories1 and confined himself to a careful and intelligent study of the field of observation4 ,yes1 human science is firmly based and pregnant with possibility1 worthy of our homage for its difficult and long-proved past1 worthy of our sympathy for its future1 big with the promise of useful and profitable discoveries4 ,for nature is henceforth to be a book accessible to the bibliographical researches of the studious1 a world open to the investigations of the thinker1 a fertile region which the human mind has already visited1 and in which we must needs advance boldly1 holding in our hand experience as our compass4444 ,an old friend of my terrestrial life recently spoke to me as follows4 ,one of our wanderings had brought us back to the ,earth1 and we were making a new moral study of this world4 ,my companion remarked that man is to-day familiar with the most abstract laws of mechanics1 physics1 chemistry1 444 that the applications of knowledge to industry are not less remarkable than the deductions of pure science1 and that it seems as if the entire universe1 wisely studied by man1 was to be his royal appanage4 ,as we pursued our journey beyond the bounds of this world1 ,i answered him in the following terms3 ,a feeble atom1 lost to sight in an imperceptible point of the infinite1 man has believed he could embrace in the sweep of his vision the whole expanse of the universe1 whereas he can scarcely pass beyond the region he inhabits2 he has thought he could study the laws of all nature1 and his investigations have scarcely reached the forces in action about him2 he has thought he could determine the grandeur of the starry heaven1 and he exhausted his powers in the study of a grain of dust4 ,the field of his researches is so small that1 once lost to view1 the mind seeks in vain to recover it2 the human heaven and earth are so small that scarcely has the soul in its flight had time to spread its wings before it has reached the last regions accessible to the observation of man2 for the immeasurable ,universe surrounds us on all sides1 unfolding beyond the limits of our heavens its unknown riches1 putting its inconceivable forces into play1 and reaching forward into immensity in the splendor of its life4 ,and the mere flesh-worm1 the miserable mite1 blind and wingless1 whose wretched existence is passed upon the leaf where it was born1 would presume 7because forsooth it has taken a few steps upon this leaf shaken in the wind7 to have the right to speak of the immense tree to which it belongs1 of the forest of which this tree forms a part1 and to sagely descant upon the nature of the vegetation developed thereon1 of the beings that inhabit it1 of the distant sun whose rays bring to it movement and life8 ,in very truth1 man is strangely presumptuous to desire to measure infinite greatness by the foot-rule of his infinite littleness4 ,therefore be this truth well impressed on his mind1--if the arid labors of past ages have acquired for him an elementary knowledge of things1 if the progress of thought has placed him at the vestibule of knowledge1 still he has not yet spelled out more than the first page of the ,book1 and1 like a child1 liable to be deceived by every word1 far from claiming the right to authoritatively interpret the work1 he ought to content himself with humbly studying it1 page by page1 line by line4 ,happy1 however1 those who are able to do this6 ,,galileo4 ,these were my customary thoughts4 ,they are the thoughts of a student of nineteen or twenty who has acquired the habit of thinking4 ,there can be no doubt that they were wholly the product of my own intellect1 and that the illustrious ,florentine astronomer had nothing whatever to do with them4 ,besides1 this would have been a collaboration to the last degree improbable4 ,it has been the same with all the communications of the astronomical class3 they have not led the science forward a single step4 ,nor has any obscure1 mysterious1 or illusive point in history been cleared up by the spirits4 ,we only write that which we know1 and even chance has given us nothing4 ,still1 certain unexplained thought-transferences are to be discussed4 ,but they belong to the psychological or human sphere4 ,in order to reply at once to objections that certain ,spiritualists have sent to me apropos of this result of my observations1 ,i will take as an example the case of the satellites of ,uranus1 since it is the chief one always brought forward as a proof of scientific discoveries imparted by spirits4 ,furthermore1 ,i received several years ago from divers sources a pressing invitation to examine an article by ,general ,drayson1 published in the journal named ,light1 in #ahhd1 under the title of ,the ,solution of ,scientific ,problems by ,spirits1 in which it is asserted that the spirits made known the true orbital movement of the satellites of ,uranus4 ,pressing engagements had always hindered me from making this examination2 but the case having been recently promulgated in several ,spiritualistic works as decisive1 and ,i being so persistently importuned to discuss it1 ,i believe it will prove of some use if ,i now examine the case4 ,to my great regret there is an error in their communication1 and the spirits have taught us nothing4 ,here is one instance1 wrongly selected as a demonstration4 ,the ,russian writer ,aksakof sets it forth in the following terms 7,animism and ,spiritualism1 p4 #cda73 ,the case of which we are about to give an account seems to be of such a nature as to settle all objections4 ,it was communicated by ,major-,general ,a4 ,w4 ,drayson and published under the title ,the ,solution of ,scientific ,problems by ,spirits4 ,i append a translation3 ,having received from ,m4 ,georges ,stock a letter asking me if ,i could mention1 were it only as an instance1 that1 during the holding of a seance1 a spirit had solved one of those scientific problems which have always embarrassed scientists1 ,i have the honor to communicate to you the following circumstance1 which ,i witnessed with my own eyes3 ,in #agha ,william ,herschel discovered the planet ,uranus and its satellites4 ,he observed that these satellites1 contrary to all the other satellites of the solar system1 traversed their orbits from east to west4 ,sir ,john ,herschel says in his ,outlines of ,astronomy3 ',the orbits of these satellites present peculiarities altogether unexpected and exceptional1 contrary to the general laws which govern the other bodies of the solar system4 ,the planes of their orbits are almost perpendicular to the ecliptic1 making an angle of #gj deg4 #eh'1af and they travel with a retrograde movement2 that is to say1 their revolution about the centre of their planet takes place from east to west in place of following the inverse course4' ,when ,laplace broached his theory that the sun and all the planets were formed at the expense of a nebulous matter1 these satellites were an enigma to him4 ,admiral ,smyth mentions in his ,celestial ,cycle that the movement of these satellites1 to the stupefaction of all astronomers1 is retrograde1 contrary to that of all the other bodies observed up to that time4 ,all the astronomical works published before #ahfj contain the same reasoning on the subject of the satellites of ,uranus4 ,for my part1 ,i did not find any explanation for this peculiarity3 to me it was a mystery as much as for the writers whom ,i have cited4 ,in #aheh ,i had as a guest in my house a lady who was a medium1 and we arranged daily seances4 ,one evening she said to me that she saw at my side a spirit who claimed to have been an astronomer during his life on earth4 ,i asked this person if he was wiser at present than when he lived on the earth4 ',much wiser1' he said4 ,i had the idea of asking this so-called spirit a question the object of which was to test his knowledge4 ',can you tell me1' ,i asked him1 'why the satellites of ,uranus make their revolution from east to west and not from west to east8' ,i received at once the following reply3 ',the satellites of ,uranus do not move in their orbits from east to west3 they circle about their planet from west to east1 in the same way that the moon moves around the earth4 ,the error comes from the fact that the south pole of ,uranus was turned toward the earth at the moment of the discovery of this planet4 ,in the same way that the sun1 seen from our southern hemisphere1 seems to run its daily course from right to left and not from left to right1 so the satellites of ,uranus were moving at that time from left to right1 though this does not mean they were moving in their orbit from east to west4' ,in reply to another question which ,i asked1 my interlocutor added3 ',as long as the south pole of ,uranus was turned toward the earth1 in relation to a terrestrial observer1 the satellites seemed to move from left to right1 and it was erroneously concluded from this that they were going from east to west3 this state of things lasted for about forty-two years4 ,when the north pole of ,uranus is turned toward the earth1 his satellites run their course from right to left1 but1 in either case1 always from the west to the east4' ,i thereupon asked him how it happened that the error had not been detected forty-two years after ,william ,herschel's discovery of ,uranus4 ,he replied1 ',it is because people repeat that which the authorities who have preceded them have said4 ,dazzled by the results obtained by their predecessors1 they do not take the trouble to think4' ,such is the revelation of a spirit on the system of ,uranus1 published by ,drayson and presented by ,aksakof and other authors as an undeniable proof of the intervention of a spirit in the solution of this problem4 ,the following is the result of an impartial discussion of this very interesting subject4 ,the reasoning of the spirit is false4 ,the system of ,uranus is almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit4 ,it is the direct opposite of that of the satellites of ,jupiter1 which turn almost in the plane of their orbit4 ,the inclination of the plane of the satellites to the ecliptic is #ih deg41 and the planet ascends almost in the plane of the ecliptic4 ,this is a fundamental consideration in the picture which we ought to make to ourselves of the aspect of this system seen from the earth4 ,let us1 however1 adopt for the method of movement of these satellites around their planet the projection upon the plane of the ecliptic1 as has always been the custom4 ,the author maintains that1 when the north pole of ,uranus is turned toward the earth1 his satellites run their course from right to left1 that is to say from west to east2 he indorses the communication of the spirit to the effect that the astronomers are in error and that the satellites of ,uranus really revolve around their planet from west to east1 in the same way that the moon revolves around the earth4 ,in order to give ourselves an exact account of the position and of the method of the movements of this system1 let us construct a special geometrical figure1 clear and precise4 ,let us represent upon a plane the appearance of the orbit of ,uranus and of its satellites seen from the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere 7,fig4 ,a74 ,the part of the orbit of the satellites above the plane of the orbit of ,uranus has been drawn with heavy lines and hatching1 the lower part in dotted lines only4 ,it is easily seen by the direction of the arrows that the revolution of the satellites1 projected upon the plane of the orbit1 is entirely retrograde4 ,all dogmatic affirmations to the contrary are absolutely erroneous4 ,these satellites turn like the hands of a watch1--from left to right1 looking at the upper part of the circles4 ,the error of ,general ,drayson's medium comes from the fact that she maintained that the south pole of ,uranus was turned toward us at the date of its discovery4 ,now1 in #agha1 the system of ,uranus occupied relatively to us almost the same situation as in #ahfb1 since the time of its revolution is eighty-four years4 ,it is evident from the figure that1 at that moment1 the planet presented to us the pole most elevated above the ecliptic2 that is1 its north pole4 ,general ,drayson allowed himself to be led into error when he adopted without verification these paradoxical premises4 ,as a matter of fact1 if ,uranus had presented to us its south pole in #agha1 the movement of the satellites would have been direct4 ,but the observations of the angle of position of the orbits at the time of their passage of the nodes gives us abundant evidence that it was really the north pole which was at that moment turned toward the sun and the earth1--a fact which renders direct movement impossible1 retrograde movement certain4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #a--,the inclination of the system of ,uranus4 ,aspects seen from the earth at the four extreme positions4 ,for greater clearness1 ,i have placed outside of the orbit1 in ,fig #a1 the aspect of the system of ,uranus seen from the earth at the four principal epochs of the revolution of this distant planet4 ,it is evident that the apparent method of the revolution was analogous to that of the hands of a watch in #agha and #ahfb1 the opposite in #ahah and #aijb4 ,at these dates the apparent orbits of the satellites are almost circles1 while during the passage of the nodes1 in #agih1 #ahdj1 and #ahhb1 they are reduced to straight lines4 ,figure #a;a completes these data by presenting the aspect of the orbits and the method of revolution for all the positions of the planet1 even down to our own epoch4 ,i have desired to completely elucidate this question1 which is a little technical4 ,to my great regret1 the spirits have taught us nothing1 and this example1 to which so much importance is attached1 is seen to be an error4#ag ,aksakof cites1 in this same chapter 7p4 #cdc71 the discovery of the two satellites of ,mars1 also made by ,drayson through a medium1 in #ahei2 that is to say1 #ah years before their discovery1 in #ahgg4 ,this discovery1 not having been published at the time1 remains doubtful4 ,furthermore1 after ,kepler had pointed out its probability1 this subject of the two satellites of ,mars was several times discussed1 notably by ,swift and ,voltaire 7see my ,popular ,astronomy1 p4 #eja74 ,this is not1 then1 to be set down as an undeniable instance of a discovery made by the spirits4 ,the immediately foregoing instances are facts actually observed at ,spiritualistic seances4 ,i will not treat them under a generalization foreign to their proper setting4 ,they do not prove that1 in certain circumstances1 thinkers1 poets1 dreamers1 investigators1 may not be inspired by influences emanating from others1 from loved ones1 from departed friends4 ,that is another question1 a topic quite apart from experiments which we are giving an account of in this book4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #a;a4--,orbits of the satellites of ,uranus as seen from the earth at different dates since the time of their discovery 7#agha74 ,the same author1 otherwise generally very judicious1 cites several examples of foreign tongues spoken by mediums4 ,i have not been able to verify them1 and ,i am asked not to say here anything but what ,i am absolutely sure of4 ,according to my personal observations1 these experiments bring us constantly into the presence of ourselves1 our own minds4 ,i could cite a thousand examples of this4 ,one day ,i received an aerolite discovered in a forest in the environs of ,etrepagny 7,eure74 ,mme4 ,j4 ,l41 who kindly sent it to me1 added that she consulted a spirit about its origin and that he replied to her that it came from a star named ,golda4 ,now in the first place there is no star of this name2 and1 secondly1 this is not an aerolite at all1 but a piece of slag from an old forge4 7,see ,section #ffb of my ,inquiry of #ahii4 ,the first of these sections1 relating to telepathy1 have been published in my work ,the ,unknown47 ,a lady reader of mine wrote me from ,montpellier3 ,your conclusions would perhaps diminish the prestige of ,spiritualism in the eyes of certain persons4 ,but1 as prestige may produce superstition1 it is well to clear up matters4 ,for my part1 that which you have observed agrees with what ,i have myself observed4 ,this is the method which ,i have employed1 aided by a friend3 ,i took a book and1 opening it1 retained in my mind the number of the right-hand page4 ,suppose it was #acb4 ,i said to the table1 which had been put in movement by the little manoeuvre ordinarily used1 ,does a spirit desire to communicate8 ,reply--,yes4 ,question--,can you see the book which ,i have just been looking at8 ,reply--,yes4 ,how many numbers are there on the page that ,i have been looking at8 ,three4 ,indicate the number of hundreds4 ,one4 ,indicate the value of the tens4 ,three4 ,indicate the value of the units4 ,two4 ,the amounts indicated in these statements are of course #acb4 ,it was enchanting4 ,then1 taking the closed book and1 without opening it1 sliding the paper-knife between the pages1 ,i resumed the conversation1 and the result with this last method was always inexact4 ,i frequently repeated this little experience 7curious at any rate72 and1 every time1 ,i had exact replies when ,i knew them1 inexact when ,i was ignorant of them4 7,section #feg of my ,inquiry47 ,these examples might be multiplied ad infinitum4 ,everything leads us to think that it is we who are the actors in these experiments4 ,but it is not so simple as one might suppose1 and there is something else in it as well as ourselves4 ,certain unexplained things take place4 ,in his remarkable work1 ,intelligence1 ,taine explains ,spiritualistic communications by a sort of unconscious duplication of our mind1 as ,i said above4 ,the more singular a fact is he writes#ah the more instructive it is4 ,in this respect1 ,spiritualistic manifestations themselves point the way to discoveries by showing us the coexistence at the same moment in the same individual of two thoughts1 two wills1 two distinct actions1 the one conscious1 the other unconscious2 the latter he attributes to invisible beings4 ,the brain is1 then1 a theatre on the stage of which several pieces are being played at once1 upon several planes1 of which only one is not subliminal4 ,nothing is more worthy of study than this plurality of the me4 ,i have seen a person who1 while speaking or singing1 writes1 without regard to the paper1 consecutive sentences and even entire pages1 without any knowledge of what she is writing4 ,in my eyes her sincerity is perfect4 ,now she declares that at the end of a page she has no idea of what she has written on the paper4 ,when she reads it1 she is astonished1 sometimes alarmed4 ,the handwriting is different from her ordinary handwriting4 ,the movement of the fingers and of the pencil is stiff and seems automatic4 ,the writing always ends with a signature1 that of a deceased person1 and bears the mark of intimate thoughts1 of a secret and inner reserve of ideas which the author would not like to divulge4 ,certainly there is proof here of a doubling of the me1 the coexistence of two parallel and independent trains of thought1 of two centres of action1 or1 if you wish1 of two moral persons existing in the same brain1 each one doing his work1 and each one a different work1 the one upon the stage and the other behind the scenes1 the second as complete as the first1 since1 alone and unwitting of the other1 it constructs consecutive ideas and fashions connected sentences in which the other has no part4 ,this hypothesis is admissible1 in the light of numerous observations of double consciousness4#ai ,it is applicable to a great number of cases1 but not in all4 ,it explains automatic writing4 ,but1 as it stands1 it is necessary to stretch it considerably to make it explain the rappings 7for who raps871 and it does not explain at all the levitations of the table1 nor the displacement of objects of which ,i have spoken in the first chapter1 and ,i do not very well see how it can even explain phrases rapped out backwards or by the strange combinations described above4 ,this hypothesis is admitted and developed in a more unqualified way by ,dr4 ,pierre ,janet in his work ,psychological ,automatism4 ,this author is one of those who have created a narrow circle of observation and study1 and who not only never emerge from it1 but imagine that they have got the whole universe in their circle4 ,in going over this kind of reasoning1 one thinks involuntarily of that old quarrel of the two round eyes who saw everything round and of the two square eyes who saw everything square1 and of the history of the ,big-endians and of the ,little-endians of ,gulliver's ,travels4 ,an hypothesis is worthy of attention when it explains something4 ,its value does not increase by the attempt to generalize it and make it explain everything3 this is to overpass all reasonable limits4 ,we may admit that the sub-conscious acts of an abnormal personality1 temporarily grafted upon our normal personality1 explain the greater part of mediumistic writing communications4 ,we can see in these also the evident effects of auto-suggestion4 ,but these psycho-physiological hypotheses do not explain all observations4 ,there is something else4 ,we all have a tendency to want to explain everything by the actual state of our knowledge4 ,in the face of certain circumstances1 we say to-day3 ,it is suggestion1 it is hypnotism1 it is this1 it is that4 ,half a century ago we would not have talked in this way1 these theories not having yet been invented4 ,people will no longer talk in the same way half a century1 a century1 hence1 for new words will have been invented4 ,but let us not be put off with words2 let us not be in such a hurry4 ,we must know how to explain in what way our thoughts--conscious1 unconscious1 sub-conscious--can strike blows in a table1 move it1 lift it4 ,as this question is rather embarrassing1 ,dr4 ,pierre ,janet treats it as secondary personality1 and is obliged to have recourse to the movements of the toes1 to the snapping of the muscles of the fibular tendon1 to ventriloquism and the deceptions of unconscious accomplices4#bj ,this is not a sufficient explanation4 ,as a matter of fact1 we do not understand how our thought1 or that of another1 can cause raps in a table1 by which sentences are formed4 ,but we are obliged to admit it4 ,let us call it1 if you please1 telekinetsis2 but does that get us any farther along8 ,there has been talk for some years about unconscious facts1 about sub-consciousness1 subliminal consciousness1 etc4 ,i fear that in these things also we are putting ourselves off with words which do not explain things very much4 ,i intend some day1 if the time is given me1 to write a special book on ,spiritualism1 studied from the theoretic and doctrinal point of view1 which will form a second volume of my work ,the ,unknown and ,psychic ,problems1 and which has been in preparation since the publication of that work in #ahii4 ,mediumistic communications1 dictations received 7notably by ,victor ,hugo1 ,mme4 de ,girardin1 ,eugene ,nus1 and the ,phalansterians71 will be the subject of special chapters in this volume1--as well as the problem1 otherwise important1 of the plurality of existences4 ,it is not my intention to enlarge in this place upon the aspects of the general question4 ,that which ,i restrict myself to establishing in this book is that there are in us1 about us1 unknown forces capable of putting matter in motion1 just as our will does4 ,i ought1 therefore1 to limit myself to material phenomena4 ,the range of that class of investigations is already immense1 and the communications of which ,i have just spoken are really outside the limits of this range4 ,but1 as this subject and that of psychological experiments are continually overlapping1 it was necessary to give a summary of it in this place4 ,let us return for the present to the material phenomena produced by mediums and to that which ,i have myself ascertained in my experiences with ,eusapia ,paladino1 who unites them nearly all in her own personality and experiences4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,my ,,experiments ,,with ,,eusapia ,,paladino4 ,in the earlier pages of this volume some of my later experiments with the ,neapolitan medium1 ,eusapia ,paladino1 have been described4 ,we shall now revert to the earlier ones4 ,my first experimental seance with this remarkable medium took place on the #bgth of ,july1 #ahig4 ,in response to the invitation of an excellent and honorable family1--that of ,blech1--the name of which has for a long time been happily associated with modern researches in theosophy1 occultism1 and psychological studies1 ,i betook myself to ,montfort-l',amaury1 to make the personal acquaintance of this medium1 whose case had already been studied in several particulars by ,,mm4 ,lombroso1 ,charles ,richet1 ,ochorowicz1 ,aksakof1 ,schiaparelli1 ,myers1 ,lodge1 ,a4 ,de ,rochas1 ,dariex1 ,j4 ,maxwell1 ,sabatier1 ,de ,watteville1 and a great number of other scholars and scientists of high standing4 ,mme4 ,paladino's gifts had even been made the subject of a work by ,count de ,rochas upon ,the ,externalization of ,motivity1 as well as of innumerable articles in the special reviews4 ,the impression that results from the reading of all the official reports is not altogether satisfactory1 and besides leaves us with our curiosity entirely ungratified4 ,on the other hand1 ,i can say1 as ,i have already had occasion to remark1 that1 during the last forty years1 almost all the celebrated mediums have been present at one time or another in my salon in the avenue l',observatoire in ,paris1 and that ,i have detected them nearly all in trickery4 ,not that they always deceive3 those who affirm this are wrong4 ,but1 consciously or unconsciously1 they bring with them an element of trouble against which one is obliged to be constantly on guard1 and which places the experimenter in conditions diametrically opposed to those of scientific observation4 ,apropos of ,eusapia ,i had received from my illustrious colleague1 ,m4 ,schiaparelli1 director of the observatory at ,milan1 to whom science is indebted for so many important discoveries1 a long letter from which ,i will quote a few passages3 ,during the autumn of #ahib ,i was invited by ,m4 ,aksakof to be present at a certain number of ,spiritualistic seances held under his direction and care1 for the purpose of meeting the medium ,eusapia ,paladino1 of ,naples4 ,i saw a number of very surprising things1 a part of which1 to tell the truth1 could be explained by very ordinary means4 ,but there are others the production of which ,i should not know how to explain by the known principles of natural philosophy4 ,i add1 without any hesitation1 that1 if it had been possible to entirely exclude all suspicion of deceit1 one would have had to recognize in these facts the beginning of a new science pregnant with consequences of the highest importance4 ,but it must be admitted that these experiments have been made in a manner little calculated to convince impartial judges of their sincerity4 ,conditions were always imposed that hindered the right comprehension of what was really taking place4 ,when we proposed modifications in the program suited to give to the experiments the stamp of clearness and to furnish evidence that was lacking1 the medium invariably declared that1 if we did so1 the success of the seance would thereby be made impossible4 ,in fine1 we did not experiment in the true sense of the word3 we were obliged to be content with observing that which occurred under the unfavorable circumstances imposed by the medium4 ,even when mere observation was pushed a little too far1 the phenomena were no longer produced or lost their intensity and their marvellous nature4 ,nothing is more offensive than these games of hide-and-seek to which we are obliged to submit ,all that kind of thing excites distrust4 ,having passed all my life in the study of nature1 which is always sincere in its manifestations and logical in its processes1 it is repugnant to me to turn my thoughts to the investigation of a class of truths1 which it seems as if a malevolent and disloyal power was hiding from us with an obstinacy the motive of which we cannot comprehend4 ,in such researches it is not sufficient to employ the ordinary methods of natural philosophy1 which are infallible1 but very limited in their action4 ,we must have recourse to that other critical method1 more subject to error1 but more audacious and more powerful1 of which police officers and examining magistrates make use when they are trying to bring out a truth in the midst of disagreeing witnesses1 a part at least of whom have an interest in hiding that truth4 ,in accordance with these reflections1 ,i cannot say that ,i am convinced of the reality of the things which are comprised under the ill-chosen name of ,spiritualism4 ,but neither do ,i believe in our right to deny everything2 for1 in order to have a good basis for denial1 it is not sufficient to suspect fraud1 it is necessary to prove it4 ,these experiments1 which ,i have found very unsatisfactory1 other experimenters of great confidence and of established reputation have been able to make in more favorable circumstances4 ,i have not enough presumption to oppose a dogmatic and unwarranted denial to proofs in which scientists of great critical ability1 such as ,,mm4 ,crookes1 ,wallace1 ,richet1 ,oliver ,lodge1 have found a solid basis of fact and one worthy their examination1 to such an extent that they have given to it years of study4 ,and we should deceive ourselves if we believed that men convinced of the truth of ,spiritualism are all fanatics4 ,during the experiments of #ahib ,i had the pleasure of knowing some of these men4 ,i was obliged to admire their sincere desire to know the truth2 and ,i found1 in the case of several of them1 philosophic ideas very sensible and very profound1 joined to a moral character altogether worthy of esteem4 ,that is the reason why it is impossible for me to declare that ,spiritualism is a ridiculous absurdity4 ,i ought1 then1 to abstain from pronouncing any opinion whatever3 my mental state on this subject may be defined by the word agnosticism4 ,i have read with much attention all that the late ,professor ,zoellner has written on this subject4 ,his explanation has a purely material basis1--that is to say1 it is the hypothesis of the objective existence of a fourth dimension of space1 an existence which cannot be comprised within the scope of our intuition1 but the possibility of which cannot be denied on that ground alone4 ,once grant the reality of the experiments which he describes1 and it is evident that his theory of these things is the most ingenious and probable that can be imagined4 ,according to this theory1 mediumistic phenomena would lose their mystic or mystifying character and would pass into the domain of ordinary physics and of physiology4 ,they would lead to a very considerable extension of the sciences1 an extension such that their author would deserve to be placed side by side with ,galileo and ,newton4 ,unfortunately1 these experiences of ,zoellner were made with a medium of poor reputation4 ,it is not only the sceptics who doubt the good faith of ,m4 ,slade3 it is the ,spiritualists themselves4 ,m4 ,aksakof1 whose authority is very great in similar matters1 told me himself that he had detected him in trickery4 ,you see by this that these theories of ,zoellner lose any support they might have derived from the exact demonstration of experiment1 at the same time that they remain very beautiful1 very ingenious1 and quite possible4 ,yes1 quite possible in spite of everything2 in spite of the lack of success that ,i had when ,i tried to reproduce them with ,eusapia4 ,on the day when we shall be enabled to make1 with absolute sincerity1 a single one of these experiments1 the matter will have made great progress2 from the hands of charlatans it will have passed into those of physicists and physiologists4 ,such is the communication made to me by ,m4 ,schiaparelli4 ,i found his reasoning to be without defect1 and it was in a state of mind entirely analogous to his that ,i arrived at ,monfort-l',amaury 7with all the more interest because ,slade was one of the mediums of whom ,i was just now speaking74 ,eusapia ,paladino was introduced to me4 ,she is a woman of very ordinary appearance1 a brunette1 her figure a little under the medium height4 ,she was forty-three years old1 not at all neurotic1 rather stout4 ,she was born on ,january #ba1 #ahed1 in a village of ,la ,pouille2 her mother died while giving birth to the child2 her father was assassinated eight years afterward1 in #ahfb1 by brigands of southern ,italy4 ,eusapia ,paladino is her maiden name4 ,she was married at ,naples to a merchant of modest means named ,raphael ,delgaiz1 a citizen of ,naples4 ,she manages the petty business of the shop1 is illiterate1 does not know how to either read or write1 understands only a little ,french4 ,i conversed with her1 and soon perceived that she has no theories and does not burden herself by trying to explain the phenomena produced by her4 ,the salon in which we are going to conduct our experiments is a room on the ground floor1 rectangular1 measuring twenty feet in length by nineteen in breadth2 there are four windows1 an outside entrance door and another in the vestibule4 ,before the sitting1 ,i make sure that the large doors and windows are closely shut by window-blinds with hooks and by wooden blinds on the inside4 ,the door of the vestibule is simply locked with a key4 ,in an angle of the salon1 at the left of the large entrance door1 two curtains of a light color have been stretched on a rod1 joining in the middle and forming thus a little cabinet4 ,in this cabinet there is a sofa1 and leaning against this a guitar2 on one side is a chair1 on which have been placed a music-box and a bell4 ,in the recess of the window which is included in the cabinet there is a music-rack1 upon which has been placed a plate containing a well-smoothed cake of glazier's putty1 and under which1 on the floor1 is a huge tray containing a large smoothed cake of the same4 ,we have prepared these plaques of putty because the annals of ,spiritualism have often shown the imprint of hands and of heads produced by the unknown beings whom it is our business in this work to investigate4 ,the large tray weighs about nine pounds4 ,why this dark cabinet8 ,the medium declares it is necessary to the production of the phenomena that relate to the condensation of fluids4 ,i should prefer that there should be nothing of the kind4 ,but the conditions must be accepted1 though we must have an exact understanding about them4 ,behind the curtain the stillness of the aerial waves is at its maximum1 the light at its minimum4 ,it is curious1 strange1 infinitely regrettable that light prohibits certain effects4 ,undoubtedly1 it would not be either philosophic or scientific to oppose this condition4 ,it is possible that the radiations1 the forces1 which act may be the rays of the invisible end of the spectrum1 ,i have already had occasion to remark1 in the first chapter1 that he who would seek to make photographs without a dark chamber would cloud over his plate and obtain nothing4 ,the man who would deny the existence of electricity because he had been unable to obtain a spark in a damp atmosphere would be in error4 ,he who would not believe in the existence of stars because we only see them at night would not be very wise4 ,modern progress in natural philosophy has taught us that the radiations that impinge on the retina represent only the smallest fraction of the totality4 ,we can then admit the existence of forces which do not act in the full light of day4 ,but1 in accepting these conditions1 the essential point is not to be their dupe4 ,hence1 before the seance1 ,i examined carefully the narrow corner of the room before which the curtain was stretched1 and ,i found nothing except the objects mentioned above4 ,nowhere in the room was there any sign whatever of concealed mechanism1 no electric wires or batteries or anything of the kind1 either on the floor or in the walls4 ,moreover1 the perfect sincerity of ,m4 and ,mme4 ,blech is beyond all suspicion4 ,before the seance1 ,eusapia was undressed and dressed before ,mme4 ,zelma ,blech4 ,nothing suspicious was found4 ,the sitting was begun in full light1 and ,i constantly laid stress upon obtaining the largest number of phenomena we could in the full light of day4 ,it was only gradually1 according as the spirit begged for it1 that the light was turned down4 ,but ,i obtained the concession that the darkness should never be absolute4 ,at the last limit1 when the light had to be entirely extinguished1 it was replaced by one of the red lanterns used by photographers4 ,the medium sits before the curtain1 turning her back to it4 ,a table is placed before her1--a kitchen table1 made of spruce1 weighing about fifteen pounds4 ,i examined this table and found nothing in it suspicious4 ,it could be moved about in every direction4 ,i sit at first on the left of ,eusapia1 then at her right side4 ,i make sure as far as possible of her hands1 her legs1 and her feet1 by personal control4 ,thus1 for example1 to begin with1 in order to be sure that she should not lift the table either by her hands or her legs1 or her feet1 ,i take her left hand in my left hand1 ,i place my right open hand upon her knees1 and ,i place my right foot upon her left foot4 ,facing me1 ,m4 ,guillaume de ,fontenay1 no more disposed than ,i to be duped1 takes charge of her right hand and her right foot4 ,there is full light1--a big kerosene lamp with a wide burner and a light yellow shade1 besides two lighted candles4 ,at the end of three minutes the table begins to move1 balancing itself1 and rising sometimes to the right1 sometimes to the left4 ,a minute afterwards it is lifted entirely from the floor1 to a height of about nine inches1 and remains there two seconds4 ,in a second trial1 ,i take the two hands of ,eusapia in mine4 ,a notable levitation is produced1 nearly under the same conditions4 ,we repeat the same experiments thrice1 in such a way that five levitations of the table take place in a quarter of an hour1 and for several seconds the four feet are completely lifted from the floor1 to the height of about nine inches4 ,during one of the levitations the experimenters did not touch the table at all1 but formed the chain above it and in the air2 and ,eusapia acted in the same way4 ,so then it seems that an object can be lifted1 in opposition to the law of gravity1 without the contact of the hands which have just been acting upon it4 7,proof already given above1 pp4 #e-h1 #af47 ,a round centre table placed at my right comes forward without contact towards the table1 always in full light1 be it understood1 as if it would like to climb up on it1 and falls down4 ,nobody has moved aside or approached the curtain1 and no explanation of this movement can be given4 ,the medium has not yet entered into a trance and continues to take part in the conversation4 ,five raps in the table indicate1 according to a convention arranged by the medium1 that the unknown cause asks for less light4 ,this is always annoying3 ,i have already said what ,i think of this4 ,the candles are blown out1 the lamp turned down1 but the light is strong enough for us to see very distinctly everything that takes place in the salon4 ,the round table1 which ,i had lifted and set aside1 approaches the table and tries several times to climb up on it4 ,i lean upon it in order to keep it down1 but ,i experience an elastic resistance and am unable to do so4 ,the free edge of the round table places itself on the edge of the rectangular table1 but1 hindered by its triangular foot1 it does not succeed in clearing itself sufficiently to climb upon it4 ,since ,i am holding the medium1 ,i ascertain that she makes no effort of the kind that would be needed for this style of performance4 ,the curtain swells out and approaches my face4 ,it is at this moment that the medium falls into a trance4 ,she utters sighs and lamentations and only speaks now in the third person1 saying that she is ,john ,king1 a psychic personality who claims to have been her father in another existence and who calls her my daughter 7mia figlia74 ,this is an auto-suggestion proving nothing as to the identity of the force4 ,five new taps ask for still less light1 and the lamp is most completely turned down1 but not extinguished4 ,the eyes1 growing accustomed to the clare-obscure1 still distinguish pretty well what is taking place4 ,the curtain swells out again1 and ,i feel that ,i am touched on the shoulder1 through the stuff of the curtain1 as if by a closed fist4 ,the chair in the cabinet1 upon which are placed the music-box and the bell1 is violently shaken1 and the objects fall to the floor4 ,the medium asks again for less light1 and a red photographic lantern is placed upon the piano1 the light of the lamp being extinguished4 ,the control is rigorously kept up1 the medium agreeing to it with the greatest docility4 ,for about a minute the music-box plays intermittent airs behind the curtain1 as if it was turned by some hand4 ,the curtain moves forward again toward me1 and a rather strong hand seizes my arm4 ,i immediately reach forward to seize the hand1 but ,i grasp only the empty air4 ,i then press the two legs of the medium between mine and ,i take her left hand in my right4 ,on the other side1 her right hand is firmly held in the left hand of ,m4 de ,fontenay4 ,then ,eusapia brings the hand of the last named toward my cheek1 and imitates upon the cheek1 with the finger of ,m4 de ,fontenay1 the movement of a little revolving crank or handle4 ,the music-box1 which has one of these handles1 plays at the same time behind the curtain in perfect synchronism4 ,the instant that ,eusapia's hand stops1 the music stops3 all the movements correspond1 just as in the ,morse telegraphic system4 ,we all amused ourselves with this4 ,the thing was tried several times in succession1 and every time the movement of the finger tallied the playing of the music4 ,i feel several touches in the back and on the side4 ,m4 de ,fontenay receives a hard slap on the back that everybody hears4 ,a hand passes through my hair4 ,the chair of ,m4 de ,fontenay is violently pulled1 and a few moments afterwards he cries1 ,i see the silhouette of a man passing between ,m4 ,flammarion and me1 above the table1 shutting out the red light6 ,this thing is repeated several times4 ,i do not myself succeed in seeing this silhouette4 ,i then propose to ,m4 de ,fontenay that ,i take his place1 for1 in that case1 ,i should be likely to see it also4 ,i soon distinctly perceive a dim silhouette passing before the red lantern1 but ,i do not recognize any precise form4 ,it is only an opaque shadow 7the profile of a man7 which advances as far as the light and retires4 ,in a moment1 ,eusapia says there is some one behind the curtain4 ,after a slight pause she adds3 ,there is a man by my side1 on the right3 he has a great soft forked beard4 ,i ask if ,i may touch this beard4 ,in fact1 while lifting my hand1 ,i feel a rather soft beard brushing against it4 ,a block of paper is put on the table with a lead-pencil1 with the hope of getting writing4 ,this pencil is flipped clear across the room4 ,i then take the block of paper and hold it in the air3 it is snatched violently from me1 in spite of all my efforts to retain it4 ,at this moment1 ,m4 de ,fontenay1 with his back turned to the light1 sees a hand 7a white hand and not a shadow71 the arm showing as far as the elbow1 holding the block of paper2 but all the others declare that they only see the paper shaking in the air4 ,i did not see the hand snatch the packet of paper from me2 but only a hand could have been able to seize it with such violence1 and this did not appear to be the hand of the medium1 for ,i held her right hand in my left1 and the paper with arm extended in my right hand1 and ,m4 de ,fontenay declared that he did not let go of her left hand4 ,i was struck several times in the side1 touched on the head1 and my ear was smartly pinched4 ,i declare that after several repetitions ,i had enough of this ear pinching2 but during the whole seance1 in spite of my protestations1 somebody kept hitting me4 ,the little round table1 placed outside of the cabinet1 at the left of the medium1 approaches the table1 climbs clear up on it and lies across it4 ,the guitar in the cabinet is heard moving about and giving out sounds4 ,the curtain is puffed out1 and the guitar is brought upon the table1 resting upon the shoulder of ,m4 de ,fontenay4 ,it is then laid upon the table1 the large end toward the medium4 ,then it rises and moves over the heads of the company without touching them4 ,it gives forth several sounds4 ,the phenomenon lasts about fifteen seconds4 ,it can readily be seen that the guitar is floating in the air1 and the reflection of the red lamp glides over its shining surface4 ,a rather bright gleam1 pear-shaped1 is seen on the ceiling in the other corner of the room4 ,the medium1 who is tired1 asks for rest4 ,the candles are lighted4 ,mme4 ,blech returns the objects to their places1 ascertains that the cakes of putty are intact1 places the smallest upon the little round table and the large one upon the chair in the cabinet1 behind the medium4 ,the sitting is resumed by the feeble glimmer of the red lantern4 ,the medium1 whose hands and feet are carefully controlled by ,m4 de ,fontenay and myself1 breathes heavily4 ,above her head the snapping of fingers is heard4 ,she still pants1 groans1 and sinks her fingers into my hand4 ,three raps are heard4 ,she cries1 ,it is done 7,e fatto74 ,m4 de ,fontenay brings the little dish beneath the light of the red lantern and discovers the impression of four fingers in the putty1 in the position which they had taken when she gripped my hand4 ,seats are taken1 the medium asks for rest1 and a little light is turned on4 ,the sitting is soon resumed as before1 by the extremely feeble light of the red lantern4 ,john is spoken of as if he existed1 as if it was he whose head we perceived in silhouette2 he is asked to continue his manifestations1 and to show the impression of his head in the putty1 as he has already several times done4 ,eusapia replies that it is a difficult thing and asks us not to think of it for a moment1 but to go on speaking4 ,these suggestions of hers are always disquieting1 and we redouble our attention1 though without speaking much4 ,the medium pants1 groans1 writhes4 ,the chair in the cabinet on which the putty is placed is heard to move4 ,the chair comes forward and places itself by the side of the medium1 then it is lifted and placed upon the head of ,mme4 ,z4 ,blech1 while the tray is lightly placed in the hands of ,m4 ,blech1 at the other end of the table4 ,eusapia cries that she sees before her a head and a bust1 and says1 ,e fatto 7,it is done74 ,we do not believe her1 because ,m4 ,blech has not felt any pressure on the dish4 ,three violent blows as of a mallet are struck upon the table4 ,the light is turned on1 and a human profile is found imprinted upon the putty4 ,mme4 ,z4 ,blech kisses ,eusapia upon both cheeks1 for the purpose of finding out whether her face has not some odor 7glazier's putty having a very strong odor of linseed oil which remains for some time upon the fingers74 ,she discovers nothing abnormal4 ,this discovery of a spirit head in the putty is so astonishing1 so impossible to admit without sufficient verification1 that it is really still more incredible than all the rest4 ,it is not the head of the man whose profile ,i perceived1 and the beard ,i felt on my hand is not there4 ,the imprint has a resemblance to ,eusapia's face4 ,if we supposed she produced it herself1 that she was able to bury her nose up to the cheeks and up to the eyes in that thick putty1 we should still have to explain how that large and heavy tray was transported from the other end of the table and gently placed in the hands of ,m4 ,blech4 ,the resemblance of the imprint to ,eusapia was undeniable4 ,i reproduce both the print and the portrait of the medium4#ba ,every one can assure himself of it4 ,the simplest thing1 evidently1 is to suppose the ,italian woman imprinted her face in the putty4 ,but how8 ,we are in the dark as to this1 or nearly so4 ,i sit at the right hand of ,eusapia1 who rests her head upon my left shoulder1 and whose right hand ,i am holding4 ,m4 de ,fontenay is at her left1 and has taken great care not to let go of the other hand4 ,the tray of putty1 weighing nine pounds1 has been placed upon a chair1 twenty inches behind the curtain1 consequently behind ,eusapia4 ,she cannot touch it without turning around1 and we have her entirely in our power1 our feet on hers4 ,now the chair upon which was the tray of putty has drawn aside the hangings1 or portieres1 and moved forward to a point above the head of the medium1 who remained seated and held down by us2 moved itself also over our heads1--the chair to rest upon the head of my neighbor1 ,mme4 ,blech1 and the tray to rest softly in the hands of ,m4 ,blech1 who is sitting at the end of the table4 ,at this moment ,eusapia rises1 declaring that she sees upon the table another table and a bust1 and cries out1 ,e fatto 7,it is done74 ,it was not at this time1 surely1 that she would have been able to place her face upon the cake1 for it was at the other end of the table4 ,nor was it before this1 for it would have been necessary to take the chair in one hand and the cake with the other1 and she did not stir from her place4 ,the explanation1 as can be seen1 is very difficult indeed4 ,let us admit1 however1 that the fact is so extraordinary that a doubt remains in our mind1 because the medium rose from her chair almost at the critical moment4 ,and yet her face was immediately kissed by ,mme4 ,blech1 who perceived no odor of the putty4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4 ,,plaster ,,cast ,,of ,,imprint ,,made ,,in ,,putty ,,without ,,contact ,,by ,,the ,,medium ,,eusapia ,,paladino4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4 ,,eusapia ,,paladino1 ,,showing ,,resemblance ,,to ,,the ,,imprint ,,in ,,putty4 ,dr4 ,ochorowicz writes as follows apropos of these prints of faces and of the study which he made of them at ,rome3#bb ,the imprint of this face was obtained in darkness1 yet at a moment when ,i held the two hands of ,eusapia1 while my arms were entirely around her4 ,or1 rather1 it was she who clung to me in such a way that ,i had accurate knowledge of the position of all her limbs4 ,her head rested against mine1 and even with violence4 ,at the moment of the production of the phenomenon a convulsive trembling shook her whole body1 and the pressure of her head on my temples was so intense that it hurt me4 ,at the moment when the strongest convulsion took place1 she cried1 ,ah1 che dura6 7,oh1 how severe67 ,we at once lighted a candle and found a print1 rather poor in comparison with those which other experimenters have obtained1--a thing due1 perhaps1 to the bad quality of the clay which ,i used4 ,this clay was placed about twenty inches to the right of the medium1 while her head was inclined to the left4 ,her face was not at all soiled by the clay1 which was yet so moist as to leave traces upon the fingers when touched4 ,moreover1 the contact of her head with mine made me suffer so much that ,i am absolutely sure it was not intermitted for a single moment4 ,eusapia was very happy when she saw a verification made under conditions in which it was impossible to suspect her good faith4 ,i then took the tray of clay1 and we passed into the dining-room in order to better examine the imprint1 which ,i placed on a large table near a big kerosene lamp4 ,eusapia1 who had fallen into a trance1 remained for some moments standing1 her hands resting upon the table1 motionless and as if unconscious4 ,i did not lose sight of her1 and she looked at me without seeing anything4 ,then1 with an uncertain step1 she moved backward toward the door and passed slowly into the chamber which we had just left4 ,we followed her1 observing her all the while1 and leaving the clay behind upon the table4 ,we had already got into the chamber when1 leaning against one of the halves of the double door1 she fixed her eyes upon the tray of clay which had been left upon the table4 ,the medium was in a very good light3 we were separated from her by a distance of from six to ten feet1 and we perceived distinctly all the details4 ,all of a sudden ,eusapia stretched her hand out abruptly toward the clay1 then sank down uttering a groan4 ,we rushed precipitately towards the table and saw1 side by side with the imprint of the head1 a new imprint1 very marked1 of a hand which had been thus produced under the very light of the lamp1 and which resembled the hand of ,eusapia4 ,i have1 myself1 obtained head prints a dozen times1 but always rather poor1 owing to the quality of the clay1 and often broken while the experiment was going on4 ,the ,chevalier ,chiaia1 of ,naples1 who first obtained these fantastic pictures through the agency of ,eusapia1 wrote as follows1 in this connection1 to ,count de ,rochas3 ,i have imprints in boxes of clay weighing anywhere between fifty-five and sixty-five pounds4 ,i mention the weight in order to let you see the impossibility of lifting and transporting with one hand alone so heavy a tray1 even upon the supposition that ,eusapia might1 unknown to us1 free one of her hands4 ,in almost every case1 in fact1 this tray1 placed upon a chair three feet behind the medium1 was brought forward and placed very gently upon the table about which we were seated4 ,the transfer was made with such nicety that the persons who formed the chain and held firmly the hands of ,eusapia did not hear the least noise1 did not perceive the least rustling4 ,we were forewarned of the arrival of the tray upon the table by seven taps1 which1 according to our conventional arrangement1 ,john struck in the wall to inform us that we could turn on the light4 ,i did so at once by turning the cock of the gas-fixture which was suspended above the table4 7,we had never completely extinguished it47 ,we then found the tray upon the table1 and1 upon the clay1 the imprint which we supposed must have been made before its transfer1 and while it was behind ,eusapia1 in the cabinet where ,john usually materializes and manifests himself4 ,the totality of these observations 7which are very numerous7 leads us to the thought that1 in spite of the improbability of the thing1 these imprints are produced at a distance by the medium4 ,however1 some days after the seance at ,montfort-l',amaury ,i wrote as follows3 ,these different manifestations are not to me equally authentic4 ,i am not sure of all of them1 for the phenomena were not all produced under the same conditions of certainty4 ,i should wish to class the facts in the following order of decreasing certainty3 #a4 ,levitations of the table4 #b4 ,movements of the round table without contact4 #c4 ,mallet blows4 #d4 ,movements of the curtain4 #e4 ,opaque silhouette passing before the red lamp4 #f4 ,sensation of a beard upon the back of the hand4 #g4 ,touchings4 #h4 ,snatching of the block of paper4 #i4 ,throwing of the lead-pencil4 #aj4 ,transference of the round table to the top of the other table4 #aa4 ,music from the little box4 #ab4 ,transfer of the guitar to a point above the head4 #ac4 ,imprints of a hand and of a face4 ,the first four events1 having taken place in full light1 are incontestable4 ,i should put almost in the same rank ,nos4 #e and #f4 ,no4 #g may perhaps be due very often to fraud4 ,the last in the list1 having been produced toward the end of the seance1 at a time when attention was necessarily relaxed1 and being still more extraordinary than all the others1 ,i confess that ,i cannot admit it with certainty1 although ,i can not understand how it could have been due to fraud4 ,the four others seem genuine2 but ,i should like to observe them anew2 a man could wager ninety-nine to one hundred that they are true4 ,i was absolutely sure of them during the seance4 ,but the vividness of the impressions grows weak1 and we have a tendency to listen only to the voice of plain common sense1--the most reasonable and the most deceptive of our faculties4 ,the first impression we get upon the reading of these reports is that these different manifestations are rather vulgar1 altogether banal1 and do not tell us anything about the other world--or about other worlds4 ,surely it does not seem probable that any spiritual being would take part in such performances4 ,for these phenomena are of an absolutely material class4 ,on the other hand1 however1 it is impossible not to recognize the existence of unknown forces4 ,the simple fact1 for example1 of the levitation of a table to a height of six and one-half1 eight1 sixteen inches from the floor is not banal at all4 ,it seems to me1 speaking for myself alone1 so extraordinary that my opinion is very well expressed when ,i say that ,i do not dare to admit it without having seen it myself1 with my own eyes3 ,i mean that which is called seeing1 in full light and under such conditions that it would be impossible to suspect4 ,while we are very sure that we have proved it1 we are at the same time sure that in such experiments there emanates from the human body a force that may be compared with the magnetism of the loadstone1 able to act upon wood1 upon matter 7somewhat as the loadstone acts upon iron71 and counterbalancing for some moments the action of gravity4 ,from the scientific point of view1 that is a weighty fact in itself4 ,i am absolutely certain that the medium did not lift that weight of fifteen pounds either by her hands or by her legs1 or by her feet1 and1 furthermore1 no one of the company was able to do it4 ,the table was lifted by its upper surface4 ,we are1 therefore1 certainly in the presence of an unknown force here which emanates from the persons present1 and above all from the medium4 ,a rather curious observation ought to be made here4 ,several times during the course of this seance1 and during the levitation of the table1 ,i said1 ,there is no spirit4 ,every time ,i said this two violent blows of protestation were struck in the table4 ,i have already remarked that1 generally1 we are supposed to admit the ,spiritualistic hypothesis and to ask a spirit to exert himself in order that we may obtain the phenomena4 ,we have here a psychological matter not without importance4 ,still1 it does not seem to me1 for all that1 to prove the real existence of spirits1 for it might happen that this idea was necessary to the concentration of the forces present and had a purely subjective value4 ,religious zealots who believe in the efficacy of prayer are the dupes of their own imagination2 and yet no one can doubt that certain of these petitions appear to have been granted by a beneficent deity4 ,the ,italian or ,spanish girl who goes to beg of the ,virgin ,mary that she will punish her lover for an infidelity may be sincere1 and never suspects the strangeness of her request4 ,in dreams we all converse every night with imaginary beings4 ,but there is something more here3 the medium really duplicates herself4 ,i take the point of view solely of the physicist whose business is to observe1 and ,i say1 whatever may be the explanatory hypothesis you may adopt1 there exists an invisible force derived from the organism of the medium1 and having the power to emerge from him and to act outside of him4 ,that is the fact3 what is the best hypothesis to explain it8 #a4 ,is it the medium who herself acts1 in an unconscious manner1 by means of an invisible force emanating from her8 #b4 ,is it an intelligent cause apart from her1 a soul that has already lived upon this earth1 who draws from the medium a force which it needs in order to act8 #c4 ,is it another kind of invisible beings8 ,nothing authorizes us to affirm that there may not exist1 side by side with us1 living1 invisible forces4 ,there you have three very different hypotheses1 none of which seems to me1 as far as my personal experience goes1 to be as yet conclusively proved4 ,but there certainly emanates from the medium an invisible force2 and the participants1 by forming the psychic chain and by uniting their sympathetic wills1 increase this force4 ,this force is not immaterial4 ,it may be a substance1 an agent emitting radiations of wave-lengths which make no impression on our retina1 and which are nevertheless very powerful4 ,in the absence of light rays it is able to condense itself1 take shape1 affect even a certain resemblance to the human body1 to act as do our organs1 to violently strike a table1 or touch us4 ,it acts as if it were an independent being4 ,but this independence does not really exist2 for this transitory being is intimately connected with the organism of the medium1 and its apparent existence ceases when the conditions of its production themselves cease4 ,while writing these monstrous scientific heresies1 ,i feel very deeply that it is difficult to accept them4 ,still1 after all1 who can trace the limits of science8 ,we have all learned1 especially during the last quarter of a century1 that our knowledge is not a very colossal affair1 and that1 apart from astronomy1 there is as yet no exact science founded upon absolute principles4 ,and then1 when all is said1 there are the facts to be explained4 ,doubtless it is easier to deny them4 ,but it is not decent or civil4 ,he who has merely failed to find what satisfies him has no right to deny4 ,the best he can do is simply to say1 ,i know nothing about it4 ,the fact is that1 as yet1 we have not elementary data enough to enable us to characterize these forces2 but we ought not to lay the blame upon those who study them4 ,to sum up1 ,i believe that ,i am able to go a little farther than ,m4 ,schiaparelli and affirm the certain existence of unknown forces capable of moving matter and of counterbalancing the action of gravity4 ,there is a complex totality1 as yet difficult to disentangle1 of psychic and physical forces4 ,but such facts1 however extravagant they may appear1 are worthy of coming within the sphere of scientific observation4 ,it is even probable that they tend powerfully to elucidate the problem 7a matter of supreme importance to us7 of the nature of the human soul4 ,after the end of that seance of the #bgth of ,july1 #ahig1 as ,i desired to see again the levitation of a table in full light1 the chain was formed standing1 the hands lightly placed upon the table4 ,the latter began to oscillate1 then rose up to a height of nine inches from the floor1 remained there several seconds 7all the participators remaining on their feet71 and fell heavily back again4#bc ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi ,,photograph ,,of ,,the ,,table ,,resting ,,on ,,the ,,floor4 ,,photograph ,,of ,,the ,,same ,,table ,,raised ,,to ,a ,,height ,,of ,,twenty-,,five ,,centimetres4 ,,made ,,by ,m4 ,g4 ,,de ,,fontenay4 ,m4 ,g4 de ,fontenay succeeded in getting several photographs by the magnesium light4 ,i reproduce two of them here 7,pl4 ,,vi474 ,there are five experimenters who are1 from left to right1 ,m4 ,blech1 ,mme4 ,z4 ,blech1 ,eusapia1 myself1 ,mlle4 ,blech4 ,in the first photograph the table rests upon the floor4 ,in the second it floats in air1 coming up as high as the arms1 at a height of about ten inches on the left and eight inches on the right4 ,i hold my right foot resting upon ,eusapia's feet and my right hand upon her knees4 ,with my left hand ,i hold her left hand4 ,the hands of all the others are upon the table4 ,it is therefore altogether impossible for her to employ any muscular action4 ,this photographic record confirms that of ,pl4 ,i41 and it seems to me difficult not to recognize its undeniable documentary value4#bd ,after this seance my most ardent desire was to see the same experiments reproduced at my own house4 ,in spite of all the care ,i took with my observations1 several objections can be taken to the absolute certainty of the phenomena4 ,the most important arises from the existence of the little dark cabinet4 ,personally1 ,i was sure of the perfect probity of the honorable ,blech family1 and ,i am unable to accept the idea of any trickery whatever on the part of any of its members4 ,but the opinion of readers of the formal report may not be so well assured4 ,it was not impossible that1 even unknown to the members of the family1 some one1 with the connivance of the medium1 glided into the room1 favored by the dim light1 and produced the phenomena4 ,an accomplice entirely clothed in black and walking barefoot would have been able to hold the instruments up in the air1 put them in movement1 make the touches1 and cause the black mask to move at the end of a rod1 etc4 ,this objection could be verified or quashed by renewing the experiments at my house1 in a room of my own1 where ,i should be absolutely certain that no confederate could enter4 ,i should myself arrange the curtain1 ,i should place the chairs1 ,i should be certain that ,eusapia would come alone to my apartments1 she would be asked to undress and dress in the presence of two lady examiners1 and every supposition of fraud alien to her proper personality would thus be annihilated4 ,at this epoch 7#ahih7 ,i was preparing1 for l',annales politiques et litteraires1 some articles upon psychic phenomena1 which1 revised and amplified1 afterwards formed my work1 ,the ,unknown4 ,the eminent and sympathetic editor of the review showed himself assiduous in examining with me the best means of realizing this scheme of personal experiences4 ,upon our invitation1 ,eusapia came to ,paris to pass the month of ,november1 #ahih1 and to devote eight soirees especially to us--namely1 the #ajth1 #abth1 #adth1 #afth1 #aith1 #bast1 #beth1 and #bhth of ,november4 ,we had invited several friends to be present4 ,each one of these seances was the subject of a formal report by several of those who were present1 notably by ,,mm4 ,charles ,richet1 ,a4 de ,rochas1 ,victorien ,sardou1 ,jules ,claretie1 ,adolphe ,brisson1 ,rene ,baschet1 ,arthur ,levy1 ,gustave ,le ,bon1 ,jules ,bois1 ,gaston ,mery1 ,g4 ,delanne1 ,g4 de ,fontenay1 ,g4 ,armelin1 ,andre ,bloch1 etc4 ,we met in my salon in the avenue de l',observatoire1 in ,paris4 ,there were no special arrangements1 except the stretching of two curtains in one corner1 before the angle of two walls1 thus forming a kind of triangular cabinet1 the walls about which are there unbroken1 without door or window4 ,the front of the cabinet was closed by these two curtains1 reaching from the ceiling to the floor and meeting in the middle4 ,it is before this kind of cabinet that the reader will please imagine the medium to be seated1 with a white wooden table 7kitchen table7 before her4 ,behind the curtain1 upon the plinth of the projection of a bookcase and upon a table1 we placed a guitar1 also a violin1 a tambourine1 an accordion1 a music-box1 cushions1 and several small objects1 which were to be shaken1 seized1 thrown about by the unknown force4 ,the first result of these seances in ,paris1 at my house1 was absolutely to establish the fact that the hypothesis of a confederate is inadmissible and ought to be entirely eliminated4 ,eusapia acts alone4 ,the fifth seance led me1 moreover1 to think that the phenomena take place 7at least a certain number7 when the hands of ,eusapia are closely held by two controllers1 that it is not generally with her hands that she acts1 in spite of certain possible trickeries2 for it would be necessary to admit 7an abominable heresy67 that a third hand could be formed in organic connection with her body6 ,before every seance ,eusapia was undressed and dressed again in the presence of two ladies charged with seeing that she did not hide any tricking apparatus under her clothes4 ,it would be a little long to go thoroughly into the details of these eight sittings1 and it would be partly to go over what has already been described and commented upon in the first chapter1 as well as in the preceding pages4 ,but it will not be uninteresting to give here the estimate of several of the sitters1 by reproducing some of the reports4 ,i will begin with that of ,m4 ,arthur ,levy1 because he describes very fully the installation1 the impression produced upon him by a medium1 and the greater part of the facts observed4 ,report of ,m4 ,arthur ,levy 7,seance of ,november #af7 ,that which ,i am going to relate ,i saw yesterday at your house4 ,i saw it with distrust1 closely observing all that might have resembled trickery2 and1 after ,i had seen it1 ,i found it so far beyond the things that we are accustomed to conceive that ,i still ask myself if ,i really saw it4 ,yet ,i must confess that ,i have not been dreaming4 ,when ,i arrived at your salon1 ,i found the furniture and all the other arrangements as usual4 ,on entering1 only a single change could be remarked at the left1 where two thick curtains of gray and green rep concealed a little corner4 ,eusapia was to perform her wonders before this kind of alcove4 ,this was the mysterious corner3 ,i examined it very minutely4 ,it had in it a little round uncovered table1 a tambourine1 a violin1 an accordion1 castanets1 and one or two cushions4 ,after this precautionary visit1 ,i was certain that in this place at least there was no preparation1 and that no communication with the outside was possible4 ,i hasten to say that from this moment up to the end of the experiments we did not leave the room for a single minute1 and that1 so to speak1 we had our eyes constantly fixed upon this corner1 the curtains of which1 however1 were always partly open4 ,some moments after my examination of the cabinet ,eusapia arrives1--the famous ,eusapia4 ,as almost always happens1 she looks quite different from what ,i had anticipated4 ,where ,i had expected to see--,i do not well know why1 indeed--a tall thin woman with a fixed look1 piercing eyes1 with bony hands1 and abrupt movements1 agitated by nerves incessantly trembling under perpetual tension1 ,i find a woman in the forties1 rather plump1 with a tranquil air1 soft hand1 simple in her manners1 and slightly shrinking4 ,altogether1 she has the air of an excellent woman of the people4 ,yet two things arrest the attention when you look at her4 ,first1 her large eyes1 filled with strange fire1 sparkle in their orbits1 or1 again1 seem filled with swift gleams of phosphorescent fire1 sometimes bluish1 sometimes golden4 ,if ,i did not fear that the metaphor was too easy when it concerns a ,neapolitan woman1 ,i should say that her eyes appear like the glowing lava fires of ,vesuvius1 seen from a distance in a dark night4 ,the other peculiarity is a mouth with strange contours4 ,we do not know whether it expresses amusement1 suffering1 or scorn4 ,these peculiarities impress themselves on the mind almost simultaneously1 without our knowing on which one to fix the attention4 ,perhaps we should find in these features of her face an indication of forces which are acting in her1 and of which she is not altogether the mistress4 ,she takes a seat1 enters into all the commonplaces of the conversation1 speaking in a gentle1 melodious voice1 like many women of her country4 ,she uses a language difficult for herself and not less difficult for others1 for it is neither ,french nor ,italian4 ,she makes painful efforts to make herself understood1 and sometimes does this by mimicry 7or sign-language7 and by willing to obtain that which she wants4 ,however1 a persistent irritation of the throat1 like a pressure of blood returning at short intervals1 forces her to cough1 to ask for water4 ,i confess that these paroxysms1 in which her face became deeply flushed1 caused me great anxiety4 ,were we going to have the inevitable indisposition of the rare tenor1 on the day when he was to be heard on the stage8 ,happily1 nothing of the kind took place4 ,it was rather a sign of the contrary1 and seemed like a forerunner of the extreme excitement which was going to take possession of her on that evening4 ,in fact1 it is very remarkable that from the moment when she put herself--how shall ,i say it8--in condition for work1 the cough1 the irritation of the throat1 completely disappeared4 ,when her fingers were placed on black wool1--to be frank1 upon the trousers cloth of one of the company1--,eusapia called our attention to the kind of diaphanous marks made upon them 7the fingers71 a distorted1 elongated second contour4 ,she tells us that that is a sign that she is going to be given great power to-day4 ,while we are talking some one puts a letter-weigher on the table4 ,putting her hands down on each side of the letter-weigher1 and at a distance of four inches1 she causes the needle to move to ,no4 #ce engraved on the dial plate of the weigher4 ,eusapia herself asked us to convince ourselves1 by inspection1 that she did not have a hair leading from one hand to the other1 and with which she could fraudulently press upon the tray of the letter-weigher4 ,this little by-play took place when all the lamps of the salon were fully lighted4 ,then commenced the main series of experiments4 ,we sit around a rectangular table of white wood1 the common kitchen table4 ,there are six of us4 ,close to the curtains1 at one of the narrow ends of the table1 sits ,eusapia2 at her left1 also near the curtains1 is ,m4 ,georges ,mathieu1 an agricultural engineer at the observatory in ,juvisy2 next comes my wife2 ,m4 ,flammarion is at the other end1 facing ,eusapia2 then ,mme4 ,flammarion2 finally myself4 ,i am thus placed at the right hand of ,eusapia1 and also against the curtain4 ,m4 ,mathieu and myself each hold a hand of the medium resting upon his knee1 and1 furthermore1 ,eusapia places one of her feet upon ours4 ,consequently1 no movements of her legs or arms can escape our attention4 ,note well1 therefore1 that this woman has the use only of her head and of her bust1 which latter is of course without the use of the arms1 and is in absolute contact with our shoulders4 ,we rest our hands on the table4 ,in a few moments it begins to oscillate1 stands on one foot1 strikes the floor1 rears up1 rises wholly into the air1--sometimes twelve inches1 sometimes eight inches1 from the ground4 ,eusapia utters a sharp cry1 resembling a cry of joy1 of deliverance2 the curtain behind her swells out1 and1 all inflated as it is1 comes forward upon the table4 ,other raps are heard in the table1 and simultaneously in the floor at a distance of about ten feet from us4 ,all this in full light4 ,already excited1 ,eusapia asks in a supplicating voice and broken words that we lessen the lights4 ,she cannot endure the dazzling glare in her eyes4 ,she affirms that she is tortured1 wants us to hurry2 for1 she adds1 you shall see fine things4 ,after one of us has placed the lamp on the floor behind the piano1 in the corner opposite the place where we are 7at a distance of about twenty-three feet71 ,eusapia no longer sees the light and is satisfied2 but we can distinguish faces and hands4 ,let it not be forgotten that ,m4 ,mathieu and ,i each have a foot of the medium on ours1 and that we are holding her hands and knees1 that we are pressing against her shoulders4 ,the table is always shaking and makes sudden jolts4 ,eusapia calls to us to look4 ,above her head appears a hand4 ,it is a small hand1 like that of a little girl of fifteen years1 the palm forward1 the fingers joined1 the thumb projecting4 ,the color of this hand is livid2 its form is not rigid1 nor is it fluid2 one would say rather that it is the hand of a big doll stuffed with bran4 ,when the hand moves back from the brighter light1 as it disappears1--is it an optical illusion8--it seems to lose its shape1 as if the fingers were being broken1 beginning with the thumb4 ,m4 ,mathieu is violently pushed by a force acting from behind the curtain4 ,a strong hand presses against him1 he says4 ,his chair is also pushed4 ,something pulls his hair4 ,while he is complaining of the violence used upon him1 we hear the sound of the tambourine1 which is then quickly thrown upon the table4 ,next the violin arrives in the same manner1 and we hear its strings sound4 ,i seize the tambourine and ask the ,invisible if he wishes to take it4 ,i feel a hand grasping the instrument4 ,i am not willing to let it go4 ,a struggle now ensues between myself and a force which ,i judge to be considerable4 ,in the tussle a violent effort pushes the tambourine into my hand1 and the cymbals penetrate the flesh4 ,i feel a sharp pang1 and a good deal of blood flows4 ,i let go of the handle4 ,i just now ascertain1 by the light1 that ,i have a deep gash under the right thumb nearly an inch long4 ,the table continues to shake1 to strike the floor with redoubled strokes1 and the accordion is thrown upon the table4 ,i seize it by its lower half and ask the ,invisible if he can pull it out by the other end so as to make it play4 ,the curtain comes forward1 and the bellows of the accordion is methodically moved back and forth1 its keys are touched1 and several different notes are heard4 ,eusapia utters repeated cries1 a kind of rattling in the throat4 ,she writhes nervously1 and1 as if she were calling for help1 cries1 ,la catena6 la catena6 7,the chain6 the chain674 ,we thereupon form the chain by taking hold of hands4 ,then1 just as if she was defying some monster1 she turns1 with inflamed looks1 toward an enormous divan1 which thereupon marches up to us4 ,she looks at it with a satanic smile4 ,finally she blows upon the divan1 which goes immediately back to its place4 ,eusapia1 faint and depressed1 remains relatively calm4 ,yet she is dejected2 her breast heaves violently2 she lays her head on my shoulder4 ,m4 ,mathieu1 tired of the blows which he is constantly receiving1 asks to change places with some one4 ,i agree to this4 ,he changes with ,mme4 ,f41 who then sits at the right of ,eusapia1 while ,i am at her left4 ,mme4 ,f4 and ,i never cease to hold the feet1 hands1 and knees of the medium4 ,m4 ,f4 sets a water bottle and a glass in the middle of the table4 ,the latter's brisk1 jolting movements overturn the water bottle1 and the water is spilled over its surface4 ,the medium imperatively requires that the liquid be wiped up2 the water upon the table blinds her1 tortures1 paralyzes her1 she says4 ,m4 ,f4 asks the ,invisible if he can pour water into the glass4 ,after some moments the curtain advances1 the carafe is grasped1 and the glass seems to be half full4 ,that takes place several different times4 ,mme4 ,f41 being no longer able to endure the blows given her through the curtain1 exchanges seats with her husband4 ,i put my repeating watch upon the table4 ,i ask the ,invisible if he can sound the alarm4 7,the mechanism of the alarm is very difficult to understand1 delicate to operate1 even for me1 doing it every day4 ,it is formed by a little tube cut in two1 one half of which glides smoothly over the other4 ,in reality1 there is only a projection of one-fiftieth of an inch of thickness of tube1 upon which it is necessary to press with the finger-nail and give quite a push in order to start up the alarm47 ,in a moment the watch is taken by the spirit4 ,we hear the stem-winder turning4 ,the watch comes back upon the table without having been sounded4 ,another request is made for the alarm to sound4 ,the watch is again taken2 the case is heard to open and shut4 7,now ,i cannot open this case with my hands3 ,i have to pry it open with a tool like a lever47 ,the watch comes back once more without having sounded4 ,i confess that ,i experienced a disenchantment4 ,i felt that ,i was going to doubt the extent of the occult power1 which had1 nevertheless1 manifested itself very clearly4 ,why could it not sound the alarm of this watch8 ,in making my request1 had ,i overstepped the limits of its powers8 ,was ,i going to be the cause of all the well-proved phenomena of which we have had testimony losing the half of their value8 ,i said aloud3 ,am ,i to show how the alarm is operated8 ,no1 no6 ,eusapia warmly replies1 it will do it4 ,i will note here that at the moment when ,i proposed to point out the mechanism1 there passed through my mind the method of pressing upon the little tube4 ,immediately the watch was brought back to the table2 and1 very distinctly1 three separate times1 we heard it sound a quarter to eleven4 ,eusapia was evidently very tired2 her burning hands seemed to contract or shrivel2 she gasped aloud with heaving breast1 her foot kept quitting mine every moment1 scraping the floor and tediously rubbing along it back and forth4 ,she uttered hoarse panting cries1 shrugging up her shoulders and sneering2 the sofa came forward when she looked at it1 then recoiled before her breath2 all the instruments were thrown pell-mell upon the table2 the tambourine rose almost to the height of the ceiling2 the cushions took part in the sport1 overturning everything on the table2 ,m4 ,m4 was thrown from his chair4 ,this chair--a heavy dining-room chair of black walnut1 with stuffed seat--rose into the air1 came up on the table with a great clatter1 then was pushed off4 ,eusapia seems shrunken together and is very much affected4 ,we pity her4 ,we ask her to stop4 ,no1 no6 she cries4 ,she rises1 we with her2 the table leaves the floor1 rises to a height of twenty-four inches1 then comes clattering down4 ,eusapia sinks prostrated into a chair4 ,we sit there troubled1 amazed1 in consternation1 with a tense and constricted feeling in the head1 as if the atmosphere were charged with electricity4 ,with many precautions1 ,m4 ,f4 succeeds in calming the agitation of ,eusapia4 ,after about a quarter of an hour she returns to herself4 ,when the lamps are again lighted1 she is seen to be very much changed1 her eye dull1 her face apparently diminished to half its usual size4 ,in her trembling hands she feels the pricking of needles which she asks us to pull out4 ,little by little she completely recovers her senses4 ,she appears to remember nothing1 not to comprehend at all our expressions of wonder4 ,all that is as foreign to her as if she had not been present at the sitting4 ,she isn't interested in it4 ,so far as she is concerned1 it would seem as if we were speaking of things of which she had not the faintest idea4 ,what have we seen8 mystery of mysteries6 ,we took every precaution not to be the dupes of complicity1 of fraud4 ,superhuman forces acting near us1 so near that we heard the very breathing of a living being1--if living being it were1--such are the things our eyes took cognizance of for two mortal hours4 ,and when1 on looking back1 doubts begin to creep into the mind1 we must conclude that1 given the conditions in which we were1 the chicanery necessary to produce such effects would be at least as phenomenal as the effects themselves4 ,how shall we name the mystery8 ,so much for the report of ,m4 ,arthur ,levy4 ,i have no commentary to make at present upon these reports of my fellow-experimenters4 ,the essential thing1 it seems to me1 is to leave to every one his own exposition and his personal judgment4 ,i shall proceed in the same way with the other reports which are to follow4 ,i shall reproduce the principal ones4 ,in spite of some inevitable repetitions1 they will surely be read with extreme interest1 especially when we take into consideration the high intellectual standing of the observers4 ,report of ,m4 ,adolphe ,brisson4 7,seance of ,november #aj7 7,there were present at this seance1 besides the hosts of the occasion1 ,m4 ,prof4 ,richet1 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,ad4 ,brisson1 ,mme4 ,fourton1 ,m4 ,andre ,bloch1 ,m4 ,georges ,mathieu47 ,the following are occurrences which ,i personally observed with the greatest care4 ,i did not once cease to hold in my right hand the left hand of ,eusapia or fail to feel that we were in contact4 ,the contact was only interrupted twice1--at the moment when ,dr4 ,richet felt a pricking in his arm4 ,eusapia's hand1 making violent movements1 escaped from my grasp2 but ,i seized it again after two or three seconds4 #a4 ,after this sitting had begun1--that is1 at the end of about ten minutes1--the table was lifted up away from ,eusapia1 two of its legs leaving the floor simultaneously4 #b4 ,five minutes later the curtain swelled out as if it had been inflated by a strong breeze4 ,my hand1 never letting go of that of ,eusapia1 pressed gently against the curtain1 and ,i experienced a resistance1 just as if ,i had pressed against the sail of a ship bellied out by the wind4 ,illustration #c4 ,not only was the curtain puffed out1 forming a big pocket1 but the perpendicular edge of the curtain that touched the window moved automatically aside and drew back as if it were pushed by an invisible curtain holder1 making nearly this kind of a movement4 #d4 ,the curtain1 inflated anew1 took the form of a nose or of an eagle's beak1 projecting above the table about eight or ten inches4 ,this shape was visible for several seconds4 #e4 ,we heard behind the curtain the noise of a chair rolling over the floor2 by a first push it arrived as far as ,i was2 a second push turned it upside down1 its feet in the air1 in the position shown4 ,it was a heavy stuffed chair4 ,succeeding pushes moved it again1 lifted it up1 and made it turn somersaults2 it finally came to a standstill almost in the place where it had fallen over4 ,illustration #f4 ,we heard the noise of two or three objects falling to the floor 7,i mean objects behind the curtain upon the centre-table74 ,the curtain parted in the middle1 and in the dim light the little violin appeared4 ,sustained in the air by an invisible hand1 it came gently forward above our table1 whence it settled down upon my hand and upon that of my neighbor on the left4#be ,on two separate occasions the violin rose from the table and at once fell back again1 making a vigorous leap1 like a fish flopping upon the sand4 ,then it glided down to the floor1 where it remained motionless until the end of the sitting4 #g4 ,a new rolling noise was heard behind the curtain4 ,this time it was the centre-table4 ,a preliminary effort1 quite vigorous1 enabled it to rise half-way to the top of our table4 ,by a second effort it got clear on top and rested upon my fore-arm4 #h4 ,several times ,i distinctly felt light blows upon my right side1 as if made with the point of a sharp instrument4 ,but the truth compels me to declare that these blows were no longer given after ,eusapia's feet were held under the table by ,m4 ,bloch4 ,i note this correlation of things without drawing from it any presumption against ,eusapia's loyalty4 ,i have so much the less reason to suspect her in that her left foot did not leave my right foot during the whole sitting4 ,report of ,m4 ,victorien ,sardou 7,seance of ,november #ai7 7,there were present at this seance1 besides the hosts of the evening1 ,m4 ,v4 ,sardou1 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,brisson1 ,m4 ,a4 de ,rochas1 ,m4 ,prof4 ,richet1 ,m4 ,g4 de ,fontenay1 ,m4 ,gaston ,mery1 ,mme4 ,fourton1 ,m4 and ,mlle4 des ,varennes74 ,i shall only relate here phenomena controlled by myself personally in the seance of last ,saturday4 ,consequently1 ,i say nothing of the arrangement of the apartment1 of the experimenters1 nor of the events which were first produced in the dark and which all the participants were able to authenticate1--such as cracking sounds in the table1 levitations1 displacements of the table1 raps1 etc41 as well as the blowing out of the curtain over the table1 the bringing on of the violin1 of the tambourine1 and so forth4 ,eusapia having invited me to take the place at her side which had been vacated by ,m4 ,brisson1 ,i sat down on her left1 while you preserved your place on her right4 ,i took her left hand in my right hand1 while my left hand placed upon the table was in contact with that of my neighbor1 the medium insisting on this several times in order that the chain might not be broken4 ,her left foot rested upon my right foot4 ,all through the experiment ,i never let go her hand for a single second4 ,she grasped my hand with a strong pressure1 and it followed her through all her movements4 ,in the same way her foot always kept in contact with mine4 ,my foot always kept touch with hers in all her foot scrapings on the floor1 her shiftings of place1 shrinkings1 twitchings1 etc41 which never had anything suspicious in them1 nor were they of such a nature as to explain the events which took place at my side1 behind me1 around me1 and upon me4 ,in the first place1 and in less than a minute after ,i had been placed on the left of the medium1 the curtain nearest to me was puffed out and brushed against me1 as if impelled by a gust of wind4 ,then three times ,i felt upon my right side a pressure which lasted but for a moment1 yet was very marked4 ,at that moment we were in a very dim light1 yet enough to make the faces and the hands of all who were present distinctly visible4 ,after ,eusapia's violent nervous contractions1 struggles1 and energetic pushes 7precisely like those which ,i had seen in similar cases elsewhere and which only astonish those who have slightly studied these phenomena71 suddenly the curtain nearest to me was blown forward with an astonishing propulsive power between ,eusapia and me1 in the direction of the table1 entirely concealing from me the face of the medium2 and the violin1 which1 with the tambourine1 had1 before my introduction1 been replaced in the dark chamber1 was hurled to the middle of the table1 as if by an invisible arm4 ,to accomplish this1 the arm must have lifted the curtain and drawn it along with it4 ,after this the curtain returned to its first position1 but not completely2 for it still remained puffed out a little between ,eusapia and me1 one of its folds remaining upon the edge of the table at my side4 ,then you took the violin and held it out at such a distance from the two curtains that it was wholly visible to the company2 and you invited the occult agent to take it4 ,this was done1 the mysterious agent taking it back with him into the dark closet1 with as much good will as he had shown in bringing it on4 ,the violin then fell upon the floor behind the curtains1 or portieres4 ,one of these which was nearest to me resumed its vertical position1 and for a time ,i heard upon my right upon the floor behind the curtains a kind of scrimmage between the violin and the tambourine1 which were displaced1 pulled about1 and lifted1 clashing and resounding at a great rate2 and yet it was impossible to attribute any of these manifestations to ,eusapia1 whose foot never moved1 but remained firmly pressed against my own4 ,a little after1 ,i felt against my right leg1 behind the curtain1 the rubbing of a hard body which was trying to climb upon me1 and ,i thought it was the violin4 ,and so it was1 in fact2 and1 after an unsuccessful effort to climb higher than my knee1 this apparently living creature fell with a bang upon the floor4 ,almost immediately ,i felt a new pressure upon my right hip1 and mentioned the circumstance4 ,you disengaged your left hand from the chain1 and1 turning toward me1 twice made in the air the gesture of the director of an orchestra moving his baton to and fro4 ,and each time1 with perfect precision1 ,i felt upon my side the repercussion of a blow exactly tallying your gesture1 which reached me after the delay of a second more or less1 and which seemed to me to correspond exactly to the time necessary for the transference of a billiard ball or a tennis ball from you to me4 ,some one1 ,dr4 ,richet1 ,i believe1 having spoken at that time of strokes upon the shoulders of the sitters in which the action and shape of a human hand was very marked1 ,i will mention as a proof of his remark that ,i received in succession three blows upon the left shoulder 7that is to say1 the one most distant from the curtain and from the medium71 more violent than the preceding ones2 and this time the heavy pressure of the five fingers was very evident4 ,then a last blow with the flat of the hand1 applied in the small of the back1 without hurting me at all1 was strong enough to make me lean forward1 in spite of myself1 toward the table4 ,some moments after1 my chair1 moving under me1 glided over the floor1 and was shifted in such a way as to leave my back turned a little in the direction of the dark closet4 ,i leave to other witnesses the task of telling the results of their personal observations1--how1 for example1 the violin1 having been picked up by you from the floor and replaced upon the table1 was held out by ,mme4 ,brisson1 as you had already done1 and lifted up in the same way in the sight of all1 while ,i held the left hand of ,eusapia1 you her right hand1 and with the hand which remained free you pressed the wrist of her left hand4 ,nor do ,i say anything of a hand-pressure through the opening in the curtain1 having seen nothing of this myself4 ,but that which ,i did see very well indeed was the sudden appearance of three very vivid little lights between my neighbor and myself4 ,they were promptly extinguished and seemed like a kind of will-o'-the-wisp1 similar to electric sparks coming and going with great rapidity4 ,in short1 ,i can only repeat here what ,i have said during the course of these experiments1 ,if ,i had not been convinced forty years ago1 ,i should be this evening4 ,report of ,m4 ,jules ,claretie4 7,seance of ,november #be7 7,there were present at this sitting1 in addition to the hosts of the occasion1 ,m4 ,jules ,claretie and his son1 ,m4 ,brisson1 ,m4 ,louis ,vignon1 ,mme4 ,fourton1 ,mme4 ,gagneur1 ,m4 ,g4 ,delanne1 ,m4 ,rene ,baschet1 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,basilewska1 ,m4 ,mairet1 photographer47 ,i note only the impressions ,i received after the moment when ,eusapia1 who had taken my hand at the time when ,m4 ,brisson was still seated by her1 asked me to replace him4 ,i am certain that ,i did not let go of ,eusapia's hand during all the experiments4 ,every moment ,i felt the pressure of her foot upon mine1 the heel being especially perceptible4 ,i do not believe that ,i relaxed my fingers for a moment1 nor released the hand that ,i held4 ,i was struck with the throbbing of the arteries at the end of ,eusapia's fingers3 the blood bounded feverishly through them4 ,i sat next the curtain4 ,it goes without saying that it was drawn from right to left or from left to right just as it happened4 ,that which ,i can't understand is that it could swell out until it floated over the table like a sail inflated by the wind4 ,i felt at first a little light blow on my right side4 ,then1 through the curtain1 two fingers seized me and pinched my cheek4 ,the pressure of the two fingers was evident4 ,a blow more violent than the first hit me on the right shoulder1 as if it came from a hard1 square body4 ,my chair was twice moved and turned1 first backward1 then forward4 ,those two fingers which pinched my cheek ,i had already felt--before ,i took my place at ,eusapia's side--when ,i was holding over against the curtain the little white book which ,m4 ,flammarion had given me4 ,this book was seized by two naked fingers 7,i say naked1 because the folds of the curtain did not cover them7 and then disappeared4 ,i did not see these fingers3 ,i touched them1 or they touched me1 if you will4 ,my son held out and handed over also a leather cigar-holder1 which was grabbed in the same way4 ,one of the persons present saw a rather heavy little music-box disappear in the same way4 ,with hardly a moment's delay the box was removed from our side with some violence2 and ,i can speak with the more feeling of the force of the projection and of the weight of the object1 because it struck me under the eye1 and this morning ,i still have upon my face the only too visible mark of it1 and feel the pain of it4 ,i don't understand how a woman seated by my side could have the strength to throw with such force a box which1 so to speak1 should have come from quite a distance4 ,i observe1 however1 that all the phenomena are produced on the same side of the curtain2 namely1 behind it1 or through it1 if you will4 ,i saw leafy branches fall upon the table1 but they came from the side of the said curtain4 ,some persons assert that they saw a green twig come in through the open window which gives upon ,cassini ,street4 ,but ,i did not see that4 ,there was a little round table behind the curtain1 very near me4 ,eusapia takes my hand and places it1 held in hers1 upon the round table4 ,i feel this table shaking1 moving4 ,at a given moment ,i believe that ,i perceive two hands near by and upon mine4 ,i am not deceived2 but this second hand is that of ,m4 ,flammarion1 who1 on his side1 is holding the hand of the medium4 ,the round table bestirs itself4 ,it leaves the floor1 it rises4 ,i have the feeling of this at once4 ,then1 the curtain having lifted and1 as it were1 spread itself over the table1 ,i can distinctly see what passes behind it4 ,the round table moves2 it rises2 it falls4 ,suddenly tipping partly over1 it rises and comes toward me1 upon me4 ,it is no longer vertical1 but is caught between the table and me in a horizontal position4 ,it comes with sufficient force to make me recoil1 draw in my shoulders1 and try to push back my chair to let this moving piece of furniture pass4 ,it seems1 like a living thing1 to struggle between the table and me4 ,or1 again1 it seems like an animated being struggling against an obstacle1 desiring to pass or move on and not being able to do so1 being stopped by the table or by myself4 ,at a given moment the round table is upon my knees1 and it moves1 it struggles 7,i repeat the word71 without my being able to explain to myself what force is moving it4 ,this force is a formidable one4 ,the little table literally pushes me back1 and in vain ,i throw myself backward to let it pass4 ,some of those present1 ,m4 ,baschet among others1 have said to me that at this moment it was upon two fingers4 ,two fingers of ,eusapia push up the round table6#bf ,but ,i1 who had not lost my hold on her left hand nor her foot1--,i1 who had by me the little round table 7quite visible in the semi-obscurity to which we had accustomed ourselves71 saw nothing1 nor did ,i perceive any effort on the part of ,eusapia4 ,i should like to have seen luminous phenomena produced1 visions of brilliant lights1 of sudden gleams of fire4 ,m4 ,flammarion hoped that we were going to see some of these4 ,he asked for them4 ,but ,eusapia was evidently fatigued by this long and very interesting seance4 ,she asked for un poco di luce 7a little light74 ,the lamps were relighted4 ,everything was finished4 ,this morning ,i recall with a kind of anxious curiosity the least details of this very fascinating soiree4 ,when we had returned to the observatory1 on leaving our amiable hosts1 ,i asked myself if ,i had been in a dream4 ,but ,i said to myself1 ,we were present at the skilful performances of a woman prestidigitator2 we witnessed only theatrical tricks4 ,my son recalled to me the prodigies of skill of the brothers ,isola4 ,this morning1 strange to say1 reflection makes me at once more perplexed and less incredulous4 ,we perhaps witnessed 7we undoubtedly did witness7 the manifestation of an unknown force which will hereafter be studied and perhaps one day utilized4 ,i should no longer dare to deny the genuineness of ,spiritualism4 ,it isn't a question of animal magnetism3 it is something else1 ,i know not what2 a quid divinum 7a divine something71 although science will some day analyze it and catalogue it4 ,that which perhaps astonished me the most was the curtain swelling out like a sail6 ,where did the puff of wind come from8 ,a regular breeze would have been needed to put such life into it as that4 ,however1 ,i do not discuss3 ,i give in my evidence4 ,i have seen these things1 observed them carefully4 ,i shall think of them for a long time4 ,i do not stop here4 ,i shall seek an explanation4 ,possibly ,i shall find one4 ,but this much is certain1 that we ought to be modest in the presence of all that appears to us to be for the moment inexplicable1 and that1 before affirming or denying1 we ought to wait1 to reserve our judgment4 ,in the mean time1 while feeling of my right maxillary tooth1 which is a little sore1 ,i think of that line of ,regnard and allow myself to mangle it a little while recalling that hard music-box1-- ,je vois que c'est un corps et non pas un esprit4 7,i see that it is a body and not a spirit47 ,report of ,dr4 ,gustave ,le ,bon 7,seance of ,november #bh7 7,there were present at this seance1 besides the hosts1 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,brisson1 ,,mm4 ,gustave ,le ,bon1 ,baschet1 de ,sergines1 ,louis ,vignon1 ,laurent1 ,ed4 de ,rothschild1 ,delanne1 ,bloch1 ,mathieu1 ,ephrussi1 ,mme4 la ,comtesse de ,chevigne1 ,mmes4 ,gagneur1 ,syamour1 ,fourton1 ,basilewska1 ,bisschofsheim47 ,eusapia is undoubtedly a marvellous subject4 ,it struck me as something wonderful that1 while ,i was holding her hand1 she was playing on an imaginary tambourine to which the sounds of the tambourine that was behind the curtain accurately corresponded4 ,i do not see how any trick is possible in such a case1 any more than in the case of the table4 ,my cigarette-holder was grasped by a very strong hand1 which wrenched the object from me with a good deal of energy4 ,i was on my guard and asked to see the experiment again4 ,the phenomenon was so singular and so beyond all that we can comprehend that we must first try natural explanations4 #a4 ,it is impossible that it could have been ,eusapia4 ,i was holding one of her hands and was looking at the other arm1 and ,i placed my cigarette-holder in such a position that1 even with her two arms free1 she would not have been able to accomplish such a marvellous thing4 #b4 ,it is not probable that it could have been an accomplice2 but is it not possible that the unconscious mind of ,eusapia suggested to the unconscious mind of a person near the curtain to pass a hand behind it and operate there8 ,everybody would be acting in good faith and would have been deceived by the unconscious element4 ,this important point ought to be verified1 for no experiment would be so valuable if it were once demonstrated4 ,could not ,eusapia's departure be put off8 ,we shall not have a similar opportunity1 and we surely ought to clear up that phenomenon of the hand4 ,it is very evident that the table was lifted2 but that is a material phenomenon which one can readily grant4 ,the hand which came to seize my cigarette-holder performed an act of the will implying an intelligence1 but the other is nothing of the kind4 ,eusapia might lift a table to the height of three feet without my scientific conception of the world being changed by it2 but to bring in the intervention of a spirit1 that would be to prove the existence of spirits1 and you see the consequences4 ,as for the hand which seized the cigarette-case1 it is absolutely certain that it was not that of ,eusapia 7you know that ,i am very sceptical and that ,i was looking about me72 but close to the curtain1 in the salon1 there were a good many people1 and several times you heard me ask people to stand aside from the curtain4 ,if we two had been able to study ,eusapia absolutely alone1 in a room to which we had the key1 the problem would soon be solved4 ,i have not been able to make this verification1 the sitting at which ,dr4 ,le ,bon was present having been the last which ,eusapia had consented to give at my house4 ,but his objection is of no value4 ,i am absolutely certain that nobody glided behind the curtain1 neither in this particular case nor in any other4 ,my wife1 also1 particularly occupied herself in observing what took place in that part of the room and never was able to discover anything suspicious4 ,there is only one hypothesis2 that is1 that ,eusapia herself handled the objects4 ,since ,dr4 ,le ,bon declares that the thing was impossible1 he himself personally inspecting it1 we are compelled to admit the existence of an unknown psychic force4#bg ,report of ,m4 ,armelin 7,seance of ,november #ba7 7,for this sitting ,i had asked three members of the ,astronomical ,society of ,france to exercise the severest control possible2 namely1 ,m4 ,antoniadi1 my assistant astronomer at the observatory of ,juvisy1 ,m4 ,mathieu1 agricultural engineer at the same observatory1 and ,m4 ,armelin1 secretary of the ,astronomical ,society4 ,the last-named gentleman sent me the following report4 ,there were also present ,m4 and ,mme4 ,brisson1 ,m4 ,baschet1 ,m4 ,jules ,bois1 ,mme4 ,fourton1 ,mme4 ,la ,comtesse de ,labadye47 ,at quarter of ten ,eusapia takes her seat1 her back to the place where the two curtains meet1 her hands resting upon the table4 ,at the invitation of ,m4 ,flammarion1 ,m4 ,mathieu takes his seat at her right1 charged with the duty of keeping constant watch upon her left hand1 and ,m4 ,antoniadi is enjoined to do the same for her right hand4 ,they also make themselves sure of her feet4 ,at the right of ,m4 ,mathieu sits ,mme4 la ,comtesse de ,labadye2 on the left of ,m4 ,antoniadi1 ,mme4 ,fourton4 ,facing ,eusapia1 between ,mmes4 de ,labadye and ,fourton1 ,,mm4 ,flammarion1 ,brisson1 ,baschet1 and ,jules ,bois4 ,the gas chandelier is lighted and the full light turned on4 ,this chandelier is almost over the table4 ,a little lamp with a shade is placed on the floor behind an easy-chair1 near the opposite side of the room1 in the direction of its greatest length1 and to the left of the fireplace4 ,at five minutes of ten the table is lifted from the side opposite to the medium and falls back with a bang4 ,at ten o'clock it rises from the side of the medium1 who withdraws her hands1 the other persons holding their hands lifted up4 ,the same effect is produced three times4 ,the second time1 while the table is in the air1 ,m4 ,antoniadi declares that he is leaning on it with all his weight and is unable to lower it4 ,the third time1 ,m4 ,mathieu leans on it in the same way and experiences the same resistance4 ,during this time1 ,eusapia holds her closed fist about four inches above the table1 looking as if she were strongly grasping something4 ,the action lasts several seconds4 ,there is no doubt whatever about this levitation4 ,when the table falls back1 ,eusapia experiences something like a relaxation after a great effort4 ,at #aj4jc the table is lifted clean off its four feet at once1 at first on the side opposite to the medium1 rising about eight inches2 then it falls abruptly back4 ,while it is in the air1 ,eusapia calls her two neighbors to witness that they are closely holding her hands and her feet1 and that she is not in contact with the table4 ,then light raps are heard in the table4 ,eusapia makes ,m4 ,antoniadi lift his hand about eight inches above the table and taps three times upon his hand with her fingers4 ,the three taps are heard simultaneously in the table4 ,to prove that she is not using either her hands or her feet1 she sits down sidewise upon her chair on the left1 stretches out her legs1 and puts her feet on the edge of the chair of ,m4 ,antoniadi3 she is in full view and her hands are held4 ,at once the curtain is shaken in the direction of ,m4 ,a4 ,from #aj4aj to #aj4ae1 several times in succession1 five raps are heard in the table4 ,each time the gas is turned down a little1 and each time the table moves without contact4 ,at #aj4bj it balances itself1 suspended in the air1 and resting upon the two legs of the longer side4 ,then it rises off of its four feet to a height of eight inches4 #aj4be4 ,the curtain moves1 and ,m4 ,flammarion says that there is some one behind it1 that somebody is pressing his hand4 ,he holds his hand out toward the curtain1 at a distance of about four inches4 ,the curtain is pushed out into something like a pocket made by a hand which is drawing near4 ,the medium with nervous laugh cries1 ,take it1 take it4 ,m4 ,a4 feels through the curtain the touch of a soft body1 like a cushion4 ,but the hand of ,m4 ,f4 is not taken4 ,objects are heard to move1 including the bells of a tambourine4 ,all of a sudden the medium1 leaving ,m4 ,mathieu1 stretches her hand above the table toward ,m4 ,jules ,bois1 who takes it4 ,at this moment1 behind the curtain1 an object falls to the floor with a great noise4 #aj4ce4 ,eusapia1 again freeing her right hand1 lifts it up above her left shoulder1 the fingers forward1 at a distance of several inches from the curtain1 and beats four or five strokes in the air which are heard to sound in the tambourine4 ,several persons think they see a will-o'-the-wisp through the gap between the curtains4 ,up to that point the gas has been gradually lowered4 ,after the lapse of a full moment ,i find that ,i can no longer read1 but ,i can distinguish very clearly the horizontal lines of my writing4 ,i can see the hour perfectly by my watch1 as well as the faces of those present1 7that of ,eusapia especially7 turned toward the light4 ,the gas is now completely extinguished4 ,at #aj4dj1 the gas being out1 ,i can still read my watch1 but with difficulty2 ,i still see the lines of my writing1 though without being able to read4 ,eusapia wants somebody to hold her head1 which is done4 ,then she asks somebody to hold her feet4 ,m4 ,baschet gets down on his knees under the table and holds them4 ,m4 ,antoniadi cries1 ,i am touched6 and says that he has felt a hand4 ,i have very distinctly seen the curtain puffing out4 ,mme4 ,flammarion1 whom ,i see silhouetted on the bright glass of the window1 her head leaning forward1 goes behind the curtain in order to assure herself that the medium is not doing anything suspicious in the way of motions4 ,one of the persons present having changed places1 ,eusapia utters complaints3 ,la catena6 la catena6 7,the chain6 the chain67 ,the chain is re-established4 ,at #aj4de the curtain is inflated again4 ,a bump is heard4 ,the round table touches the elbow of ,m4 ,antoniadi4 ,mme4 ,flammarion1 who has kept looking behind the curtain1 says that she sees the round table turned over4 ,its feet are in the air1 and it is moving to and fro4 ,she thinks she sees glimmers of light near the floor4 ,m4 ,mathieu feels a hand and an arm pushing the curtain against him4 ,m4 ,antoniadi says that he is touched by a cushion2 his chair is pulled and turns under him as if on a pivot4 ,he is touched again on the elbow by some object4 ,it is ascertained that ,m4 ,jules ,bois is holding ,eusapia's right hand above the table2 ,m4 ,antoniadi assures us that he is holding her left hand1 and ,m4 ,mathieu her feet4 ,the curtain is again shaken twice2 ,m4 ,antoniadi is hit in the back very hard1 he says1 and a hand pulls his hair4 ,the only light remaining is the little lamp with a shade1 behind an easy-chair at the farther end of the salon4 ,i continue to write1 but my strokes take all kinds of shapes4 ,suddenly1 ,m4 ,antoniadi exclaims that he is enveloped by the curtain1 which rests upon his shoulders4 ,eusapia cries1 ,what is this that is passing over me8 ,the round table comes forth beneath the curtain4 ,mme4 ,flammarion1 who is standing opposite the window1 and has kept looking behind the curtain1 says that she sees some very white object4 ,at the same moment ,m4 ,flammarion1 ,mme4 ,fourton1 and ,m4 ,jules ,bois exclaim that they have just seen a white hand between the curtains1 above ,eusapia's head2 and1 at the same moment1 ,m4 ,mathieu says that his hair is being pulled4 ,the hand we saw seemed small1 like that of a woman or of a child4 ,if there is a hand there1 says ,m4 ,flammarion1 could it perhaps grasp an object8 ,m4 ,jules ,bois holds a book out toward the middle of the right-hand curtain4 ,the book is taken and held two seconds4 ,mme4 ,flammarion1 whom ,i see always silhouetted upon the bright glass of the window1 and who is looking behind the curtain1 cries that she has seen the book pass through4 ,m4 ,f4 proposes to light up and verify4 ,but everybody agrees in thinking that the curtain may have already changed its position4 ,a moment afterwards the curtain is again puffed out1 and ,m4 ,antoniadi says that he is hit four or five times on the shoulder4 ,eusapia has asked him more than ten times whether he is quite seguro 7sure7 that he has hold of her hand and her foot4 ,yes1 yes1 he replies1 seguro1 segurissimo 7sure1 quite sure74 ,mme4 ,fourton says that for the second time she has seen a hand stretched out and that this time it touched the shoulder of ,m4 ,antoniadi4 ,m4 ,jules ,bois says that for the second time he has seen a hand stretched out at the end of a small arm1 the fingers moving1 the palm forward4 7,it is impossible to decide whether these two visions were simultaneous or not47 ,we are getting accustomed to the almost complete darkness2 ,i can still read #aa4ae by my watch4 ,m4 ,antoniadi says his ear is pinched very hard4 ,m4 ,mathieu says he is touched4 ,m4 ,antoniadi feels his chair pulled3 it falls to the floor4 ,he lifts it again and seats himself on it1 and is again hit very hard on the shoulder4 ,about #aa4bj1 at the request of ,eusapia1 ,m4 ,flammarion replaces ,m4 ,mathieu4 ,he holds her two feet and one hand2 ,m4 ,antoniadi holds the other hand4 ,the lamp is lowered still more4 ,the darkness is almost complete4 ,m4 ,flammarion1 having remarked that an unknown physical force is evidently present1 but perhaps not an individual personality1 feels his hand seized all of a sudden by some one 7or some thing71 and is interrupted4 ,then1 a little after1 he complains that his beard is being pulled 7on the side opposite the medium1 where ,i am4 ,i did not perceive anything74 ,at #aa4cj the lamp is turned up4 ,it is comparatively bright in the room4 ,the curtain1 after all these movements1 is seen to be more and more pushed aside1 enveloping the head of ,eusapia4 ,suddenly1 above her head1 we all see the tambourine slowly appear and fall upon the table with a noise like that of sheep-bells4 ,it seems to me brighter than the feeble glimmer of the concealed lamp would justify and as if accompanied by white phosphorescent gleams2 but they are perhaps flashes of light from its gilded ornaments1 which1 however1 ought to appear yellower4 ,when the lamp is turned down1 the noise of moving furniture is heard2 the round table is fetched clear up onto the top of the large table4 ,it is removed1 and the tambourine executes a dance all alone with a peculiar sound like the ringing of bells4 ,mme4 ,fourton says that she has had her hand pressed and her fore-arm pinched4 ,at #aa4de the window curtain is closed in its turn2 and1 after a moment1 we all see in the direction in which the cleft in the corner curtain ought to be1 above ,eusapia's head1 a large white star of the color of ,vega1 though larger and of a softer light1 and which rests motionless for some seconds1 then is extinguished4 ,shortly after1 a zigzag glimmer of light1 of the same white color1 runs over the right-hand curtain1 tracing two or three upright lines of several inches in length1 like an ,n very much elongated4 ,in spite of the fact that night has fallen1 there is still sufficient light entering by the two uncurtained windows1 and proceeding from the vague glimmer of the lamp behind the easy-chair1 to enable each one of us to distinguish his neighbors4 ,our silhouettes are outlined in the large mirror near us and above the sofa4 ,the white collars of the men are clearly seen1 their faces a little less clearly4 ,yet on my left ,i see very plainly ,m4 ,baschet1 on my right ,mme4 ,brisson1 standing and holding her hand up to her face to shield the eyes4 ,i also distinguish ,mme4 ,flammarion1 who has come and seated herself near her4 ,m4 ,flammarion feels an object gliding over his hair4 ,he begs ,mme4 de ,labadye to take hold of it2 and a music-box falls into his hands1 which1 before the seance1 was placed upon the ogee1 in the corner concealed by the curtain4 ,m4 ,brisson has taken the place at the table formerly occupied by ,m4 ,flammarion1 facing ,eusapia4 ,a cushion hits him full in the face4 ,as ,i am approaching the mirror1 ,i see the reflection of this passing cushion by the comparatively bright light at the far end of the room4 ,m4 ,baschet seizes the object and rests his elbow upon it4 ,it is snatched from him1 flies over our heads1 hits the mirror1 falls upon the sofa1 and rolls upon my foot4 ,all this without my being able to perceive any movement on the part of the medium4 ,midnight draws near4 ,the seance is adjourned4 ,,mm4 ,antoniadi and ,mathieu then declare that the control with which they were charged has not been successful1 and that they are not sure that they have always had hold of the medium's hands4 ,report of ,m4 ,antoniadi 7,the ,same ,seance7 ,i shall give you an exact account of the role ,i played1 that ,i may gratify your desire to know the truth4 ,i restricted myself to ascertaining whether there was a single phenomenon which could not be explained in the most simple manner1 and ,i arrived at the conclusion that there was not4 ,i assure you1 on my word of honor1 that my watchful1 silent attitude convinced me1 beyond all manner of doubt1 that everything is fraudulent1 from the beginning to the end2 that there is no doubt that ,eusapia shifts her hands or her feet1 and that the hand or the foot that one is thought to control is never held tight or very strongly pressed at the moment of the production of the phenomena4 ,my certain conclusion is that nothing is produced without the substitution of hands4 ,i ought to add that1 at first1 ,i was very much astonished when ,i was hit hard in the back1 from behind the curtain1 while ,i was very clearly holding two hands with my right hand4 ,happily1 however1 at this moment1 ,mme4 ,flammarion having given us a little light1 ,i saw that ,i held the right hand of ,eusapia and--yours6 ,the substitution is made by ,eusapia with extraordinary dexterity4 ,in order to ascertain it1 ,i was obliged to concentrate my mind upon her very slightest movements with the severest attention4 ,but it is the first step that costs2 and1 once familiarized with her artifices1 ,i predicted with decision all the phenomena by the sensation of touch alone4 ,being a good observer1 ,i am absolutely certain that ,i was not deceived4 ,i was neither hypnotized1 nor was ,i at all frightened during the bringing in of objects4 ,and1 as ,i am not a lunatic1 ,i believe that a certain weight should be given to my affirmations4 ,it is true that1 during the seance1 ,i was not sincere1 disguising the truth of the efficacy of my control4 ,i did that with the sole purpose of making ,eusapia think that ,i was a convert to ,spiritualism4 ,i did this to avoid scandal4 ,but1 once the sitting was over1 the ,truth choked me1 and ,i was most eager to communicate it to my great benefactor and official superior4 ,it is not prudent to be too affirmative4 ,it is for that reason that ,i have always been reserved in my interpretation of natural phenomena4 ,consequently1 ,i am unable to be so terribly affirmative as to take oath to the absolute charlatanism of the manifestations of ,eusapia1 before1 as ,shakespeare says1 ,i have rendered assurance doubly sure4 ,i have no personal ambition in the spiritistic line1 and all the careful observations that ,i made during this seance of ,november #ba are only one stone the more contributed to the edifice of ,truth4 ,it is not on account of prejudice that ,i do not believe in the reality of the manifestations1 and ,i can assure you1 if ,i were able to see the least phenomenon that was really extraordinary or inexplicable1 ,i should be the first to confess my error4 ,the reading of several books has led me to admit the possible reality of these manifestations1 but direct experience has convinced me of the contrary4 ,my frankness in this report unhappily borders upon indiscretion4 ,but frankness is here synonymous with devotion1 for it would be to betray you if ,i were false for an instant to the sacred cause of ,truth4 ,report of ,m4 ,mathieu4 7,seance of ,november #be7 ,the seance opens at #i4cj4 ,m4 ,brisson1 controller on the left1 puts his feet on ,eusapia's feet2 ,m4 ,flammarion1 controller on the right1 holds her knees4 ,in a moment the table leans to the right1 its two left feet are lifted and then it falls back2 then follows the lifting of the two right feet1 and finally the lifting of the whole table off of its four feet to a height of about seven inches above the floor 7contact of feet certain and knees motionless74 ,i take a photograph4 ,at #i4cg a slight lifting on the left2 then a lifting on the right1 and a total levitation 7photograph74 ,during the levitations of the table the salon is lighted by a strong ,auer burner4 ,it is now extinguished and is replaced by a little lamp which is placed behind a fire-screen at the farther end of the room4 ,absolute control of the hands and of the feet made by ,,mm4 ,brisson and ,flammarion4 ,m4 ,brisson is slightly touched on the right hip1 and at this moment the two hands of ,eusapia are plainly seen4 ,at #i4dh the curtain shakes and then puffs out three times in succession4 ,m4 ,brisson is again touched on the right hip2 the curtain is drawn back as if by a curtain-band4 ,m4 ,flammarion1 who holds ,eusapia's hand1 makes three gestures and to each of his gestures corresponds a new divergence of the portiere4 ,eusapia recommends that we give attention to the temperature of the medium2 it will be found to be changed after each phenomenon4 ,at #i4eg the light is diminished and is henceforth very feeble4 ,the curtain bellies out1 and at the same moment ,m4 ,brisson is touched2 then the curtain is flung forcefully over the table4 ,at the request of ,eusapia1 ,m4 ,delanne lightly touches her head behind1 and the curtain slightly trembles4 ,eusapia asks that a window be partly opened1 the one in the middle of the salon1 saying that we shall see something new4 ,m4 ,flammarion holds with his left hand the knees of the medium1 and with his right hand holds the wrist1 the thumb1 and the palm of her right hand before him at the height of the eyes4 ,m4 ,brisson holds the left hand4 ,eusapia seems to call something from the direction of the window1 making gestures1 and saying1 ,i will catch it4 ,then a little branch of privet comes and touches ,m4 ,flammarion's hand1 apparently arriving from somewhere near the window4 ,m4 ,f4 takes this branch4 ,a moment later two spindle-tree branches come from behind the curtain at the height of ,m4 ,brisson's head and past the edge of the curtain1 which is pulled up and back4 ,the branches fall on the table4 ,m4 ,brisson1 all this time at ,eusapia's left1 is next touched on the hip1 at a moment when the hand of the medium is at the height of ,m4 ,flammarion's beard4 ,then the chair of ,m4 ,brisson is pulled and pushed about4 ,we hear distinctly1 behind the curtain1 sounds from the shaking of the round table1 upon which is the tambourine4 ,certain vibrations of the tambourine are produced1 corresponding to the movements of the round table4 ,at this moment ,m4 ,brisson mentions the fact that he has been out of touch with the foot of the medium for about half a second1 but he is then holding her two thumbs about ten inches apart1 and ,m4 ,flammarion has her right hand close to his breast4 ,the right hand of ,m4 ,brisson1 holding the left of ,eusapia1 passes behind the curtain1 and ,m4 ,brisson says that he has the impression of something like a dress-skirt puffed out against his ankle4 ,thereupon ensues new jolting and bumping of the round table and the tambourine1 with displacement of the round table4 7,undoubted control by ,,mm4 ,flammarion and ,brisson47 #aj4cj4 ,clattering noises of the round table in the cabinet are heard4 ,m4 ,flammarion makes gestures with his hand1 and synchronistic movements of the table and of the tambourine take place in the dark cabinet4 #aj4ce4 ,eusapia asks for a few minutes' rest4 ,the sitting is resumed at #aj4dc4 ,the violin and the bell are hurled with force through the cleft in the curtain 7,m4 ,brisson gives assurance that he holds ,eusapia's left hand by the thumb1 upon her knees1 and ,m4 ,flammarion the entire right hand74 ,at this moment a photograph is taken by flash-light4 ,cries and groans from ,eusapia1 blinded by the light4 ,the sitting begins again some minutes afterward1 and ,m4 ,jules ,claretie1 sitting at the left of ,m4 ,brisson1 has his fingers twice touched by a hand4 ,m4 ,baschet1 who is standing away from the table1 holds out a violin to the curtain3 the violin is seized and thrown into the cabinet4 ,he holds a book out to the curtain3 this book is seized1 but falls to the floor1 before the curtain4 ,m4 ,claretie presents a cigarette-holder and feels a hand which tries to seize it1 but he resists and will not let it go4 ,m4 ,flammarion asks him to let go of the object3 the hand bears off the prize4 ,a moment after1 this object is thrown from the cleft between the two curtains against ,mme4 de ,basilewska at the other end of the table4 ,it had been both presented and removed at the middle of the curtain4 ,at eleven o'clock ,eusapia begs for a little more light4 ,m4 ,claretie has become controller of the left in place of ,m4 ,brisson4 ,he is touched on the left side4 ,then the round table is overturned while advancing toward the main table4 ,m4 ,claretie perceives that his chair is moving backwards1 as if pulled back2 then he is hit on the shoulder and experiences a strong pressure under the arm-pit4 ,the curtain suddenly approaches ,m4 ,claretie1 brushes against him1 and envelops both himself and the medium4 ,m4 ,claretie is then pinched in the cheek4 ,m4 ,flammarion presents to the curtain the hand of ,mme4 ,fourton1 and the two hands are pinched through the curtain4 ,the music-box1 which is in the dark cabinet1 falls on the table2 ,mmes4 ,gagneur and ,flammarion at the same moment make mention of a hand4 ,m4 ,baschet presents the music-box to the curtain2 a hand seizes it through the curtain1 he resists1 the hand pushes him away2 he presents it again1 the hand seizes it and throws it back1 and the box thus thrown wounds ,m4 ,claretie1 who is struck beneath the left eye4 ,the tambourine is thrown forward upon the table after having remained suspended a moment above the head of the medium4 ,at #aa4ae a complete levitation of the table for seven or eight seconds4 ,absolute control by ,,mm4 ,flammarion and ,claretie4 ,m4 ,flammarion has his knee pinched by a hand4 ,next the round table is transferred to the knees of ,m4 ,claretie and is forced upon him in spite of all his resistance4 ,levitations of the table take place in full light4 ,verification of the feet4 ,the feet of one of the controllers are beneath1 those of the other above1 and those of the medium between the two4 ,report of ,m4 ,pallotti 7,seance of ,november #ad7 7,there are present at this seance1 besides the hosts of the evening3 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,brisson1 ,m4 and ,mme4 ,pallotti1 ,m4 le ,bocain1 ,m4 ,boutigny1 ,mme4 ,fourton47 ,at the commencement of the sitting several levitations of the table took place1 and1 when ,i asked the spirit who was present if he could let me see my daughter ,rosalie1 ,i obtained an affirmative reply4 ,i then made an agreement with the said spirit that a series of eight regular raps would indicate to me the moment when my dear daughter would be present4 ,after some minutes of waiting1 the number of raps agreed on was heard in the table4 ,these raps were vigorous and made at fixed intervals4 ,i found1 at this time1 that ,i was placed opposite to the medium1--that is to say1 facing her1--at the other end of the table4 ,when ,i asked the spirit to embrace me and caress me1 ,i immediately felt an icy breath before my face1 but yet without experiencing the least sensation of contact4 ,when the medium announced the materialization of the spirit in these words1 ,e venuta1 e venuta 7,she is here1 she is here71 ,i distinguished over the middle of the table a spectral form1 dim and confused1 but which1 little by little1 grew brighter1 and took the shape of the head of a young girl of the same stature as ,rosalie4 ,when objects1 such as the music-box1 violin1 or the like1 were unexpectedly brought before us1 ,i saw very plainly the shape of a little hand emerging from the curtain that hung close by me1 and which placed these different objects upon the table4 ,i ought to declare that1 during these inexplicable phenomena1 the chain was not broken for a single moment3 it would consequently have been materially impossible for one of us to have made use of his hands4 ,i will now describe the last phenomena in which ,i was for a little while both actor and spectator4 ,these events closed the seance4 ,one of the company1 ,m4 ,boutigny1 who was affianced to my daughter1 having left the table to give his place to one of the spectators1 ,i saw him approach the curtain of which ,i have spoken1 which at once gaped open by his side4 ,i ascertained this fact very precisely4 ,m4 ,boutigny then announced to us aloud that he was being very affectionately caressed4 ,the medium1 who was at this moment in an extraordinary state of agitation1 kept saying1 ,amore mio1 amore mio6 7,my love1 my love671 and1 addressing herself to me1 called to me several times in the following words1 ,adesso vieni tu6 vieni tu6 7,come at once1 come67 ,i hastened to take the place which ,m4 ,boutigny occupied near the curtain1 and ,i was scarcely there when ,i felt myself kissed several times4 ,i was able for an instant to touch the head which was kissing me1 which1 however1 drew back from the contact of my hands4 ,i ought to say that1 while these events were taking place1 my eyes were carefully observing the medium as well as the persons who were by my side4 ,i can therefore1 boldly certify that ,i was not the victim of any illusion or subterfuge1 and that the head which ,i touched was the head of a real and unknown person4 ,i felt myself afterwards gently stroked several times1 upon the face and head1 the neck and the breast1 by a hand which came out from behind the curtain4 ,at last ,i saw the portiere move aside and a little hand1 very moist1 very soft1 stretched out and placed on my right hand4 ,quick as thought1 ,i reached my left hand to this place to seize it2 but1 after having held it closely pressed in mine for several seconds1 it seemed to melt away between my fingers4 ,before closing1 let me say1 by way of additional authentication1 that ,m4 ,flammarion had the extreme kindness to have this seance given for my family and myself1 and it therefore took on a very markedly private character4 ,the seance having lasted from #i4bj to #aa4de ,p4,m41 we several times asked the medium if she felt fatigued4 ,eusapia said no4 ,it was only when the last experiment took place1 when we 7myself and my family7 had been caressed and embraced1 that the medium1 feeling tired1 decided to end the sitting4 ,my wife is convinced1 as ,i am1 that she embraced her daughter1 recognizing her hair and the general appearance of her person4 ,report of ,m4 ,le ,bocain 7,the ,same ,seance7 ,the following are some extraordinary phenomena which ,i observed during the course of this seance and of which ,i believe ,i can give a report as exact as it is impartial1 having personally taken the most minute precautions to assure myself of the perfect fairness of the conditions under which these different wonders were produced4 ,i only speak1 be it understood1 of circumstances or actions with which ,i myself was associated both as actor and as spectator4 #a4 ,at the opening of the sitting and during the time that the table was engaged in all sorts of noisy pranks1 ,i clearly felt the pressure of a hand clasping me in a friendly way upon the right shoulder4 ,in order to make the matters clear1 ,i ought to depose that-- a7 ,i sat at the left of the medium and held her hand2 that1 furthermore1 during the whole sitting her foot was placed on mine4 b7 ,that1 with ,eusapia's hand always tightly pressed in mine1 ,i proved1 by suddenly placing it upon her knees1 at the very moment that the table was rising from beside us1 that her lower limbs were in a normal position and absolutely motionless4 c7 ,for these different reasons1 it seems to me1 in fact1 impossible that ,eusapia could have made any use whatever of these two limbs 7which happened to be placed by me7 to execute a movement1 even unconscious1 that could give rise to the least suspicion4 #b4 ,at a certain point in the proceedings ,i felt on my right cheek the sensation of a fondling caress4 ,i felt very distinctly that it was a real hand which was touching my skin1 and nothing else4 ,the hand in question seemed to me of small size1 and the skin was soft and moist4 #c4 ,towards the end of the seance ,i felt upon my back a gust of cold air1 and at the same time ,i heard the curtain behind me slowly open4 ,then1 when ,i turned around1 very much puzzled1 ,i perceived standing at the lower end of this kind of alcove a form1--indistinct1 it is true1 but not so much so that ,i could not recognize the silhouette of a young girl whose figure was slightly beneath the average4 ,i ought to say here that my sister ,rosalie was also of short stature4 ,the head of this apparition was not very distinct4 ,it seemed surrounded by a short of shaded aureole4 ,the whole form of the statue1 if ,i may so express myself1 stood out very little from the dim obscurity from which it had emerged2 that is to say1 it was not very luminous4 #d4 ,i addressed myself to the spirit in ,arabic1 in very nearly the following terms3 ,if it is really thou1 ,rosalie1 who art in the midst of us1 pull the hair on the back of my head three times in succession4 ,about ten minutes later1 and when ,i had almost completely forgotten my request1 ,i felt my hair pulled three separate times1 just as ,i had desired4 ,i certify this fact1 which1 besides1 formed for me a most convincing truth of the presence of a familiar spirit close about us4 ,,le ,,bocain1 ,illustrator1 ,rire1 ,pele-,mele1 ,chronique ,amusante1 etc4 ,i have restricted myself to presenting here these different reports1#bh in spite of certain contradictions1 and even because of them4 ,the reports mutually supplement each other and form a complete whole1 through the entire independence of each observer4 ,you see how complex the subject is1 and how difficult it is to form a radical conviction1 an absolute scientific judgment4 ,some phenomena are incontestably true3 there are others which are doubtful and which we may attribute to fraud1 conscious or unconscious1 and sometimes also to illusions of the observers4 ,the levitation of the table1 for example1 its complete detachment from the floor under the action of an unknown force acting in opposition to the law of gravity1 is a fact which cannot reasonably be contested4 ,i may remark1 in this connection1 that the table almost always rises hesitatingly1 after balancings and oscillations1 while1 on the contrary1 when it falls back it goes straight down at one swoop1 alighting squarely on its four feet4#bi ,on the other hand1 since the medium constantly seeks to release one hand 7generally her left hand7 from the control designed to hinder her from doing so1 a certain number of the touches felt and of the displacements of objects may be due to a substitution of hands4 ,this behavior of hers will be the subject of a special examination in the following chapter4 ,but it would be impossible by the whole force of the hand to produce the violent movement of the curtain1 which seems to be inflated by a tempestuous wind1 and projected to the very centre of the table1 forming a great hood around the heads of the sitters4 ,to fling out the curtain with such force1 it would be necessary for the medium to rise and push on it as hard as she could with her extended arms--not once merely1 but again and again4 ,but how can she do this when she is all the while seated tranquilly in her chair8 ,these experiments place us in a special environment or atmosphere1 on the different physical and psychical characters of which it is difficult to form an opinion4 ,at the time of the last seance1 during which ,m4 and ,mme4 ,pallotti are sure of having seen1 touched1 and embraced their daughter1 ,i saw nothing1 at that moment1 of this spectral form1 although it was only a few yards from me1 and although ,i had perceived1 some moments before1 the head of a young girl4 ,it is true that1 out of respect for their emotion1 ,i did not approach their group4 ,but ,i kept careful watch1 and ,i perceived no one but the living4 ,at the seance of ,november #aj the noise of a sonorous object notified us of a displacement1 a movement4 ,we seem to hear the violin strings lightly touched4 ,it is1 in fact1 the little violin on the round table1 which is lifted to a height somewhat above that of the head of the medium1 passes into the opening between the two curtains1 and appears before us with the neck forward4 ,the idea comes into my head to grasp this instrument during its slow passage through the air2 but ,i hesitate1 because ,i wish to see what will become of it4 ,it comes as far as the middle of the table1 descends1 then falls1 partly upon the table1 partly upon the left hand of ,m4 ,brisson and the right hand of ,mme4 ,fourton4 ,that was one of the most accurate observations that ,i made at this seance4 ,i did not let go of ,eusapia's right hand for a single instant1 and ,m4 ,brisson did not for a moment let go of her left hand4 ,but in the face of phenomena so incomprehensible we always revert to scepticism4 ,in the seance of ,november #ai we had thoroughly resolved this time not to leave any loophole for doubt as to the hands1 to hinder every attempt at substitution1 and to have the most complete control of each hand1 without having our attention withdrawn from this object for a single moment4 ,eusapia has only two hands4 ,she belongs to the same zoological species that we do1 and is neither trimanous nor quadrumanous4 ,it was enough1 then1 that there were two of us2 that each one took a hand of the medium and kept hold of it between the thumb and the forefinger1 that no possible doubt might arise1 drew in the elbows1 and held the said hand as far removed as possible from the axis of the medium's body and pressed against our own person1 so as to remove the objection about the substitution of hands4 ,that was the essential object of this seance1 as far as concerned ,m4 ,brisson and me4 ,he had charge of the left hand4 ,i had charge of the right4 ,i need not add that ,i am as sure of the loyalty of ,m4 ,brisson as he is sure of mine1 and that1 forewarned as we were1 and holding this seance for the express purpose of this control1 we could neither of us be the dupes of any attempt at fraud1 so far as regards that occasion1 at least4 ,the famous medium1 ,home1 had several times spoken to me of a curious experiment that he and ,crookes made with an accordion held in one of his hands and playing all by itself1 without the lower end being held by another hand4 ,crookes has represented this experiment by a sketch in his memoir upon this subject4 ,the medium is seen holding the accordion with one hand in a kind of open-work cage1 and the accordion is playing by itself4 ,i shall give the details of this matter farther on4 ,i tried the experiment in another way1 by holding the accordion myself1 and not letting it be touched by the medium4 ,the feats which we had just witnessed1 and which were performed while ,eusapia had her hands securely held1 gave me the hope of succeeding1 so much the more because we believed that we had seen fluid hands in action4 ,i1 therefore1 take a little new accordion1 bought that evening in a bazaar1 and1 approaching the table and remaining in a standing position1 ,i hold the accordion by one side1 resting two fingers upon two keys1 in such a way as to permit the air to pass in case the instrument should begin to play4 ,so held1 it is vertically suspended by the stretching out of my right hand to the height of my head1 and above the head of the medium4 ,we make sure that her hands are all the time tightly held and that the chain is unbroken4 ,after a short wait of five or six seconds ,i feel the accordion drawn by its free end1 and the bellows is immediately pushed in several times successively2 and at the same time the music is heard4 ,there is not the least doubt that a hand1 a pair of pincers1 or what-not1 has hold of the lower end of the instrument4 ,i perceive very well the resistance of this prehensible organ4 ,all possibility of fraud is eliminated2 for the instrument is well above ,eusapia's head1 her hands are firmly held1 and ,i distinctly see the distention of the curtain as far as the instrument4 ,the accordion continues to make itself heard1 and is pulled on so strongly that ,i say to the invisible power1 ,well1 since you have such a good hold on it1 keep it6 ,i withdraw my hand1 and the instrument remains as if glued to the curtain4 ,it is no longer heard4 ,what has become of it8 ,i propose to light a candle to hunt for it4 ,but the general opinion is that1 since things are going so well1 it is better to make no changes in the environment4 ,while we are talking1 the accordion begins to play1--a slight and rather insignificant air4 ,in order to do that1 it must be held by two hands4 ,at the end of fifteen or twenty seconds it is brought to the middle of the table 7playing all the while74 ,the certainty that hands are playing it is so complete that ,i say to the ,unknown1 ,since you hold the accordion so well1 you can doubtless take my hand itself4 ,i reach out my arm at the height of my head1 rather a little higher4 ,the curtain inflates1 and through the curtain ,i feel a hand 7a pretty strong left hand72 that is to say1 three fingers and the thumb1 and these grasp the end of my right hand4 ,let us suppose for an instant that the accordion could have been pulled by one of ,eusapia's hands1 which she had released1 lifted up1 and screened behind the curtain4 ,it is a very natural hypothesis4 ,let us say that the two controllers on the right and on the left respectively were cheated by the dexterity of the medium4 ,that is not impossible4 ,but1 then1 that the instrument might play1 our heroine would have had to release her two hands and leave the two controllers at loggerheads with their own hands4 ,it is something not to be thought of4 ,apropos of the existence of a third hand1 a fluid hand1 created on the spur of the moment1 with muscles and bones 7an hypothesis so bold that one hardly dares to express it71 ,i relate here what we observed during the sitting of ,november #ai4 ,m4 ,guillaume de ,fontenay1 with whom the experiments at ,montfort-l',amaury were made1 in #ahig1 at the home of the ,blech family1 had come on purpose from the centre of ,france1 with a great profusion of apparatus and of new processes1 to try to get some photographs4 ,the medium appeared to be enchanted with them1 and toward the middle of the soiree said to us1 ,you are going to have1 this evening1 something that you did not expect1 something which has never been accomplished by any other medium1 and which can be photographed as an unimpeachable record4 ,she then explains to us that ,i am to lift my hand up1 while firmly holding hers by the wrist2 that ,m4 ,sardou1 while holding her left hand1 will keep watch over it above the table1 and that then her third hand will appear in the photograph1 her fluidic hand1 holding the violin near her head1 at some distance from her right hand1 behind her1 and against the curtain4 ,we wait pretty long before anything happens4 ,at length1 the medium trembles1 sighs1 recommends that we breathe deeply and thus aid her1 and we feel1 rather than see1 the moving of the violin through the air1 with a slight vibrating noise of the strings4 ,eusapia cries1 ,it is time1 take the photograph1 quick1 don't wait1 fire6 ,but the apparatus does not work3 the magnesium won't kindle4 ,the medium grows impatient1 still holds out1 but cries that she cannot hold out much longer4 ,we all vehemently clamor for the photograph4 ,nothing moves4 ,in the darkness1 which is needed in order that the plate in the camera shall not have to be veiled1 ,m4 de ,fontenay does not succeed in lighting the magnesium1 and the violin is heard to fall to the floor4 ,the medium seems exhausted1 groans1 laments1 and we all regret this check to the proceedings2 but ,eusapia declares that she can begin again1 and asks us to get ready4 ,in fact1 at the end of five or six minutes the same phenomena are produced4 ,m4 de ,fontenay explodes a chlorate of potassium pistol4 ,the light is instantaneous1 but feeble4 ,it enables us to see ,eusapia's left hand being held upon the table by ,m4 ,sardou's right hand1 her right hand held in the air by my left hand1 and at a distance of about twelve inches in the rear1 at the height of one's head1 the violin1 resting vertically against the curtain4 ,but the photograph gives no picture4 ,eusapia now asks for a little light 7poco di luce74 ,the small hand-lamp is lighted again1 and the illumination is sufficient for us to see each other distinctly1 including the arms1 the head of the medium1 the curtain1 etc4 ,the chain is formed again4 ,the curtain flares widely out1 and ,m4 ,sardou is several times touched by a hand which gives him a good whack on the shoulder1 making him bend his head forward toward the table4 ,in the presence of this manifestation and of these sensations we have again the impression that there has been a hand there1 a hand different from those of the medium 7which we continue carefully to hold71--and from ours1 because we are holding each other's hands in the chain4 ,moreover1 there is no one near the curtain1 which is plainly visible4 ,i thereupon remark1 ,since there is a hand there1 let it take from me this violin1 as it did day before yesterday4 ,i take the violin by the handle and hold it out to the curtain4 ,it is at once taken and lifted1 then falls to the floor4 ,i do not for a moment let go the hand of the medium4 ,yet ,i grasp this hand with my right hand1 for a moment1 in order to pick up with my left the violin that has fallen near me4 ,as ,i stoop down to the floor1 ,i feel an icy breath upon my hand1 but nothing more4 ,i take the violin and put it on the table2 then ,i take again with my left hand the hand of the medium1 and1 seizing the violin with my right1 ,i hold it out again to the curtain4 ,but ,mme4 ,brisson1 peculiarly incredulous1 asks me to let her take it herself4 ,she does so1 holds it out to the curtain1 and the instrument is snatched from her1 in spite of all the efforts that she makes to retain it4 ,everybody declares they saw very distinctly this time4 ,the hands of the medium have not been let go a single minute4 ,it seems as if this experiment1 made under these conditions1 in sufficient light1 ought to leave no doubt about the existence of a third hand of the medium which acts in obedience to her will4 ,and yet6-- ,during this same soiree of ,november #ai ,i ask that the violin1 which has fallen to the floor1 be brought again upon the table4 ,we keep holding carefully the medium's hands1 ,m4 ,sardou her left hand and ,i her right4 ,eusapia1 wishing to give still more security1 more certainty1 proposes that ,i take her two hands1 the right as ,i am holding it1 and her left wrist in my right hand1 her left hand always being held by ,m4 ,sardou1--the whole show of hands taking place on the table4 ,a noise is heard4 ,the violin is brought on1 passes above our hands1 thus criss-crossed1 and is laid down1 farther on1 in the middle of the table4 ,a candle is lighted1 and the position of our hands is ascertained4 ,they have not moved4 ,some time after this phenomena1 in the dim light1 we all saw will-o'-the-wisps shining in the cabinet4 ,they were visible through the cleft in the curtains1 which at that time was rather wide4 ,for my part1 ,i saw three of them1 the first very brilliant1 the others less intense4 ,they were not tremulous1 nor did they stir in the least1 and remained in view scarcely more than a second4 ,m4 ,antoniadi having remarked that he is not always sure of holding her left hand1 ,eusapia says to me in a flush of passion1 ,since he is not sure1 take my two hands yourself again4 ,i already hold the right1 and am absolutely certain of it4 ,i thereupon take her left wrist in my right hand1 ,m4 ,a4 declaring that he will take care of the fingers4 ,in this position1 ,eusapia's two hands being thus held above the table1 a cushion1 which is at my right upon the table1 having been forcibly thrown there some moments before1 is seized and thrown over the sofa1 brushing my forehead on the left4 ,those who sit at the table and form the chain affirm that the hands of the chain have not lost touch with each other4 ,here is another circumstance recorded in the notes of ,mme4 ,flammarion3 ,we were almost in complete darkness1--the lamp1 removed as far as possible from ,eusapia1 having only the dim glow of a night-lamp4 ,eusapia was seated at the experiment table1--between ,,mm4 ,brisson and ,pallotti1 who were holding her two hands1--and almost facing this lamp4 ,mme4 ,brisson and ,i were seated some yards distant from ,eusapia1 one of us on the side and the other in the middle of the salon1 ,eusapia facing us1 while we had our backs turned to the light4 ,this allowed us to distinguish well enough everything that passed before us4 ,up to the moment when the event that ,i am going to relate took place1 ,mme4 ,brisson had remained almost as incredulous as ,i1 apropos of the phenomena1 and she had just been expressing to me in a low tone her regret at not having yet seen anything herself1 when1 all of a sudden1 the curtain behind ,eusapia began to shake and move gracefully back1 as if lifted by an invisible curtain band1--and what do ,i see8 ,the little table on three feet1 and leaping 7apparently in high spirits7 over the floor1 at the height of about eight inches1 while the gilded tambourine is in its turn leaping gayly at the same height above the table1 and noisily tinkling its bells4 ,stupefied with wonder1 quick as ,i can ,i pull ,mme4 ,brisson to my side1 and1 pointing with my finger at what is taking place1 ,look6 said ,i4 ,and then the table and the tambourine begin their carpet-dance again in perfect unison1 one of them falling forcibly upon the floor and the other upon the table4 ,mme4 ,brisson and ,i could not help bursting out into laughter2 for1 indeed1 it was too funny6 ,a sylph could not have been more amusing4 ,eusapia had not turned around4 ,she was seen seated2 and her hands1 placed before her1 were held by the two controllers4 ,even if she had been able to free both her hands1 she would not have been able to take hold of the round table and tambourine1 except by turning around2 and the two ladies saw them leaping about all alone4 ,i observe to ,eusapia that she must be very tired1 that the seance has lasted over two hours and has yielded extraordinary results1 and that it is perhaps time to end it4 ,she replies that she desires to continue still a little longer1 and that there will be new phenomena4 ,we accept with pleasure1 and sit down and wait4 ,then she lays her head on my shoulder1 takes my entire right arm1 including the hand1 and putting my leg between hers1 and my feet between her feet1 she held me very tight4 ,then she begins to rub the carpet1 drawing my feet along with hers1 and squeezing me tighter than before4 ,then she cries1 ,spetta6 spetta6 7,look6 look672 then1 ,vieni6 vieni6 7,come6 come67 ,she invites ,m4 ,pallotti to take a place behind his wife and see what will happen4 ,i must add that both of them had been earnestly asking1 for some minutes1 if they might see and embrace their daughter1 as they had done at ,rome4 ,after a new nervous effort on the part of ,eusapia1 and a kind of convulsion accompanied by groans1 complaints1 and cries1 there was a great movement of the curtain4 ,several times ,i see the head of a young girl bowing before me1 with high-arched forehead and with long hair4 ,she bows three times1 and shows her dark profile against the window4 ,a moment after we hear sounds from ,m4 and ,mme4 ,pallotti4 ,they are covering with kisses the face of a being invisible to us1 saying to her with passionate affection1 ,rosa1 ,rosa1 my dear1 my ,rosalie1 etc4 ,they say they felt between their hands the face and the hair of their daughter4 ,my impression was that there was really there a fluidic being4 ,i did not touch it4 ,the grief of the parents1 revived and consoled at the same time1 seemed to me so worthy of respect that ,i did not approach them4 ,but1 as to the identity of the spectral being1 ,i believed it to be a sentimental illusion of theirs4 ,i come now to the strangest circumstances of all1 the most incomprehensible1 the most incredible1 of any that we experienced in our seances4 ,on ,november #ba ,m4 ,jules ,bois presents a book before the curtain at about the height of a man standing upright4 ,the salon is dimly lighted by a little lamp with a shade1 set pretty well to one side4 ,yet objects are seen with distinctness4 ,an invisible hand behind the curtain seizes the book4 ,then all the observers see it disappear as if it had passed through the curtain4 ,it is not seen to fall before the curtain4 ,it is an octavo1 rather slender1 bound in red1 which ,i have just taken from my library4 ,now ,mme4 ,flammarion1 almost as sceptical as ,m4 ,baschet about these phenomena1 had glided past the window to the rear of the curtain1 in order to observe carefully what was passing4 ,she hoped to detect a movement of the medium's arm1 and to unmask her1 in spite of the courtesy she owed her as her hostess4 ,she saw very plainly ,eusapia's head1 motionless before the mirror which reflected the light4 ,suddenly the book appears to her1 it having passed through the curtain1--upheld in the air1 without hands or arms1 for a space of one or two seconds4 ,then she sees it fall down4 ,she cries1 ,oh6 the book3 it has just passed through the curtain6 and1 pale and stupefied with wonder1 she abruptly retires among the observers4 ,the entire hither side of the curtain was plainly visible1 because the left portion of the left-hand curtain had been loosened from its rod by the weight of a person who had sat down on the sofa where the lower part of the curtain had been accidentally placed2 and because a large opening had been made fronting the mirror which filled the entire wall of the farther end of the salon1--a mirror that reflected the light of the little lamp4 ,if such an event had really taken place1 we should be forced to admit that the book went through the curtain without any opening1 for the tissue of the fabric is wholly intact2 and we cannot suppose for a single moment that it passed through at the side1 the book having been held out about the middle1--that is to say1 about twenty-four inches from each side of the curtain1 the breadth of which is four feet4 ,nevertheless1 this book was seen by ,mme4 ,flammarion1 who was looking behind the curtain2 and it disappeared from the eyes of the persons who were in front1 notably ,m4 ,baschet1 ,m4 ,brisson1 ,m4 ,j4 ,bois1 ,mme4 ,fourton and myself4 ,we were not expecting this miracle in any way2 we were stupefied by it2 we asked what had become of the book1 and it seemed as if it had fallen behind the curtain4 ,collective hallucination8 ,but we were all in cool blood1 entirely self-possessed4 ,if ,eusapia had been able to adroitly slip her hand around and seize the book through the portiere1 the bare outline of the book would not have been seen1 but a protuberance of the portiere4 ,how great a value the sight of this thing passing through a portiere would have as a scientific datum1 if one were only sure of the absolute honesty of the medium1--if1 indeed1 this medium were a man of science1 a physicist1 a chemist1 an astronomer1 whose scientific integrity would be above suspicion6 ,the mere fact of the possibility of fraud takes away ninety-nine one-hundredths of the worth of the observation1 and makes it necessary for us to see it a hundred times before being sure4 ,the conditions of certainty ought to be understood by all investigators1 and it is curious to hear intelligent persons express surprise at our doubts1 and at the strict scientific obligation we are under to lay down these conditions4 ,in order to be sure of abnormalities like these levitations1 for example1 we must make sure of them a hundred times over2 not see them once1 but a hundred times4 ,it seems to us impossible that matter could pass through matter4 ,you place for example a stone upon a napkin4 ,if one should tell you that he has found it under the napkin1 without any break in the continuity of the tissue1 you would not believe him4 ,however1 ,i take a piece of ice1 weighing say two pounds1 and place it upon a napkin2 ,i place both upon a strainer1 in the oven2 the piece of ice melts1 passes through the napkin1 and falls drop by drop into a basin4 ,i put the whole thing into a freezing machine1 the melted water congeals again2 the piece of ice weighing two pounds has passed through the napkin4 ,it is very simple1 you think4 ,yes1 it is simple because we understand it4 ,but1 of course1 this is not the same case as that of the book4 ,yet1 after all1 it is matter passing through matter1 after a transformation of its physical condition4 ,we might seek explanations1 invoke the hypotheses of the fourth dimension1 or discuss the non-,euclidian geometry4 ,it seems to me more simple1 however1 to think that1 on the one hand1 these experiments are not yet sufficient for us to make an absolute affirmation1 and that1 on the other hand1 our ignorance of everything is formidable and forbids us to deny anything4 ,the phenomena of which ,i am speaking are so extraordinary that one is led to doubt them1 even when one feels assured that he has seen them4 ,thus1 for example1 ,i noticed that ,m4 ,rene ,baschet--my learned friend1 present editor of ,illustration--affirmed before us all1 during the seance and afterward1 that he saw with his own eyes1 under the table1 a head like that of a young girl of about twelve years of age1 together with the bust4 ,this head sank down vertically while he was looking at it and disappeared4 ,he made the affirmation on the #bast1 repeated it on the #bb;d at a theatre where we met1 and on the #beth again at his home4 ,some time after1 ,m4 ,baschet was convinced that he had been deceived1 that he had been the dupe of an illusion4 ,that is also possible4 ,i was looking at the same time1 as well as other persons1 and we did not see anything4 ,it is then very human1 when we are thinking1 some days later1 of these curious things1 for us to suspect ourselves4 ,but there are prejudices less explicable4 ,thus1 for example1 at the seance of ,november #bh a distinguished engineer1 ,m4 ,l41 absolutely refused to admit the levitation of the table1 in spite of the evidence4 ,of this my readers may judge for themselves4 ,here is a note which ,i extract from my reports3 ,m4 ,l4 tells me that the medium lifts the table with her feet1 while resting her hands upon it4 ,i ask ,eusapia to draw back her feet under her chair4 ,the table is lifted4 ,after this second levitation1 ,m4 ,l4 declares that he is not satisfied 7although neither of the feet of the medium is under a foot of the table71 and that we must begin the experiment again1 without having her legs touched at any point4 ,the medium then proposes that her legs be fastened to those of ,m4 ,l4 ,a third levitation takes place1 after the left leg 7the incriminated one7 of the medium has been bound to the left leg of ,m4 ,l4 ,this gentleman then declares that the hypotheses he has made1 in order to explain the phenomenon1 are null and void1 but that there must be1 all the same1 a trick in the thing1 because he does not believe in the supernatural4 ,neither do ,i believe in the supernatural4 ,and yet there is no trick4 ,this manner of reasoning1 rather common1 does not seem to me scientific4 ,it is to claim that we know the limits of the possible and of the impossible4 ,people who deny that the earth moves reason in just this way4 ,that which is contrary to common sense is not impossible4 ,common sense is the average state of popular knowledge2 that is to say1 of general ignorance4 ,a man acquainted with the history of the sciences1 and who reasons calmly1 cannot succeed in understanding the ostracism to which certain sceptics subject unexplained phenomena4 ,it is impossible1 they think4 ,this famous common sense on which they plume themselves is nothing after all1 let me say1 but common opinion1 which accepts habitual facts without comprehending them1 and which varies from time to time4 ,what man of good sense would formerly have admitted that we should one day be able to photograph the skeleton of a living being1 or store up the voice in a phonograph1 or determine the chemical composition of an inaccessible star8 ,what was science a hundred years ago1 two hundred years1 three hundred8 ,look at astronomy five hundred years ago1 and physiology1 and medicine1 and natural philosophy1 and chemistry4 ,in five hundred years1 in a thousand years1 in two thousand years1 what will these sciences of ours be8 ,and in a hundred thousand years8 ,yes1 in a hundred thousand years1 what will human intelligence be8 ,our actual condition will be to that what the knowledge of a dog is to that of a cultivated man2 that is to say1 there is no possible comparison4 ,we smile to-day at the science of learned men of the time of ,copernicus or ,christopher ,columbus or ,ambroise ,pare1 and we forget that1 in a few centuries1 savants will estimate us in the same fashion4 ,there are properties of matter which are completely hidden from us1 and humanity is endowed with faculties still unknown to us4 ,we only advance very slowly in the knowledge of things4 ,the critics do not always give proof that they possess a very compact logical power4 ,you speak to them of facts proved by centuries of testimony4 ,they challenge the value of popular testimony1 and declare that these uncultivated folks1 these petty merchants1 these manufacturers1 these laborers1 these peasants1 are incapable of observing with any exactitude4 ,some days after1 you cite the savants1 men whose competence has been proved in the objective sciences of observation1 which attest these very facts1 and you hear the sneerers answer that those savants are competent witnesses in their special lines of study and work1 but in nothing apart from these4 ,so1 after this fashion1 all testimony is refused4 ,they declare that the thing1 being impossible1 cannot have been observed at all4 ,of course there is room for a good deal of analysis in discussing the claims of human testimony4 ,but1 if we suppress every piece of testimony1 what will there be left8--our native ignorance4 ,but1 to tell the truth1 there are some of these negative gentry who are sure of everything1 and who impose their aphorisms upon us with the authority of a czar giving out his ukase or edict4 ,from these different experiments with ,eusapia ,paladino1 including those described in the first and second chapters1 the impression is left that the phenomena observed are1 to a great extent1 real and undeniable2 that a certain number may be produced by fraud2 but that1 in fact1 the subject is very complex4 ,again1 certain movements simply belong to the material order1 while others belong at once to the physical order and the psychical order4 ,all this study is vastly more complicated than people in general have any idea of4 ,i am going to pass summarily in review other experiments made by the same medium1 and shall afterwards devote a special chapter to the examination of frauds and mystifications4 ,let us look1 first1 at other achievements of ,eusapia1 and select from them whatever they also have to impart in the way of instruction or caution4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,other ,,seances ,,with ,,eusapia ,,paladino ,the medium1 whose marvellous seance performances we have been describing has been the subject of a long series of observations by eminent and careful experimenters4 ,her endowments are indeed exceptional4 ,when you study with ,eusapia1 the comparison of her powers with those of ordinary cases makes you think of the difference between a fine electrical machine operated under good atmospheric conditions and a bad one operated on a rainy day4 ,you see more with her in one hour than in a host of faulty trials with other mediums4 ,our study of these unknown forces will progress rapidly if1 in place of limiting the results obtained to one or two groups1 such as those which precede1 we examine the totality of the observations made in the seances of this medium4 ,my readers can then compare them with the preceding ones2 they can judge1 they can make their own estimates4 ,the documents which ,i am now going to print are all borrowed from the ,annales des sciences psychiques and from the valuable collection of ,m4 ,albert de ,rochas upon ,the ,externalization of ,motivity4 ,a few words1 first1 about the debuts of ,eusapia in her mediumistic career4 ,professor ,chiaia1 of ,naples1 to whom ,i owe it that ,i was able to receive ,eusapia at my house and obtain the experiments reported above1 was the first to bring her gifts into public notice4 ,he first published on the #ith of ,august1 #ahhh1 in a journal issued at ,rome1 the following letter addressed to ,professor ,lombroso3 ,dear ,sir1--,in your article1 ,the ,influence of ,civilization upon ,genius 7which has incontestable beauties of style and of logic71 ,i noticed a very happy paragraph4 ,it seems to me to sum up the scientific movement 7starting from the time when man first invented that head-breaking thing called an alphabet7 down to our own day4 ,this paragraph reads as follows3 ,every generation is prematurely ready for discoveries which it never sees born1 since it does not perceive its own incapacity and the means it lacks for making further discoveries4 ,the repetition of any one manifestation1 by impressing itself upon our brains1 prepares our minds and renders them less and less incapable of discovering the laws to which this manifestation is amenable4 ,twenty or thirty years are enough to make the whole world admire a discovery which was treated as madness at the moment when it was made4 ,even at the present day academic bodies laugh at hypnotism and at homoeopathy4 ,who knows whether my friends and ,i1 who laugh at ,spiritualism1 are not in error1 just as hypnotized persons are8 ,thanks to the illusion which surrounds us1 we may be incapable of seeing that we deceive ourselves2 and1 like many persons of unsound mind who stubbornly oppose the truth1 we laugh at those who are not of our way of thinking4 ,struck by this keen thought1 which by chance ,i find adapted to a certain matter with which ,i have been occupied for some time1 ,i joyfully accept it1 without abatement1 without any comment which might change its sense2 and1 confining myself to the fine old rules of chivalry1 ,i make use of it as a challenge4 ,the consequences of this challenge will neither be dangerous nor bloody3 we shall fight fairly2 and1 whatever may be the results of the encounter1 whether ,i succumb or whether ,i make my opponent yield1 it will always be in a friendly way4 ,the result will tend to the improvement of one of the two adversaries and will be in every way useful to the great cause of truth4 ,there is much talk nowadays of a special malady which is found in the human organism4 ,we notice it every day2 but we are ignorant of its cause and know not what to call it4 ,the cry is raised that it be subjected to the examination of contemporary science2 but science1 in reply1 only meets the request with the mocking ironical smile of a ,pyrrhus1 for the precise reason 7as you say7 that the time is not yet ripe4 ,but the author of the paragraph ,i have quoted above1 of course did not write it merely for the pleasure of writing4 ,it seems to me1 on the contrary1 that he would not smile disdainfully if he were invited to observe a special case that is worthy to attract the attention and to seriously occupy the mind of a ,lombroso4 ,the case ,i allude to is that of an invalid woman who belongs to the humblest class of society4 ,she is nearly thirty years old and very ignorant2 her look is neither fascinating nor endowed with the power which modern criminologists call irresistible2 but1 when she wishes1 be it by day or by night1 she can divert a curious group for an hour or so with the most surprising phenomena4 ,either bound to a seat or firmly held by the hands of the curious1 she attracts to her the articles of furniture which surround her1 lifts them up1 holds them suspended in air like ,mahomet's coffin1 and makes them come down again with undulatory movements1 as if they were obeying her will4 ,she increases their weight or lessens it according to her pleasure4 ,she raps or taps upon the walls1 the ceiling1 the floor1 with fine rhythm and cadence4 ,in response to the requests of the spectators1 something like flashes of electricity shoot forth from her body1 and envelop her or enwrap the spectators of these marvellous scenes4 ,she draws upon cards that you hold out everything that you want--figures1 signatures1 numbers1 sentences--by just stretching out her hand toward the indicated place4 ,if you place in the corner of the room a vessel containing a layer of soft clay1 you find after some moments the imprint in it of a small or a large hand1 the image of a face 7front view or profile71 from which a plaster cast can be taken4 ,in this way1 portraits of a face taken at different angles have been preserved1 and those who desire so to do can thus make serious and important studies4#cj ,this woman rises in the air1 no matter what bands tie her down4 ,she seems to lie upon the empty air as on a couch1 contrary to all the laws of gravity2 she plays on musical instruments--organs1 bells1 tambourines--as if they had been touched by her hands or moved by the breath of invisible gnomes4 ,you will call that a particular case of hypnotism2 you will say that this sick woman is a fakir in petticoats1 that you would shut her up in a hospital4 ,let me beg of you1 most eminent professor1 not to shift the argument4 ,as is well known1 hypnotism only causes a momentary illusion2 after the seance1 everything takes its original form4 ,but here the case is different4 ,during the days which followed these marvellous scenes there remained traces and records worthy of consideration4 ,what do you think of that8 ,but allow me to continue4 ,this woman1 at times1 can increase her stature by more than four inches4 ,she is like an india-rubber doll1 like an automaton of a new kind2 she takes strange forms4 ,how many legs and arms has she8 ,we do not know4 ,while her limbs are being held by incredulous spectators1 we see other limbs coming into view1 without knowing where they come from4 ,her shoes are too small to fit these witch-feet of her1 and this particular circumstance gives rise to the suspicion of the intervention of mysterious power4 ,don't laugh when ,i say gives rise to the suspicion4 ,i affirm nothing2 you will have time to laugh presently4 ,when this woman is bound1 a third arm is seen to appear1 and nobody knows where it comes from4 ,then follows a long series of droll teasing tricks4 ,she abstracts bonnets1 watches1 money1 rings1 pins1 and produces them again with great adroitness and gayety2 she takes coats and waistcoats1 pulls off boots1 brushes hats and puts them back upon the heads of those to whom they belong1 curls and strokes mustaches1 and occasionally hits you with a fist1 for she also has fits of ill-temper4 ,i said a fist1 because it is always a clumsy and callous hand that strikes the blow4 ,it has been noticed that the hand of the sorceress is small4 ,she has large finger-nails2 has a moist skin1 the temperature of which varies from the natural warmth of the body to the icy chill of a corpse the touch of which makes you shiver2 she allows herself to be handled1 pinched1 observed2 and ends by rising into the air1 remaining suspended there with no visible means of support1 like one of those plump wooden hands hung out over the sidewalk as a sign at the shops of the glove merchants4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4 ,,plaster ,,casts ,,of ,,impressions ,,in ,,clay ,,produced ,,by ,,an ,,unknown ,,force4 ,i swear to you that ,i emerge with a very calm spirit from the cave of this ,circe4 ,freed from her enchantments1 ,i pass all my impressions in review1 and end in scepticism1 although the testimony of my senses assures me that ,i have not been the sport of an error or of an illusion4 ,all these extraordinary manoeuvres cannot be attributed to prestidigitation4 ,we ought to be on our guard against every kind of trickery1 and make a scrupulous investigation in order to forestall mendacity or fraud4 ,but the test sometimes fails2 the facts do not always meet the demands of the eager and restless spectators4 ,this is one more mystery to explain1 and proves that the individual herself who works these wonders is not their sole arbiter4 ,undoubtedly1 she possesses the exclusive power of producing these portentous feats2 but they cannot materialize except with the co-operation of an unknown agent1 some deus ex machina4 ,from all this two things result2 namely1 the great difficulty there is in examining the true inwardness of this stupefying piece of charlatanry1 and the necessity of making a series of experiments in order to get together enough of them to illuminate the dark intellects of the dupes and to overcome the obstinacy of the wranglers4 ,now you see my challenge4 ,if you have not written the paragraph cited above simply for the pleasure of writing it2 if you have the true love of science2 if you are without prejudices1--you1 the first alienist in ,italy1--please have the kindness to take the field1 and persuade yourself that you are going to measure swords with a worthy adversary4 ,when you can take a week's vacation1 leave your beloved studies1 and1 instead of going into the country1 show me a place where we can meet4 ,choose the time yourself4 ,you are to have a room into which you will enter alone before the experiment2 there you will arrange the furniture and other objects just as you wish2 you will lock the door with a key4 ,i believe it would be useless to present the lady to you in the costume worn in the ,garden of ,eden1 because this new ,eve is incapable of retaliating upon the serpent and of seducing you4 ,four gentlemen will be our seconds1 as is fitting in all knightly encounters2 you will choose two1 and ,i will bring the other two4 ,no easier conditions were ever drawn up by the ,knights of the ,round ,table4 ,it is evident that1 if the experiment does not succeed1 ,i shall be able to accuse only the harsh decrees of destiny2 you will consider me but as a man suffering from hallucination1 who longs to be cured of his extravagances4 ,but1 if success crowns our efforts1 your loyalty will impose upon you the duty of writing an article1 in which1 without circumlocution1 reticence1 or error1 you will attest the reality of the mysterious phenomena and promise to investigate their causes4 ,if you decline this meeting1 please explain to me your sentence1 ,the time is not yet ripe4 ,undoubtedly1 that might apply to common intellects1 but not to a ,lombroso1 to whom is addressed this advice of ,dante3 ,honor ought to close the lips of falsehood with truth4 ,yours very devotedly and respectfully1 7,,professor7 ,,chiaia4 ,m4 ,lombroso did not at once accept this eloquent and witty challenge4 ,however1 we shall presently find that learned professor himself experimenting4 ,in the mean time read what ,m4 de ,rochas tells us of ,eusapia's youth3-- ,her first mediumistic manifestations began at the age of puberty1 when she was about thirteen or fourteen years old4 ,this coincidence is found in almost all the cases in which the singular power of producing movements at a distance has been observed4 ,at this epoch of her life it was remarked that the ,spiritualistic seances to which she was invited succeeded much better when she was seated at the table4 ,but they tired and bored her1 and she refrained from taking part in them for eight or nine years4 ,it was only in her twenty-second or twenty-third year that the ,spiritualistic education of ,eusapia began4 ,it was directed by an ardent ,spiritualist1 ,m4 ,damiani4 ,it was then that the personality of ,john ,king appeared1 a spirit who took possession of her when she was in the trance state4#ca ,this ,john ,king is said to be the brother of ,crookes's ,katie ,king1 and to have been ,eusapia's father in another existence4 ,it is ,john who speaks when ,eusapia is in her trance2 when he speaks of her1 he calls her my daughter1 and gives advice about the care of her person and life4 ,m4 ,ochorowicz thinks this ,john is a personality created in the spirit of ,eusapia by the union of a certain number of impressions collected in the different psychic environments in which her life has been passed4 ,this would be almost the identical explanation for the personalities suggested by the hypnotists1 and for the variations of personality observed by ,,mm4 ,azam1 ,bourru1 and ,burot1 et al4 ,some have thought they noticed that ,eusapia prepared herself1 consciously or unconsciously1 at the seance1 by diminishing her respiration1--a very singular thing4 ,at the same time1 her pulse gradually rises from #hh to #abj pulsations a minute4 ,is this a practice analogous to that which the fakirs of ,india employ1 or a simple effect of the emotion which1 before every seance1 ,eusapia experiences8--a fact which has a strong tendency to convince the sitters1 but is never sure of the production of the phenomena4 ,eusapia is not hypnotized2 she enters of herself into the trance state when she becomes a link in the chain of hands4 ,she begins to sigh deeply1 then yawns and hiccoughs4 ,a series of varied expressions passes over her face4 ,sometimes it takes on a demoniacal look1 accompanied by a fitful laugh very much like that which ,gounod gives to ,mephistopheles in the opera of ,faust1 and which almost always precedes an important phenomenon4 ,sometimes her face flushes2 the eyes become brilliant and liquid1 and are opened wide4 ,the smile and the motions are the mark of the erotic ecstasy4 ,she says mio caro 7my dear71 leans her head upon the shoulder of her neighbor1 and courts caresses when she believes that he is sympathetic4 ,it is at this point that phenomena are produced1 the success of which causes her agreeable and even voluptuous thrills4 ,during this time her legs and her arms are in a state of marked tension1 almost rigid1 or even undergo convulsive contractions4 ,sometimes a tremor goes through her entire body4 ,to these states of nervous super-activity succeeds a period of depression characterized by an almost corpse-like paleness of the face 7which is frequently covered with perspiration7 and the almost complete inertia of her limbs4 ,if she lifts her hand1 it falls back of its own weight4 ,during the trance her eyes are turned up1 and only the white is visible4 ,her presence of mind and her general consciousness are diminished or not at all in evidence4 ,she gives no reply1 or1 if she does1 her reply is retarded by questions4 ,eusapia has no recollection of what has taken place during the seances1 except for states of mind bordering close on those of her normal state2 and1 consequently1 they only relate1 as a general thing1 to phenomena of slight intensity4 ,in order to aid in the manifestations1 she frequently asks that her force be increased by putting one more person in the chain4 ,it has frequently happened to her to address a sympathetic spectator1 to take his fingers and press them as if to draw something out of them1 then push them abruptly away1 saying that she has enough force4 ,in proportion as her trance increases1 her sensibility to light increases4 ,a sudden light causes difficulty in her breathing1 rapid beatings of the heart1 an hysterical feeling1 general irritation of the nerves1 pain in the head and eyes1 and a trembling of the whole body1 with convulsions1--except when she herself asks for light 7a thing which frequently happens to her when there are interesting verifications to be made upon the subject of displaced objects71 for then her attention is strongly called in other directions4 ,she is in constant motion during the active period of the seances4 ,these movements may be attributed to the hysterical crises which then agitate her2 but they appear to be necessary to the production of the phenomena4 ,every time that a movement is being caused at a distance1 she imitates it1 either with her hands or with her feet1 and by developing a much stronger force than would be necessary for producing the movement by contact4 ,here is what she herself says of her impressions when she wishes to produce a movement at a distance4 ,she suddenly experiences an ardent desire to produce the phenomena2 then she has a feeling of numbness and the goose-flesh sensation in her fingers2 these sensations keep increasing2 at the same time she feels in the inferior portion of the vertebral column the flowing of a current which rapidly extends into her arm as far as her elbow1 where it is gently arrested4 ,it is at this point that the phenomenon takes place4 ,during and after the levitations of the tables she has a feeling of pain in her knees2 during and after other phenomena1 in her elbows and all through her arms4 ,it was only in the end of ,february1 #ahia1 that ,professor ,lombroso1 whose curiosity had finally been strongly excited1 decided to come to ,naples to examine these curious manifestations about which everybody in ,italy was speaking4 ,the following reports by ,m4 ,ciolfi were published apropos of this visit4#cb ,first ,seance ,a large room1 selected on the first floor by these gentlemen1 had been put at our disposal4 ,m4 ,lombroso began by carefully examining the medium1 after which we took places around a gaming table4 ,mme4 ,paladino sat at one end2 at her left1 ,,mm4 ,lombroso and ,gigli2 ,i faced the medium1 between ,,mm4 ,gigli and ,vizioli2 then came ,,mm4 ,ascensi and ,tamburini1 who closed the circle1 the last named at the right of the medium and in contact with her4 ,the room was lighted by candles placed upon a table behind ,mme4 ,paladino4 ,,mm4 ,tamburini and ,lombroso each held a hand of the medium4 ,their knees touched hers1 at a certain distance from the feet of the table2 and her feet were under theirs4 ,after a rather long wait the table began to move1 slowly at first1--a matter explained by the scepticism1 not to say the positively hostile spirit1 of those who were this night in a seance circle for the first time4 ,then1 little by little1 the movements increased in intensity4 ,m4 ,lombroso proved the levitation of the table1 and estimated at twelve or fifteen pounds the resistance to the pressure which he had to make with his hands in order to overcome that levitation4 ,this phenomenon of a heavy body sustained in the air1 off its centre of gravity and resisting a pressure of twelve or fifteen pounds1 very much surprised and astonished the learned gentlemen1 who attributed it to the action of an unknown magnetic force4 ,at my request1 taps and scratchings were heard in the table4 ,this was new cause for astonishment1 and led the gentlemen to themselves call for the putting out of the candles in order to ascertain whether the intensity of the noises would be increased1 as had been stated4 ,all remained seated and in contact4 ,in a dim light which did not hinder the most careful surveillance1 violent blows were first heard at the middle point of the table4 ,then a bell placed upon a round table1 at the distance of a yard to the left of the medium 7in such a way that she was placed behind and to the right of ,m4 ,lombroso71 rose into the air1 and went tinkling over the heads of the company1 describing a circle around our table1 where it finally came to rest4 ,in the midst of the expressions of deep amazement which this unexpected phenomenon drew forth1 ,m4 ,lombroso showed a strong desire to hear and to prove it again4 ,whereupon the little bell began to sound1 and again made the tour of the table1 redoubling its strokes upon it1 to such a degree that ,m4 ,ascensi1 divided between astonishment and the fear of having his fingers broken 7the bell weighed fully ten ounces71 hastened to rise and go and seat himself on a sofa behind me4 ,i kept insisting that we had to do with an intelligent force1--a matter that he persistently denied1--and that consequently there was nothing to fear4 ,but ,m4 ,ascensi refused1 under any circumstances1 to take his place again at the table4 ,i called attention to the fact that the circle was broken1 since one of the experimenters had left1 and that1 under penalty of no longer being able to observe the phenomena in a cool judicious spirit1 it would be necessary that he should at least keep silent and motionless4 ,m4 ,ascensi was very willing to pledge himself to that4 ,the light was extinguished1 and the experiments began again4 ,while1 in response to a unanimous wish1 the little bell was beginning again its tinklings and its mysterious aerial circuits1 ,m4 ,ascensi1 taking his cue1 unknown to us1 from ,m4 ,tamburini1 went 7unperceived1 owing to the darkness71 and stood at the right of the medium1 and at once with a single scratch lighted a match1 so successfully1 as he declared1 that he could see the little bell1 while it was vibrating in the air1 suddenly fall upon a bed about six feet and a half behind ,mme4 ,paladino4 ,i will not attempt to depict for you the amazement of the learned body1 the most striking manifestation of which was a rapid exchange of questions and comments upon this strange occurrence4 ,after some remarks ,i made about the intervention of ,m4 ,ascensi1 who seemed likely to seriously trouble the psychic condition of the medium1 the darkness was turned on again1 so to speak1 in order to continue the experiments4 ,at first it was a little work-table1 small1 but heavy1 that moved about4 ,it was placed at the left of ,mme4 ,eusapia1 and it was upon it that the little bell was placed at the beginning of the seance4 ,this small piece of furniture struck against the chair on which ,m4 ,lombroso was seated1 and tried to hoist itself up on our table4 ,in the presence of this new phenomenon1 ,m4 ,vizioli gave up his place at our table to ,m4 ,ascensi and went to stand between the work-table and ,mme4 ,eusapia1 to whom he turned his back4 ,at least he said he did all this1 for we could not see him on account of the darkness4 ,he took the little table between his two hands and tried to hold it2 but1 in spite of his efforts1 it released itself and went rolling over the floor4 ,an important point to note is that1 although ,,mm4 ,lombroso and ,tamburini had not for a moment let go of the hands of ,mme4 ,paladino1 ,professor ,vizioli announced that he felt a pinch in the back4 ,general hilarity followed this declaration4 ,m4 ,lombroso stated that he had felt his chair lifted up so that he was compelled to remain standing for some time1 after which his chair had been so placed as to permit him to sit down again4 ,he also experienced twitches upon his clothes4 ,then he and ,m4 ,tamburini felt the touches of an invisible hand upon their cheeks and fingers4 ,m4 ,lombroso1 especially struck with the two facts of the work-table and the little bell1 judged them of sufficient importance for him to put off till ,tuesday his departure from ,naples1 which had been first fixed for ,monday4 ,upon his request ,i promised a new seance1 on ,monday1 at the ,hotel de ,geneve4 ,second ,seance ,at eight o'clock in the evening ,i arrived at the ,hotel de ,geneve1 accompanied by the medium1 ,eusapia ,paladino4 ,we were received under the colonnade by ,,mm4 ,lombroso1 ,tamburini1 ,ascensi1 and several other persons whom they had invited2 namely ,professors ,gigli1 ,limoncelli1 ,vizioli1 and ,bianchi 7superintendent of the insane asylum at ,sales71 ,dr4 ,penta1 and a young nephew of ,m4 ,lombroso1 who lives at ,naples4 ,after the customary introductions1 we were asked to go up to the highest story in the house1 where we were introduced into a very large room with an alcove4 ,curtains1 or portieres1 were let down across the front of the alcove4 ,behind the curtains at a distance of about three feet and a half1 measured by ,,mm4 ,lombroso and ,tamburini1 there was placed1 in this alcove1 a round table1 with a porcelain salver filled with flour1 in the hope of obtaining face-imprints in it4 ,the alcove also contained a tin trumpet1 writing-paper1 and a sealed envelope containing a sheet of white paper1 to see if we could not get direct writing on it4 ,the gentlemen inspected the alcove with extreme care1 in order to assure themselves that there was nothing there of a fixed-up1 suspicious nature4 ,mme4 ,paladino sat down at the table1 a little less than two feet from the alcove curtains1 turning her back to them4 ,then1 at her request1 she had her body and her feet tied to her chair by means of cloth bands4 ,this was effected by three members of the company1 who left only her arms free4 ,that done1 places were taken at the table in the following order3 on the left of ,mme4 ,eusapia1 ,m4 ,lombroso2 then1 in succession1 ,m4 ,vizioli1 myself1 the nephew of ,m4 ,lombroso1 ,,mm4 ,gigli1 ,limoncelli1 ,tamburini2 finally1 ,dr4 ,penta1 who completed the circle and sat at the right of the medium4 ,,mm4 ,ascensi and ,bianchi refused to form part of the circle1 and remained standing behind ,,mm4 ,tamburini and ,penta4 ,i paid little attention to these two1 being certain that their action was a premeditated combination in order to redouble the vigilance4 ,i simply recommended that1 while they were observing with extreme care1 each should remain quiet4 ,the experiments began in candlelight strong enough to light up the whole room4 ,after a long wait the table began to move1 slowly at first1 then more energetically4 ,however1 the movements remained intermittent1 labored1 and much less vigorous than at ,saturday's seance4 ,the table volunteered a request by taps of its leg designating the letters of the alphabet1 that ,,mm4 ,limoncelli and ,penta should exchange places4 ,this exchange effected1 the table called for the turning out of lights4 ,a moment after1 and with more force this time1 the movements of the table began again4 ,suddenly1 in the midst of these1 violent blows were heard4 ,the chair placed at ,m4 ,lombroso's right tried to climb up on the table1 then hung suspended upon the arm of the learned professor4 ,all of a sudden the curtains of the alcove were shaken1 and swung forward over the table in such a way as to envelop ,m4 ,lombroso1 who was very much moved by such a wonder1 as he himself has declared4 ,all these phenomena1 happening at long intervals1 in the darkness1 and in the midst of noisy conversation1 were not estimated at their true worth4 ,it was thought that they were only the effects of chance or were jests of some member of the company4 ,while we are all waiting and discussing the import of the phenomena and the greater or less value that should be set on them1 the noise of the fall of an object is heard4 ,when the room is lighted1 there is found at our feet under the table the trumpet which had been placed on the round table in the alcove behind the curtains4 ,this circumstance1 which ,,mm4 ,bianchi and ,ascensi receive with a burst of laughter1 surprises the experimenters1 and has the effect of more completely fixing their attention4 ,the room is darkened again1 and1 by urgent request some fugitive glimmers of light are seen to appear and disappear at long intervals4 ,this phenomenon impressed ,,mm4 ,bianchi and ,ascensi1 and put an end to their incessant railleries1 so much so that they came and formed a part of the circle4 ,at the moment of the appearance of the gleams1 and even some time after they had ceased to show themselves1 ,,mm4 ,limoncelli and ,tamburini1 at the right of the medium1 said that they were touched in several places by a hand4 ,m4 ,lombroso's young nephew1 absolutely sceptical1 who had taken a seat by the side of ,m4 ,limoncelli1 declared that he felt the touch of a flesh-and-blood hand1 and asked with some impetuosity who did that4 ,he forgot--being not only sceptical1 but artless--that1 like himself1 all the persons present were helping to form the chain of hands and were in mutual contact4 ,it was getting late1 and the lack of homogeneity in the circle was abridging the phenomena4 ,under these conditions ,i thought ,i ought to end the seance and cause the candles to be lighted4 ,when ,,mm4 ,limoncelli and ,vizioli were taking leave1 the medium being still seated and bound1 and all of us were standing around the table conversing about the luminous phenomena1 and comparing the scattered and feeble effects obtained in this soiree with those of the ,saturday preceding1 and seeking the reason for this difference1 we heard noise in the alcove1 and saw the portieres which enclosed it vigorously shaken1 and the round table which was behind them slowly advancing toward ,mme4 ,paladino1 still seated and bound4 ,on seeing this strange1 unexpected phenomena occur in full light1 we were all stupefied with amazement4 ,m4 ,bianchi and ,m4 ,lombroso's nephew dashed into the alcove1 under the impression that some person concealed there was producing the movement of the portieres and the round table4 ,their astonishment was unbounded when they ascertained that there was no one there1 and that1 under their very eyes1 the table continued to glide over the floor in the direction of the medium4 ,that is not all4 ,professor ,lombroso observed that1 while the table was in movement1 the salver on it had been turned upside down without a single particle of the flour which it contained being spilled2 and he added that no prestidigitator would have been able to accomplish such a feat4 ,in the presence of these phenomena taking place as they did1 after the breaking up of the circle1 in such a way as to eliminate the hypothesis of a magnetic current1 ,professor ,bianchi1 in obedience to the love of truth1 confessed that it was he who1 for the sake of a joke1 had contrived and brought about the fall of the tin trumpet1 but that in the presence of such achievements as this he could no longer be sceptical1 and was going to apply himself to the study of them in order to investigate their causes4 ,professor ,lombroso complained of the trick1 and said to ,m4 ,bianchi that1 as between professors met in order to make scientific studies and researches in common1 mystifying pranks like this could not but cast a slur upon the respect due to science4 ,professor ,lombroso1 who was a prey both to doubt and to ideas of his own which tormented his mind1 made an engagement to be present at further meetings on his return to ,naples in the following summer4 ,m4 ,ciolfi1 having sent these two reports to ,m4 ,lombroso1 the eminent professor of ,turin confirmed their accuracy in the following letter1 dated ,june #be1 #ahia3-- ,dear ,sir1--,the two reports that you have sent me are of the utmost accuracy4 ,i add that1 before we had seen the salver turned over1 the medium had announced that she would sprinkle the faces of those who sat by her with flour2 and everything leads to the belief that such was her intention1 but that she was not able to realize it1--a new proof1 to my mind1 of her perfect honesty1 especially considering her semi-unconsciousness4 ,i am filled with confusion and regret that ,i combated with so much persistence the possibility of the facts called ,spiritualistic4 ,i say facts1 because ,i am still opposed to the theory4 ,please give my greetings to ,m4 ,e4 ,chiaia1 and1 if it is possible1 get ,m4 ,albini to examine the visual field and the inner recesses of the eye of the medium1 about which ,i desire to inform myself4 ,yours very truly1 ,c4 ,,lombroso4 ,m4 ,lombroso soon after published his experiences and reflections1 in an article in the ,annales des sciences psychiques 7#ahib7 which ends thus3 ,none of these facts1 7which we must admit1 because no one can deny things which he has seen7 is of such a nature as to lead us to form for their explanation an hypothesis of a world different from that admitted by the neuro-pathologists4 ,above all1 we must not forget that ,mme4 ,eusapia is a neuropath2 that in her childhood she received a blow on the left parietal bone1 which produced a hole so deep that you could put your finger in it2 that she remained subject to attacks of epilepsy1 catalepsy1 and hysteria1 which take place especially during the seance phenomena2 and that1 finally1 she has a remarkable obtuseness of touch4 ,well1 ,i do not see anything inadmissible in this1--that in the case of hypnotic and hysterical persons the excitation of certain centres1 which become powerful by the paralysis of all the others and then provoke a transposition and a transmission of physical forces1 may also produce a transformation in luminous force or in motive force4 ,thus we understand how the force in a medium which ,i shall call cortical or cerebral may1 for example1 lift the table1 pull somebody's beard1 hit him1 caress him1 etc4 ,during the transposition of senses due to hypnotism1--when1 for example1 the nose and the chin see 7and that is a fact which ,i observed with my own eyes71 and when for some moments all the other senses are paralyzed1 the cortical centre of vision1 which has its seat in the brain1 acquires such an energy that it supersedes the eye4 ,it is this which we have been able to prove1 ,ottolenghi and ,i1 in the case of three hypnotized persons1 by making use of the lens and of the prism4 ,the phenomena observed would be explained1 according to this theory1 by a transformation of the powers of the medium4 ,let us continue our account of the experiments4 ,taking into consideration the testimony of ,professor ,lombroso1 several savants--including ,,mm4 ,schiaparelli1 director of the observatory at ,milan2 ,gerosa1 professor of physics2 ,ermacora1 doctor of natural philosophy2 ,aksakof1 councillor of state to the ,emperor of ,russia2 ,charles du ,prel1 doctor of philosophy in ,munich2 ,dr4 ,richet1 of ,paris1 and ,professor ,buffern--met in ,october1 #ahib1 in the apartment of ,m4 ,finzi1 at ,milan1 to renew these experiments4 ,m4 ,lombroso was present at several of the soirees4 ,there were seventeen in all4 ,the experimenters present signed the following long declaration3 ,the results obtained did not always come up to our expectations4 ,not that we did not secure a large number of facts apparently or really important and marvellous2 but1 in the greater number of cases1 we were not able to apply the rules of experimental science which1 in other fields of observation1 are regarded as indispensable in order to arrive at certain and incontestable results4 ,the most important of these rules consists in changing1 one after the other1 the methods of experiment1 in such a way as to bring out the true cause1 or at least the true conditions of all the events4 ,now it is precisely from this point of view that our experiments seem to us still incomplete4 ,it is very true that the medium1 to prove her good faith1 often voluntarily proposed to change some feature of one or the other experiment1 and frequently herself took the initiative in these changes4 ,but this applied only to things that were apparently indifferent1 according to our way of seeing4 ,on the contrary2 the changes which seemed to us necessary to put the true character of the results beyond doubt1 either were not accepted as possible or ended in uncertain results4 ,we do not believe we have the right to explain these things by the aid of insulting assumptions1 which many still find to be the simplest explanation1 and of which some journals have made themselves champions4 ,we think1 on the contrary1 that these experiments are concerned with phenomena of an unknown nature1 and we confess that we do not know what the conditions are that are required to produce them4 ,to desire to fix these conditions in our own right and out of our own head would be as extravagant as to presume to make the experiment of ,torricelli's barometer with a tube closed at the bottom1 or to make electrostatic experiments in an atmosphere saturated with humidity1 or to take a photograph by exposing the sensitive plate in full light before placing it in the camera4 ,however1 it is a fact that the impossibility of varying the experiments in our own way has diminished the worth and the interest of the results obtained1 by depriving them of that rigorous demonstration which we are right in demanding in cases of this kind1 or1 rather1 to which we ought to aspire4 ,the following are the principal phenomena observed4 ,levitation of ,one ,side of the ,table ,we agreed to have the medium sit alone at the table1 in full light1 her two hands placed on its upper surface and her sleeves drawn back to the elbows4 ,we remained standing about her1 and the space above and under the table was well lighted4 ,under these conditions the table rose at an angle of twenty to forty degrees1 and so remained for some minutes1 while the medium was holding her legs stretched out and striking her feet one against the other4 ,when we pressed with the hand upon the lifted side of the table1 we experienced a considerable elastic resistance4 ,the table was suspended by one of its ends to a dynamometer which was coupled to a cord3 this cord was tied to a small beam supported upon two wardrobes4 ,under these conditions1 the end of the table having been lifted six and a half inches1 the dynamometer showed seventy-seven pounds4 ,the medium sat at the same narrow end of the table1 with her hands wholly on the table1 to the right and the left of the point where the dynamometer was attached4 ,our hands formed the chain upon the table1 without pressure3 they would not have been able in any case to do more than increase the pressure brought to bear on the table4 ,on the contrary1 the desire was expressed that the pressure should diminish1 and soon the table began to rise on the side of the dynamometer4 ,m4 ,gerosa1 who was following the marks on the apparatus1 announced this diminution1 expressed by the successive figures #g-a_/b1 #d-a_/b1 #b-a_/b1 #j 7pounds74 ,at the last the levitation was such that the dynamometer rested horizontally on the table4 ,then we changed the conditions by putting our hands under the table4 ,the medium1 especially1 put hers1 not under the edge1 where it might have touched the vertical border-board and exercised a push downwards1 but under the rail that unites the feet1 and touched this1 not with the palm1 but with the back of the hand4 ,thus all the hands together could only have diminished the traction upon the dynamometer4 ,upon the desire being expressed to see this traction augment1 it increased from #g-a_/b pounds to #ac pounds4 ,during all these experiments each of the medium's feet rested under the foot of her nearest neighbor to right or left4 ,complete ,levitation of the ,table4 ,it was natural to conclude that if the table1 in apparent contradiction to the law of gravity1 was able to rise partly1 it would be able to rise entirely from the floor4 ,as a matter of fact1 this is what happened4 ,this levitation1 one of the most frequent phenomena that occur in the experiments with ,eusapia1 stood a most satisfactory examination4 ,the phenomenon always materialized under the following conditions3 the persons seated about the table place their hands on it1 and form the chain2 each hand of the medium is held by the adjacent hand of her two neighbors2 each of her feet remains under the feet of her neighbor1 who also press her knees with theirs4 ,she is seated1 as usual1 at one of the small ends of the table1 a position least favorable for a mechanical levitation4 ,at the end of several minutes the table makes a side movement1 rises first to the right1 then to the left1 and finally mounts off of its four feet straight into the air1 and lies there horizontally 7as if it were floating on a liquid71 ordinarily at a height of from #d to #h inches 7in exceptional cases from #bd to #bg inches72 then falls back and rests on its four feet4 ,it frequently remains in the air for several seconds1 and while there also makes undulatory motions1 during which the position of the feet under the table can be thoroughly examined4 ,during the levitation the right hand of the medium often leaves the table1 as well as that of her neighbor1 and is held in the air above4 ,in order the better to observe this thing1 we removed one by one the persons placed at the table1 recognizing the truth that the chain formed by several persons was neither necessary for this phenomenon nor for others4 ,finally1 we left only a single person with the medium1 seated at her left4 ,this person placed her foot upon ,eusapia's two feet and one hand upon her knees1 and held with her other hand the left hand of the medium4 ,eusapia's right hand was on the table1 in full view1--though sometimes she held it in the air during the levitation4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4 ,,drawing ,,from ,,photograph1 ,,showing ,,method ,,of ,,control ,,by ,,professors ,,lombroso ,,and ,,richet ,,of ,,eusapia4 ,,table ,,completely ,,raised4 ,as the table remained in the air for several seconds1 it was possible to obtain several photographs of the performance4 ,three pieces of photographic apparatus were working together in different parts of the room1 and the illumination was furnished by a magnesium light at the opportune moment4 ,twenty photographs were obtained1 some of which are excellent4 ,upon one of them 7,pl4 ,,viii7 we see ,professor ,richet1 who holds one hand1 the knees1 and a foot of the medium4 ,the other hand of the latter is held by ,professor ,lombroso4 ,the table is shown horizontally lifted1--a fact proved by the interval between the extremity of each foot and the extremity of the corresponding projected shadow4 ,in all the experiments which precede1 we gave our attention principally to a careful inspection of the position of the hands and the feet of the medium2 and1 in this respect1 we believe we can say that they were safe from all criticism4 ,still1 a scrupulous sincerity compels us to mention the fact to which we did not begin to call attention before the evening of ,october #e1 but which probably must have occurred also in the preceding experiments4 ,it consists in this1 that the four feet of the table could not be considered as perfectly isolated during the levitation1 because one of them at least was in contact with the lower edge of the medium's dress4 ,on this evening it was remarked that a little before the levitation1 ,eusapia's skirt was inflated on the left side until it touched the foot of the nearest table4 ,one of us having been charged with the duty of hindering this contact1 the table was unable to rise as before1 and it only did rise when the observer intentionally permitted the contact to take place4 ,this is shown in the photographs taken during this experiment1 and also in those in which the table-foot in question is visible 7after a fashion7 at its lower extremity4 ,the reader will see that at the same time the medium had her hand placed upon the upper surface of the table1 and on the same side1 in such a way that this table-foot was under her influence1 as much in its lower portion1 by means of the dress1 as in the upper portion1 by means of the hand4 ,now in what way is it possible for the contact of a light dress-stuff with the lower extremity of the foot of a table to assist in the levitation8 ,that is something we do not know4 ,the hypothesis that the dress may conceal a solid support1 skilfully introduced1 which may serve as a temporary support for the foot of the table1 is a very poor one4 ,in fact1 to keep the whole table resting on this one foot through the influence that a single hand could produce upon the upper surface of the table would require that the hand exercise upon the table a very strong pressure1 one that we cannot suppose ,eusapia capable of1 even during three or four seconds4 ,we convinced ourselves of this by ourselves making proof of it with the same table4#cc ,movements of ,objects at a ,distance1 without ,contact with ,any of the ,persons ,present #a4 ,spontaneous movements of objects4 ,these phenomena were observed several times during our seances4 ,it often happened that a chair1 placed for this purpose not far from the table1 between the medium and one of her neighbors1 began to move about1 and sometimes came up to the table4 ,a remarkable instance occurred in the second seance1 everything being all the time in full light4 ,a heavy chair1 weighing twenty-two pounds1 which stood a yard from the table and behind the medium1 came up to ,m4 ,schiaparelli1 who was seated next the medium4 ,he rose to put it back in its place2 but scarcely was he seated when the chair advanced a second time toward him4 #b4 ,movement of the table without contact4 ,it was desirable to obtain this phenomenon as a matter of experiment4 ,for that purpose1 the table being placed upon casters1 the feet of the medium were watched1 as has been said1 and all of the sitters formed the chain with their hands1 including those of the medium4 ,when the table began to move1 we all lifted our hands1 without breaking the chain1 and the table thus isolated made several movements4 ,this experiment was several times renewed4 ,the ,fetching of ,different ,objects1 the ,hands of the ,medium ,being tied to those of her ,neighbors4 ,in order to assure ourselves that we were not the victims of a trick1 we tied the hands of the medium by a string to those of her two neighbors1 in such a way that the movements of the four hands would reciprocally control each other4 ,the length of the cord between the hands of the medium was from eight to twelve inches1 and between each one of her hands and the hands of her neighbors four inches4 ,this distance of space was purposely arranged in order that the hands of the neighboring persons might1 in addition1 readily hold those of the medium during the convulsive movements which usually agitate her4 ,the tying was done in the following way3 we took three turns of the string around each wrist of the medium1 without leaving any slack1 but drawn so tightly as almost to give her pain1#cd and then we tied two simple knots4 ,this was done in order that1 if by any artifice the hand was able to release itself from the string1 the three turns would work against it and the hand could not get back again under the string as it was before4 ,a little bell was placed upon a chair behind her4 ,the chain was formed1 and her hands as well as her feet were held as usual4 ,the room was darkened in answer to the request that the little bell should at once sound1 after which we were to untie the medium4 ,immediately we heard the chair move1 describe a curve upon the floor1 approach the table1 and presently place itself upon it4 ,the bell rang1 then was thrown upon the table4 ,the light having been at once turned on1 we ascertained that the knots of the string were in perfect order4 ,it is clear that the fetching on of the chair was not produced by the action of the hands of the medium4 ,impressions of ,fingers obtained on ,smoked ,paper4 ,in order to decide if we had to do with a human hand 444 or with any other way of dealing1 we fixed a sheet of paper1 blackened with the smoke of a lamp1 upon the table1 on the side opposite that of the medium1 and expressed a wish that the hand would leave an impression on it1 that the hand of the medium should remain unsoiled1 and that the lampblack be transferred to the hands of one of us4 ,the hands of the medium were held by those of ,,mm4 ,schiaparelli and ,du ,prel4 ,the chain was made in the darkness1 then we heard a hand lightly tap upon the table1 and presently ,m4 ,du ,prel announced that his left hand1 which he held on the right hand of ,m4 ,finzi1 had had the sensation of fingers rubbing it4 ,as soon as the room was lighted1 we found upon the paper several imprints of fingers1 and the back of ,m4 ,du ,prel's hand was covered with lampblack2 but the hands of the medium1 examined then and there1 had no trace of it4 ,this experience was repeated three times4 ,when we insisted upon having a complete impression1 we obtained five fingers upon a second sheet of paper1 and upon a third the impression of almost an entire left hand4 ,after that the back of ,m4 ,du ,prel's hand was completely blackened1 the hands of the medium remaining perfectly clean4 ,apparition of ,hands upon a ,dimly ,lighted ,background ,we placed upon the table a large cardboard covered with a phosphorescent substance 7sulphide of calcium71 and we placed other pieces of cardboard upon chairs in different parts of the chamber4 ,under such conditions we saw very plainly the outline of a hand imposed on the cardboard of the table4 ,upon the background formed by the other pieces we saw the shadow of the hand pass and repass around us4 ,on the evening of ,september #ba one of us several times saw the image1 not of one1 but of two hands at once1 thrown upon the glass panes of a feebly illuminated window 7outside it was night1 but the darkness was not complete74 ,these hands exhibited a rapid tremulous motion1 but not so rapid as to hinder us from seeing the outline clearly4 ,they were wholly opaque and were thrown upon the window as absolutely black silhouettes4 ,this simultaneous appearance of two hands is very significant1 for they cannot be explained on the hypothesis of a trick of the medium1 who would not have been able in any way to free more than one of her hands1 owing to the surveillance of those who sat beside her4 ,the same conclusion applies to the clapping of two hands1 one against the other1 which was several times heard in the air4 ,the ,levitation of the ,medium to the ,top of the ,table ,we regard this levitation as among the most important and most significant of ,spiritualistic achievements4 ,it took place twice1 on ,september #bh and ,october #c4 ,the medium was seated at one end of the table1 uttering deep groans1 and was lifted up with her chair and placed upon the table1 not moving from her position1 those next her still holding her hands as she rose4 ,on the evening of ,september #bh1 while her two hands were held by ,,mm4 ,richet and ,lombroso1 the medium complained of their grasping her under the arm4 ,then1 in a state of trance she said1 with the changed voice which she usually has while in this state1 ,now ,i bring up my medium upon the table4 ,at the end of two or three seconds the chair1 with the medium seated in it1 was not thrown1 but lifted with precaution and placed upon the table4 ,,mm4 ,richet and ,lombroso are sure they did not assist her in this ascension4 ,after she had spoken1 being all the time in a state of trance1 the medium announced her descent1 and 7,m4 ,finzi being substituted for ,m4 ,lombroso7 was placed upon the floor with care and precision1 ,,mm4 ,richet and ,finzi following her movements without at all assisting them4 ,moreover1 during the descent1 both gentlemen felt a hand touching them lightly several times upon the head4 ,on the evening of ,october #c the same phenomenon was repeated in similar circumstances4 ,touchings ,some of these merit particular notice1 owing to a circumstance capable of giving us an interesting notion of their possible origin4 ,our first business is to describe the touchings which were felt by persons beyond the reach of the hands of the medium4 ,thus1 on the evening of ,october #f1 ,m4 ,gerosa1 who was separated from the medium by three places 7about four feet1 the medium being a little to one side and ,m4 ,gerosa in one of the adjacent corners at the opposite short end of the table71 having lifted his hand that it might be touched1 felt a hand strike his own several times to make him lower it2 and1 as he persisted1 he was hit with a trumpet1 which an instant before had been making sounds in the air4 ,in the second place1 we must note touchings which constitute very delicate operations1 and which cannot be made in the darkness with the precision which we have noted in them4 ,twice 7on ,september #af and #ba7 ,m4 ,schiaparelli had his spectacles removed from his nose and laid down on the table before another person4 ,these glasses are fixed to the ears by means of two springs1 and a certain amount of attention is necessary in order to remove them1 even to one working in full light4 ,yet they were removed in complete darkness with so much delicacy and promptness that the said experimenter only perceived the loss of them when he no longer had the usual feeling of them on his nose1 on his temples1 and behind his ears1 and he was obliged to feel with his hands in order to be sure that they were no longer in their usual place4 ,many other touchings produced similar effects1 and were executed with extreme delicacy2 for example1 when one of the company felt his hair and beard stroked4 ,in all of the innumerable manoeuvres executed by mysterious hands1 there was never any awkward stumbling or collision to be noted1 though ordinarily this is inevitable when one is working in the dark4 ,i may add1 in this connection1 that bodies tolerably heavy and bulky1 such as chairs and vessels full of clay1 were deposited upon the table without having collided with any of the numerous hands resting upon the table1--a particularly difficult thing in the case of chairs which1 owing to their dimensions1 occupied a large part of the table4 ,a chair was turned over on its face upon the table and lay there at full length without causing the least annoyance to anybody2 and yet it covered almost the entire surface4 ,contact with a ,human ,face ,one of us having expressed the wish to be kissed1 felt before his very mouth the peculiar quick sounds of a kiss1 but not accompanied by any contact of lips4 ,this happened twice4 ,on three different occasions one of the experimenters felt the touch of a face with hair and beard4 ,the feeling of the skin was exactly that of a living man4 ,the hair was much coarser and more bristly than that of the medium1 and the beard seemed very soft and delicate4 ,such are the experiments made at ,milan in #ahib by the group of savants cited above4 ,how can we help admitting1 after the reading of this new official report1 the following things8 #a4 ,the complete levitation of the tables4 #b4 ,the levitation of the medium4 #c4 ,the movement of objects without contact4 #d4 ,accurate and delicate touches made by invisible organs4 #e4 ,the formation of hands and even of human figures4 ,these phenomena take their place in this book as things which were observed with the most scrupulous care4 ,let us note also the action of the little piece of furniture 7chair or round table71 which tries to climb up on one of the company or upon the large table1--a thing also observed by myself4 ,although the savants of the ,milan group regretted that they did not make experiments1 but only observations 7,i said above 7p4 #bj71 what we ought to think about this71 the facts were none the less proved4 ,i will add that after the reading of this proces-verbal1 the cautious reserves of ,m4 ,schiaparelli seem exaggerated4 ,if fraud has sometimes crept in1 still what has been accurately observed remains safe and sound and is an acquisition to science4 ,our medium1 ,eusapia1 has been the subject of a fruitful series of experiments4 ,let me also mention those of ,naples in #ahic1 under the direction of ,m4 ,wagner1 ,professor of ,zoology at the ,university of ,st4 ,petersburg2 that of ,rome in #ahic-ahid1 under the direction of ,m4 de ,siemiradski1 correspondent of the ,institute2 those of ,varsovie1 from the #beth of ,november1 #ahic1 to the #aeth of ,january1 #ahid1 at the house of ,dr4 ,ochorowicz2 those of ,carqueiranne and of l'ile ,roubaud1 in #ahid1 at the house of ,professor ,richet2 those of ,cambridge in ,august1 #ahie1 at the house of ,mr4 ,myers2 those of the villa de l',agnellas1 from the #bjth to the #bith of ,september1 #ahie1 at the house of ,colonel de ,rochas2 those of ,auteuil1 in ,september1 #ahif1 at the house of ,m4 ,marcel ,mangin1 etc4 ,it would be entirely superfluous and an unconscionably long task to analyze them all4 ,let us merely select some special characteristic instances4 ,in the report of ,m4 de ,siemiradski we read as follows3 ,in the corner of the hall there was a piano1 placed to the left of ,ochorowicz and ,eusapia1 and a little in the rear4 ,some one desired to hear the keyboard touched4 ,we at once hear the moving of the piano4 ,ochorowicz can even see the displacement1 thanks to a ray of light which falls upon the polished surface of the instrument through the window shutters4 ,the piano then opens noisily1 and we hear the bass notes of the keyboard sounding4 ,i utter aloud my desire to hear high notes and low notes touched at the same time1 as a proof that the unknown force can act at the two ends of the keyboard4 ,my wish is granted1 and we hear bass notes and treble notes sounded at the same time1 which seems to prove the action of two distinct hands4 ,then the instrument advances toward us4 ,it presses against our group1 and we are obliged to get up and move back with our experiment table1 and we do not stop until we have thus moved back several yards4 ,a glass half full of water1 which stands on a buffet1 out of reach of our hands1 was carried by an unknown power to the lips of ,ochorowicz1 ,eusapia1 and another person1 who all drank of it4 ,this performance took place in complete darkness and with astonishing precision4 ,we were able to prove the existence of a real hand not belonging to any one present4 ,we did it by means of the plaster cast and mould1 as follows3 ,having placed a heavy basin filled with modelling-clay upon the large table in the middle of the dining-room1 we sat down with ,eusapia around the little experiment-table more than a yard distant4 ,after some minutes of waiting1 the basin came of itself and stood on our table6 ,eusapia groaned1 writhed1 and trembled in all her limbs2 yet not for a moment did her hands quit ours4 ,then she cried1 ,e fatto 7,it is done74 ,the candle is lighted again1 and we find an irregular hollowed place upon the surface of the clay4 ,this hollow place1 afterward filled with plaster1 gives us a perfect cast of the contracted fingers of a hand4 ,we placed upon the table a plate smeared with lampblack4 ,the mysterious hand left there the print of the end of its fingers4 ,the hands of the experimenters1 including those of ,eusapia1 remained white4 ,we next induced the medium to reproduce the impression of her own hand upon another lamp-smoked plate4 ,she did so4 ,the layer of soot removed by her fingers had deeply blackened them4 ,a comparison of the two plates enabled us to prove a striking resemblance1--that is to say 7to speak more accurately71 the identity of the arrangement of the spiral circles in the epidermis of the two hands2 and we know that the arrangement of these circles is unique in every individual4 ,this is a particular which speaks eloquently in favor of the hypothesis of the double personality of the medium4 ,in order mechanically to control the movements of ,eusapia's feet1 ,dr4 ,ochorowicz employed the following piece of apparatus4 ,two deep and narrow cigar-boxes were placed under the table1 and ,eusapia put her unshod feet into them4 ,the boxes had double bottoms and were provided with an electrical arrangement of such a nature that she could move her feet freely for some inches in every direction2 but1 if she wished to withdraw them from the box1 the electric bell tinkled before she had moved them half way to the top1 and only stopped when they were returned to their place4 ,eusapia cannot remain utterly quiet during the seances4 ,so she was given a certain freedom of movement2 but it was impossible for her to make use of her legs for lifting the table4 ,under these conditions the table1 weighing twenty-five pounds1 rose up twice without the bell being heard4 ,during the second levitation the table was photographed underneath4 7,the four feet of the table are seen in the photograph4 ,the left is in contact with ,eusapia's dress1 as is always the case when the light is strong2 but the boxes holding the feet of the medium are in their place47 ,then the experimenters verified the fact that the bell was heard1 not only when she removed her foot1 but when she lifted it too high in the box4 ,after all these demonstrations1 ,i will not do my readers the wrong of thinking that the levitation of the table is not ,,more ,,than ,,proved for all of them4 ,here1 now1 is a curious observation relative to the inflation of the curtain3 ,ten persons were seated around the table4 ,eusapia had her back turned to the curtain2 she was controlled by ,general ,starynkiewicz and ,dr4 ,watraszewski4 ,i was seated 7writes ,m4 ,glowacki-,prus7 opposite ,eusapia1 near ,mlle4 ,x41 a very nervous person and easily hypnotized4 ,the seance had lasted for about an hour1 with numerous and varied phenomena4 ,eusapia1 as always1 was in a semi-conscious state4 ,suddenly she awoke1 and ,mlle4 ,x4 uttered a cry4 ,knowing what this cry meant1 ,i grasped her hand with great force and then put my arm about her2 for this girl becomes very strong in certain states4 ,the room was well lighted1 and this is what we saw 7something1 be it noted1 which ,i myself experienced by my hands74 ,every time that the muscles of ,mlle4 ,x4 became more tense and rigid1 the curtain which hung opposite her1 at a distance of from seven to ten feet1 made a movement4 ,the following table indicates the details of this correlation3 ,feeble tension of the muscles the curtain is set in motion4 strong tension it bellies out like a sail4 very strong tension1 cries it reaches as far as eusapia's controllers1 and almost wholly covers them4 repose repose4 tension of the muscles movement of the curtain4 strong tension strong inflation of the curtain4 ,this tabular view presents the striking proportion which ,i ascertained between the tension of the medium's muscles 7who in this case was ,mlle4 ,x47 and the mechanical work of the curtain in movement4 ,this experiment is so much the more interesting since it was not ,eusapia who made it2 and1 if she had a trick for inflating the portieres1 it was not employed in this case4 ,we already know that she had none4 ,here are the conclusions of ,m4 ,ochorowicz3 #a4 ,i did not find any proofs in favor of the ,spiritualistic hypothesis2 that is to say1 in favor of the intervention of an intelligence other than that of the medium4 ,john is for me only a psychic double of the medium4 ,consequently1 ,i am not a ,spiritualist4 #b4 ,mediumistic phenomena are confirmatory of magnetism as opposed to hypnotism2 that is to say1 they imply the existence of a fluidic action apart from suggestion4 #c4 ,still1 suggestion plays an important role in them1 and the medium is only a mirror reflecting the forces and the ideas of those present4 ,moreover1 she possesses the power of realizing her own somnambulistic visions or those suggested by the company1 simply by the process of externalizing them4 #d4 ,no purely physical force explains these phenomena1 which are always of a psycho-physical nature1 having a centre of action in the mind of the medium4 #e4 ,the phenomena proved do not contradict either mechanics in general or the law of the conservation of forces in particular4 ,the medium acts at the expense of her own proper powers and at the expense of those of the persons present4 #f4 ,there exists a series of transitions between mediumship of an inferior kind 7automatism1 unconscious fraud7 and mediumship of a superior kind or externalization of motivity 7action at a distance without visible and palpable connecting link74 #g4 ,the hypothesis of a fluidic double 7astral body71 which1 under certain conditions1 detaches itself and acts independently of the body of the medium1 seems necessary for the explanation of the greater part of the phenomena4 ,according to this conception1 the moving of objects without contact would be produced by the fluidic limbs of the medium4#ce ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 an eminent ,english physicist1 rector of the ,university of ,birmingham1 says that1 on the invitation of ,dr4 ,richet1 he went to attend the experiments at ,carqueiranne1 thoroughly convinced that he should not see there any instance of physical movement without contact but that what he saw completely convinced him that phenomena of that kind can have1 under certain conditions1 a real and objective existence4 ,he vouches for the following verified facts3 #a4 ,movements of a chair at a distance1 seen by the light of the moon1 and in circumstances which proved that there was no mechanical connection4 #b4 ,the inflation and the movement of a curtain in the absence of wind or of any other ostensible cause4 #c4 ,the automatic winding up and moving about of a music-box4 #d4 ,sounds proceeding from a piano and from an accordion which had not been touched4 #e4 ,a key turned in a lock1 on the inside of the room where the seances were held1 then placed upon the table1 and again put back into the lock4 #f4 ,the overturning1 by means of slow and correct evolutions1 of a heavy moving table1 which was afterwards found thus turned upside down4 #g4 ,the levitation of a heavy table1 under conditions in which it would have been impossible to lift it in ordinary circumstances4 #h4 ,the appearance of blue marks upon a table previously spotless1 and this done without the help of the ordinary methods of writing4 #i4 ,the sensation of blows1 as if some one were striking the head1 the arms1 or the back1 while the head1 the hands1 and the feet of the medium were plainly in view or held apart from the portions of the body that were touched4 ,it is plain enough what part the above statements play in our argument4 ,they are throughout simply confirmations of the experiments described above4 ,at ,cambridge1 ,eusapia was taken in the very act of deception2 namely1 the substitution of hands4 ,while the controllers believed that they were holding her two hands1 they were only holding one of them3 the other was free4 ,so these experimenters at ,cambridge unanimously declared that everything was fraud1 from the beginning to the end1 in ,eusapia ,paladino's twenty seances4 ,in a paper sent to ,m4 de ,rochas1 ,m4 ,ochorowicz contested this radical conclusion1 for several reasons4 ,eusapia is very susceptible to suggestion1 and1 by indulging her inclination to fraud and not hindering it1 they incite her to it still more by a kind of tacit encouragement4 ,moreover1 her fraud is generally of an unconscious kind4 ,i append here1 as a particular illustration of this1 a rather typical story about her3 ,one evening1 at ,varsovie 7says ,m4 ,ochorowicz71 ,eusapia is sleeping in her chamber by the side of ours4 ,i have not yet gone to sleep1 when suddenly ,i hear her rising and moving about with bare feet in the drawing-room4 ,then she enters her chamber again and approaches our door4 ,i make a sign to ,mme4 ,ochorowicz1 who has waked up1 to be quiet and to observe carefully what is going to take place4 ,a moment after1 ,eusapia gently opens the door1 comes up to my wife's toilet-table1 opens a drawer1 shuts it1 and goes away1 carefully avoiding making any noise4 ,i hastily dress myself and we enter her chamber4 ,eusapia is quietly sleeping4 ,the light of our candle seems to wake her4 ,what were you hunting for in our sleeping-room8 ,i8 ,i haven't left this place4 ,seeing the uselessness of further questions1 we go to bed again1 advising her to sleep quietly4 ,next day ,i ask her the same question4 ,she is very much astonished and even troubled 7she blushes slightly74 ,how should ,i dare1 said she1 to enter your chamber during the night8 ,this accusation is very painful to her1 and she tries to persuade us by all kinds of insufficient reasons that we are wrong4 ,she denies the whole thing1 and ,i am obliged to admit that she does not remember getting up or even having conversed with us 7it was just another somnambulistic state74 ,i take a little table1 and direct ,eusapia to put her hands on it4 ,very well1 says she1 ,john will tell you that ,i don't lie4 ,i then ask the following questions3 ,is it you1 ,john1 who came into our sleeping chamber last night8 ,no4 ,was it the chambermaid8 7,i suggest this idea for the express purpose of testing ,john's veracity47 ,no1 says he4 ,was it the medium herself8 ,yes1 says the table4--,no1 it is not true1 exclaims ,eusapia1 seeing her hope banished--,yes1 replies the table1 forcibly4 ,was she in the trance state8 ,no4 ,in her normal state8 ,no4 ,in a spontaneous somnambulistic state8 ,yes4 ,for what purpose8 ,she was hunting matches2 for she was frightened in her sleep1 and didn't want to sleep without light4 ,sure enough1 there were always matches in the drawer opened by ,eusapia1 except on this particular night4 ,she therefore returned without getting any4 ,while listening to the explanation of the table1 ,eusapia shrugged her shoulders1 but protested no longer4 ,here1 then1 is a woman who1 from time to time1 has the power of passing from one psychical state to another4 ,is it just to accuse such a creature of premeditated fraud1 without the slightest medical and psychological examination1 without the least attempt at verification8444 ,m4 ,ochorowicz adds here that1 so far as he is concerned1 the phenomena are not produced by a personality different from that of the medium1 nor by a new independent occult force2 but it is a special psychic condition which permits the vital dynamism of the medium 7the astral body of the occultists7 to act at a distance1 under certain exceptional conditions4 ,it is the only hypothesis which seems necessary in the actual state of our knowledge4 ,why does the medium so often try to release her hand8 ,so far as the ,cambridge experimenters are concerned1 the cause is very simple and always the same3 she releases her hand in order to indulge in tricks4 ,as a matter of fact1 the reasons why she frees her hand are many and complicated4 ,dr4 ,ochorowicz's explanations are as follows3 #a4 ,let me observe1 in the first place1 that ,eusapia frequently releases her hand for no other reason than to touch her head1 which is in pain at the moment of the manifestations4 ,it is a natural reflex movement2 and1 in her case1 it is a fixed habit4 ,since1 more often than not1 she does not notice that she is doing it1 or at least fails to give warning to her controller1 the darkness justifies suspicions4 #b4 ,immediately before the mediumistic doubling of her personality1 her hand is affected with hyperaesthesia and1 consequently1 the pressure of the hand of another makes her ill1 especially in the dorsal quarter4 ,she then most frequently places the hand which is to be mediumistically active above and not below that of the controller1 trying to touch it as little as possible4 ,when the doubling of the personality is complete1 and the dynamic hand more or less materialized1 that of the medium contracts and rests heavily upon the controller1 exactly at the moment that the phenomenon takes place4 ,she is then almost insensible and all shrunken together4 ,in very good mediumistic conditions the doubling is easy and the initial hyperaesthesia of short duration4 ,in this case the medium allows her hand to be completely covered and the feet of the controllers to be upon hers1 as was always the case in our seances at ,rome in #ahic2 but1 since that time1 she can no longer endure that position1 and rather prefers to be held by hands under the table4 #c4 ,in accordance with psychological laws1 the hand always proceeds automatically in the direction of our thoughts 7,cumberlandism74 ,the medium acts by auto-suggestion1 and the order to go as far as an indicated point is given by her brain simultaneously to the dynamic hand and the corporeal hand1 since in the normal state they form only one4 ,and since1 immediately after the hyperaesthesia1 the muscular sensation is excited and the hand grows benumbed1 it sometimes happens 7especially when the medium proceeds carelessly and does not properly govern her movements7 that the dynamic hand remains in place1 while her own hand goes in the indicated direction4 ,the former1 not being yet materialized1 produces only a semblance of pressure2 and another person1 able to see a little in the darkness1 will perceive nothing of it1 and will even be able to ascertain by touch the absence of the medium's hand from that of the controller4 ,at the same time the hand of the medium is going in the direction of the object2 and still it may happen that it does not really reach it1 acting1 as it does1 at a distance1 by a dynamic prolongation4 ,it is in this way that ,i explain the cases in which the hand1 being released1 has not yet been able to reach the point aimed at 7physically inaccessible71 as well as the numerous experiments made at ,varsovie in full light1 with a little bell hung in different ways1 with compasses of different forms1 with a very small table1 etc41--experiments in which ,eusapia's fingers were quite near1 but did not touch1 the object4 ,i proved that there was no electric force at work in these cases1 but that things occurred as if the arms of the medium were lengthened and acted invisibly1 but mechanically4 ,at ,varsovie1 when one of my friends ,m4 ,glowacki1 took it into his head that it was necessary to give the medium free rein1 in order to discover her method1 we had an entirely fraudulent seance and lost our time to no purpose4 ,on the contrary1 in a poor seance at l'ile ,roubaud1 we obtained some good phenomena after having frankly told the medium that she was cheating4 ,and here are the conclusions of the author upon the ,cambridge frauds3 #a4 ,not only was conscious fraud not proved on ,eusapia at ,cambridge1 but not the slightest effort was made to do so4 #b4 ,unconscious fraud was proved in much larger proportions than in all the preceding experiments4 #c4 ,this negative result is vindicated by a blundering method little in accordance with the nature of the phenomena4 ,such is also the opinion of ,dr4 ,j4 ,maxwell1 and of all who are competent judges of the question4 ,to sum up1 we see that the influence of preconceived ideas1 opinions1 and sentiments1 upon the production of phenomena1 is certain4 ,when all the experimenters have nearly the same sympathetic inclination for this kind of research1 and when they have decided to exercise sufficient control 7that is1 watchful oversight7 not to be the dupe of any mystification1 and agree among themselves to accept the regrettable conditions of darkness necessary to the activity of these unknown radiations1 and not to trouble in any way the apparent exigencies of the medium1 then the resulting phenomena attain an extraordinary degree of intensity4#cf ,but if discord reigns1 if one or more of the company persistently spy upon the acts of the medium1 with the conviction that he or she must be cheating1 the results are very much like the progress of a sailing vessel impelled by several contrary winds4 ,the medium simply marks time without advancing2 and little but sterile results are secured4 ,psychic forces are no less real than physical or chemical or mechanical forces4 ,in spite of the desire that we may have to convince prejudiced sceptics1 it is advisable to invite only one of them at a time1 and to place him next to the medium1 in order that he may be at once astonished1 shaken1 and convinced4 ,but in general this is not worth the trouble4 ,in the month of ,september1 #ahie1 a new series of experiments was made at l',agnelas1 in the residence of ,colonel de ,rochas1 president of the polytechnic school1 with the assistance of ,dr4 ,dariex1 editor of the ,annales des sciences psychiques1 ,count de ,gramont 7doctor of science71 ,dr4 ,j4 ,maxwell1 deputy of the attorney-general at the ,court of ,appeals in ,limoges1 ,professor ,sabatier1 of the faculty of sciences at ,montpellier1 and ,baron de ,watteville1 a licentiate in science4 ,they confirmed all the preceding details4#cg ,a similar series was held in ,september1 #ahif1 at ,tremezzo1 in the rooms of the ,blech family1 then in summer residence at ,lake ,como2 again at ,auteuil1 at the home of ,m4 ,marcel ,mangin1 with ,,mm4 ,sully-,prudhomme1 ,dr4 ,dariex1 ,emile ,desbeaux1 ,a4 ,guerronnan1 and ,mme4 ,boisseaux also participating4 ,let us stop for a moment to glance at this last seance4 ,i will first mention the photograph of the table suspended in the air1 a levitation which did not leave any doubt in the mind of the experimenters1 any more than it does in that of the observer who examines with attention this photograph 7,pl4 ,,ix74 ,the table descended slowly and the succession of images was registered by the photograph 7same plate1 ,cut ,b74 ,the following is an extract from the report by ,m4 de ,rochas upon this seance and the succeeding one3 ,september #ba4--,the table rises off its four feet4 ,m4 ,guerronnan has time to take a photograph of it1 but he fears that it may not be good4 ,we beg ,eusapia to begin again4 ,she consents with good grace4 ,the table is again lifted off its four feet4 ,m4 ,mangin notifies ,m4 ,guerronnan who1 from his post1 could not see1 and the table remains in the air until he has had time to take a picture of it 7from three to four seconds at the most74 ,the dazzling magnesium light enables us all to verify the reality of the phenomenon4 ,the curtain1 hung in the corner of the room1 suddenly blows out and covers my head4 ,then ,i feel in succession three pressures of a hand upon my head1 the pressures growing stronger and stronger4 ,i feel fingers which press as those of ,m4 ,sully-,prudhomme1 my neighbor on the right1 might do4 ,i hold his left hand as a part of the chain of hands4 ,it is a hand1 it is fingers1 which have just pressed upon me so2 but whose8 ,i have continually had ,eusapia's right hand upon my left hand1 which she seized and tightly held at the moment of the production of the phenomenon4444 ,i throw back the curtain1 which has remained upon my head1 and we sit waiting4 ,meno luce 7less light7 asks ,eusapia4 ,the lamp is turned down more1 and the remaining light shut off by a screen4 ,facing me there is a window with closed outside shutters1 but through which filters the light of the street4 ,in the silence1 my attention is caught by the appearance of a hand1 the small hand of a woman4 ,i can see it1 owing to the feeble light coming from the window4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ix ,,photograph ,,of ,,table ,,suspended4 ,,the ,,table ,,fallen ,,back4 ,it is not the shadow of a hand3 it is a hand of flesh 7,i do not add and of bone1 for ,i have the impression that it has no bones74 ,this hand opens and closes three times1 sufficiently long to permit me to say3 ,whose hand is this8--yours1 ,monsieur ,mangin8 ,no4 ,then it is a materialization8 ,undoubtedly3 if you hold the medium's right hand1 ,i hold the other4 ,i had the right hand of ,eusapia on my left hand1 and her fingers were interlaced with mine4 ,now the hand which ,i saw was a right hand1 stretched out and presented in profile4 ,it remained for a moment motionless in the air1 at about from twenty-four to twenty-eight inches above the table and thirty-six inches from ,eusapia4 ,as its immobility 7,i suppose7 was the cause of my not seeing it1 it therefore opened and closed3 it was these movements which attracted my attention4 ,my favorable position in respect to the window1 unfortunately permitted me alone to see this mysterious hand2 but ,m4 ,mangin saw1 at two separate times1 not a hand1 but the shadow of a hand outlined in profile upon the opposite window4 ,eusapia turns her head in the direction of the curtain1 behind which there is a leather-covered easy-chair1 and1 displacing the curtain1 this chair comes and leans against me4 ,she takes my left hand1 lifts it above the table the whole length of her right arm1 and makes the feint of rapping in the air3 the echo of three blows is heard on the table4 ,a little bell is placed before her4 ,she stretches out her two hands to the right and the left of the bell at a distance of from three to four inches2 then she draws back her hands toward her body1 and1 lo and behold6 the bell comes gliding along over the table until it bumps against something and falls over4 ,eusapia repeats the experiment several times4 ,you would think that her hands were invisibly prolonged2 and that seems to me to justify the term ectenic force1 which ,professor ,thury1 of ,geneva1 gave in the year #ahee to this unknown energy4 ,i was just asking if she did not perchance have some invisible thread between her fingers1 when suddenly1 an irresistible itching made her put her left hand to her nose2 her right had remained upon the table near the bell2 the two hands at this moment were about two feet apart4 ,i observed carefully4 ,eusapia rested her left hand upon the table1 some inches from the bell1 and this was again set in motion4 ,considering the gesture made by her1 it would have been necessary1 in order to perform this feat1 to have a wonderfully elastic thread1 absolutely invisible2 for our eyes were1 so to speak1 upon the bell1 and the light was abundant4 ,my eyes were only a foot distant from the bell1 at the utmost4 ,this was a certain and undeniable case1 and ,sully-,prudhomme returned to his home with me as thoroughly convinced as ,i am4 ,the poet of ,solitudes and of ,justice1 wrote on his part1 as follows3 ,after a rather long wait1 an architect's stool came marching up all alone toward me4 ,it grazed my left side1 rose to the height of the table1 and succeeded in placing itself upon it4 ,as ,i lifted my hand1 ,i felt it at once seized4 ,why do you take my hand8 ,i asked of my neighbor4 ,it was not ,i1 said he4 ,while these phenomena were taking place1 ,eusapia seemed to be suffering4 ,it seemed as if out of her own physiological fund or stock she were furnishing all the force required to put the objects in motion4 ,after the seance1 while she was still very much prostrated1 we saw an easy-chair which was behind the curtain come rolling up behind her1 as if to say1 ,hold on there6 you've forgotten me6 ,my conviction is that ,i witnessed phenomena which ,i cannot relate to any ordinary physical law4 ,my impression is that fraud1 in any case1 is more than improbable1--at least so far as concerns the displacement at a distance of heavy articles of furniture arranged by my companions and myself4 ,that is all that ,i can say about it4 ,for my part1 ,i call natural that which is scientifically proved4 ,so that the word mysterious means that which still astonishes us because it cannot be explained4 ,i believe that the scientific spirit consists in verifying facts1 in not denying a priori any fact which is not in contradiction with known laws1 and in accepting none which has not been determined by safe and verifiable conditions4 ,seance of ,september #bf4--;,a dark bust moves forward upon the table1 coming from where ,eusapia sits2 then another1 and still another4 ,they look like ,chinese ghosts1 says ,m4 ,mangin1 with this difference1 that ,i1 who am better placed1 owing to the light from the window1 am able to perceive the dimensions of these singular images1 and above all their thickness4 ,all these black busts are busts of women1 of life size2 but1 although vague1 they do not look like ,eusapia4 ,the last of them1 of fine shape1 is that of a woman who seems young and pretty4 ,these half-lengths1 which seem to emanate from the medium1 glide along between us2 and1 when they have gone as far as the middle of the table or two-thirds of its length1 they sink down altogether 7all of a piece1 as it were71 and vanish4 ,this rigidity makes me think of the reproductions1 or fac-similes1 of a bust escaped from a sculptor's atelier1 and ,i murmur1 ,one would think he was looking at busts moulded in papier-mache4 ,eusapia heard me4 ,no1 not papier-mache1 she says indignantly4 ,she does not give any other explanation1 but says 7this time in ,italian71 ,in order to prove to you that it is not the body of the medium1 ,i am going to show you a man with a beard4 ,attention6 ,i do not see anything1 but ,dr4 ,dariex feels his face rubbed against for quite a while by a beard4 ,new experiments made at ,genoa in #aija1 at which ,eurico ,morselli1 professor of psychology at the ,university of ,genoa1 was present1 were reported by my learned friend the astronomer ,porro1 successively director of the observatories of ,genoa and ,turin1 to-day director of the national observatory of the ,argentine ,republic at ,la ,plata4 ,here are some extracts from this report3#ch ,nearly ten years have passed since ,eusapia ,paladino made her first appearance in the memorable seances at ,milan during the course of her mediumistic tours through ,europe4 ,the object of shrewd investigations on the part of experienced and learned observers2 the butt of jokes1 accusations1 sarcasms2 exalted by certain fanatics as a personification of supernatural powers and scoffed at by others as a mountebank1--the humble haberdasher of ,naples has made so much stir in the world that she is herself bored and displeased by it4 ,i had good proof of this when ,i took leave of her1 after ,i had listened with much curiosity to the anecdotes which she related to me of her seances and of the well-known men with whom she has been associated1--,ch4 ,richet1 ,schiaparelli1 ,lombroso1 ,flammarion1 ,sardou1 ,aksakof1 et al4 ,she then very emphatically asked me not to speak in the journals of her presence at ,genoa and of the experiments in which she should figure there4 ,happily1 she has good reasons herself for not reading the journals4#ci ,why was an astronomer chosen to give an account of the experiments at ,genoa8 ,because astronomers are occupied with researches into the unknown4#dj ,if a man absorbed in his own private studies and attached to an austere and laborious manner of life1 such as my venerated master ,m4 ,schiaparelli1 has not hesitated to defy the irreverent jests of the comic journals1 it behooves us to conclude that the bond between the science of the heavens and that of the human soul is more intimate than appears4 ,the following is the most probable explanation4 ,we have to do in these studies with phenomena which are manifested under wholly special and still undetermined conditions1 in conformity with laws almost unknown and1 in any case1 of such a character that the will of the experimenter has but little influence upon the unshackled1 self-regulating1 and often adverse volitions which betray themselves at every moment in the study of these psychical marvels4 ,nobody is better prepared to study these things than an astronomer1 possessing1 as he does1 a scientific education precisely adapting him to the investigation of such conditions4 ,in fact1 by the systematic observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies1 the astronomer contracts the habit of being a vigilant and patient spectator of phenomena1 without attempting either to arrest or to accelerate their irresistible development4 ,in other words1 the study of the stars belongs to the science of observation rather than to that of experiment4 ,professor ,porro then sets forth the actual state of the question relating to mediumistic phenomena4 ,the explanation that everything is fraud1 conscious or unconscious says he1 is to-day almost entirely abandoned1 as much so as that which supposes that all is hallucination4 ,in fact1 neither one nor the other of these hypotheses is sufficient to throw light upon the observed facts4 ,the hypothesis of unconscious automatic action on the part of the medium has not obtained any better fate2 for the most rigorous controls have only proved that the medium finds it impossible to excite a direct dynamic effect4 ,physio-psychology has therefore been obliged1 in these latter years1 to have recourse to a supreme hypothesis1 by accepting the theories of ,m4 de ,rochas1 against which they had heretofore directed the fire of their heaviest guns4 ,it has become resigned to the admission that a medium whose limbs are held motionless by a rigorous control may1 under certain conditions1 project outside of herself1 to a distance of several yards1 a force sufficient to produce certain phenomena of movement in inanimate bodies4 ,the boldest partisans of this hypothesis go so far as to accept the temporary creation of pseudo-human limbs1--arms1 legs1 heads1--in the formation of which the energies of other persons present probably co-operate with those of the medium4 ,the theory is that as soon as the energizing power of the medium is withdrawn these phantom dynamic limbs at once dissolve and disappear4 ,for all that1 we do not yet go so far as to admit the existence of free and independent beings who would be able to exercise their powers only through the human organism2 and still less do we admit the existence of spirits who once animated the forms of human beings4444 ,m4 ,porro openly declares that1 for his part1 he is neither a materialist nor a ,spiritualist3 ,he says that he is not ready to accept1 a priori1 either the negations of psycho-physiology or the faith of ,spiritualists4 ,he adds that the nine persons who were present with him at the seances represented the greatest variety of opinions on the subject1 from the most firmly persuaded ,spiritualists to the most incorrigible sceptics4 ,moreover1 his task was not that of writing an official report1 approved by all the experimenters1 but solely that of faithfully relating his own impressions4 ,the following are the most important of these1 selected from his reports on the different seances3 ,i saw1 and plainly saw1 the rough deal table 7a table a yard long and nearly two feet wide and resting on four feet7 rise up several times from the floor and1 without any contact with visible objects1 remain suspended in the air1 several inches above the floor1 during the space of two1 three1 and even four seconds4 ,this experiment was renewed in full light without the hands of the medium and of the five persons who formed the chain about the table touching the latter in any way4 ,eusapia's hands were looked after by her neighbors1 who controlled also her legs and her feet in such a way that no part of her body was able to exercise the least pressure for the lifting or maintaining in the air of the rather heavy article of furniture used in the experiments4 ,it was under such absolutely trustworthy conditions as these that ,i was able to see inflated a very thick piece of black cloth and the red curtains which were behind the medium1 and which served to close the embrasure of the window4 ,the casement was carefully closed1 there was no current of air in the room1 and it is absurd to suppose that persons were hidden in the embrasure of the window4 ,i believe1 then1 that ,i can affirm with the utmost confidence that a force1 analogous to that which had produced the levitation of the table1 was manifested in the curtains1 inflated them1 shook them1 and pushed them out in such a way that they touched now one and now another of the company4 ,during the sitting an event took place which deserves to be mentioned as a proof1 or at least as an indication1 of the intelligent character of the force in question4 ,being face to face with ,mme4 ,paladino1 at a point in the table the most removed from her1 ,i complained that ,i had not been touched as had the four other persons who formed the company4 ,no sooner had ,i said this than ,i saw the heavy curtain sweep out and come and hit me in the face with its lower edge1 at the same time that ,i felt a light blow upon the knuckles of my fingers1 as if from a very fragile and light piece of wood4 ,next a formidable blow1 like the stroke of the fist of an athlete1 is struck in the middle of the table4 ,the person seated at the right of the medium feels that he is grasped in the side2 the chair in which he was seated is taken away and placed upon the table1 from which it then returns to its place without having been touched by anybody4 ,the experimenter in question1 who has remained standing1 is able to take his seat in the chair again4 ,the control of this phenomenon left nothing to desire4 ,the blows are now redoubled1 and are so terrific that it seems as if they would split the table4 ,we begin to perceive hands lifting and inflating the curtains and advancing so far as to touch first one1 then the other1 of the company1 caressing them1 pressing their hands1 daintily pulling their ears or clapping hands merrily in the air above their heads4 ,it seems to me very singular and perhaps intentional1--this contrast between the touches 7sometimes nervous and energetic1 and again delicate and gentle1 but always friendly7 and the deafening1 violent1 brutal blows struck upon the table4 ,a single one of these fist-blows1 planted in the back1 would suffice to break the vertebral column4 ,the hands that perform these feats are the strong and brawny hands of a man1 the daintier hands are those of a woman1 the very small hands those of children4 ,the darkness is rendered a little less dense1 and at once the chair of ,no4 #e 7,professor ,morselli71 which had already made a jump to one side1 is slipped from under him1 while a hand is placed on his back and on his shoulder4 ,the chair gets up on the table1 comes down again to the floor1 and1 after different horizontal and vertical oscillations1 soars up and rests upon the head of the professor1 who has remained standing4 ,it remains there for some minutes in a state of very unstable equilibrium4 ,the loud blows and the delicate touches of hands1 large and small1 succeed each other uninterruptedly in such a way that1 without our being able mathematically to prove the simultaneousness of different phenomena1 it is yet almost certain in several cases4 ,while our opportunities for obtaining so valuable a subject of demonstration increase1 the simultaneity which we ask for is at last granted2 for the table raps1 the bell sounds1 and the tambourine is carried tinkling over our heads all about the room1 rests for a moment on the table1 and then resumes its flight in the air4444 ,a bouquet of flowers1 placed in a carafe on the larger table1 comes over onto ours1 preceded by an agreeable perfume4 ,stems of flowers are placed in the mouth of ,no4 #e2 and ,no4 #h is hit by a rubber ball1 which rebounds upon the table4 ,the carafe comes over to join the flowers on our table2 it is then immediately lifted and put to the mouth of the medium1 and she is made to drink from it twice2 between the two times it sinks down to the table and stands there for a moment right side up4 ,we distinctly hear the swallowing of the water1 after which ,mme4 ,paladino asks some one to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief4 ,finally1 the carafe returns to the large table4 ,but a transfer of a totally different character is effected in the following way4 ,i had complained several times that my position in the chain at a distance from the medium had hindered me from being touched during the seance4 ,suddenly1 ,i hear a noise on the wall of the room1 followed by the tinkling of the strings of the guitar1 which vibrate as if some one were trying to take down the instrument from the wall on which it hung4 ,at last the effort succeeds1 and the guitar comes toward me in an oblique direction4 ,i distinctly saw it come between me and ,no4 #h1 with a rapidity which rendered the impact of it rather unpleasant4 ,not being able at first to account to myself for this dim black object which was driving at me1 ,i slipped to one side 7,no4 #h was seated at my left74 ,then the guitar1 changing its route1 struck forcibly with its handle three blows upon my forehead 7which remained a little bruised for two or three days71 after which it came to a rest with delicate precision upon the table4 ,it did not remain there very long before it began to circle about the hall1 with a rotation to the right1 quite high above our heads1 and at great speed4 ,it is proper to remark that1 in this rotation of the guitar1 the vibration of its own strings was added to the sound of the tambourine struck sometimes on one side1 sometimes on the other1 in the air2 and the guitar1 bulky as it was1 never once struck the central supporting electric-light rod1 nor the three gas lamps fixed on the walls of the chamber4 ,when we take into consideration the contracted dimensions of the room1 we see that it was very difficult to avoid these obstacles1 since the space remaining free was very limited4 ,the guitar took its flight twice around the room1 coming to a stand-still 7between the two times7 in the middle of the table1 where finally it came to a rest4 ,in a final supreme effort1 ,eusapia turns toward the left1 where upon a table is a typewriting machine weighing fifteen pounds4 ,during the effort the medium falls exhausted and nervous upon the floor2 but the machine rises from its place and betakes itself to the middle of our table1 near the guitar4 ,in full light1 ,eusapia calls ,m4 ,morselli1 and1 controlled by the two persons next her1 brings him with her toward the table1 upon which is placed a mass of modelling-plaster4 ,she takes his open hand and pushes it three times toward the plaster1 as if to sink the hand into it and leave upon it an impression4 ,m4 ,morselli's hand remains at a distance of more than four inches from the mass3 nevertheless1 at the end of the seance1 the experimenters ascertain that the lump of plaster contains the impression of three fingers1--deeper prints than it is possible to obtain directly by means of voluntary pressure4 ,the medium lifts her two hands1 all the time clasped in mine and in those of ,no4 #e 7,morselli71 and uttering groans1 cries1 exhortations1 she rises with her chair1 so far as to place its two feet and the ends of its two front cross-bars upon the top of the table4 ,it was a moment of great anxiety4 ,the levitation was accomplished rapidly1 but without any jarring or jolting or jerking4 ,in other words1 if1 in an effort of extreme distrust you insisted on supposing that she employed some artifice to obtain the result1 you would rather have to think of a pulling up1 by means of a cord and pulley1 rather than of a pushing from beneath4 ,but neither of these hypotheses can stand the most elementary examination of the facts4444 ,there is more to follow4 ,eusapia was lifted up still farther with her chair1 from the upper part of the table1 in such a way that ,no4 #aa on one side and ,i on the other were able to pass our hands under her feet and under those of the chair4 ,moreover1 the fact that the posterior feet of the chair were entirely off of the table1 without any visible support makes this levitation still more irreconcilable with the supposition that ,eusapia could have made her body and the chair take an upward leap4 ,m4 ,porro judges that this phenomenon is one of those which are less easily explained if we decline to have recourse to the ,spiritualistic hypothesis4 ,it is a little like the man who fell into the water and thought he could pull himself out by his own hair4 ,eusapia adds ,m4 ,porro descended without any jolting1 little by little1 ,no4 #e and ,i never letting go her hands4 ,the chair1 having risen up a little higher1 turned over and placed itself on my head1 whence it spontaneously returned to the floor4 ,this thing was tried again4 ,eusapia and her chair were transported again to the top of the table1 only1 this time1 the result of the fatigue undergone by her was such that the poor woman fell in a faint upon the table4 ,we lifted her down with all due care4 ,the experimenters desired to know whether these phenomena1 the success of which depends in so great measure upon the conditions of light1 could not have better success in the white and quiet light of the moon4 ,they were obliged to admit that there was no appreciable difference between the lunar light and other kinds4 ,but the table around which they had formed the chain quitted the veranda where the sitting was being held1 and1 in spite of the strongly expressed wishes of the sitters and of the medium herself1 betook itself into the neighboring room1 where the sitting then continued4 ,this room was a little salon crowded with elegant furniture and fragile objects1 such as crystal chandeliers1 porcelain vases1 bric-a-brac1 etc4 ,the experimenters feared very much that these things would suffer damage in the bustle of the seance2 but not the slightest object suffered any damage4 ,mme4 ,paladino1 who was now herself again1 took the hand of ,no4 #aa and placed it gently upon the back of a chair1 at the same time placing her own hand upon his4 ,then1 as she lifted her hand and that of ,no4 #aa1 the chair followed the same ascending movement several times in succession4 ,this thing was repeated in full light4 ,no4 #e1 as well as other gentlemen1 perceived1 in a manner that admitted of no doubt1 a vague1 indistinct figure thrown upon the air in the doorway of an antechamber which was feebly illuminated4 ,the figure consisted of changing and fugitive silhouettes1 sometimes with the outline of a human head and body1 sometimes like hands reaching out from the curtains4 ,their objective character was demonstrated by the agreement of impressions1 which were controlled in their turn by means of continual inquiries4 ,there was no possibility of their being shadows voluntarily or involuntarily projected by the bodies of the experimenters1 since we were mutually watching each other4 ,the tenth seance 7the last7 was one of the best-attended1 and was perhaps the most interesting of all4 ,scarcely has the electric light been extinguished when we remark an automatic movement of the chair upon which a lump of plaster has been placed1 while the hands and feet of ,eusapia are watchfully controlled by me and by ,no4 #c4 ,however1 as we wish to forestall the objection of critics that the phenomena take place in the dark1 the table typtologically 7that is1 by taps7 asks for light1 and the experimenters light the electric lamp4 ,presently1 all the company see the chair on which the lump of plaster lies 7not at all a light chair7 moving between myself and the medium1 without our being able to understand the determining cause of the movement4 ,mme4 ,paladino puts her outspread hand upon the back of the chair and her left above it4 ,when our hands rise up1 the chair rises also without contact1 reaching a height of about six inches4 ,this performance is several times repeated1 with the addition of the intervention of the hand of ,no4 #e1 under conditions of light and of control which leave nothing to be desired4 ,the room is again almost completely darkened4444 ,a current of cold air upon the table precedes the arrival of a little branch with two green leaves4 ,we know that there are no plants in the neighborhood of the company3 it appears then that we have here a case of bringing-in from the outside4 ,no4 #c is greatly exhausted with the heat4 ,and1 lo6 a hand1 which takes his handkerchief from his neck and with it dries the perspiration on his face4 ,he tries to seize the handkerchief with his teeth1 but it is snatched from him4 ,a big hand lifts his left hand and makes him rap several strokes with it on the table4 ,gleams of light begin to appear1 at first on the right hand of ,no4 #e1 then in different parts of the hall4 ,they are perceived by everybody4 ,the curtain is inflated1 as if it were pushed against by a strong wind1 and touches ,no4 #aa1 who is seated in a small easy-chair a yard and a half from the medium4 ,the same person is touched by a hand1 while another hand pulls a fan from the inside pocket of his jacket1 carries it to ,no4 #e and then to ,no4 #aa4 ,the fan is soon returned to its owner1 and is moved to and fro above our heads1 to the great satisfaction of all of us4 ,a tobacco pouch is taken from the pocket of ,no4 #c3 the ,invisible empties it on the table1 and then gives it to ,no4 #aj4 ,various stems of plants drop upon the table4 ,transfers of the fan from one hand to another begin again4 ,then ,no4 #aa believes that he ought to announce that the fan had been offered to him by a young girl who had expressed the wish that it be transferred to ,no4 #aa1 then given back to ,no4 #e4 ,nobody knew about this except ,no4 #aa4 ,no4 #e1 who at present occupies the small arm-chair where formerly ,no4 #aa was seated1 a yard and a half from the medium1 feels the edge of the curtain touching him and then perceives the presence of the body of a woman whose hair rests on his head4 ,the seance is adjourned about one o'clock4 ,at the moment of parting1 ,eusapia sees a bell on the piano2 she extends her hand2 the bell glides along on the piano1 turns over1 and falls on the floor4 ,the experiment is renewed1 in full light as before1 the hand of the medium remaining several inches from the bell4444 ,it is evident that these exploits are still more extraordinary than the preceding ones1 in certain respects4 ,the following are the conclusions of the report of ,professor ,porro4 ,the phenomena are real4 ,they cannot be explained either by fraud or by hallucination4 ,do they find their explanation in certain strata of the unconscious 7the subliminal71 in some latent faculty of the human soul1 or indeed do they reveal the existence of other entities living under conditions wholly different from ours and normally inaccessible to our senses8 ,in other words1 will the animistic hypothesis suffice to solve the problem and to do away with the ,spiritualistic hypothesis8 ,or1 rather1 do not the phenomena serve here1 as in the psychology of dreams1 to complicate the problem by hiding the ,spiritualistic solution within them8 ,it is to this formidable query that ,i am going to attempt a reply4 ,when1 eleven years ago1 ,alexander ,aksakof stated the dilemma between ,animism and ,spiritism1 and in a masterly work clearly proved that purely animistic manifestations were inseparable from those which direct our thoughts to a belief in the existence of independent1 intelligent1 and active entities1 no one could have expected that the first term of the dilemma would be disputed and criticised in a thousand ways1 under a thousand varying forms1 by persons who would be dismayed at the second term4 ,in fact1 what are all the hypotheses which for ten years now have been invented in order to reduce mediumistic phenomena to the simple manifestation of qualities latent in the human psyche 7or soul71 if not different forms of the animistic hypothesis1 so jeered at when it appeared in the work of ,aksakof8 ,from the idea of the unconscious muscular action of the spectators 7put forth half a century ago by ,faraday7 to the projection of protoplasmic activity or to the temporary emanation from the body of the medium imagined by ,lodge2 from the psychiatric doctrine of ,lombroso to the psycho-physiology of ,ochorowicz2 from the externalization admitted by ,rochas to the eso-psychism of ,morselli2 from the automatism of ,pierre ,janet to the duplication of personality of ,alfred ,binet1--there was a perfect flood of explanations1 having for their end the elimination of an exterior personality4 ,the process was logical and in agreement with the principles of scientific philosophy1 which instructs us to exhaust the possibilities of what is already known before having recourse to the unknown4 ,but this principle1 unassailable in theory1 may lead to erroneous results when it is wilfully stretched too far into a given field of research4 ,vallati has cited1 in this connection1 a curious marginal note of ,galileo1 recently published in the third volume of the national edition of his works3 ,if we heat amber1 the diamond1 and certain other very dense substances by chafing them1 they attract small light bodies1 because1 in cooling off1 they attract the air1 which draws these corpuscles along with it4 ,thus the desire to bring still unexplained material facts under the known physical laws of his day led an observer and thinker so prudent and practical as ,galileo to formulate a false proposition4 ,if anybody had said to him that in the attraction exercised by amber there was the germ of a new branch of science and the rudimentary manifestation of an energy 7electricity7 then unknown1 he would have replied that it was useless to have recourse to the aid of the unknown4 ,but the analogy between the error committed by the great physicist and that which modern scholars commit can be pushed still farther4 ,galileo was familiar with a form of energy which the natural philosophy of our times investigates simultaneously with electric energy1 with which it has close relations confirmed by all recent discoveries4 ,if it had been perceived that the explanation which he gave of the phenomenon of amber had no foundation1 he would have been able to give his attention to the analogies which the attraction exercised by amber rubbed over light bodies presents with the attraction exercised by the loadstone upon iron filings4 ,when he had got so far1 he would very probably have discarded his first hypothesis and would have admitted that the attractive power of amber is a magnetic phenomenon4 ,he would have been deceived1 however1 for it is an electric phenomenon4 ,in the same way might not those persons deceive themselves who1 in order to escape at any cost the necessity of the hypothesis of spiritistic entities1 should insist with a too persistent predilection upon the animistic hypothesis1 even when this would be found insufficient to explain all mediumistic manifestations8 ,might it not be true that1 like electric and magnetic phenomena1 which are in close interchangeable connection1 and frequently appear to us inseparable1 animistic and spiritistic phenomena have a common bond8 ,and let us well note that a single fact1 inexplicable by the animistic hypothesis and explicable by the spiritistic hypothesis1 would suffice to confer upon the latter that degree of scientific value which up to the present time has been so energetically denied to it1 just as the discovery of a secondary phenomenon1 that of the polarization of light1 sufficed to make ,fresnel reject the ,newtonian theory of emission and admit that of undulation4 ,did we obtain1 during the course of our ten seances with ,eusapia1 the one fact which is enough to make the spiritistic hypothesis necessarily take precedence of all others8 ,it is impossible to reply categorically to this question because it is not possible1 and never will be1 to have a scientific proof of the identity of the beings who manifest themselves4 ,the fact that ,i hear1 that ,i see1 that ,i touch a phantom2 that ,i recognize in it the form and the attitude of persons whom ,i have known and whom the medium has neither known nor of whom she has even heard the names2 that ,i have the most lively and affecting testimony to the presence of this ephemeral apparition1--all that will not be sufficient to constitute the scientific fact which none can refute1 and which shall be worthy to remain in the annals of science along with the experiments of ,torricelli1 ,archimedes and ,galvani4 ,it will always be possible to imagine an unknown mechanism by the aid of which elemental substance and power may be drawn from the medium and the sitters and combined in such a way as to produce the indicated effects4 ,it will always be possible to find in the special aptitudes of the medium1 in the thought of the sitters1 and even in their attitude of expectant attention1 the cause of the human origin of the phenomena4 ,it will always be possible to unearth from the arsenal of the attacks made upon these studies during the last fifty years1 some generic or specific argument1 either ad rem or ad hominem1 while ignoring or feigning to ignore the refutation of the argument which has already been made4 ,the question1 then1 reduces itself at once to an individual study of cases either directly observed or obtained from some sure hand1 in order on the one hand1 to create a personal conviction capable of resisting the scathing ridicule of the sceptics1 and1 on the other hand1 to prepare public opinion to admit the truth of cases observed by persons worthy of credence4 ,with regard to the first of these1 the illustrious experimenter ,sidgwick1 has already said that no fact or case exists capable of convincing everybody1 but that each one1 by patiently and calmly observing1 may find such fact or case as will suffice to establish his own conviction4 ,i may say that for myself such a case exists4 ,i need only refer to the phenomena in which ,i have personally participated in the seances with ,eusapia4 ,with regard to the second point ,i could say much1 but that would lead me beyond the subject matter and the limits of this study4 ,on the one hand1 we have the universal belief in the objective existence of a world unknown to us in our normal state2 that faith 7the basis of all religions7 in a future life where the injustices of this one will be atoned for and where we shall be confronted with the good or evil deeds that we have done on earth2 that uninterrupted tradition of systematic or spontaneous observances and rituals1 thanks to which man is constantly kept in relation more or less with that unknown world4 ,on the other hand1 we have the sceptical and disheartening negation of systems of pessimistic philosophy and of atheism1 a negation which takes its rise in the absence of positive proofs of the survival of the soul2 the ever more and more marked tendency of science toward a monistic interpretation of the enigma of human life2 and the belief that all the known phenomena of life appear only in connection with special organs4 ,in order to decide in so abstruse a matter as this1 mediumistic experiments do not suffice2 everyone may draw from these as much of credence or of incredulity as he may need in order to resolve his doubts in one way or another2 but he will never divest himself of the substratum of temperamental tendencies which the more or less scientific education of his mind or the more or less mystical inclinations of his nature shall have developed in him4 ,one word more and ,i have done4 ,while admitting it as the most probable hypothesis that the intelligent beings to whom we owe these psychical phenomena are pre-existing1 independent entities1 and that they only derive from us the conditions necessary for their manifestation in a physical plane accessible to our senses1 ought we to admit also that they are really the spirits of the dead8 ,to this question ,i will reply that ,i do not feel that ,i am as yet capable of giving a decisive answer4 ,still ,i should be inclined to admit it1 if ,i did not see the possibility that these phenomena might form part of a scheme of things still more vast4 ,in fact1 nothing hinders us from believing in the existence of forms of life wholly different from those which we know1 and of which the life of human beings before birth and after death forms only a special case1 just as the organic life of man is a special case of animal life in general4 ,but ,i am leaving the solid ground of facts to explore that of the most hazardous hypotheses4 ,i have already spoken at too great length1 and will therefore close the discussion of this particular topic4 ,i have considered the above subjects in several of my own works4#da ,we are surrounded by unknown forces and there is no proof that we are not also surrounded by invisible beings4 ,our senses teach us nothing about reality4 ,but logically the discussion of theories ought to be reserved as a complement to the ensemble or summary of our observations and experiments2 that is to say1 for the last chapter4 ,it behooves us before everything else positively to ascertain that mediumistic phenomena exist4 ,it seems to me1 that this has been done for every impartial reader4 ,this will be overwhelmingly confirmed by the following chapters4 ,but there is one point on which we ought to dwell a moment4 ,i mean the question of fraud1 conscious or unconscious1 which it would be natural1 but unfair1 to here ignore and cover up4 ,our judicial review would not be complete did we not consecrate a special chapter to these mystifications1 which unhappily are too frequently employed by mediums4 ,,chapter ,v ,,frauds1 ,,tricks1 ,,deceptions1 ,,impostures1 ,,feats ,,of ,,legerdemain1 ,,mystifications1 ,,impediments ,several times in the preceding chapters the question has come up of fraud in the mediums4 ,i am sorry to say that experimenters must be constantly on their guard against them4 ,it is this which has discouraged certain eminent men and prevented them from continuing their researches1 for their time is too precious to waste4 ,this may be especially noticed in the letter of ,m4 ,schiaparelli above 7p4 #fd7 whom ,spiritualists keep citing 7wrongly7 as among the number of their partisans4 ,but he absolutely refuses to be identified with them4 ,he accepts no theory2 he is not even sure of the actual existence of the facts1 and has declined to give the time needed for their authentication4 ,i shall take occasion in the second volume of ,the ,unknown to treat of ,spiritualism 7properly so called71 of the doctrine of the plurality of worlds1 of the plurality of existences1 of re-incarnation1 of pre-existence1 and of communications with the departed1--subjects independent of the material phenomena to a discussion of which the present work is devoted4 ,to these subjects the physical manifestations only contribute in an indirect manner4 ,as we have already several times said in the preceding pages1 we are only concerned here to prove the actual existence of these extraordinary phenomena4 ,the establishing of the proof depends above all upon the elimination of fraud4 ,in the case of ,eusapia 7the medium most thoroughly examined in the present volume7 fraud1 unhappily1 has been only too well established in more than one instance4 ,but a very important remark must here be made4 ,all physiologists know that hysterical persons have a tendency to falsehood and simulation4 ,they lie1 apparently without reason1 and solely for the pleasure of lying4 ,there are hysterics among the women and young girls of the higher classes4 ,does this characteristic defect prove that hysteria does not exist8 ,it proves just the contrary4 ,consequently1 those who think that the frauds of the mediums give the death blow to mediumship are deceived4 ,mediumship exists1 as well as hysteria1 as well as hypnotism1 as well as somnambulism4 ,trickery also exists4 ,i will not say1 with certain theologians1 ,there are false prophets1 therefore there are true ones1 for that is a sophism of the worst kind4 ,the existence of the false does not hinder the existence of the true4 ,i knew a kleptomaniac1 who got herself arrested more than once in the great shops of ,paris for stealing various articles4 ,that does not prove that she never bought anything1 and only obtained by theft all the articles she needed4 ,on the contrary1 the objects stolen must have represented but a small part of the materials of her toilet4 ,but the fact that she stole is incontestable4 ,in the experiments which we are considering in these pages1 deception is a co-efficient which cannot be neglected4 ,it is my duty to point out here some examples of this failing4 ,before doing so1 ,i ought to recall the fact that for a period of forty years ,i have examined all the mediums whose achievements have had the widest celebrity1--including ,daniel ,d4 ,home1 gifted with the most astounding powers1 who gave at the ,tuileries1 before the ,emperor ,napoleon ,,iii1 his family1 and his friends1 such extraordinary seances1 and who was later employed by ,william ,crookes in the accurate scientific researches made by that gentleman2 ,mme4 ,rodiere1 a remarkable typtologic medium2 ,c4 ,bredif1 who produced strange apparitions2 ,eglington1 with the enchanted slates2 ,henry ,slade1 who made with the astronomer ,zoellner those incredible experiments from which geometry only saved itself by admitting the possibility of a fourth dimension of space2 ,buguet whose photographic plates caught and held the shadows of the dead1 and who1 having allowed me to experiment with him1 let me conduct my researches for five weeks before ,i detected his fraudulent methods and mechanisms2 ,lacroix1 to whom spirits of all ages seemed to troop in crowds2 and many others who inspire deep interest in ,spiritualists and scientific investigators by manifestations more or less strange and marvelous4 ,i have quite often been absolutely deceived4 ,when ,i took the precautions that were necessary to put the medium beyond the possibility of trickery1 ,i obtained no result2 if ,i pretended not to see anything ,i would perceive out of the corner of my eye attempts at deceit4 ,and1 in general1 the phenomena which took place happened only in the moments of distraction in which my attention was for an instant relaxed4 ,while ,i was pushing my investigation a little farther1 ,i saw with my own eyes ,buguet's prepared negatives2 saw with my own eyes ,slade writing under the table upon a concealed slate1 and so forth4 ,apropos of this famous medium ,slade1 ,i may recall the fact that after his experiments with ,zoellner1 director of the observatory at ,leipzig1 he came to ,paris1 and for the purpose of experimentation1 placed himself at my disposal 7and that of all the astronomers at the ,observatory to whom ,i should introduce him74 ,he said he got direct writings from the spirits by a bit of pencil placed between two slates tied together1 by oscillations of the magnetic needle1 displacements of furniture1 the automatic throwing about of objects1 and the like4 ,he was very willing to give me one seance a week1 for six weeks 7on ,monday at #aa o'clock ,a4 ,m41 at #ba ,beaujon ,street74 ,but ,i obtained nothing certain4 ,in the cases that did succeed1 there was a possible substitution of slates4 ,tired of so much loss of time1 ,i agreed with ,admiral ,mouchez1 director of the ,observatory of ,paris1 to confide to ,slade a double slate prepared by ourselves1 with the precautions which were necessary in order that we should not be entrapped4 ,the two slates were sealed in such a way with paper of the ,observatory that if he took them apart he could not conceal the fraud4 ,he accepted the conditions of the experiment4 ,i carried the slates to his apartment4 ,they remained under the influence of the medium1 in this apartment1 not a quarter of an hour1 not a half-hour or an hour1 but ten consecutive days1 and when he sent them back to us there was not the least trace of writing inside2 and yet specimens of this were always furnished by him when he had the opportunity of transposing slates prepared in advance4#db ,without entering into other details1 let it suffice me to say1 that1 too frequently deceived by dishonest and mendacious mediums1 ,i brought to my experiments with ,eusapia a mental reserve of scepticism1 of doubt1 and of suspicion4 ,the conditions of experimenting are in general so crooked that it is easy to be duped4 ,and scientists and scholars are perhaps most easily duped of all men1 because scientific observation of experiments is always honest1 since we are not obliged to distrust nature1--when the question is of a star or of a molecule1--and since we have the habit of describing facts as they present themselves to our intelligence4 ,that granted1 we may now look at certain curious doings of ,eusapia4 ,we considered a little farther back 7p4 #agc7 ,col4 de ,rochas's strange experiment with the letter-weigher4 ,this was considered by the experimenters as absolutely conclusive4 ,i was curious to verify it4 ,here are my notes on the matter4 ,i4 ,november #ab1 #ahih4--,this afternoon we took a drive in a landau 7,eusapia and ,i7 in company with ,m4 and ,mme4 ,pallotti of ,cairo1 and1 among other things1 we visited the exhibition of chrysanthemums at the ,tuileries4 ,eusapia is enchanted4 ,we return about #f o'clock4 ,my wife seats herself at the piano1 and ,eusapia sings some ,neapolitan airs and some little fragments of ,italian operas4 ,afterwards we all three chat confidentially with each other4 ,she is in a very happy state of mind1 tells us how sometimes on stormy days she experiences electric cracklings and sparkling in her hair1 especially on an old wound that she once received on the head4 ,she also tells us that when she has been a long time without holding a seance she is in a state of irritation1 and feels the need of freeing herself of the psychic fluid which saturates her4 ,this avowal astonishes me1 for1 at the end of every seance1 she seems rather to be listless and melancholy and seems to hold a sitting rather unwillingly than otherwise4 ,she adds that she frequently has fluidic prolongations of the ends of her fingers1 and1 putting her two hands on my knees1 the inside of the hand turned upward1 at the same time spreading out the fingers and placing them opposite each other face to face1 at a distance of several inches1 and alternately bringing the hands together and withdrawing them1 she tells us to observe from time to time the radiations which prolong the fingers by forming a sort of luminous aureole at their extremities4 ,my wife thinks she perceives some of them4 ,i am unable to see anything at all1 in spite of all my efforts1 although ,i change the light and shade in all sorts of ways4 ,the salon is lighted at this time by two intense ,auer burners4 ,we go into the bedroom1 lighted only by candles1 and ,i cannot see them any better4 ,i snuff out the candles1 on the supposition that this is perhaps a case of phosphorescence2 but ,i never perceive anything4 ,we return to the salon4 ,eusapia spreads a black woollen shawl over her silk skirt and shows me the luminous effluence4 ,but all the time ,i can see nothing1 unless it be for a moment a kind of pale ray at the end of the index finger of her right-hand4 ,the dinner hour approaches4 ,it is seven o'clock4 ,a letter-weigher 7,pl4 ,x71 which ,i had bought to renew the curious experiment of ,m4 de ,rochas1 is upon the table4 ,i ask ,eusapia if she remembers having made a piece of mechanism like this move downward on its spring by placing her hands on each side of it1 at a distance1 and making something like magnetic passes4 ,she doesn't seem to remember anything about it and hums a little stanza from ,santa ,lucia4 ,i beg that she will try it4 ,she does so4 ,nothing moves4 ,she asks me to place my hands on hers4 ,we make the same passes1 and1 to my amazement 7for ,i really was not expecting it at all7 the little tray sinks down to the point where it touches the lever and produces the sharp sound of contact4 ,this point is beyond the graduation of the scale1 which stops at fifty grams1 and may go to sixty1 and represents seventy grams at the lowest4 ,the tray immediately rises again4 ,we begin a second time4 ,nothing4 ,a third time3 the same lowering and the same return to equilibrium4 ,then ,i beg her to try the experiment alone4 ,she rubs her hands together and makes the same passes4 ,the letter weigher goes down to the same maximum point4 ,we are all standing close by her1 in the full light of the ,auer burners4 ,the same performance is repeated1 the tray remaining down for an interval of about five minutes4 ,the movement does not take place at once2 there are sometimes three or four trials without success1 as if the force were exhausted by the result4 ,the tray had already sunk down four times before our eyes1 always as far as the maximum point1 when the valet de chambre1 passing by upon some matter of service1 ,i tell him to stop and look4 ,eusapia begins again and does not succeed4 ,she waits a moment1 rubs her hands1 begins again1 and the same movement without contact is produced for the seventh time1 before the three witnesses1 each as much astonished as the other4 ,her hands are sensibly chilled4 ,i think of the trick of the hair1 pass my hands between both of hers and find nothing there2 ,i did not see anything4 ,besides1 she does not seem to have touched her head1 and her hands have remained before us since the commencement of the experiment1 free and untouched4 ,on the supposition that there may be here some electric force in operation1 ,i beg her to place her fingers upon an extremely sensitive compass4 ,in whatever way she grasps this1 it refuses to move4 ,we sit down to the dinner-table4 ,i ask her to lift a fork as she had done at ,montfort4 ,at the third trial she succeeds--and without the use of a hair1 at least any that was apparent4 ,,ii4 ,november #af4--;,in order to entertain ,eusapia1 ,adolphe ,brisson yesterday evening offered her a box at the ,folies-,bergere1 where ,loie ,fuller was giving her magnificent spectacular exhibitions4 ,we went there with her4 ,she returned enchanted1 is to-day very gay and very animated1 speaks of her candid and loyal character and blames the comedies of fashionable life4 ,during dinner she tells us a part of the story of her life4 ,nine o'clock4--,m4 and ,mme4 ,levy and ,m4 ,g4 ,mathieu have just arrived4 ,we are conversing4 ,placing her hands on a leg of ,m4 ,mathieu in the darkness she shows him the radiations emanating from her fingers1 which are however scarcely apparent to us4 ,it was after having shown me these radiations1 the other day1 that the experiment of the letter-weigher took place4 ,she associates the two phenomena1 and undertakes to try the latter again4 ,she asks me to give her a little water4 ,i go to the dining-room in search of a carafe and a glass4 ,during my absence1 ,m4 ,mathieu remarks that1 while my wife is talking with ,m4 and ,mme4 ,levy1 ,eusapia reaches her hand to her head and makes a little gesture as if she were pulling out a hair4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xi ,,method ,,used ,,by ,,eusapia ,,to ,,surreptitiously ,,free ,,her ,,hand4 ,i return with a glass and a carafe and pour out for her as much as she wishes4 ,she drinks a quarter of a glass of water4 ,at my request1 she moves her hands downward on each side of the letter-weigher in the same way as day before yesterday1 and after two or three passes the tray sinks1 not to its full length as day before yesterday1 but to the mark of thirty-five or forty grams4 ,the experiment was tried a second time and succeeded in the same way4 ,under pretext of going in search of a photographic camera ,m4 ,mathieu draws me into another room and shows me a long1 very fine hair which fell into his hand after the experiment1 at the moment when ,eusapia was making a gesture as if she were going to shake his hand4 ,this hair is of a rich chestnut tint 7the color of ,eusapia's hair7 and measures fourteen inches in length4 ,i have preserved it4 ,this took place at quarter past nine4 ,the sitting begins at #i3cj and finishes at #aa3cj4 ,after the sitting1 ,eusapia asks me for another glass of water1 and shows me a little hair between her fingers4 ,just as she is going1 at midnight1 half laughingly1 half seriously1 she pulls a hair from the front part of her head and1 taking the hand of my wife1 puts this hair in it and closes the hand while looking her in the eye4 ,she certainly noticed that we had perceived fraud4 ,,iii4 ,november #ai4--;,eusapia is a sly one4 ,she is gifted with great sharpness of sight and has unusually sensitive ears4 ,she is very intelligent and is a person of rare delicacy of feeling4 ,she perceives and divines everything which concerns herself4 ,never reading1 since she doesn't know how to read2 never writing1 since she doesn't know how to write2 speaking little when here1 since she rarely finds persons who understand and speak ,italian1 she remains always concentrated in herself and nothing turns her from permanent thought about her own personality4 ,it would undoubtedly be impossible to discover a similar state of mind in the case of other persons2 for we1 as they1 are generally occupied with a thousand things which scatter our attention over many different objects4 ,i arrive1 at #aa3cj1 at the rooms of ,dr4 ,richet in order to escort ,eusapia to ,mme4 ,fourton's1 where we are to take luncheon4 ,she is cold and constrained4 ,i pretend not to notice it1 and keep talking with the doctor4 ,she goes to put on her hat and we descend the stairs4 ,at the foot of the staircase she says1 ,what did ,m4 ,richet say to you8 ,what were you speaking of8 ,a moment after1 returning in thought to our last seance1 she says1 ,were you completely satisfied8 ,in the carriage ,i take her hand and converse with her in a friendly way4 ,everything is going very well1 ,i say to her but some experiments will still be necessary in order to leave no room for doubt4 ,then ,i speak to her of other things4 ,she becomes gradually sociable and her clouded brow seems to clear up4 ,however1 she evidently feels that in spite of my rather superficial amiability1 ,i am not absolutely the same to her4 ,during the luncheon she holds out her champagne glass to me and drinks my health4 ,mme4 ,fourton is convinced of ,eusapia's genuineness1 beyond all manner of doubt4 ,during conversation1 a little later1 ,eusapia says to her1 ,i am sure of you1 ,i am sure of ,mme4 ,blech1 of ,m4 ,richet1 of ,m4 de ,rochas2 but ,i am not sure of ,m4 ,flammarion4 ,you are sure of ,mme4 ,fourton1 ,i replied4 ,very well4 ,but think for a moment of the several thousand persons who are waiting for my opinion in order to fix their own4 ,m4 ,chiaia told you this at ,naples1 ,m4 de ,rochas repeated it to you in ,paris4 ,you see ,i have a very great responsibility and you yourself certainly see that ,i cannot affirm that of which ,i am not absolutely certain4 ,you ought yourself loyally to aid me in obtaining that certainty4 ,yes1 she replied1 ,i understand the difference very well4 ,however1 if it had not been for you ,i should not have made the journey from ,naples1 for the climate of ,paris does not agree with me very well4 ,oh1 certainly2 we must have you convinced beyond the possibility of doubt4 ,she has now returned to her habitual intimacy4 ,we took her to the ,museum at the ,louvre1 which she had not visited1 then to a meeting with ,m4 ,jules ,bois who was making suggestion-experiments with ,mme4 ,lina4 ,eusapia is very much interested in these4 ,we speak of the jests and mimickings of the comedians4 ,in the evening1 at dinner1 the brilliant conversation of ,victorien ,sardou1 the repartees of ,col4 de ,rochas1 the questions 7a little insidious7 of ,brisson1 all interest her but it is evident that she never forgets herself4 ,thus1 before dinner1 she tells me that she has the headache1 especially in the neighborhood of her wound1 passes her hand through her hair 7which hurts her71 and asks me for a brush4 ,in order1 she says1 that in case of a seance experiment1 a stray hair shall not be found in the wrong place4 ,and she carefully brushes her shoulders4 ,i do not always appear to understand her4 ,but there is no doubt that she understands that we have--found a hair6 ,,iv4 7,,more ,,recent ,,note1--,,march1 #aijf47 ,on ,thursday1 ,march #bi1 ,eusapia1 being in ,paris1 came to see me4 ,i had not seen her since her seances at my house in ,november1 #ahih4 ,we kept her to dinner1 and after dinner ,i asked her to take part with me in some experiments4 ,i first asked her to place her hands upon the piano1 thinking that perhaps some of its strings would vibrate4 ,but nothing happened4 ,i then induced her to place her hands on the covered keyboard4 ,she asked that it be slightly opened by means of a little block4 ,i placed my hands upon it1 by the side of hers4 ,my object was1 by keeping up contact1 to keep her from slipping a finger over the keys4 ,she kept trying to substitute one hand for the two that ,i held1 in such a way as to leave one of them free1 and a few notes sounded4 ,result of the experiment1 nil4 ,we left the piano and went over to a white-wood table4 ,we got some insignificant balancings4 ,is there a spirit there8 ,yes 7indicated by three raps47 ,does it wish to communicate8 ,yes4 ,i pronounce slowly and in their proper order the letters of the alphabet4 ,reply1 ,tua matre1 7thy mother47 ,this certainly means ,tua madre4 7note once more that ,eusapia does not know how to read or write47 ,eusapia noticed that ,i was in mourning and ,i had told her that my mother had died on the first of last ,july4 ,i then asked to be told her name4 7,eusapia does not know it47 ,no reply4 ,the movements of the table which were next asked for gave no results of any particular value4 ,however1 a stuffed arm-chair near by was several times shifted out of its place without contact1 advancing of itself toward ,eusapia4 ,since the chandelier was lighted1 and there was no possibility of any string being used1 and since ,i had my foot upon that one of ,eusapia's which was nearest the arm-chair1 the movement must evidently have been due to a force emanating from the medium4 ,i pushed the easy chair back three times4 ,three times it returned4 ,the same phenomenon was reproduced several days afterward4 ,it is observable that if she had been able to detach her foot from mine1 she would have been able to reach the chair 7by some little twisting17 and the production of the phenomenon must have been within the range of her circle of activity 7and of possible trickery74 ,but1 as the case was1 deception was impossible4 ,since we could not obtain any levitation of the table1 and since the psychical force of the four of us 7,eusapia1 myself1 my wife1 and ,eusapia's companion1 who had joined us for a moment1 but1 who at other times1 always remained apart7 was clearly insufficient1 ,i went and secured a lighter round table4 ,then1 with her hands placed upon it in contact with mine1 three of its feet were raised to a height of ten or twelve inches from the floor4 ,we repeated the experiment three times1 with gratifying success4 ,eusapia squeezed my hands violently in one of hers 7the right hand7 which rested on the table4 ,the whole seance is thus seen to have been a web of intermingled truth and falsehood4 ,these notes remind us once more that there is almost always a mingling of veritable fact and of fraudulent performance4 ,it is easy to admit that the medium1 wishing to produce an effect1 and having at her disposal for this purpose two means1--the one easy and demanding only skill and cunning1 the other distressing1 costly1 and painful1--is tempted to choose1 consciously or even unconsciously1 that which costs her the least4 ,the following is her method of procedure for obtaining the substitution of hands4 ,the figures shown in ,plate ,,xi represent four successive positions of the medium's hands and those of the sitters4 ,they show how1 owing to the darkness and to a skilful combined series of movements1 she can induce the sitter on the right to believe that he still feels the right hand of the medium on his own1 while he really feels her left hand1 which is firmly held by the sitter on the left4 ,this right hand of hers1 being then free1 is able to produce such effects as are within its reach4 ,the substitution may be obtained in different ways4 ,but1 whichever method is used1 it is evident that the freed hand can only operate in a space within its reach4 ,who of us is always master of his impressions and of his faculties8 writes ,dr4 ,dariex in this connection4#dc ,who of us can at will put himself into such and such a physical condition and such and such a moral state8 ,is the composer of music master of his inspiration8 ,does a poet always write verses of equal worth8 ,is a man of genius always a man of genius8 ,now1 what is there less normal1 more impressionable1 and more capricious than a sensitive1 a medium1 especially when she is away from home1 thrown out of the routine of her daily life1 and staying with those with whom she is unacquainted or knows very slightly1 who are to be her judges and who expect from her the rare and abnormal phenomenon the production of which is not under the constant and complete control of her will8 ,a sensitive placed in such a situation1 will have a fatal propensity to feign the phenomenon which does not spontaneously materialize or to heighten by deceit the intensity of a partially successful experiment4 ,this feigning is of course a very vexatious and regrettable thing4 ,it throws suspicion upon the experiments1 renders them much more difficult and less within the reach of the investigator4 ,but this is only an impediment1 and ought not to fetch us up short and lead us to give a premature decision4 ,all of us who have experimented with and handled these sensitives know that at every step we run foul of fraud1 conscious or unconscious1 and that all mediums--or almost all--are used to the thing4 ,we know that we must1 unfortunately1 take our share1 for the moment1 of this regrettable weakness1 and be perspicacious enough to hinder1 or at least to unearth the trickery1 and to disentangle the true from the false4 ,more than one of those who have engaged perseveringly in psychic experiments1 can say that he has been sometimes enervated and irritated while waiting for a phenomenon which does not take place1 and that he has felt something like a desire to put an end to this waiting by himself giving the extra twist or decisive touch4#dd ,such experimenters can understand that if1 in place of being conscientious workers1 always masters of themselves1 incapable of deceiving1 and engaged solely in the search for scientific truth1 they were1 on the contrary1 somewhat dreamy and impulsive persons who were susceptible to suggestion and whose amour propre was active1 and in whose minds scientific probity did not hold the first and pre-eminent place1 they would undoubtedly engage1 more or less involuntarily1 in the artificial production of phenomena which refused to take place in smooth and natural order4 ,as to ,eusapia1 if she does sometimes counterfeit1 she does it only by eluding the watchful inspection of the experimenters and by escaping for a moment from their control2 but she does it without any other artifice4 ,her experiments are not planned1 and1 contrary to the habit of prestidigitators1 she does not carry any apparatus upon her person4 ,it is easy to assure one's self of this1 for she is very willing to completely undress before a lady charged with keeping watch of her4 ,furthermore1 she exhibits her powers ad libitum with the same persons1 and repeats indefinitely the same experiments before them4 ,prestidigitators do not act in this way4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,x4 ,,scales ,,used ,,in ,,professor ,,flammarion',s ,,experiment4 ,it is infinitely to be regretted that we cannot trust the loyalty of the mediums4 ,they almost all cheat4 ,this is extremely discouraging to the investigator1 and the constant perplexity of mind we feel during our investigations renders them altogether painful4 ,when we have passed several days in these inexplicable researches and then return to scientific work1--to an observation or to an astromical calculation1 for example1 or to the examination of a problem in pure science1--we experience a sensation of freshness1 calmness1 relief1 and serenity which give us1 by contrast1 the most lively satisfaction4 ,we feel that we are walking on solid ground and that we have not got to distrust anybody4 ,indeed1 all the intrinsic interest of psychic problems is needed1 sometimes1 to give us the courage to renounce the pleasure of scientific study in order to give ourselves to investigations so laborious and perplexed4 ,i believe that there is only one way to assure ourselves of the reality of the phenomena1 and that is to put the medium under conditions in which trickery is impossible4 ,to catch her in the very act of deceit would be extremely easy4 ,it would only be necessary to give her free rein4 ,and then one can very easily aid her to cheat and to get caught4 ,all that is necessary is that we be convinced of her dishonesty4 ,eusapia1 especially1 very easily takes suggestion4 ,while going one day in an open carriage to dine at his residence1 ,colonel de ,rochas said to her1 in my presence1 ,you can't lift your right hand any more4 ,try it6 ,she did try1 but in vain4 ,non posso1 non posso6 7,i can't do it1 ,i can't do it674 ,the mere suggestion had been sufficient4 ,in the phenomena concerned with the movements of objects without contact she always makes a gesture corresponding to the phenomenon4 ,a force darts forth from her and performs the deed4 ,thus1 for example1 she strikes with her fist three or four strokes in the air at a distance of ten or twelve inches from the table3 the same strokes are heard in the table4 ,and it is positively in the wood of the table4 ,it is not beneath it1 nor upon the floor4 ,her legs are held and she does not move them4 ,she strikes five strokes with the middle finger upon my hand in the air3 the five strokes are rapped upon the table 7,november #ai74 ,nay more1 this force can be transmitted by another4 ,i hold her legs with my left hand spread out upon them2 ,m4 ,sardou holds her left hand2 she takes my right wrist in her right hand and says to me1 ,strike in the direction of ,m4 ,sardou4 ,i do so three or four times4 ,m4 ,sardou feels upon his body my blows tallying my gesture1 with the difference of about a second between my motion and his sensation4 ,the experiment is tried again with the same success4 ,that same evening1 not only did we not let go for a single instant of ,eusapia's hands1 separated from each other by the width of her body and placed near our own1 but we did not allow them to be moved from the side of the objects to be displaced4 ,it took considerable time to obtain results4 ,but1 all the same1 they were wholly successful4 ,she has a tendency to go and take hold of the objects2 she must be stopped in a good time4 ,however1 she herself does take hold of them1 in fact1 through the prolongation of her muscular force1 and she says so3 ,i am grasping it1 ,i have hold of it4 ,it is our part to carefully retain her normal hands in ours4 ,we sometimes have good reason to suspect that ,eusapia seizes the objects to be moved 7such as musical instruments7 with one of her hands which she has freed4 ,but there is plenty of proof that she does not always do so4 ,here is a case1 for example4 ,the scene is ,naples1 #aijb1 at a seance with ,professor von ,schrenck-,notzing3 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4 ,the seance took place in a little room1 by a feeble light1 but one sufficient for us to distinguish the personages and their movements4 ,behind the medium1 upon a chair1 there was a harmonica1 at the distance of about a yard4 ,now1 at a certain moment1 ,eusapia took between her hands a hand of the professor and commenced to separate his fingers one from another and bring them together again1 as may be seen in the accompanying cut4 ,the harmonica was at that moment playing at a distance in tones that perfectly synchronized the movements made by ,eusapia4 ,the instrument was isolated in the room4 ,we made sure that there were no threads connecting it with the medium4 ,still less could anybody fear accomplices1 for the light would easily have betrayed their intervention4 ,this performance was analogous to that which occurred in my presence on the #bgth of ,july1 #ahig4 7see above p4 #gb47 ,the following is a typical example of sympathetic movements1 taken from a report by ,dr4 ,dariex4 ,the matter in hand was to make a key spring out from a lock4 ,the light was strong enough for us to perfectly distinguish ,eusapia's every movement4 ,all at once1 the key of the chest is heard to rattle in its lock2 but1 caught in some unknown way1 it refuses to budge4 ,eusapia grasps with her right hand the left of ,m4 ,sabatier1 and1 at the same time1 curls the fingers of her other hand around his index finger4 ,then she begins to make alternate movements of rotation back and forth around his finger4 ,we at once hear synchronous rattlings of the key which turns in its lock just as the fingers of the medium are doing4#de ,let us suppose that the chest1 instead of being at a distance from the medium1 had been within her reach2 let us still further suppose that the light1 instead of being abundant1 had been feeble and uncertain3 the sitters would not have failed to confound this kind of synchronous automatism with conscious and impudent fraud on the part of ,eusapia4 ,and they would have been deceived4 ,without excusing fraud1 which is abominable1 shameful1 and despicable in each and every case1 it can undoubtedly be explained in a very human way by admitting the reality of the phenomena4 ,in the first place the real phenomena exhaust the medium1 and only take place at the cost of an enormous expenditure of vital force4 ,she is frequently ill on the following day1 sometimes even on the second day following1 and is incapable of taking any nourishment without immediately vomiting4 ,one can readily conceive1 then1 that when she is able to perform certain wonders without any expenditure of force and merely by a more or less skilful piece of deception1 she prefers the second procedure to the first4 ,it does not exhaust her at all1 and may even amuse her4 ,let me remark1 in the next place1 that1 during these experiments1 she is generally in a half-awake condition which is somewhat similar to the hypnotic or somnambulistic sleep4 ,her fixed idea is to produce phenomena2 and she produces them1 no matter how4 ,it is1 then1 urgent1 indispensable1 to be constantly on the alert and to control all her actions and gestures with the greatest care4 ,i could cite hundreds of analogous examples observed by myself in the years gone by4 ,here is one taken from my notes4 ,on the second of ,october1 #ahhi1 a spiritualistic seance had brought together certain investigators in the hospitable mansion of the ,countess of ,mouzay1 at ,rambouillet4 ,we were told that we had the rare good fortune to have with us a veritable and excellent medium1--,mme4 ,x41 the wife of a very distinguished ,paris physician1 herself well educated and inspiring by her character the greatest confidence4 ,we arranged ourselves1 four in all1 around a little table of light wood4 ,scarcely a minute has passed when the little table seems to be taken with trembling1 and almost immediately it rises and then falls back4 ,this vertical movement is repeated several times in the full light of the lamps of the salon4 ,the next day the same levitation occurred in broad daylight1 at noon1 while we were waiting for a guest who was late to luncheon4 ,this time the round table used was much heavier4 ,is there a spirit there8 some one asks4 ,yes4 ,is he willing to give his name8 ,yes4 ,someone takes an alphabet1 counts the letters1 and receives1 by taps made by one of the feet of the table1 the name ,leopoldine ,hugo4 ,have you something to say to us8 ,charles1 my husband1 would like to be reunited to me4 ,but where is he8 ,floating in space4 ,and you8 ,in the presence of ,god4 ,all that is very vague4 ,could you give us a proof of identity to show us that you are really the daughter of ,victor ,hugo1 the wife of ,charles ,vacquerie8 ,do you remember the place where you died8 ,yes1 at ,villequier4 ,inasmuch as the accident of your shipwreck in the ,seine is well known1 and since the whole thing may be latent in our brains1 could you please give us other facts8 ,do you remember the year of your death8 #ahdi4 ,i do not think so1 ,i replied1 for ,i have in my mind's eye a page of the ,contemplations where the date of ,september #d1 #ahdc1 is written4 ,has my memory played me false8 ,yes4 ,it is #ahdi4 ,you astonish me very much1 for in #ahdc1 ,victor ,hugo returned from ,spain on account of your death1 while in #ahdi he was a representative of the people in ,paris4 ,moreover1 you died six months after your marriage1 which took place in ,february1 #ahdc4 ,at this point1 the ,countess of ,mouzay remarked that she was very well acquainted with ,victor ,hugo and his family1 that they were living then in the street of ,latour-d',auvergne1 and that the date #ahdi must be correct4 ,i maintain the contrary4 ,the spirit sticks to its fact4 ,in what month did the event take place8 ,july4 ,no1 it was in ,september4 ,you are not ,leopoldine ,hugo4 ,how old were you when you died8 ,eighteen years4 ,they don't remember very often to decorate my tomb with flowers4 ,where8 ,at ,pere-,lachaise4 ,you are wrong1 it was at ,villequier that you were buried1 and ,i went myself to visit your tomb4 ,your husband1 ,charles ,vacquerie is also there1 with the two other victims of the catastrophe4 ,you don't know what you are talking about4 ,at this point our hostess declares that she was not thinking at all of ,pere-,lachaise1 and that1 in her opinion1 ,leopoldine ,hugo and her husband remained at the bottom of the ,seine4 ,after luncheon we sit down again at the seance table4 ,various oscillations4 ,then a name is dictated4 ,sivel4 ,the aeronaut8 ,yes4 ,in what year did you die8 #ahge4 7,correct47 ,what month8 ,march4 7,it was ,april #ae47 ,from what point did your balloon start8 ,la ,villette4 7,correct47 ,where did you fall8 ,in the river ,indre4 ,all these elements were more or less known to us4 ,i ask for a more special proof of identity4 ,where did you know me8 ,with ,admiral ,mouchez4 ,it is impossible4 ,i first knew ,admiral ,mouchez at the time of his appointment to the directorship of the ,paris ,observatory4 ,he succeeded ,le ,verrier in #ahgg1 two years after your death4 ,the table is agitated and dictates as follows3 ,give your name4 ,witold4 ,marchioness1 ,i love you still4 ,are you happy8 ,no1 ,i behaved badly to you4 ,you know very well that ,i pardon you1 and that ,i preserve the happiest recollection of you4 ,you are too good4 ,these thoughts were evidently in the mind of the lady2 so there was here no more proof of identity than in the other case4 ,all of a sudden the table begins to move vigorously1 and another name is dictated1 ,ravachol4#df ,oh1 what is he going to say to us8 ,i will set down here what he said1 though not without shame1 and with all due apologies to my lady readers4 ,here it is in all its crudity3 ,bougres de cretins1 votre sale gueule est encore plaine des odeurs du festin4 7,nasty blackguards and idiots1 your dirty throat is still full of the odors of the feast47 ,monsieur ,ravachol1 this language of yours is exquisite6 ,have you nothing more refined than this to say to us8 ,you be blowed6 ,certainly no one of us was capable of consciously composing such a sentence as that4 ,but everybody knows the words that were used4 ,perhaps our conscious or sub-conscious thoughts spoke in them8 ,did they emanate from ,mme4 ,x41 the medium8 ,in the uncertainty into which we were plunged by these two seances1 we asked ,m4 and ,mme4 ,x4 to come and pass a ,sunday at ,juvisy and try some new studies and tests4 ,they came1 and on ,sunday1 ,october #h1 we obtained some remarkable levitations4 ,but there are some dregs of doubt yet in our minds1 and we make engagements for another reunion that day fortnight4 ,on ,sunday1 the #bb;d of ,october1 #ahii1 in furtherance of my desire to exercise careful control over the investigators1 ,i had four broad boards nailed together1 forming a vertical frame in which ,i placed the little table to be used during the sitting4 ,this framework made it impossible for the feet of the sitters to pass under the table2 and if it rose in spite of this1 then we should know that the levitation was due to an unknown force4 ,the remarks of ,mme4 ,x41 when she saw this device1 made me think at once that no levitation was going to take place4 ,this power of ours1 said she1 is capricious2 on some days we get good results1 on others none at all1 and for no apparent reason4 ,but we shall perhaps have raps1 at any rate8 ,certainly4 ,we ought not to anticipate results4 ,one can always try4 ,two hours after luncheon1 ,mme4 ,x4 agrees to try a sitting4 ,no levitation whatever occurred4 ,i had some suspicions that this would be the case4 ,i ardently desired the contrary1 and we willed the levitation with all our might4 ,i was expressly careful to have the same experimenters 7,mme4 ,x4 and ,mme4 ,cail1 and myself7 as a fortnight before1 when everything succeeded so admirably1--same places1 same chairs1 same room1 temperature1 hour1 etc4 ,raps indicate that a spirit wishes to speak4 ,i notice that the raps correspond to a muscular movement of ,mme4 ,x4's leg4 ,who are you8 ,in the library of the master of the house my name will be found in a book4 ,how shall we find it8 ,it is written on a piece of paper4 ,in what book8 ,astronomia4 ,of what date8 ,no reply4 ,of what color8 ,yellow4 ,bound8 ,no4 ,stitched8 ,yes4 ,on what shelf8 ,hunt4 ,it impossible to go through thousands of volumes1 and1 besides1 there is not such a book in the whole library4 ,no reply4 ,after a series of questions we learn that the book is on the sixth shelf of the main body of the library1 to the right of the door4 ,but first1 we all went into the room to make sure it contained no such book as was described4 ,then the volume is bound in boards8 ,yes1 there are four low volumes4 ,we return to the room1 and1 sure enough1 find in a volume entitled ,anatomia ,celeste1 ,venice1 #aegc1 a piece of paper1 upon which is pencilled the name ,krishna4 ,we return to the seance table4 ,is it really you1 ,krishna8 ,yes4 ,in what epoch did you live8 ,in the time of ,jesus4 ,in what country8 ,in the neighborhood of the ,himalaya mountain system4 ,and how did you write your name on this piece of paper8 ,by passing through the thought of my medium4 ,etc41 etc4 ,i thought it would be superfluous to persist any farther4 ,mme4 ,x4 not being able to raise the table had chosen the device of table rappings4 ,the calling up of the ,hindu prophet1 however1 ,i thought was a fine piece of audacity4 ,the simplest hypothesis is that the woman went into my library and put the piece of paper in the book4 ,in fact1 she was seen there4 ,but even had she not been1 the conclusion would be no less certain4 ,for the room was open1 and ,mme4 ,x4 had remained about an hour in the next room1 detained by a nervous headache4 ,this specimen of mediumistic trickery is1 as ,i have said1 one among hundreds4 ,really1 one must be endowed with the most unweariable perseverance to enable him to devote to those studies hours which would be much better employed even in doing nothing at all4 ,however1 when one has the conviction that something real exists he always returns1 in spite of incessant trickery4 ,in the month of ,may1 #aija1 ,princess ,karadja introduced to me a professional medium1 ,frau ,anna ,rothe1 a ,german1 whose specialty consisted in her alleged ability to spirit flowers into a tightly closed room in broad daylight4 ,i made arrangements for a seance with her at my apartments in ,paris4 ,during its continuance1 bouquets of flowers of all sizes1 did1 in truth1 make their appearance1 but always from a quarter in the room the opposite of that to which our attention was drawn by ,frau ,rothe and her manager1 ,max ,ientsch4 ,being well nigh convinced that all was fraud1 but not having the time to devote to such sittings1 ,i begged ,m4 ,cail to be present1 as often as he could1 at the meetings which were to be held in different ,parisian salons4 ,he gladly consented1 and got invited to a seance at the ,clement ,marot house4 ,having taken his station a little in the rear of the flower-scattering medium1 he saw her adroitly slip one hand beneath her skirts and draw out branches which she tossed into the air4 ,he also saw her take oranges from her corsage1 and ascertained that they were warm4 ,the imposture was a glaring one1 and he immediately unmasked her1 to the great scandal of the assistants1 who heaped insults upon him4 ,a final seance had been planned1 to be held in my salon on the following ,tuesday4 ,but ,frau ,rothe and her two accomplices took the train at the ,eastern ,railway station that very morning1 and we saw them no more4 ,in the following year she was arrested in ,berlin1 after a fraudulent seance1 and sentenced to one year in jail for swindling4 ,in this class of things1 cheatings and hoaxings are as numerous as authenticated facts4 ,those who are curious in such things will not have forgotten the scandalous hoax and misdemeanor of the celebrated ,mrs4 ,williams1 an ,american woman who was received in full confidence1 in #ahid1 in ,paris1 by my excellent friend1 the ,duchess of ,pomar4 ,already made distrustful by the ingenious observations of the young duke1 the sitters were determined not to be the butt of her fooleries very long1 and a sitting was agreed on4 ,the participators were ,,mm4 de ,watteville1 ,dariex1 ,mangin1 ,ribero1 ,wellemberg1 ,lebel1 ,wolf1 ,paul ,leymarie 7son of the editor of ,la ,revue ,spirite71 etc4 ,the specialty of ,mrs4 ,williams 7who was1 by the way1 quite a stout person7 was the showing of apparitions1 or ghosts4 ,said apparitions proved to be manikins1 rather poorly got up2 the lady spectators1 as well as the gentlemen1 were quite disappointed at the absence of the rich and flowing outlines of form under the draperies of the wretched puppets4 ,thin and limp1 tatterdemalion things1 they showed not the faintest resemblance to the normal and classic contours of woman1 the lines of which we should have been able to glimpse at least to some extent under the light gauze that enwrapped the figures4 ,several bright-witted1 but rather irreverent1 ladies took no pains to conceal the fact that they should prefer annihilation if it were necessary to be so 444 reduced1 so incomplete in the other world6 ,the gentlemen added that they would certainly not be alone in lamenting such a state of things6 ,there was no religious atmosphere at all about these sittings4 ,the imposture was discovered1 or1 one might rather say1 seized1 by ,m4 ,paul ,leymarie4 ,he simply grasps ,mme4 ,impostor around the waist 7having slipped behind the curtain for the purpose71 and holds her fast for the inspection of the audience4 ,lights are brought on1 and1 in the midst of the confused uproar made by twenty-five duped sitters1 the heroine of the entertainment is compelled to show herself in flesh tights1 while the whole apparatus of her ghostly puppet-show is discovered in the cabinet6 ,mrs4 ,williams had the effrontery to defend herself1 a little later1 in the ,american ,journal ,light1 bestowing the playful epithet of bandits upon those who had unmasked her in ,paris4 ,that was a case of high mystification1 of jugglery worthy of a street-corner mountebank4 ,but1 as we have already seen1 matters do not usually attain to such a height of audacity1 and quite often fraud only intervenes when the genuine powers have become enfeebled4 ,this well appeared in the accounts of the girl torpedo-fish1 ,angelica ,cottin1 who attained a good deal of notoriety4 ,on the #aeth of ,january1 #ahdf1 in the village of ,bouvigny1 near ,perriere 7,orne71 a young girl thirteen years old1 named ,angelica ,cottin1 light and robust1 but extremely apathetic in physical temperament and in morals1 suddenly exhibited strange powers4 ,objects touched by her1 or by her clothing1 were forcibly repelled4 ,sometimes1 even on her mere approach1 people were thrown into commotion and excitement1 and pieces of furniture and household utensils were seen to move and vibrate4 ,with some variations in intensity1 and with intermittences1 sometimes1 of two or three days1 this curious virtue held good for about a month1 then disappeared as unexpectedly as it had appeared4 ,it was authenticated by a large number of persons1 some of whom submitted the little girl to genuine scientific experiments1 and embodied their observations in formal reports1 which were collected and published by ,dr4 ,tanchou4 ,this gentleman first saw ,angelica on ,february #ab 7#ahdf71 in ,paris1 where she had been taken to be exhibited4 ,the manifestations 7which had decreased from the day when the basis1 or usual course of her habits had been altered7 were on the point of disappearing altogether4 ,yet they were still distinct enough to enable the investigator to draw up the following note1 which was read to the ,academy of ,science1 on ,february #ag1 by ,arago1 an eye-witness of the facts4#dg ,i saw the young electric girl twice 7says ,dr4 ,tanchou74 ,a chair which ,i was holding as hard as ,i could with my foot and both hands was forcibly wrenched from me the moment she sat down in it4 ,a little slip of paper which ,i held poised on one finger was several times carried away as if by a gust of wind4 ,a dining-table of moderate size1 though rather heavy1 was more than once displaced by the mere touch of her dress4 ,a little paper wheel1 placed vertically or horizontally upon its axis was put into rapid movement by the radiations which darted from this child's wrist and the bend of her arm4#dh ,a large and heavy sofa upon which ,i was seated was pushed with great force against the wall the moment the girl came to seat herself by me4 ,a chair was held fast upon the floor by strong men and ,i was seated on it in such a way as to occupy only the half of the seat4 ,it was forcibly wrenched away from under me as soon as the young girl sat down on the other half4 ,one curious thing is that every time the chair is lifted it seems to cling to ,angelica's dress4 ,it follows her for an instant before it becomes detached4 ,two little elder-pith balls or feather-balls1 suspended by a silken thread1 are set in motion1 attracted to each other and sometimes repelled4 ,this girl's radiations of psychic force 7emanations7 are not permanently present during all the hours of the day4 ,they are especially strong in the evening1 from seven to nine o'clock1--which leads me to surmise that perhaps her last meal 7taken at six o'clock7 is not without its influence4 ,the emanations are given forth only from the front part of the body1 especially at the wrist and at the bend of the arm4 ,they only occur on the left side1 and the arm of this side is of a higher temperature than that of the other4 ,it gives off a gentle heat1 as from a part where a lively reaction is going on4 ,the arm trembles and is continually disturbed by unusual contractions and quiverings which seem to be imparted to the hand that touches it4 ,during the time ,i observed this subject1 her pulse varied from #aje to #abj pulsations a minute4 ,it seemed to me frequently irregular4 ,when she is isolated from the common reservoir of electric or magnetic power1 either by being seated upon a chair without her feet touching the floor or when placing them upon the chair of a person in front of her1 the phenomena do not take place4 ,they also cease when she is made to sit down on her own hands4 ,a waxed floor1 a piece of oiled silk1 a plate of glass under her feet or on the chair1 all have the effect of antagonizing and destroying for the time the electro-dynamic property of her body4 ,during the paroxysm she can touch scarcely anything with her left hand without throwing it from her as if it burned her4 ,when her clothes touch the articles of furniture in a room she attracts them1 displaces them1 and overturns them4 ,one will understand this more easily when it is realized that at every electric discharge she runs away to escape the pain4 ,she says it pricks or stings her in the wrist or bend of the elbow4 ,once when ,i was feeling for her pulse in the temporal artery 7not having been able to locate it in the left arm7 my fingers chanced to touch the nape of the neck4 ,she uttered a cry and drew back quickly from me4 ,i several times assured myself of the fact that1 near the cerebellum1 at the place where the muscles of the upper part of the neck are joined to the cranium1 there is a spot so sensitive that she allows no one to touch it4 ,all the sensations she feels in her left arm are here echoed or repeated4 ,the electric emanations of this child seem to move by waves1 intermittently1 and in succession through different parts of the anterior portion of the body4 ,but be that as it may1 they are certainly accompanied by an aeriform current which gives the sensation of cold4 ,i plainly felt upon my hand a quick puff of air like that produced by the lips4 ,every time the mysterious force strikes through her frame and materializes in an act1 terror and dismay fill the mind of this child1 and she seeks refuge in flight4 ,every time she brings the end of her fingers near the north pole of a piece of magnetized iron1 she receives a severe shock2 the south pole produces no effect4 ,if ,i manipulated the iron in such a way that ,i could not myself tell the north pole on it1 she could always tell it very well4 ,she is thirteen years old and has not yet reached the age of puberty4 ,i learned from her mother that nothing like menstruation has yet appeared4 ,she is very strong and healthy1 but her intellect is as yet little developed4 ,she is a peasant cottager 7villageoise7 in every sense of the word2 yet she knows how to read and write4 ,her occupation is the making of thread gloves for ladies4 ,the first electric phenomena began a month ago4 ,it is desirable to add to the foregoing note extracts from other reports4 ,here1 for example1 is a citation from ,m4 ,hebert3 ,on the #agth of ,january1--that is to say1 the second day of the appearance of the phenomena1--the scissors suspended from her waist by a cotton tape1 flew from her without the cord being broken1 and no one could imagine how it got untied4 ,this circumstance1 incredible from its resemblance to the pranks of lightning1 makes one think at once that electricity must play an important role in the production of such astonishing effects4 ,but this way of looking at the thing did not last long4 ,for the miracle of the scissors only occurred twice1 once in the presence of the cure of the village1 who guaranteed to me upon his honor the truth of the statement4 ,in the middle of the day almost no effects were obtained1 but in the evening1 at the usual hour1 they redoubled in intensity4 ,it was at that time that action without contact took place1 and effects were produced in organic living bodies4 ,these latter made their first appearance in the form of violent shocks felt in the ankles by one of the women laborers who happened at the time to be facing ,angelica1 the points of their sabots being about four inches apart4 ,dr4 ,beaumont ,chardon1 a physician of ,mortagne1 also published similar notes and observations1--among others the following3 ,the repulsion and attraction1 hopping about and displacement1 of a rather solid table2 of another table six feet by nine1 mounted on casters2 of another four-feet-and-a-half square oak table2 of a very massive mahogany easy-chair1--all these displacements took place through contact with the ,cottin girl's clothes1--contact either involuntary or purposely brought about by experiments4 ,there was a sensation of violent prickings when a stick of sealing-wax or a glass tube suitably rubbed was placed in contact with a bend in the left arm or with the head1 or simply when brought somewhat near there4 ,when the sealing-wax or the tube had not been rubbed1 or when they were being wiped dry or moistened1 there was a cessation of effects4 ,the hairs on one's arm1 made to slope or lie flat by a little saliva1 rose up again at the approach of the child's left arm4 ,i have already remarked that this young girl was brought to ,paris as a subject of scientific observation4 ,arago1 at the ,observatory1 in the presence of his colleagues ,,mm4 ,mathieu1 ,laugier1 and ,goujon1 established the truth of the following phenomena3 ,when ,angelica held out her hand toward a sheet of paper laid near the edge of a table1 the paper was strongly attracted by the hand4 ,approaching a centre-table1 she grazed it with her apron1 and the table drew back from her4 ,when she sat down on a chair and put her feet on the floor1 the chair was thrown back violently against the wall1 and she herself was thrown forward to the other side of the room4 ,this last experiment1 repeated several times1 always succeeded4 ,neither ,arago nor the astronomers of the ,observatory were able to hold the chair down4 ,m4 ,goujon1 who had sat down in advance upon one half of the chair which was going to be used by ,angelica1 was upset at the moment when she came to share the seat with him4 ,following a favorable report of its illustrious perpetual secretary1#di the ,academy of ,science named a commission to examine ,angelica ,cottin4 ,this commission confined its efforts exclusively to the task of determining whether or not the electrical force of the subject was similar to that of the machines or that of the torpedo-fish4 ,they could not come to any conclusion1 probably on account of the emotion excited in the girl at the sight of the formidable apparatus of experimentation2 and then her peculiar powers were already on their decline4 ,thus the commission hastened to declare all the communications on this subject made to the ,academy previous to this to be null and void4 ,upon this topic my old master and friend ,babinet1 who was a member of the commission1 wrote as follows3 ,the members of the commission were not able to verify any of the features announced4 ,there was no report made1 and ,angelica's parents1 worthy people of the most exemplary probity1 returned with her from ,paris to their own locality4 ,the good faith of this couple and of a friend who accompanied them interested me very much1 and ,i would have given anything in the world to find some reality in the wonders that had been proclaimed about the girl4 ,the only remarkable thing she did was to rise from her chair in the most matter of fact way in the world and hurl it behind her with such force that often the chair was broken against the wall4 ,but the supreme experiment1--that in which1 according to her parents1 the miracle was revealed of motion produced without contact1--was as follows3 ,she was placed standing before a light centre-table covered with a thin silken stuff4 ,her apron also made of a very light and almost transparent silk1 rested on the centre-table 7though this last condition was not indispensable74 ,then1 when the electric force appeared1 the table was overturned1 while the electric girl maintained her usual stupid impassivity4 ,i had never personally seen any success attained in this particular feature of the girl's performances2 nor had my colleagues of the commission of the ,institute1 nor the physicians1 nor certain writers1 who1 with great assiduity1 had attended all the seances appointed at the headquarters of the girl's parents in ,paris4 ,as for myself1 ,i had already overstepped all the bounds of friendly complaisance1 when1 one evening the parents came to beseech me1 in virtue of the interest ,i had shown in them1 to attended one more seance1 saying that the electric force was going to declare itself anew with great energy4 ,i arrived about eight o'clock in the evening at the hotel where the ,cottin family was staying4 ,i was disagreeably surprised at finding a seance intended only for myself1 and the friends whom ,i brought with me1 overrun by a crowd of physicians and journalists who had been attracted by the announcement of the prodigies which were to begin again4 ,after due excuses had been made ,i was introduced to a back room which served as dining-room1 and there ,i found an immense kitchen table made of oak planks of an enormous thickness and weight4 ,at the moment when dinner was being served the electric girl had1 by an act of her will 7it was said71 overturned this massive table1 and1 as a necessary result1 broken all the plates and bottles that were on it4 ,but her excellent parents did not regret the loss1 nor the poor dinner that resulted from it1 on account of the hope that animated them that the marvellous qualities of the poor idiot were going to manifest themselves and receive the official stamp of authenticity4 ,there was no possibility of doubting the veracity of these honest witnesses4 ,an octogenarian who accompanied me 7,m4 ,m4--1 the most sceptical of men7 believed their recital as ,i did2 but1 after entering with me the room full of people1 this distrustful observer took his stand in the very entrance-door1 alleging as a pretext the crowd in the room1 and so placed himself as to have a side view of the electric girl with her centre-table before her4 ,the crowd that faced the girl occupied the farther end and the sides of the room4 ,after an hour of patient waiting1 and all in vain1 ,i withdrew1 expressing my sympathy and my regrets4 ,m4 ,m4 remained obstinately at his post4 ,he pointed the electric girl with his unwearied eye1 as a crouching setter does a partridge4 ,at last1 at the end of another hour1 when the attention of the company was distracted by innumerable preoccupations and several centres of conversation had been formed--suddenly the miracle occurred3 the centre-table was overturned4 ,great amazement6 great expectations6 ,they were just beginning to cry ,bravo6 when ,m4 ,m41 advancing by warrant of age and the love of truth1 declared that he had seen ,angelica1 by a convulsive movement of the knee1 push the table that was placed before her4 ,he drew the conclusion that the effort she must have made before dinner in the overturning of the heavy kitchen table would have occasioned a severe contusion above her knee1--a matter that was investigated and found to be true4 ,such was the end of this melancholy affair in which so many people had been duped by a poor idiot1 who yet had enough crafty cunning to inspire illusion by her very calmness and impassivity4 ,we have still to account for the singular facts observed near ,rambouillet 7see the ,reports of the ,academy71 at the house of a wealthy manufacturer1 all whose vases and other vessels of pottery-ware burst into a thousand pieces at the moment when least expected4 ,kettles and other large vessels cast in metal also flew into fragments1 to the great loss of the proprietor1 whose troubles1 however1 ceased with the discharge of a servant1 who had come to an understanding with a man who was to occupy the factory so that he might get it at a better bargain4 ,nevertheless1 it is to be regretted that the matter ended before it was discovered what fulminating powder had been employed to produce such curious results1 so new1 and1 apparently1 so well proved4#ej ,babinet adds farther on in the same volume the following remarks on ,angelica ,cottin3 ,in the midst of wonders which she did not perform there was seen a very natural effect of the first relaxation of muscles which was curious in the highest degree4 ,the girl1 of slight figure and torpid physique1 who was correctly styled the torpedo-fish1 being first seated on a chair and then rising very slowly 7in the midst of the movement she was making in the act of rising7 had the power of throwing backward1 with terrifying suddenness1 the chair she was leaving1 without anybody being able to perceive the slightest movement of the trunk of the body1 and solely by the relaxation of the muscle which had been in contact with the chair4 ,at one of the test-seances in the laboratory of physics at the ,jardin des ,plantes1 several amphitheatre chairs of white wood were hurled against the walls in such a way as to break them4 ,a second chair1 which ,i had once taken the precaution to place behind that in which the electric girl was seated 7for the purpose of protecting1 if need were1 two persons who were conversing at the back part of the room7 was drawn along with the propelled chair and went with it to arouse from their absent-mindedness the two savants4 ,i will add that several young employees at the ,jardin des ,plantes succeeded in performing--although in a less brilliant way--this pretty trick in bodily mechanics4 ,in order to get a good idea of this play of the muscles by a similar effect1 you have only to gently squeeze that part of the muscle of some one's arm that is most developed1 at the same time that he makes the motion of opening and closing his fist several times4 ,you will at once feel the swelling up of the muscles and divine the movement that would result from it were the change of shape made very rapid4 ,such is the report of the learned physicist4 ,it is thus that fraud once more hindered the recognition of the reality of phenomena that had been duly proved before4 ,accompanying this there was also a weakening of the faculties of the performer4 ,but it is absurd to conclude from this that the observers of the earlier days in this case 7including ,arago and his colleagues of the ,observatory1--,mathieu1 ,laugier1 and ,goujon1--as well as the examiner ,hebert1 ,dr4 ,beaumont ,chardon1 and others7 were poor observers1 and were deceived by movements of the foot of this child4 ,we may allow for the fraud1 conscious and unconscious of mediums4 ,we may deplore it1 for it throws an unpleasant gloom upon all the phenomena2 but let us render justice to incontestable facts1 and continue to observe them4 ,quaere et invenies6 ,seek and thou shalt find4 ,the ,unknown1 the science of to-morrow4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,experiments ,,of ,,count ,,de ,,gasparin ,one of the most important series of experiments that has been made on the subject of moving tables is that of ,count ,agenor de ,gasparin at ,valleyres1 ,switzerland1 in ,september1 ,october1 ,november1 and ,december of the year #ahec4 ,the ,count has published formal reports of these studies in two large volumes4#ea ,these seances may be called purely scientific1 for they were conducted with the most scrupulous care and were under the severest control4 ,the table usually employed had a round oak top thirty-two inches in diameter1 which rested on a heavy three-footed central column1 the feet being about twenty-two inches apart4 ,there were usually ten or twelve experimenters1 and they formed the chain on the table by touching each other with their little fingers in such a way that the thumb of the left hand of each operator touched that of his right hand1 and the little finger of the right hand touched that of the left hand of his neighbor4 ,in the opinion of the author1 this chain is useful1 but not absolutely necessary4 ,the rotation of the table usually began after a waiting of five or ten minutes4 ,then it lifted one foot to a height that varied from time to time1 and fell back again4 ,the levitation took place even when a very heavy man was seated on the table4 ,rotations and levitations were obtained without the contact of hands4 ,but let us hear the author himself3 ,it is a question of positive fact that ,i wish to solve4 ,the theory will come later4 ,to prove that the phenomenon of turning tables is real and of a purely physical nature2 that it can neither be explained by the mechanical action of our muscles nor by the mysterious action of spirits1--such is my thesis4 ,it is my wish to state it with precision and circumscribe its limits here at the very start4 ,i confess ,i find some satisfaction in meeting with unanswerable proofs the sarcasms of people who find it easier to mock than to examine4 ,i am well aware that we have got to put up with that4 ,no new truth becomes evident without having been first ridiculed4 ,but it is none the less agreeable to reach the moment when things assume their legitimate place1 and when roles cease to be inverted4 ,this moment might have been long in coming4 ,for a long time ,i feared that table-phenomena would not admit of a definite scientific demonstration2 that1 while they inspired absolute certainty in the minds of the operators and witnesses at first hand1 they would not furnish irrefutable arguments to the public4 ,in the presence of bare possibilities1 each person would be free to cherish his own particular opinion2 we should have had believers and sceptics4 ,the classification would have taken place in virtue of tendencies rather than by reason of one's knowledge or ignorance of the facts4 ,some1 in the agreeable sensation of their intellectual superiority1 would have carried their head very high1 and others would have abandoned themselves in despair to the current superstitions of the day4 ,the truth incompletely demonstrated would have been treated as a lie1 and1 what is worse1 would have ended by becoming such4 ,but thank ,god6 it will not be so now4 ,our meetings were real and formal seances1 to which the best hours of the day were given4 ,the results1 verified with the most minute care1 were embodied in formal and official declarations4 ,i have these proces-verbaux before me now1 and it seems to me that ,i could not do better than to take up one after another and extract from each the interesting observations it may contain4 ,i shall thus follow the method of certain historians1 and relate the truth rather than systematize it4 ,the reader will1 as it were1 follow us step by step4 ,he will examine and check my various assertions by comparing them2 he will form his own conviction1 and will judge whether my proofs have that character of frequent occurrence1 of persistency1 of progressive development which false discoveries1 based upon some fortuitous and poorly described coincidence1 never have4 ,these are promising premises4 ,we shall see whether the promises will be kept4 ,the report 7or minutes7 of the first meeting bears the date of ,september #bj1 #ahec4 ,numerous seances had been held before1 but it had not been thought necessary to write down the results4 ,what those results were will be seen by the following brief account3 ,only those have an invincible conviction 7writes ,count de ,gasparin7 who have participated in seance studies frequently and directly1 who have felt under their very fingers the production of those peculiar movements which the action of our muscles cannot imitate4 ,they know the limitations of their powers and where to stop4 ,for they have seen the table refuse to rotate at all1 in spite of the impatience of the investigators1 and in spite of their clamorous appeals4 ,then again1 they have been present when it started to move so gently1 so softly and spontaneously started1 it can be said1 under fingers which hardly touched it4 ,they have at times seen the legs of the table 7riveted by some enchantment to the floor7 refuse to budge on any terms1 in spite of the incitement and coaxing of those who composed the chain4 ,on other occasions they have seen the same table-legs perform levitations that were so free and energetic that they anticipated the hands1 got the start of the orders1 and executed the thoughts almost before they were conceived1 and with an energy well-nigh terrifying4 ,they have heard with their own ears stunning raps and gentle raps1 the one threatening to break the table1 the others of such incredible fineness and delicacy that one could scarcely catch the sounds1 and none of us could in any degree imitate them4 ,they have remarked that the force of the levitations is not diminished when the sitters are removed from the side of the table that is to form the fulcrum4 ,they have themselves commanded the table to lift that one of its legs over which rest the only hands that compose that portion of the chain still remaining1 and the leg has risen as often and as high as they wished4 ,they have observed the table in its dances when it beats the measure with one foot or with two2 when it reproduces exactly the rhythm of the music that has just been sung2 when1 yielding in the most comic way to the invitation to dance the minuet1 it takes on grandmotherly airs1 sedately makes a half turn1 curtsies1 and then comes forward turning the other side6 ,the manner in which the events took place told the experimenters more than the events themselves4 ,they were in contact with a reality which soon made itself understood4 ,the persevering experiments we had made before the #bjth of ,september had already given us proof of two principal things1--the levitation of a weight that the muscular action of the operators was powerless to move1 and the reproduction of numbers by mind reading4 ,i shall now give the formal declarations or reports1 by ,count de ,gasparin1 or at least the essential parts of them4 ,i shall present them here as the author has done1 seance after seance4 ,the reader will judge4 ,he is urged to read the reports with the greatest attention4 ,they are scientific documents of the highest value1 and quite as important as the preceding ones4 ,seance of ,september #bj ,some one proposed the experiment which consists in causing a table to rotate and give raps while it has on it a man weighing say a hundred and ninety pounds4 ,we accordingly placed such a man on the table1 and the twelve experimenters1 in chain1 applied their fingers to it4 ,the success was complete3 the table turned1 and rapped several strokes4 ,then it rose up entirely off the floor in such a way as to upset the person who was upon it4 ,let me be permitted here1 in passing1 to make a general remark4 ,we had already had numerous meetings4 ,our experimenters1 among whom were several young ladies of delicate physique1 had worked with very unusual perseverance and energy4 ,their bodily fatigue at the end of each sitting was naturally very great4 ,it seems as if we should therefore have expected some nervous collapses more or less grave1 to show themselves among us4 ,if explanations based upon involuntary acts performed in a state of extraordinary excitement had the least foundation in fact1 we should have had trances1 almost possessions1 and1 at any rate1 nervous attacks4 ,now1 in spite of the exciting and noisy character of our meetings1 it did not happen1 in five months time1 that any one of us experienced a single moment of indisposition or sickness of any kind4 ,we learned something more3 when a person is in a state of nervous tension1 he or she becomes positively unfit to act upon the table4 ,it must be handled cheerfully1 lightly1 and deftly1 with confidence and authority1 but without passion4 ,this is so true that the moment ,i took too much interest in things ,i ceased to obtain obedience4 ,if1 on account of public discussions in which ,i had been engaged1 ,i chanced to desire success too ardently and to grow impatient over delay1 ,i had no longer any control over the table2 it remain inert4 ,seance of ,september #bd ,we began pretty poorly1 and were almost inclined to think that the net result of the day's experiments would be limited to the two following observations1 which have their value1 to tell the truth1 and which our experience has always confirmed3 ,first1 there are days when nothing can be done1 nothing prospers1 although the sitters are as numerous1 as strong1 and as excited as ever1--which proves that the movements of the table are not obtained by fraud or by the involuntary pressure of the muscles4 ,second1 there are persons 7those among others who are sickly or fatigued7 whose presence in the chain is not only of no use1 but even detrimental4 ,destitute themselves of the fluidic force1 they seem1 besides1 to hinder its circulation and transmission4 ,their good will1 their faith in the table are of no avail2 as long as they are there the rotations are feeble1 the levitations spiritless1 the drafts drawn on the table are not honored2 that one of its feet facing them is especially struck with paralysis4 ,beg them to retire1 and immediately the vitality appears again and everything succeeds as if by magic4 ,indeed1 it was only after we had taken this course that we finally obtained the free and energetic movements to which we had been accustomed4 ,we had become quite discouraged2 but when the purging of which ,i have just spoken took place1 lo1 what a change6 ,nothing seems difficult to us4 ,even those who 7like myself7 ordinarily have only mediocre success1 now think of numbers and make the table rap them out with complete success1 or with the slight imperfection 7that frequently occurs7 of a tap too many1 owing to the delay in giving the mental order to stop the taps4 ,seeing that everything was going according to our wish1 and having decided to try the impossible1 we next undertake an experiment which marks our entrance into a wholly new phase of the study and places our former experimental demonstrations under the guarantee of a positively irrefutable demonstration4 ,we are going to leave probability behind and dwell with evidence4 ,we are going to make the table move without touching it4 ,and this is how we succeeded that first time3 ,at the moment when the table was whirling with a powerful and irresistible rotation1 at a given signal we all lifted our fingers4 ,then keeping our hands united by means of the little fingers1 and continuing to form the chain at a height of say an eighth or a quarter of an inch above the table1 we continued our circular movement4 ,to our great surprise the table did the same2 it made in this way three or four turns6 ,we could scarcely believe our good fortune2 the by-standers 7witnesses7 could not keep from clapping their hands4 ,and the way in which the rotation took place was as remarkable as the rotation itself4 ,once or twice the table stopped following us because the little accidents and interruptions of our march had withdrawn our fingers from their regular distance from the top of the table4 ,once or twice the table had come to life again--if ,i may so express myself--when the turning chain had again got into the right relation with it4 ,we all had the feeling that each hand had carried along in its course that portion of the table immediately beneath it4 ,seance of ,september #bi ,we were naturally impatient to submit rotation without contact to a new test4 ,in the confusion of the first success we forgot to renew and vary this decisive experiment4 ,when we got to thinking about it afterwards we saw that it behooved us to do the thing over again with more care and in the presence of new witnesses2 that it was1 above all1 important to produce the movement and not merely to continue it1 and to produce it in the form of levitations instead of limiting it to rotations4 ,such was the program of our meeting of ,september #bi4 ,never was program carried out with greater precision4 ,as a preliminary1 we repeated our successful feat of the #bdth4 ,while the table was rotating rapidly1 the interlocked hands were lifted from it1 though continuing to turn above it and form the chain4 ,the table followed1 making now one or two revolutions1 and now a half or a quarter turn only4 ,the success1 more or less prolonged1 was certain4 ,we confirmed it several times4 ,but some one might say that1 the table being already in motion1 the momentum carried it along mechanically while we imagined it was yielding to our fluidic force4 ,the objection was absurd1 and we would have challenged anybody to obtain a single quarter of a turn without forming the chain1 however rapid might have been the rotation imparted4 ,above all1 would we have challenged anyone to renew its motion when it had been for an instant suspended4 ,however1 it is well in such cases to forestall even absurd objections1 however little of plausibility they may have4 ,and this particular objection might seem plausible to the inattentive man4 ,it was imperative1 then1 that we should produce rotation starting from a state of complete inertia4 ,this we did4 ,the table being as motionless as we were1 the chain of hands parted from it and began to turn slowly at a height of about three-eighths of an inch above its edge4 ,in a moment the table made a slight movement1 and each of us striving to draw along by his will that part situated under his own fingers1 we succeeded in drawing the disk in our train4 ,the details that followed resembled those of the preceding case4 ,there is such difficulty in maintaining the chain in the air without breaking it1 in keeping it near the border of the table without going too quick and thus destroying the harmonious relation established1 that it often happens that the rotation stops after a turn or a half-turn4 ,yet it is sometimes prolonged during three or even four revolutions4 ,we expected to encounter still greater obstacles when we should undertake levitation without contact4 ,but the matter turned out quite otherwise4 ,this is easily explained when we remember that in this ease there is no circular movement and it is much easier to maintain the normal position of the hands above the table4 ,the chain1 then1 being formed at a distance of an eighth of an inch or so above the round top of the table1 we ordered one of its legs to lift itself up1 and it did so4 ,we were highly delighted1 and repeated this pretty experiment many times4 ,without touching it in any way1 we ordered the whole table to rise into the air1 and to resist the witnesses1 who had to put forth effort to bring it down to the floor4 ,we commanded it to turn bottom side up1 and it fell over with its feet in the air1 although we never touched it with our fingers1 but kept them in advance of it as it fell1 at the distance agreed upon4 ,such were the essential results of this meeting4 ,they are such that ,i hesitate to mention in the same connection incidents of secondary importance4 ,i will only say1 in passing1 that the seance was very discouraging at the start2 for1 not only was it found necessary to remove certain new operators1 but several of the old ones did not bring to it their usual high spirits4 ,the table responded poorly2 raps were made faintly and as if with reluctance2 the telepathic reading of numbers did not succeed4 ,then we took a resolution from which we derived much benefit3 we persevered1 and persevered gaily2 we sang1 we made the table dance2 we gave up all thoughts of new experiments and persisted in easy and amusing ones4 ,after a while conditions changed2 the table fairly bounded1 and hardly waited for our orders2 we were now in condition to try more serious things4 ,seance of ,october #g ,a long meeting1 and very fatiguing4 ,it was principally devoted to the trial of various mechanical devices which had no success whatever1--such as metal rings2 frameworks of canvas or of paper placed upon the table2 plates on pivots and spring-keys4 ,whether the sight of all this gear hindered the radiation of the fluidic force from the operators1 whether the contrivances themselves stopped its circulation in the table1 or whether1 in fine1 the natural conditions of the phenomenon were disturbed in some other way1 it is certain that the results amounted to nothing or were doubtful4 ,one new experiment succeeded4 ,a plate turning on a pivot held a tub4 ,i filled this tub with water1 and two of my collaborators and ,i plunged our hands into it4 ,we formed the chain and began a circular walk1 being careful not to touch the tub4 ,this at once imitated our movement4 ,we repeated the thing several times in succession4 ,since it might be supposed that the impulse given to the water would suffice to set in motion a tub resting on so delicately balanced a plate1 we at once proceeded to prove the contrary4 ,the water was given a circular whirl causing it to move with much greater rapidity than when we formed the chain2 but the tub moved not a peg4 ,undoubtedly the point remains to be considered whether one of us three did not touch the inside of the tub and so determine its movement4 ,to that ,i reply1 first1 that the way in which our hands were held in the water obviously proves that none of our fingers could really touch bottom2 secondly1 that1 taking pains as we did to form the chain at the centre1 it would have been scarcely less difficult for us to touch the vertical sides of the tub4 ,and yet1 the doubt being not wholly inadmissible1 ,i class this experiment among those of which ,i do not purpose to make any use4 ,i wish to show that ,i am hard to please in the matter of evidence4 ,the proof which the rapping of numbers by mind-reading furnishes has always seemed to be one of the most convincing4 ,in the sitting ,i am describing1 it had this special feature1 that each of the ten operators in turn received the communication of a number in writing1 the others having their eyes shut4 ,now1 in the whole ten1 one alone failed to obtain perfect obedience from the table-leg which had been assigned to him by very suspicious witnesses1 or by-standers4 ,if my readers will reflect carefully they will see that the combinations of movements communicated and of cheating tricks which such a solid result as this would require passes far beyond the bounds of admissible things4 ,to justify it the objector must invent a miracle much more astounding than ours4 ,let us turn again to the finest of all demonstrations1 that of levitation without contact4 ,we began by performing it three times4 ,then1 since it was thought by some that the inspection of the witnesses could be carried on in a surer way in the case of a small table than in that of a large one1 and with five operators more certainly than with ten1 we had a plain deal centre-table brought which the chain1 reduced by half1 sufficed to put in rotation4 ,then the hands were lifted1 and1 contact with the table being entirely broken1 it rose seven times into the air at our command4 ,seance of ,october #h ,two circumstances occurred to confirm the results we had obtained in preceding seances4 ,among the numbers selected for the thought-test the roguery of one of the witnesses had placed a zero1 and the leg selected by him to respond was at the left of the operator and beyond the reach of his muscular action4 ,now1 the command having been given to the leg and no action resulting1 we were all feeling disconsolate1 being convinced that our weakness that day was so great that we were not going to obtain even simple levitations4 ,i affirm most emphatically that if movement had ever been imparted by an experimenter to a table leg1 it would have appeared at that moment4 ,our nerves were in an exalted state and our impatience was at its height4 ,yet no movement of the table took place1 and we were consequently all the more solaced when we learned that the figure communicated had been a cipher4 ,movement without contact was accomplished twice4 ,to our experiment of a table that gave raps while having a man upon it1 it had been objected that this man might lend his aid to the movement1 and even incite it in part4 ,determined to seek out the truth with the most anxious care1 we had recognized a certain plausibility in this objection1 and had decided to meet it fairly4 ,the being who was living1 intelligent1 and consequently suspected must be replaced by an inert weight4 ,buckets filled with sand must be placed in the precise centre of the table1 which should then be called on to exhibit its skill4 ,but the day was badly chosen4 ,after we had placed on the table two buckets1 one upon the other1 both weighing in all #adc pounds1 it was discovered that we were unable to produce the levitation4 ,it was necessary for us to content ourselves with continuing them in circular movement after they had been started4 ,the buckets were removed1 the table was set in motion1 and the buckets replaced while the movement was at its height4 ,they did not arrest it in the least1 but were carried around with such force that the sand flew out on all sides4 ,the remainder of the sitting was given up to an investigation of the subject of 7alleged7 divination1 or guessing4 ,when the table was asked to guess something known to one of the members of the chain1 it pretty frequently and quite naturally happened that it guessed it4 ,it is the case of thought-reading by numbers1--nothing more1 nothing less4 ,when it is asked to guess a thing known to a member of the company who does not form at the time a part of the chain1 it happens sometimes that it guesses it4 ,but the person in question must be endowed with great fluidic power and be able to exercise it at a distance4 ,we did not ourselves obtain anything like this2 but others have succeded1 and their testimony seems too well established to be called in question4 ,up to the present moment1 it is plain1 there is not the least trace of divination4 ,it is fluidic action1 near-by or distant4 ,if the tables divine1 if they think1 if there are spirits1 we ought to get decisive responses in the case where no one knows the facts1 either in the chain or out of the chain4 ,the problem thus stated1 the solution is not difficult4 ,take a book4 ,do not open it1 but invite the table to read the first line of the page you will designate1--say page #afb or page #ced4 ,the table will not flinch3 it will rap1 and will compose words for you4 ,it was thus1 at least1 that it always acted with us4 ,at any rate1 one thing is certain1 that neither here nor elsewhere1 has any spirit1 however cunning1 read1 this simple line2 nor will it be able in the future to do so4 ,i recommend the experiment to the partisans of spirit evocations4 ,as to the test of pieces of money in a purse1 hours1 playing-cards etc41 the tables betake themselves to a strict calculation of probabilities2 they guess just as much as you do1 or as ,i do4 ,inasmuch as it is a question of small numbers of which one can form in advance an approximate idea1 the range of possible combinations is not very extensive4 ,the mind fixes upon a number which has a fairly good chance of being the true one1 and the proportion between the failures of the table and its successes is in such a case just what it would be apart from all question of miraculous divination4 ,seance of ,november #i ,before entering upon the description of this sitting1--a very remarkable one1--,i will say that neither the thermometer nor the mariners' compass have furnished the slightest indication of anything interesting4 ,i thought ,i ought to note this1 in passing1 to show to the reader that we did not neglect to employ instruments which seemed likely to put us in the way of obtaining a scientific explanation4 ,in general1 ,i pass by that phase of our work1 as well as the different trials which remained merely trials1 and did not lead to any positive results4 ,our first care was to renew the experiment of the levitation of an inert weight4 ,it was agreed among us this time that we would always start from the state of absolute immobility in the object3 we wanted to produce movement1 not to continue it4 ,the centre of the table1 then1 having been fixed with nice precision1 a first tub of sand1 weighing #df pounds1 was placed upon it4 ,the legs easily rose from the floor when they got the order4 ,a second tub1 weighing #db pounds1 was next placed in the middle of the other4 ,they were both lifted--less easily1 but very neatly and clearly4 ,then a third tub1 smaller1 and weighing #bh-c_/e pounds1 was placed on top of the two others4 ,the levitations took place4 ,we had still further got ready enormous stones weighing altogether #dh-a_/b pounds4 ,they were placed on the third tub4 ,after rather long hesitation1 the table lifted several times in succession each of its three legs4 ,it lifted them with a force1 a decision1 an elan1 which surprised us4 ,but its strength1 already put to so many proofs1 could not resist this last one4 ,bending under the powerful swaying motion imparted by the total mass of #afe pounds1 it suddenly broke down1 and its massive centre-post was split from top to bottom--to the great peril of the operators on the side of whom the entire load rolled off4 ,i shall not stop to comment on such an experiment4 ,it answers all demands4 ,our united muscular force would not have sufficed to determine the movements that took place4 ,a mass of inert matter free from the suspicion of being obliging1 had replaced the person whose complicity was held in suspicion4 ,finally1 when the three legs had been lifted1 each in turn1 critics no longer had as a resource the insinuation that we had caused the weight to be laid more on one side than on the other4 ,inasmuch as our poor table had been wounded on the field of honor and could not be repaired on the spot1 we got a new one which much resembled it4 ,but it was a little larger and a little lighter4 ,the interesting point was to be settled whether we were going to be obliged to wait for it to be charged with the psycho-physical fluid4 ,the occasion was a famous one for solving this important problem3 ,where does the fluid reside8--in the operators or in the piece of furniture4 ,the solution was as prompt as it was decisive4 ,scarcely had our hands1 in chains1 been placed upon this second table than it began to revolve with the most unexpected and the most comic rapidity6 ,evidently1 the fluid was in us1 and we were free to apply it in succession to different tables4 ,we lost no time4 ,in the mood in which we then were1 movement without contact must succeed better than ever4 ,nor did we deceive ourselves in so thinking4 ,we first developed rotations without contact to the number of five or six4 ,as to levitations without contact1 we discovered a method of proceeding that renders their success easier4 ,the chain1 formed a few millimetres above the top disk1 is arranged so as to go in the direction in which the movement is to take place2 the hands the nearest to the leg called on to rise are outside of and beyond the top2 they draw near and pass gradually by1 while the hands that are opposite1 and which had at first advanced toward the same leg1 move away from it while they attract it4 ,it is during this progression of the chain1 while all our wills are fixed upon a particular spot on the wood1 and when the orders to levitate are forcibly given1 that the foot quits the ground and the table-top follows the hands1--to the point of upsetting1 if one did not keep hold of it4 ,this levitation without contact was produced about thirty times4 ,we produced it by each of the three legs in succession1 in order to remove every pretext for criticism4 ,moreover1 we watched the hands with scrupulous care4 ,if the reader will please observe that this surveillance was exercised during thirty operations without detecting the slightest contact1 ,i think it will be concluded that the reality is henceforth placed beyond all doubt4 ,seance of ,november #ba ,the chief characteristic of this seance was the absence of that one of our number who exercised the greatest authority at the table4#eb ,in working without her we were put in a position to establish two things3 first1 that one cannot with impunity do without an extraordinary gifted experimenter2 and1 second1 that one can1 nevertheless1 do without him or her1 if it is absolutely necessary1 and that success1 although less brilliant in this case1 is not impossible4 ,i call special attention to this last point1 as well as to the frequent modifications of our personnel1 for the benefit of suspicious persons who1 not knowing the mental worth of the persons in question1 might be disposed to place to the account of their dexterity the results to which they essentially contribute4 ,the psycho-physical working power of a sensitive table-turner is of a mixed nature3 a resolute posture and a circular movement are not sufficient to give birth to it4 ,besides this1 and above all1 there is needed the will4 ,our will having at last asserted itself1 and muscular pressure having yielded its place to the pressure of commands1 the fluidic rotation arrives1 after five or six minutes of concentration of our thoughts4 ,we felt1 indeed1 keenly that some important person was lacking and that we did not possess our usual power4 ,however1 we were determined to succeed1 even at the price of greater mental fatigue4 ,so we took up boldly our most difficult feat2 namely1 movements without contact4 ,rotations without touch were obtained thrice4 ,i should add that they were very incomplete1--a quarter of a turn1 or a half-turn at most4 ,as to levitations without touch our success was more decisive2 but it was purchased at the price of a very considerable expenditure of force4 ,after each levitation we had to rest1 and1 when we had reached ,no4 #i we were absolutely obliged to stop1 overcome with fatigue4 ,one must have had personal knowledge of such experiments to understand what drafts they make upon one's attention and energy1 and at what point it is indispensible to will1 and to will peremptorily1 that such and such a knot of wood in the table shall follow the opened fingers that are alluring it at a distance4 ,but be that as it may1 our attempt was crowned with success1 and we could end the sitting with less exhausting exercises4 ,the idea came to us then and there to try our powers on a large table with four legs4 ,it had often been claimed that three-legged centre-tables alone would respond to our manipulations4 ,it was time to furnish undeniable proof to the contrary4 ,so we took a table three feet five inches in diameter1 a folding half of which 7independent of the leg that supports it when it is raised7 can be turned up at will4 ,scarcely were our fingers in place than the table began a rotation with noisy bustle1 the sprightliness of which surprised us4 ,it thus showed that tables with four legs were no more refractory than others4 ,in addition to this1 it furnished a new argument in favor of one of our former observations1--that the fluid is in the persons and not in the tables4 ,in fact the movement of the large table took place almost immediately1 and before it could be considered as charged with fluid4 ,the next task before us was to make it give raps with its different legs4 ,we began with those fastened to one half of the top1 three in number4 ,they rose from the floor two at a time with such force that at the end of a moment one of the casters flew to pieces4#ec ,now it is difficult to form an idea of the intensity which a fraudulent action of the fingers must have acquired in order to exercise a leverage upon so heavy a table1 and launch it into the air to such a height4 ,there remained the leg of the table which was independent of the top4 ,we thought it would obey as well as the others4 ,but no6 ,in vain did we pour out the most prodigal and pressing invitations3 it was never willing to rise1 either along with its right-hand neighbor or with its neighbor on the left4 ,our next thought was that this was due to the persons placed near it1 and certain members of the chain changed seats4 ,in vain6 ,all combinations failed one after another4 ,we drew great deductions from this circumstance4 ,but since it was refuted later1 when the contumacious leg yielded perfect obedience at another meeting1 ,i will not take the public into our confidence by a display of our reasonings on the subject4 ,i will only ask that two things be noted2 first1 the care we took to verify many times the phenomena before affirming them2 and1 second1 that we have here once more a fine refutation of the critics who assert that muscular action can explain everything4 ,if this were so1 why did not muscular action lift the free leg as well as those fastened tight to the table8 ,it could have done so just as easily2 and yet for some unknown reason1 but one evidently foreign to the laws of mechanics1 only the attached legs consented to move4 ,seance of ,november #bg ,we were in full muster2 but two or three of the operators were slightly indisposed4 ,on the whole1 whatever was the cause1 the occasion was scarcely remarkable for anything except the almost total absence of fluidic power4 ,for a single moment we had a little of it4 ,a half-hour of action and two hours and a half of inertia--this was our net result4 ,nothing was more lamentable1 and at the same time more curious1 than to see us about the different tables1 passing from one to another1 enjoining them to do the most elementary things1 and only obtaining a weak and languid rotation1 which soon stopped altogether4 ,seance of ,december #b ,i should have been vexed to have to close my recital with so dull and spiritless a record as the preceding one4 ,by good fortune the last of our reports gives me the right to leave a totally different impression on the reader's mind4 ,we were in fine temper4 ,perhaps the beautiful weather helped4 ,it is not the first time ,i have noticed this4 ,what is certain is that the very same persons who1 on ,november #bg1 had only a half-hour of success and had passed the rest of the sitting in beseeching in vain for anything better than poor abortive rotations or faint raps1 to-day governed the table with an authority1 a quickness1 and1 if ,i may so put it1 an elasticity of bearing that left nothing to be desired4 ,the large table with four legs was set in motion4 ,and this time1 the ease with which the free leg lifted its share of the table proved that we were right in not drawing too definite conclusions from its former refusal4 ,every time that we tried to lift without contact that part of the table the farthest removed from myself ,i felt the table-leg nearest me gradually approach and press against my leg4 ,struck with this occurrence1 which took place several times ,i drew the conclusion that the table was gliding forward1 not having enough force to rise4 ,we were1 then1 exercising a perceptible influence on this large table without touching it in any way4 ,in order the better to assure myself of it1 ,i left the chain and observed the movement of the feet of the table on the floor4 ,it ranged from fractions of an inch to several inches4 ,when we then tried to turn up without contact the folding leaf of a gaming-table covered with cloth1 we obtained the same result3 the folding leaf would not yield to our influence1 but the entire table advanced in the direction of the prescribed movement4 ,now1 ,i ought to add that the gliding was not at all easy1 for the floor of our room was rough and uneven4 ,it is interesting to note in this connection the moment when this gliding movement ordinarily begins4 ,it occurs at precisely the same time that the levitation without contact takes place when that manifestation is in process4 ,when the portion of the chain which is pushing on has just advanced beyond the side of the table-top1 where it begins to turn1 and when that portion of the chain that is pulling has just crossed the middle point in its recession1 then the ascensional movement--or1 in default of that1 the gliding motion--manifests itself4 ,our fluidic power is then at its maximum1 precisely at the instant when our mechanical power is at its minimum1 when the hands that are pushing have ceased to act 7supposing the case of fraud7 and when the hands that pull are powerless to act4 ,let us now revert to our ordinary table4 ,we tried to produce rotations and levitations without contact1 and had complete success4 ,such reports as the foregoing are of more value than all the dissertations4 ,they show the undeniable reality of the levitation not total1 but partial1--of the table which remained in an oblique position poised on two legs only4 ,they show also rotations and levitations without contact1 as well as glidings under the influence of a natural force hitherto only slightly studied4 ,levitations of a heavy table1 having on it a man weighing #aia pounds1 or of tubs of sand and stones weighing #afe pounds1--no denial of these occurrences can be admitted4 ,the same is true of the movements of the table dancing in accordance with the rhythm of certain airs1 of its over-turnings1 of its obedience to the orders given4 ,these facts have been observed precisely as mechanical1 physical1 chemical1 meteorological1 astronomical facts have been observed4 ,to the above reports ,i will add here a supplementary experiment described in the preface of ,count de ,gasparin's book3 ,certain distinguished savants to whom ,i had communicated the results we had secured1 agreed in assuring me that levitations without contact would have the character of absolute certain proof if we succeeded in verifying them by the following practical device3 ,sprinkle flour upon the table1 they said1 at the instant your hands have just left it2 then produce one or more levitations2 finally assure yourselves that the layer of flour bears not the slightest sign of any touch1 and all objectors will be dumb4 ,why1 it is precisely this experiment that we have performed successfully several times4 ,let me give a few details3 ,our first trial had succeeded very badly4 ,we used a coarse sieve which we had to move to and fro over the entire table4 ,this produced the double inconvenience2 first1 of suspending too long1 and so of nullifying the action of the operators2 and1 secondly1 of spreading a layer of flour much too thick4 ,the buoyant spring and impulse of the wills of the operators was abated1 the fluidic action was thwarted1 the table-top got chilled down1 so to speak2 nothing moved4 ,the mischief went so far that the table not only refused us levitations and rotations without contact1 but almost all the ordinary ones4 ,then a brilliant idea came to one of us4 ,we possessed one of those bellows used in blowing sulphur upon vines attacked by the grape-mildew4 ,in place of sulphur we put flour into it1 and1 so prepared1 began the test4 ,the conditions were most favorable4 ,the weather was dry and warm1 the table went leaping under our fingers1 and1 indeed1 before the order to lift hands had been given1 the greater part of the band of us had spontaneously ceased to touch the table-top4 ,then the command rings out2 the whole chain lifts up from the table1 and at the same instant the bellows covers its entire surface with a light dusting of flour4 ,not a second had been lost2 the levitation without contact had already taken place4 ,but to leave no doubt1 the thing was repeated three or four times in succession4 ,that done1 the table was scrupulously examined2 no finger had touched it1 or even grazed it in the slightest degree4 ,the fear of grazing it involuntarily had even been so great that the hands had acted fluidically from a height much greater than in previous sittings4 ,each one had thought he could not raise his hands too high1 and the hands removed to such a distance from the top1 had not had recourse to any of the manoeuvres or passes of which we had at other times made use4 ,keeping its place1 above the table to be lifted1 the chain had preserved its form intact2 it had made hardly a perceptible motion in the direction of the movement it was producing at a distance from the table4 ,i will add1 finally that we did not content ourselves with a single experience4 ,a careful inspection following each of several levitations1 always showed that the dust-like layer of flour was absolutely untouched2 and no portion of the table had escaped its tell-tale coat of white4 ,the author of these reports himself estimates as follows the results he has recorded3 ,the phenomena observed confirm and elucidate each other4 ,large four-legged tables compete with three-legged ones4 ,inert weights1 placed on these1 come forward as substitutes for persons suspected of giving a helping hand to the table charged with the task of lifting them4 ,at last the great discovery arrives in its turn3 we begin by continuing without contact movements already initiated1 and we end by producing them2 we succeed almost in creating the process1 to such an extent that these extraordinary facts manifest themselves sometimes in an uninterrupted series of fifteen or thirty performances4 ,the glidings round out the subject by throwing light on one phase of action at a distance3 they reveal it as powerless 7at times7 to lift the table1 but able to draw it along over the floor4 ,such is the rapidly sketched account of our progress4 ,taken just by itself alone1 it constitutes a solid proof and ,i recommend a study of it to serious men4 ,it is not thus that error proceeds4 ,illusions originating in accident1 or chance1 do not thus resist a long study1 and do not pass unmasked through a long series of experiments that justify them more and more4 ,the reading of numbers in others' minds1 and the balance of forces1 merit special consideration4 ,when all the operators but one are ignorant of the number to be materialized by raps1 the operation 7unless it is fluidic7 ought to proceed either from the person who knows the number and furnishes at once the movement and the arrest1 or else it ought to proceed from a relation instinctively established between that person who furnishes the arrest and his vis-a-vis who furnishes the movement4 ,let us examine both hypotheses4 ,the first is untenable2 for1 in the case where some one chooses a leg of the table upon which the operator who knows the number can exercise no muscular action1 the leg thus designated none the less rises at his command4 ,the second is untenable2 for1 in the case where some one indicates a zero1 the movement which ought to take place does not do so4 ,nay more4 ,if you place at loggerheads two persons placed on opposite sides of the table and enjoin each to make a different number triumph1 the more powerful operator secures the execution of the chief number although his vis-a-vis is interested not only in not furnishing it to him1 but in arresting it4 ,i know that this matter of the divining of numbers thought of is in bad odor4 ,it lacks a certain pedantic and scientific form4 ,yet ,i have not hesitated to insist on it2 for there are few experiments in which is better manifested the mixed character of the phenomenon1--physical power developed and applied outside of ourselves by the effect of our will4 ,just because it forms the great offense1 or stumbling block1 ,i am unwilling to be shame-faced about it4 ,i maintain1 besides that this is just as scientific as anything else4 ,true science is not tied to the employment of such and such a process or such and such an instrument4 ,that which a fluidometer would show would be no less scientifically demonstrated than what is seen with the eyes and estimated by the reason4 ,let us go on1 however4 ,we have not yet reached the end of our proofs4 ,one of these has always especially struck me3 ,i mean the proof derived from failures4 ,it is claimed that the movements are produced by the action of our muscles1 by involuntary pressure4 ,now here are the same operators who yesterday secured from the table the fulfilment of their most capricious desires2 their muscles are as strong1 their vivacity is as great1 their desire to succeed is perhaps keener--and yet nothing6 absolutely nothing6 ,a whole hour will pass without the least rotation beginning2 or1 if there are rotations1 levitations are impossible to procure2 what little is done by the table is done feebly1 dismally1 and as if reluctantly4 ,i repeat it again1 the muscles have not changed2 then why this sudden incapacity8 ,the cause remaining identically the same1 whence comes it that the effect varies to such a degree8 ,ah6 says an objector1 you are talking of involuntary pressure1 and say nothing about voluntary pressure1 of fraud1 in short4 ,don't you see that the cheaters may be present at one sitting and not appear at another1 that they may act one day and not give themselves the trouble on the next8 ,i will reply very simply1 and by facts4 ,the cheaters are absent when we do not succeed6 ,but it has happened many a time that our personnel has not been changed in any way4 ,the same persons1 absolutely the same1 have passed from a state of remarkable power to a state of comparative impotence4 ,and that is not all4 ,if there exists no operator whose presence has preserved us from failures1 no more does any exist whose absence has rendered us incapable of success4 ,with and without each one of the members of the chain we have succeeded in performing all the experiments1--all without exception4 ,but 'the cheaters do not take so much pains every day6' ,the pains would be great indeed1 and those who infer fraud little think what prodigies they are invoking4 ,the accusation is an absurdity which verges on silliness1 and its silliness removes its sting4 ,one does not take offense at things like that4 ,but come now1 let us suppose for the moment that ,valleyres were peopled with disciples of ,bosco1 that prestidigitation were generally practised there1 and that it had been thrust under our very eyes for five months1 and under the eyes of numerous and very suspicious witnesses without a single case of perfidy having been pointed out4 ,we have so well concealed our game that we have invented a secret telegraphic code for the experiment of reading numbers1 a particular turn of the finger for moving the most enormous masses1 a method of gradually lifting tables that we do not seem to touch4 ,we are all liars1 all2 for we have been mutually watching each other for a long time now1 and do not denounce anybody4 ,nay1 more1 the contagion of our vices is so swift to take that1 as soon as we admit a stranger1 a hostile witness1 into the chain1 he becomes our accomplice2 he voluntarily closes his eyes to the transmission of signals1 to muscular efforts1 to the repeated and prolonged suspicious actions of his next neighbors in the chain6 ,well and good2 suppose we grant all that1 we shall not have got farther along for that4 ,it will still remain to be explained why our cheaters sometimes do nothing at the very moment when it would be to their interest to succeed4 ,it has happened1 indeed1 that a certain sitting at which we had many witnesses and a great desire to convince turned out to be a mediocre one4 ,such and such another1 under the same conditions1 was1 on the contrary1 a brilliant success4 ,there you have real and important inequalities1 and they dare to talk to us of muscular action and of fraud4 ,fraud and muscular action6 ,here for instance is a fine opportunity to put them to the proof4 ,we have just placed a weight on the table4 ,this weight is inert and cannot be accessory to any device4 ,fraud is all around it perhaps1 but it is not in the tubs of sand4 ,this weight is equally divided among the three legs of the table1 and they are going to prove it by each one rising in turn4 ,the total load weighs #afe pounds1 and we scarcely dare to increase it1 for1 as it is1 it was enough1 one day1 to break our very solid table4 ,very well2 now let someone try to move this weight4 ,since muscular action and fraud must explain everything1 it will be easy for them to put the mass in motion4 ,now they cannot do it4 ,their fingers contract and the knuckles whiten without their obtaining a single levitation1 whereas1 some moments later1 levitations will take place at the touch of the same fingers1 which gently graze the table's top and make no effort at all1 as any one may easily convince himself4 ,certain very ingenious scientific rules of measurement1 for the invention of which ,i cannot claim the credit1 put us in the way of translating into figures the effort which the rotation or levitation of the table demands1 when loaded in the way just described4 ,with the above-mentioned weight of #afe pounds1 rotation is secured by means of a lateral traction of about #ag-a_/b pounds1 while levitation is only obtained by a perpendicular pressure of #acb pounds at least 7which ,i will reduce1 however1 to #aaj1 in deference to the presumed wishes of the critic1 and on the supposition that the pressure might not be absolutely vertical74 ,several deductions are to be drawn from these figures4 ,in the first place1 muscular action may cause the table to turn1 but it cannot lift it4 ,as a matter of fact1 the ten operators have one hundred fingers applied to its surface4 ,now1 the vertical1 or quasi-vertical1 pressure of each finger cannot exceed twelve ounces on the average1 the chain being composed as it is4 ,they only develop1 then1 a total pressure of #ff pounds1 which is quite insufficient to produce levitation4 ,in the next place1 this striking thing befalls1 that the phenomenon which muscular action could easily produce is precisely the one that we most rarely and with the greatest difficulty obtain1 and that the phenomenon which muscular action could not compass is the one the most habitually realized when the chain is formed4 ,why does not our involuntary impulse always make the table turn8 ,why should not our fraud always procure such a triumph8 ,why1 as a general thing1 do we only succeed in effecting that which is mechanically impossible8 ,i advise people who like to make fun of table-turnings not to investigate them too closely1 and to beware of giving too careful attention to our supreme demonstration1--that of movements without contact1 for it will leave them not the slightest pretext for incredulity4 ,thus the fact is established4 ,multiplied experiments1 diverse and irrefutable proofs1 which are1 moreover1 joined in the closest solidarity1 give to the fluidic action the stamp of complete certainty4 ,those who have had the patience to follow me thus far will have felt their suspicions vanishing one after another1 and their faith in the new phenomenon more and more strengthened4 ,they will have made good what we ourselves have substantiated and made good2 for no one has opposed more difficulties to table-turning than have we1 no one has shown himself more inquisitorial and exacting respecting them4 ,it is not our fault if the results have been conclusive 7and more and more so71 nor ours the blame if they have reciprocally confirmed each other1 if they have ended by forming one body and taking on the character of perfect evidence4 ,to study1 to compare1 to repeat and repeat again1 and to finally exclude all that admits of doubt or question--this was our duty4 ,nor have we failed to perform it4 ,i make no affirmations in these reports which ,i have not proved over and over again4 ,such are the memorable experiments of the ,count de ,gasparin4 ,their worth will be appreciated by all who read them4 ,i have been anxious to reproduce these careful reports2 for they establish of themselves the absolute and undeniable reality of these movements that contradict the normal law of gravitation4 ,let us hear the ,count's explanatory hypotheses4 ,the reader will have noticed the care ,i have taken to confine myself to the verification of the facts1 without hazarding any explanatory hypothesis4 ,if ,i have employed the word fluid1 it was to avoid circumlocutions4 ,strict scientific precision would have demanded that ,i always write the fluid1 the force1 or physical agent whatever it may be4 ,i shall be pardoned for having been a little less exact than this in my language4 ,it was enough that my thought was perfectly clear4 ,that we have to do with a fluid1 properly so called1 in the phenomena of table turning and lifting ,i cannot absolutely affirm4 ,i affirm that there is an agent1 and that this agent is not supernatural1 that it is physical1 imparting to physical objects the movements which our will determines4 ,our will1 ,i have said4 ,and this is in fact the fundamental idea we have gathered out of this subject of a physical agent4 ,it is this which characterizes it1 and it is this also which compromises it in the eyes of a good many folks4 ,they might1 perhaps1 be resigned to a new agent1 if it were the necessary and exclusive product of the hands forming the chain1 if only it were true that certain positions or certain acts insured its manifestation4 ,but this is not the case with it3 the mental and the physical must combine in order to give it birth4 ,here are hands that tire themselves out in forming the chain1 and yet obtain no movement3 the will has not been mingled in the act4 ,here is a will that commands in vain3 the hands have not been placed in a suitable position4 ,we have thrown light upon both these sides of the phenomenon1 for they are both essential4 ,another fact has been noted by us1 and ought to enter into a description of the physical agent in question3 this agent inheres in the persons and not in the table4 ,let the operators1 when they are in rapport1 pass to a new table and encircle it3 they will be able immediately to exercise all their authority over it2 their will will continue to dispose of the physical agent and to make use of it for rapping numbers mentally selected by persons present or for producing movements without contact4 ,such are the facts4 ,the explanation of them will come later4 ,it is1 however1 very natural to want to find this at once1 and to make hypotheses which may be regarded as possible1 if not true4 ,i have taken the risk of doing this1 and ,i do not repent of it4 ,was it not imperative to prove to our opponents that they have not even the pretext of a scientific impossibility8 ,hypotheses have their legitimate place and their utility1 even if they are incorrect4 ,if they are admissible in themselves1 that is sufficient1 for that defends the facts to which they are applied from the accusation of monstrosity4 ,the critic has no longer the right to demand the previous question4 ,seeing that it was asked for on all sides1 ,i have risked the following statement3 ,you assert that our pretensions are false1 for the simple reason that they cannot be true6 ,very well4 ,but1 at all events1 allow me to lay before you certain postulates4 ,suppose1 in the first place1 that you do not know everything1 that the moral and even the material nature of man have obscurities which you have not been able to remove4 ,suppose that the smallest blade of grass springing up in the field1 that the smallest grain reproducing its kind1 that the finger of your hand in the act of executing the order you give it1 enclose mysteries that surpass the powers of the learned doctors to fathom1 and which they would declare absurd if they were not compelled to recognize them as real4 ,then1 in the second place1 suppose that certain men who will so to do1 and whose hands are joined one to another in a certain way1 give birth to a fluid or to a special kind of force4 ,i do not ask you to admit that such force exists2 you will only agree with me that it is possible4 ,there is no natural law opposed to it that ,i know of4 ,now1 let us take one more step4 ,the will disposes of this fluid4 ,it gives an impulse to external objects only when we will it1 and in quarters selected by us4 ,would there be anything impossible in this8 ,is it an unheard-of thing that we transmit movement to matter that is outside of ourselves8 ,why1 we do so every day1 and every instant2 our mechanical action is nothing more or less than this4 ,the horrible thing in your eyes doubtless is that we do not act mechanically6 ,but there is something besides mechanical action in this world4 ,there are physical causes of movement that are something else than this4 ,the caloric that penetrates a living body produces dilatation there2 that is to say1 universal movement4 ,the loadstone placed in the neighborhood of a piece of iron attracts it1 and makes it leap across the intervening space4 ,yes1 some one will exclaim1 we should make no objection1 provided your pretended fluid did not obey one special direction in its progress4 ,if it went straight on1 as a blind force1 well and good6 ,it would then be like the caloric1 that dilates everything it meets in its passage4 ,it would be like the magnet which attracts indiscriminately toward a fixed point all the particles of iron in its vicinity4 ,as for you1 your invention of the theory of a rotative fluid calls vividly to mind the explanation of the dormitive properties of opium4 ,it is impossible to more completely misunderstand things4 ,no one dreams of a rotative fluid4 ,all we maintain is1 that1 when the fluid is emitted and imparts either repulsion or lateral attraction to a piece of furniture resting on legs1 a very simple mechanical law transforms the lateral action into rotation4 ,i do not say1 ,the tables turn because my fluid is rotative4 ,i say1 ,the tables turn1 because1 when they receive an impelling force or undergo an attraction1 they cannot help turning4 ,stated in this way1 it is a little less naive4 ,consequently1 ,i should be under no obligation to undertake the cause of the poor university scholar of the ,malade ,imaginaire1 and defend his famous reply3 ,opium facit dormire quia est in eo virtus dormitiva 7opium puts people to sleep because it has the sleep-producing virtue or property74 ,nevertheless1 ,i can't help it1 out it must come3 ,i find the reply an excellent one4 ,i doubt whether the savants have found a better one to this day1 and ,i advise them to resign themselves sometimes to the following kind of reasoning3 ,opium puts us to sleep because it puts us to sleep2 things are because they are4 ,in other words1 ,i see the facts and do not know the causes4 ,i do not know4 ,i do not know6 terrible words1 which one finds difficulty in pronouncing6 ,now1 ,i suspect very strongly that the sly roguishness of ,moliere is for the benefit of the doctors1 who pretend to know everything1 invent explanations which do not explain1 and do not know how to accept the facts while waiting for more light4 ,but there is more to come4 ,the hypothesis of the fluid 7a pure hypothesis1 remember7 must still prove that it is a hypothesis reconcilable with the different circumstances of the phenomenon4 ,the table does not merely turn3 it lifts its legs up1 it raps numbers mentally indicated to it2 in a word1 it obeys the will1 and obeys it so well that the removal of contact does not terminate its obedience4 ,the impelling force or lateral attraction which account for rotations cannot account for levitations4 ,but why8 ,because the will directs the fluid now into one leg of the table1 now into another4 ,because the table identifies itself with us1 after a fashion1 becomes a limb of our own body1 and produces movements thought of by us in the same manner as our arm produces them4 ,because we have no conscious knowledge of the direction imparted to the fluid1 and govern the movements of the table without imagining that any kind of fluid or force whatever is in action4 ,in all our acts1 in all without exception1 we have no consciousness of the direction imparted by our will4 ,when you explain to me how ,i lift my hand1 ,i will explain to you how ,i make the table-leg rise from the floor4 ,i willed to raise my hand4 ,yes1 and ,i also willed to lift this table-leg4 ,as for the executing of the mandates of the will1 the putting into play of the muscles required to lift the hand1 or of the fluid-power required to lift the table-leg1 ,i have no knowledge of what passes in me apropos of this4 ,strange mystery1 and one which ought to inspire in us a little modesty6 ,there is in me an executive power1 a power of such a nature that1 when ,i have willed such or such an act1 it addresses detailed orders to the different muscles and sets in motion a hundred complicated movements to bring about a final result which has been merely thought of1 merely willed4 ,that miracle goes on within me1 and ,i understand it not at all1 and never shall understand it4 ,do you not agree that the same executive power can give to the fluid the directions it gives to the muscles8 ,i have willed to play a sonata on the piano1 and1 unknown to me1 something within me has given orders to hundreds of thousands of muscular acts4 ,i have willed that the leg of this table should be lifted up1 and1 unknown to me1 something within me has directed the attractions and impulsions of the fluid to the designated place4 ,the hypothesis of a fluid is1 then1 defensible4 ,it accords with the nature of things and with the nature of man4 ,i have no wish to go farther and furnish at once a definitive explanation4 ,but ,i am not worrying4 ,let the facts once be admitted1 and explanations will not be wanting4 ,what seems impossible now will seem very simple then4 ,about incontestable things no trouble is made4 ,we are so constituted that1 after we have asserted the impossibility of everything we do not comprehend1 we declare comprehensible all that we have recognized as real4 ,people are everywhere to be met with who shrug their shoulders when you speak to them of table-turnings and who make nothing of the ,puck-like performance of the electric current in putting the girdle of its circuit around the earth in the fraction of a moment1 and who find the miracle of the transmission of the mental and moral qualities of the fathers to the children a very simple thing to understand6 ,the tables of the psychic experimenter cannot escape the common lot4 ,their phenomena1 absurd to-day1 are to-morrow self-evident4 ,these experiments of ,count de ,gasparin and his associates have been known for over half a century1 and it is really incomprehensible that even the fact of the levitation of tables and of their movements has continued to be denied4 ,verily1 if the tables are sometimes light1 it must be confessed that the human race is a little heavy4 ,as to the theory1 the hypothesis of the fluid1--felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas 7,happy the man who can know the cause of things7--,i shall return to this matter in the chapter on explanatory theories4 ,but it is incontestable that1 in such experiences1 we act by means of an invisible force emanating from us4 ,one must be blind not to admit that4 ,after a series of experiments so admirably conducted we can understand that the author might well be allowed to indulge in a little derision of obstinately prejudiced unbelievers4 ,in closing this chapter1 ,i cannot forego the pleasure of citing ,count de ,gasparin apropos of the learned negations of ,babinet and his emulators of the ,institute4 ,the savants are not the only ones to stand on their dignity4 ,i also stand on mine1 and ,i make bold to think that a certificate signed with my name would not be rated by anybody as a piece of imposture or frivolity4 ,it is known that ,i am in the habit of weighing my words2 it is known that ,i love the truth1 and that ,i will not sacrifice it on any consideration2 it is known that ,i prefer to admit an error rather than persist in it2 and when1 after a long-continued inquiry1 ,i persist with a firmer and profounder conviction than ever1 the import or scope of the declaration ,i make is not to be misapprehended4 ,i can tell you1 in the next place1 that the testimony of the eyes has1 in my opinion1 a scientific value4 ,independently of instruments and figures1 on which ,i set the highest values1 ,i believe that the true seeing of things may serve4 ,i believe that this also is of itself an instrument4 ,if a sufficient number of good pairs of eyes have ascertained and proved1 ten1 twenty1 a hundred times1 that a table is put in motion without contact2 if1 furthermore1 the explanation of the fact by fraudulent or involuntary contacts passes the limits which must be assigned to incredulity1 the conclusion is clear4 ,nobody is warranted in crying out3 ,you have neither fluidometer nor alembic2 you do not give a specimen of your physical agent in a bottle2 you do not describe how it acts upon a column of mercury or upon the dip of a needle4 ,we don't believe you1 for you have done nothing but see4 ,i do not believe you because you have done nothing but see6 ,i do not believe you because ,i have not seen with my own eyes6 ,so many pedants1 so many objections4 ,they hardly take the trouble to agree among themselves2 in a war waged against the tables any weapon is fair1 nothing comes amiss4 ,i do not wish to forget that scientists were still talking only of rotations at the moment when ,faraday invented his disks4#ed ,in the presence of a phenomenon so inadequate1 and1 let us admit it1 so suspicious1 we can understand how the savants showed themselves sceptical and contented themselves with flimsy refutations4 ,they proportioned the number and size of their weapons to the appearance of the enemy4 ,the one among them who showed the most penetration1 and who proposed the most plausible explanation1 is most assuredly ,chevreul4 ,his theory of the tendency to movement is incontestably true4 ,it explains how the objects we suspend from our finger finally take a vibratory movement in the direction indicated by our will4 ,i am not astonished that some have thought this theory sufficient to explain how experimenters can1 in the end1 impart a rotation to the table and participate in the movement themselves4 ,i need not say that our proved levitations of weights1 and our movements without contact1 will not henceforth permit anyone to take refuge in such an explanation4 ,if all the tendencies to movement were united into one they would not be able to produce at a distance an impelling power1 nor move a mass that mechanical action could not set in motion4 ,really1 the learned doctors ought not to throw out to the public these explanations which do not explain4 ,they ought rather to get to work and show us1 in fact1 how to set about the lifting directly and mechanically of a weight of #bbj pounds without applying to the task a force of #bbj pounds4 ,but they prefer to use insulting expressions1 and then proceed to invent some theory or other which has only one little fault--that it has no legs to walk with4 ,the recent article of ,m4 ,babinet in the ,revue des ,deux ,mondes is a masterpiece in its way4 ,if ,i needed to be convinced of the reality of the phenomena of table-turning1 etc41 ,i should most assuredly have been convinced by the reading of this refutation of it4 ,in the opinion of ,m4 ,babinet1 the phenomena of the tables offer no difficulty whatever6 ,happy science of physics1 happy science of mechanics which has an answer ready for everything6 ,we poor1 ignorant fellows thought we had detected something extraordinary1 and did not know we were merely obeying two extremely elementary laws1--the law of unconscious movements1 and1 above all1 that of nascent movements1 movements the power of which seems to surpass that of developed movements4 ,as far as regards unconscious movements1 ,m4 ,babinet adds nothing to previous explanations--nothing but the story of that lord 7an ,english lord1 he says7 whose horse was so admirably trained that it seemed as if it were only necessary for one to think the movement one wished to have him execute1 and he instantly realized it4 ,i am thoroughly convinced1 as is ,m4 ,babinet1 that the aforesaid lord gave an impulse to the bridle without suspecting it1 and ,i am just as thoroughly convinced that the experimenters whose hands are touching a table may exert a pressure of which they are not conscious4 ,only--,i think there should be some proportion between the cause and the effect4 ,suppose the movements are unconscious3 they are none the less vigorous for all that4 ,the burden is upon ,m4 ,babinet and his followers1 to prove that the very same fingers that in vain clench themselves till they are stiff in the endeavor to lift a weight of eighty-eight pounds1 will lift double this weight by simply being unconscious that they are making any effort4 ,my honorable and learned opponent will not hear of movements obtained without contact4 ,everything that has been said about action exercised at a distance ought to be banished to the realm of fiction4 ,the judgment is curt and summary4 ,movements without contact are a fiction1--first because they are impossible2 secondly because powdered soapstone has hindered the rotation of a table2 and1 finally1 because perpetual movement is impossible4 ,movements at a distance are impossible6 ,to be strictly logical1 ,m4 ,babinet ought to have stopped there1 remembering the reply made by ,henry ,,iv to the magistrates who had thus begun an address to him3 ,we did not give a salute of cannon on the approach of ,your ,majesty1 and that for three good reasons4 ,in the first place1 because we had no cannon-- ,that reason is sufficient1 said the king4 ,we are fain to believe that ,m4 ,babinet himself has little doubt about his impossibility4 ,he has acted wisely in doing so2 for this impossibility is based entirely on a vicious circle of reasoning4 ,is there a single known example of movement produced without a force acting from the outside8 ,no4 ,well1 movement at a distance would very plainly take place by an active external force4 ,therefore movement at a distance is impossible4 ,i feel very much disposed to say to ,m4 ,babinet1 in the technical language of the schools1 that his major premise is true and that his conclusion would be legitimate if his minor were not purely and simply a begging of the question4 ,you claim that there is no active force exterior to the table which lifts it without the touch of the hands4 ,but that is precisely the point at issue between us4 ,a fluid is an external active force4 ,it is handy for my critic1 indeed1 to begin by establishing this axiom4 ,now 7he says71 there is no fluid1 or analogous physical agent1 in the case of the tables2 therefore there is no effect produced4 ,the learned gentlemen1 ,faraday1 ,babinet1 and others1 do not limit themselves to objections derived from nascent or unconscious movements1 small causes producing great effects4 ,they have still another method of proceeding4 ,if an experiment has succeeded it has no longer any value4 ,oh1 if one could succeed in performing such another experiment1 well and good6 ,but this would not hinder the new experiment from becoming insignificant in its turn and giving place to a new desideratum4 ,the phrasing runs somewhat in this way3 ,you are doing such and such a thing4 ,very well2 but now let us see you do a different thing4 ,you are employing such or such a method2 be pleased to be contented with those which we prescribe you4 ,to succeed in your way is not enough2 you must succeed in ours4 ,your way is not scientific2 it runs contrary to the traditions4 ,we shut the door in the face of facts if they do not come in the regulation claw-hammer coat of full dress4 ,we shall pay no attention to your experiments if our experimental apparatus does not figure in them4 ,strange way of verifying and establishing the results of experiments6 ,you begin by changing the conditions under which they are produced4 ,you might as well say to the man who has seen the harvesting of barley in ,upper ,egypt in ,january1 ,i will believe it when ,i see it done before my eyes in ,bourgogne4 ,one can understand1 of course1 how an unreasonable and troublesome fastidiousness might be shown regarding travellers' tales4 ,but scientific experiments are of another character4 ,in the presence of facts so evident1 it is almost incredible that they wish to impose upon us instruments1 needles1 and mechanical devices4 ,the idea of introducing becauses and therefores into an investigation in which the real nature of the acting force is a mystery to all the world6 ,polemical essays are not scientific studies4 ,in general1 they are the direct opposite4 ,when persons who have seen nothing1 who have not devoted any considerable portion of their energy and time to experimentation1 who have perhaps been present only at some ridiculous rotations of centre-tables1 take their pen in hand for the purpose of exposing theories or giving lofty reprimands to experimenters1 ,i do not look at them in the light of scientific students4 ,i am convinced that a man never really studies that which he declares a priori to have no sense in it4 ,if attacks are studies1 there is no lack of them1 and 7,i may add7 never will be4 ,at the time when the ,academy of ,medicine buried the report of ,m4 ,husson and published what everybody in ,europe persisted in calling a refusal to examine1 there was issued every morning a paper against magnetism2 every morning some new writer vociferated that the partisans of magnetism were imbeciles1 and proposed an explanatory system of his own4 ,if you call that making a study1 then ,i grant that they have studied table-turnings1 for there certainly has been no dearth of insults and of theories about these phenomena4 ,they have received every attention1 except that no one was willing to inspect1 experiment1 listen1 and read4 ,twice1 a month apart1 the ,institute has announced 7without protest from anybody whatever7 to the students of table-turnings that it was shelving papers relating to that topic2 that it was not obliged to occupy itself with nonsense2 that there was a place in its archives for lucubrations of that kind2 namely1 the place to which were consigned papers on perpetual motion4 ,oh1 ,moliere6 why are you not present with us8 ,but1 in reality1 you are here4 ,your genius has limned with ineffaceable lines that everlasting disease of venerable big-wigs and mouldy specialists1--disdain of the laity1 respect for their fellow-members1 idolatry of the past4 ,a most singular deformity1 this6 ,and it appears in all ages1 in various disguises1 in the midst of all branches of human activity1 now in the name of religion1 now in that of medicine1 and again in the name of science or of art4 ,yes1 even surviving the wreck of revolutions which spare nothing1 appearing even within the walls of learned academies the members of which write for the furtherance of the great movements of modern progress1 one thing remains1--the spirit of partisanship1 of cliques1 the spirit of tradition1 the superstitious regard for forms4 ,really1 it would seem as if people must be still taking ,bible oaths like those in the baccalaureate ceremony at the end of ,moliere's ,malade ,imaginaire4 ,m4 ,foucault is fond of this scene1 and will therefore not take it ill if ,i recall to his mind a couple of stanzas3 ,essere in omnibus ,consultationibus ,ancieni aviso1 ,aut bono1 ,aut mauvaiso4 --,,juro6 ,de non jamais te servire ,de remediis alcunis ,quam de ceux soulement doctae facultatis1 ,maladus dut-il crevare1 ,et mori de suo malo4 --,,juro6#ee ,if you don't call that a refusal to examine1 ,i don't know what the words mean in good ,french4 ,with such ingenious candor and with such authority did the ,count ,agenor de ,gasparin express himself in the year #ahed4 ,it seems to me that the experiments made known in this volume furnish abundant evidence that he is right4 ,yet ,i have still friends1 at the ,institute1 who smile with the utmost scorn when ,i ask their opinion on the phenomena of the levitation of tables1 the movement of objects without perceptible cause1 unexplained noises in haunted houses1 communication of thought at a distance1 premonitory dreams1 and apparitions of the dying4 ,although these unexplained phenomena have undeniably been proved to be facts of occurrence1 those learned friends of mine remain convinced that such things as that are impossible4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,researches ,,of ,,professor ,,thury ,the insufficient explanations of ,chevreul and of ,faraday1 the scientific negations of ,babinet1 the conscientious experiments of the ,count de ,gasparin had led several scientists to study the question from the purely scientific point of view4 ,among them was a highly-gifted savant whom ,i visited at ,geneva1--,m4 ,marc ,thury1 professor of natural history and of astronomy in the ,academy of that city4 ,we are indebted to him for a remarkable and little known monograph1#ef which it is my duty to condense for this volume4 ,when we were in the presence of new phenomena 7writes ,thury7 there was only one alternative3 ,first1 either to reject1 in the name of common sense and of the results acquired by science1 all the pretended phenomena of tables as so many childish sports unworthy of taking up the time of the true scientist or scholar1 since1 on the very face of it1 their absurdity is evident2 in short1 to let the matter drop by refusing to give it serious attention4 ,or1 second1 to make a determined examination of it at whatever cost1 to study the fact in its details in order to lay fully open all the sources of illusion by which the public is duped1 separate the true from the false1 and throw a strong light on all aspects of the phenomenon1 physical1 physiological1 and psychological1 in order that the matter may be so superabundantly clear and evident that no further excuse for doubt may remain4 ,superfluous to say1 the last method is the one adopted by ,thury 7as it was by ,gasparin74 ,he considers it to be the only suitable1 efficient1 and legitimate method4 ,darkness saps the strength of science4 ,its strongest hold lies in bringing everything out into the full light of day4 ,here1 then1 lies the question3 ,in these curious phenomena of the tables1 is the explanation so clear that you can lay a finger on the causes of illusion and clearly show that there is in them no new and unknown element at work8 ,i do not think 7replies the ,genevan professor7 that we have attained to that degree of evidence4 ,i wish only one proof1 the explanation of what has already been attempted4 ,if1 then1 it is well established that the common explanation is not self-evident1 in the eyes of all intelligent and sensible men1 there remains a task to do1 a duty owed to science1--that of throwing full light upon the phenomenon in question2 and this task cannot be exchanged for the easier one of treating with irony or disdain those who have gone astray in the path that ,science refused to illuminate4 ,the savants are1 however1 excusable for not going too quick 7let us admit with ,thury74 ,what6 a perturbative force lurking1 by the hypothesis1 in the human organism sufficiently powerful to lift tables1 and which yet had never produced the slightest derangement in the thousands of experiments that physicists are daily making in their laboratories6 ,their balances1 responsive to the weight of a tenth of a milligram1 their pendulums whose oscillations take place with mathematical regularity1 had never felt the slightest disturbing effect of these forces1 whose source is there present wherever there is a man and a volition6 ,now1 it is the ardent wish of the physicist that the experiment shall always exactly tally the forecasts of theory4 ,must he then admit an unknown disturbing force8 ,and1 even without going outside of the limits of the human organism1 think1 if the organism is unable to move the smallest part of itself when the part is deprived of muscles and nerves1 or1 when a single hair of our head is absolutely withdrawn from the influence of the will--think1 ,i say1 how much less 7and with how much stronger reason7 that nervous organism of ours would seem to be able to move inert bodies residing outside the limits of our own frames6 ,but1 if there is a profound improbability in the thing1 still1 we cannot say that it is impossible4 ,no one can show a priori the impossibility of the phenomena described1 as they demonstrate the impossibility of perpetual motion or the squaring of the circle4 ,consequently1 no one has the right to treat as absurd the evidences which tend to confirm the experiments4 ,provided these evidences are furnished by judicious and truthful men1 then they are worth the trouble of examination4 ,if this logical course had been followed--the only true and equitable one1--the work would now have been done1 and the learned men would have the glory thereof4 ,thury begins by examining the experiments of ,count de ,gasparin at ,valleyres4 ,the experiments of ,valleyres 7he writes7 tend to establish the two following principles3 #a4 ,the will1 in a certain condition of the human organism1 can act1 from a distance1 upon inert bodies1 and by an agency different from that of muscular action4 #b4 ,under the same conditions1 thought can be communicated directly1 though unconsciously1 from one individual to another4 ,as long as we were ignorant of any other facts than those resulting from a movement effected by contact with the fingers of the hand1 in a way in which the mechanical action of the fingers became possible1 the results of the experiments upon the table were always of difficult and doubtful interpretation4 ,these results had to be necessarily based upon an estimate of the mechanical force exerted by the hands compared with the strength of the resistance to be overcome4 ,but the mechanical force of the hands is difficult to measure exactly1 under the conditions necessary to produce the phenomena4 ,yet over and above that plan of work there remained two methods1 of operation to employ4 a4 ,so to dispose the apparatus employed that the movement to be produced shall be one that the mechanical action of the fingers could not compass4 b4 ,to set up movements at a distance without any kind of contact4 ,the following were our first experiments3 ,a4 ,mechanical action rendered impossible4 ,the first experiment attempted along this line gave wholly negative results4 ,we suspended a table by a cord that passed over two pulleys fixed in the ceiling and had a counter-weight attached to the free end4 ,it was easy1 by regulating this counterpoise1 to balance in the air either the total weight of the table or only a fraction1 more or less great1 thereof4 ,as a matter of fact1 the table hung almost in equilibrium with the weight1 one only of its three legs touching the floor4 ,the operators placed their hands upon the top surface4 ,we acted at first in a circular direction1 a disposition of the force the efficacy of which had been established by previous experiments4 ,we then tried in vain to lift the table by detaching it from the floor4 ,no positive result was obtained4 ,we had already 7during the previous year7 had a table suspended to a dynamometer1 and the efforts of four mesmerizers were powerless to relieve the dynamometer of an appreciable fraction of the weight of the table4 ,but the conditions necessary for the production of the phenomena were still unknown to us1 and1 consequently1 when the experiments tried led to negative results1 we had to try others1 without pressing too hastily for inferences and conclusions4 ,it was thus that we secured the results which ,i am going to describe4 ,experiment with the ,swinging ,table4--,we needed a piece of apparatus of such a kind that the mechanical action of the fingers would be rendered impossible4 ,for this purpose we had a table made with a top about #cc inches in diameter1 and a central trifurcated leg underneath4 ,this table bore a close resemblance to the one which had served our purposes up to that time1 and could turn like its predecessor4 ,still1 the new table was capable of being transformed in a moment into a mechanism such as ,i shall now describe4 ,the summit of the tripod becomes the fulcrum of a lever of the first order which is able to balance freely in a vertical plane4 ,this lever1 whose two arms are equal to each other and to the radius of the table bears at one of its extremities the table-top1 held by the edge1 and1 toward the other extremity1 a counterpoise which just balances the weight of the table1 but which can be modified at will4 ,to the under side of the table-top is fastened a leg resting on the floor4 ,after the necessary preliminary rotations1 the table is harnessed up in its second form4 ,equilibrium is first secured1 then #c-e of a pound is taken from the counterpoise4 ,the force required to lift the top by its centre is then #d ounces1 and previous experiments have proved that the adherence of the fingers of the operators 7the top was polished1 and not varnished71 together with the possible effects of elasticity1 form a total lower than that figure4 ,yet the top is lifted by the action of the fingers placed lightly on its upper surface1 at a certain distance from the edge4 ,then the counterpoise is diminished2 the mechanical difficulty of lifting is augmented1 yet still it takes place4 ,the weight is again diminished1 and more and more1 up to the limit of the apparatus4 ,the force necessary to lift the top is then #h #a-e pounds1 and the counterpoise has been relieved of #bd pounds2 yet the levitation is easily accomplished4 ,the number of the operators is gradually lessened from eleven to six4 ,the difficulty goes on increasing1 yet six operators still suffice2 but five are not enough4 ,six operators lift #i #a-c pounds1--an average for each man of about #a-a_/b pounds4 ,we now possess1 in the apparatus just described1 a gauge or instrument of measurement4 ,b4 ,the following movements were produced without contact3 ,the table on which were made the trials ,i witnessed has a diameter of #cb inches and weighs #ca pounds4 ,an average tangential force of #d #b-e pounds1 which may be raised to #f #c-e pounds1 according to the greater or less inequalities of the floor1 applied to the edge of the table1 is necessary to give to it a movement of rotation4 ,ten is usually the number of persons who operate about this table4 ,in order to assure ourselves of the absence of all contact1 we placed our eye on a level with the table in such a way as to see light between our fingers and the surface of the table1 the fingers themselves remaining a little less than an inch above the top4 ,usually1 two persons would be observing at once4 ,for instance1 ,m4 ,edmond ,boissier was observing the legs of the table1 while ,i was watching the top4 ,then we exchanged roles4 ,sometimes two persons took places at the extremities of one and the same diameter1 the one opposite the other1 for the purpose of watching the top of the table4 ,several times we saw it move1 although we could not detect the slightest touch by the fingers4 ,according to my calculations1 it would require the contact of at least #ajj fingers1 or the light pressure of thirty1 acting voluntarily and fraudulently1 to explain in terms of mechanics the movements we observed4 ,much more frequently still we obtained balancings without contact1 balancings which sometimes went so far as to tip the table entirely over4 ,to explain in terms of mechanical movement the effects we observed1 we should have to admit the involuntary contact of #hd fingers1 or the light pressure of #be1 or two hands acting with intent to deceive4 ,but these suppositions1 also1 are not at all admissible4 ,nevertheless1 we always felt that someone might present the objection that it was difficult to observe these operations with precision1 and we were constantly urging ,m4 ,gasparin to convince the doubters and sceptics in the matter of the non-contact of the fingers by means of some mechanical device4 ,out of this arose the last experiment made at that time1 and the most conclusive of all4 ,a light film of flour was almost instantaneously spread over the table by means of a sulphur bellows such as is used in vineyards4 ,the movement of the chain of hands above the table set it whirling4 ,then the film of flour was examined and found to be inviolate from the touch of hands4 ,several repetitions on different days always gave the same results4 ,such are the principal facts which establish the reality of the phenomenon4 ,thury next takes up the more difficult investigation of courses4 ,the ,seat of the ,force4--,it is possible that the force which produces the phenomena is a general telluric force which is merely transmitted by the operators or set in action by them2 or1 possibly1 the force resides in the operators themselves4 ,to decide this question1 we had a large movable platform constructed which revolved on a perfectly vertical axis4 ,near the outer periphery of the platform stood four chairs1 and there was a table at the centre4 ,four operators1 experts in nervo-magnetic action1 took their places on the chairs1 and1 placing their hands on the table in the centre1 tried to give it circular movement by non-mechanical power4 ,in fact1 the table soon began to move4 ,then it was stopped and fastened to the platform by means of three screws4 ,the effort exerted upon this table by the four magnetizers was such that1 at the end of three-quarters of an hour of experimentation1 the central supporting leg1 was broken4 ,yet the movable platform did not turn4 ,the tangential force required to mechanically move the empty platform was only a few grams2 loaded with the four operators1 #bej grams was necessary1 applied about #bh inches from the centre4 ,this figure would have been much less if it had been possible to distribute the weight of the operators uniformly4 ,the result of this experiment 7of ,june #d1 #ahec7 showed that the force which tends to make the table turn is in the individuals and not in the ground4 ,for the force exerted upon the table tends to draw along the platform with it4 ,if1 then1 the platform remains motionless1 it must be that an equal and contrary force is exerted by the operators4 ,it is therefore in them that the base of the seat of the force resides4 ,if1 on the contrary1 this force had emanated1 wholly or in large part1 from the ground1 if it had been a force directly telluric1 the platform would have turned1 the effort which the table exerted upon it being no longer counterbalanced by an equal reaction proceeding from the individuals4 ,conditions of the ,production and ,action of the ,force4--,i have said that the conditions for the production of the force are little known4 ,in the absence of precise laws1 ,i shall present what has been verified in a greater or less degree in the case of the three following points3 a4 ,conditions of action relative to the operators4 b4 ,conditions relative to the objects to be moved4 c4 ,conditions relative to the mode of action of the operators upon the objects to be moved4 ,,the ,,will4 ,the first and the most indispensable condition1 according to ,m4 ,gasparin1 is the will of the operator4 ,without the will1 he says1 we obtain nothing2 we might sit there in chain twenty-four hours in succession without getting the slightest movement4 ,farther on1 the author speaks1 it is true1 of unexpected movements different from those which the will prescribes2 but it is evident that he is referring to a necessary combination of prescribed movements and external resistances1 the effective movements being the resultant of those that have been willed and of forces of resistance developed in external objects4 ,in short1 the will is always the prime mover and originator4 ,nothing1 it is true1 in the experiments at ,valleyres gave any authority for believing that it could be otherwise than this4 ,but it is also certain that this purely negative result1 or provisional generalization1 deduced from a limited number of experiments1--cannot invalidate the results of experiments inconsistent with those1 in case such should exist4 ,in other words1 the will may ordinarily be necessary1 without always being so4 ,similarly1 contact is ordinarily necessary1 and always has been so with a large number of operators1 without1 however1 giving them the right to conclude that contact is the indispensable condition of the phenomenon1 and that the different results obtained at ,valleyres were only illusions or error4 ,since we are dealing here with a point of capital importance1 ,i shall take the liberty of stating with some detail circumstances which seem opposed to the thesis maintained by ,m4 ,gasparin4 ,these facts1 or data1 have as guarantee the testimony of a man whom ,i should like to be able to name1 because his scientific culture and his character are known of all men4 ,it was in his house and under his eyes that the events took place which ,i am going to relate4 ,at the time when everyone was amusing himself with making tables turn and speak1 or in directing the motions of lead-pencils1 fixed in movable sockets1 over sheets of paper1 the children of the house amused themselves several times with this sport4 ,at first1 the responses obtained were such that you could see in them a reflex of the unconscious thought of the operators1 a dream of waking performers4 ,soon1 however1 the character of the replies seemed to change4 ,it seemed as if what they revealed could hardly have emanated from the mind of the young interrogators4 ,finally1 there was such an opposition to the commands given that ,m4 ,n41 uncertain as to the true nature of these manifestations in which a will different from the human will seemed to appear1 forbade their being called forth again4 ,from that time forth1 sockets and table rested undisturbed4 ,a week had scarcely rolled by1 after the events just narrated1 when a child of the family1 he who had formerly succeeded best in the table experiments1 became the actor1 or the instrument1 in strange phenomena4 ,the boy was receiving a piano-lesson1 when a low noise sounded in the instrument1 and it was shaken and displaced in such a way that pupil and teacher closed it in haste and left the room4 ,on the next day1 ,m4 ,n41 who had been informed of what had happened1 was present at the lesson1 given at the same time1--namely1 when the dusk was coming on4 ,at the end of five or ten minutes he heard a noise in the piano difficult to define1 but which was certainly the kind of sound one would expect a musical instrument to produce4 ,there was something about it musical and metallic4 ,soon after1 the two front legs of the piano 7which weighed over six hundred and sixty pounds7 were lifted up a little from the floor4 ,m4 ,n4 went to one end of the instrument and tried to lift it4 ,at one time it had its ordinary weight1 which was more than the strength of ,m4 ,n4 could manage2 at another1 it seemed as if it had no longer any weight at all1 and opposed not the least resistance to his efforts4 ,since the interior noises were becoming more and more violent1 the lesson was brought to a close1 for fear the instrument might suffer some damage4 ,the lesson was changed to the morning and given in another room situated on the ground floor4 ,the same phenomena took place1 and the piano1 which was lighter than the one up-stairs1 was lifted up much more2 that is to say1 to a height of several inches4 ,m4 ,n4 and a young man nineteen years old tried leaning with all their might on the corners of the piano which were rising4 ,then one of two things happened3 either their resistance was in vain1 and the piano continued to rise1 or else the music-stool on which the child sat moved rapidly back as if pushed or jerked4 ,if occurrences like that had only taken place once we might think that the child or the persons present were laboring under some illusion4 ,but they were repeated a great number of times1 for a fortnight1 in the presence of different witnesses4 ,then1 one day1 a violent manifestation took place1 and thenceforth no unusual event occurred in the house4 ,at first1 it was in the morning and in the evening that these perturbations manifested themselves2 then1 invariably at any and all hours1 they occurred every time the child took his seat at the piano1 after five or ten minutes of playing4 ,the phenomena happened only with this boy1 although there were others present 7musicians72 and it made no difference which of the pianos in the house he used4 ,i saw these instruments4 ,the smaller1 on the ground floor1 is a rectangular horizontal piano4 ,according to my calculations1 a force of about #afe pounds applied to the edge of the case1 beneath the key-board1 is necessary to lift this piano as it was lifted by the unknown force4 ,the instrument in the first story of the house is a heavy ,erard piano1 weighing1 with the packing-box in which it was sent1 #hab pounds1 as stated in the way-bill1 which ,i myself saw4 ,according to my approximate calculations a pressure of #ddj pounds is required to lift this piano1 under the same conditions as the first was lifted4 ,i do not think that anyone will be tempted to attribute to the direct muscular effort of a child eleven years old the lifting up a weight of #ddj pounds4#eg ,a lady who had attributed the effect produced to the action of the knees passed her own hand between the edge of the piano and the knees of the child1 and was thus able to convince herself that her explanation had no foundation in fact4 ,even when the child got upon his knees upon the piano-stool to play1 he did not find that the perturbations he dreaded ceased any the more4 ,these authenticated facts of ,professor ,thury are at once precise and formidable4 ,what6 two pianos rise from the floor and jump about6 ,what do the physicists1 the chemists1 the learned pedants in office need1 then1 to arouse them from their torpor and make them shake their ears and open their eyes8 ,what shall be done to remove their noble and pharisaical indolence8 ,but1 happen what may1 no one is occupying himself with the fascinating problem as stated1 except scattered investigators who are freed from the fear of ridicule and are aware of the exact value of the human race1 in large and small1 and the worth of its judgments4 ,m4 ,thury next discusses the explanation based on the will4 ,did this boy 7he says7 will what took place1 as the theory of ,m4 de ,gasparin would require us to admit8 ,according to the boy's testimony1 which we believe to be wholly true1 he did not will it2 he seemed to be visibly annoyed by what occurred2 it disturbed his custom of industriously practicing his lesson and offended his taste for regularity and order1 a thing well known to his intimates4 ,my personal conviction is that we positively cannot admit1 in the case of this lad1 a conscious will1 a settled design1 to produce these strange occurrences4 ,but it is known that sometimes we have a double personality1 and one of them converses with the other 7as in dreams72 that our nature then unconsciously desires what it does not will1 and that between will and desire there is only a difference in degree rather than in kind4 ,it would be necessary to have recourse to explanations of this kind1--too subtle1 perhaps1--in order to square these piano-facts with the theory of ,m4 ,gasparin2 and it would still be necessary to modify and enlarge the facts if you admit that even unconscious desire suffices1 in the absence of the expressed will4 ,there is1 then1 reason for doubt on this essential point4 ,that is the sole deduction that ,i wish to draw from the events ,i have related4 ,this levitation1 equivalent to an effort exerted of #ddj pounds1 has its scientific value4 ,but how could the will1 conscious or unconscious1 lift a piece of furniture of that weight8 ,by an unknown force which we are obliged to recognize4 ,preliminary ,action4--,power is developed by action4 ,the rotations prepare for the tippings and the levitations4 ,the rotations and the tippings1 with contact1 seem to develop the force necessary to produce the rotations and tippings without contact4 ,in their turn1 the rotations and the tippings without contact prepare for the production of true levitations1 such as those of the swinging table2 and the persons who have this latent force awaked in them are better fitted to appeal to it a second time4 ,there is1 then1 a gradual preparation required1 at least for the majority of operators4 ,does this preparation consist in a modification that takes place in the operator1 or in the inert body on which he acts1 or in both8 ,in order to resolve this problem1 experimenters who had been practicing at one table went over to another1 operating on which they found their full power unabated4 ,the preparation therefore consists in a modification that takes place in the individuals1 and not in the inert body4#eh ,this modification occurring in individuals is dissipated rather rapidly1 especially when the chain of experimenters is broken4 ,inner ,development of the ,operators4--,it is only after a certain period of waiting that the operators1 who have not so far acted1 cause even the easiest movement1--that of rotation with contact4 ,it is during this time that the force1 or the conditions determining the manifestation of the force1 develop themselves4 ,from that time on1 the developed force has nothing to do but to increase4 ,that which takes place1 therefore1 in this time of waiting1 is a very important thing to be considered4 ,we already know that it is the operators themselves who are modified4 ,but what is it that takes place within them8 ,it must be that a kind of activity is set up in the organism1 an activity which ordinarily requires the intervention of the will4 ,this activity1 this work1 is accompanied by a certain fatigue4 ,the action is not aroused in all operators with equal ease and promptness4 ,there are even persons 7the author estimates their number at one in ten7 in whom it appears that it cannot be produced at all4 ,in the midst of this great diversity of natural aptitudes1 it is observed that children can secure obedience from the table just like grown folks4 ,nevertheless1 children do not magnetize4 ,thus1 although several facts seem to show that magnetizers 7or mesmerizers7 have frequently a strong power over the tables1 yet one cannot admit the identity of magnetic power and power over the tables2 the one is not the measure of the other4 ,only1 the magnetic power would constitute 7or presume7 a favorable subjective condition4 ,a will simple and strong1 animation1 high spirits1 the concentration of the thought upon the work to do1 good bodily health1 perhaps the very physical act of turning around the table1 and1 finally1 everything that can contribute to unity of will-power among the experimenters1--all these things help to make efficacious the commands addressed to the table with force and authority4 ,the tables 7says ,m4 de ,gasparin7 wish to be handled gaily1 freely1 with animation and confidence2 they must be humored at the start with amusing and easy exercises4 ,the first condition necessary for success with the table is good health and the second1 confidence4 ,among unfavorable circumstances1 on the other hand1 must be reckoned a state of nervous tension2 fatigue2 a too passionate interest2 a mind anxious1 preoccupied or distracted4 ,the tables--,m4 de ,gasparin further says1 in his metaphorical language--detest folks who quarrel1 either as their opponents or as their friends4 ,as soon as ,i took too deep an interest1 ,i ceased to command obedience4 ,if it happened that ,i desired success too ardently1 and showed impatience at delay1 ,i no longer had any power of action on the table4 ,if the tables encounter preoccupied minds or nervous excitement1 they go into a sulking mood4 ,if you are touchy1 over-anxious 444 you can't do anything of any value4 ,in the midst of distractions1 chatterings1 pleasantries1 the operators infallibly lose all their power4 ,away with salon experiments6 ,must one have faith8 ,it is not necessary2 but confidence in the result predisposes to a larger endowment of power in the seance of the occasion4 ,it does not suffice to have faith there are persons who have faith and good will1 yet with whom power of action is altogether wanting4 ,muscular force or nervous susceptibility do not seem to play any role4 ,meteorological conditions have seemed to exercise some influence1 probably by acting upon the physique and the spirits of the operators4 ,thus fine weather1 dry and warm weather 7but not a suffocating heat7 act favorably4 ,the especially efficacious influence of dry heat upon the surface of the table#ei will perhaps receive a different explanation4 ,unconscious ,muscular ,action1 produced during an especially ,nervous ,condition4--,so long as only movements with contact were known1 in which the movement observed was one of those which muscular action might produce1 explanations based on the hypothesis of unconscious muscular action were certainly sufficient and much more probable than all the other explanations which had been up to that time proposed4 ,from this point of view 7entirely physiological7 it is settled that we must distinguish between the effort which a muscle exerts and the consciousness we have of this effort4 ,it will be remembered that there exist in the human organism a great number of muscles that habitually exert considerable effort without our being in the slightest degree aware of it4 ,it has been pointed out that muscles exist whose contractions are perceptible by us in a certain state of the system and unperceived in another state4 ,it is therefore conceivable that the muscles of our limbs might as an exceptional thing1 exhibit the same phenomenon4 ,the preparation for the movement of the table1 the special kind of reaction that takes place at this interval of waiting1 put the nervous system into a particular condition in which certain muscular movements may take place in an unconscious manner4 ,but1 evidently1 this theory is not sufficient to account for movements without contact1 nor those that take place in such a way that muscular action could not produce them4 ,it is therefore these two classes of movements which must serve as the basis of new experiments and as the foundation of a new theory4 ,how also explain the very peculiar and truly inconceivable character of the movements of the table8--this starting to move1 so insensible1 so gentle1 so different from the abruptness characteristic of the impetus given by mechanical force2 these levitations so spontaneous1 so energetic1 which leap up to meet the hands2 these dances and imitations of music which you would in vain attempt to equal by means of the combined and voluntary action of the operators2 these little raps succeeding the loud ones1 when the command is given1 the exquisite delicacy of which nothing can express4 ,several times when someone asked a so-called spirit his age1 one of the legs of the centre-table lifted up and rapped #a1 #b1 #c1 etc4 ,then the movement was accelerated4 ,finally1 the three legs beat a kind of drum-roll so rapid that it was impossible to count1 and which the most skilful could never succeed in imitating4 ,on another occasion1 under the contact of hands1 the table was turning upon three legs1 upon two1 upon a single one2 and1 in this last position1 changed feet1 throwing its weight first upon one and then upon another with great ease1 and with nothing abrupt or jerky in its motions4 ,neither the experimenters nor their most eminent opponents would ever be able to imitate mechanically this dance of the table1 and1 above all1 the whirling pirouettes and changes of feet4 ,electricity4--,many have tried to explain the movements of tables by electricity4 ,even supposing that they involve the very abundant production of this agent1 no known effect of electricity would account for the movement of the tables4 ,but1 in fact1 it is easy to show that there is no electricity produced2 for1 when a galvanometer was interposed in the chain1 no deviation of the needle took place4 ,the electrometer remains as indifferent to the solicitations of the tables as does the mariner's compass4 ,nervo-magnetism4--,there is certainly some analogy between several phenomena of nervo-magnetism and those of the tables4 ,those passes which seem to favor balancing without contact2 the motion imparted by the chain to this man whom they cause to turn about 7unless1 indeed1 there is in this some effect of the imagination72 finally1 the power that many mesmerizers exert over the tables--all this seems to indicate a kinship between the two orders of phenomena4 ,but1 since the laws of nervo-magnetism are little known1 there is no conclusion to be drawn from this1 and it seems to me preferable1 for the present1 to study separately the phenomena of tables1 which are better adapted to the experiments of the physicist1 and which1 well studied1 will render more service to nervo-magnetism than it could receive in a long time from this obscure branch of physiology4 ,thury next touches upon ,m4 de ,gasparin's theory of fluidic action4 ,being certain that he accurately understands this theory1 he gives a resume of it in the following items3 #a4 ,a fluid is produced by the brain1 and flows along the nerves4 #b4 ,this fluid can go beyond the limits of the body2 it can be emitted4 #c4 ,under the influence of the will1 it can move hither and thither4 #d4 ,this fluid acts upon inert bodies2 yet it shuns contact with certain substances1 such as glass4 #e4 ,it lifts the parts toward which it moves1 or in which it accumulates4 #f4 ,it further acts upon inert bodies by attraction or by repulsion1 with a tendency to either join or separate the inert body and the organism4 #g4 ,it can also determine interior movements in matter1 and give rise to noises4 #h4 ,this fluid is especially produced and developed by turning1 and by the will1 and by the joining of hands in a certain manner4 #i4 ,it is communicated from one person to another by vicinage or by contact4 ,yet certain persons impede its communication4 #aj4 ,we have no knowledge of special movements of the fluid1 which are determined by the will4 #aa4 ,this fluid is probably identical with the nervous fluid and with the nervo-magnetic fluid4 ,application4--,rotation is a resultant of the action of the fluid and of the resistances of the wood4 ,tipping results from the accumulation of the fluid in the leg of the table which is lifted4 ,the glass placed in the middle of the table stops the movement because it drives away the fluid4 ,the glass placed on one side of the table makes the opposite side rise because the fluid1 fleeing from the glass1 accumulates there4 ,thury does not attempt the discussion of this theory4 ,but we may repeat with ,gasparin1 ,when you shall have explained to me how ,i lift my hand1 ,i will explain to you how ,i cause the leg of the table to rise4 ,the whole problem lies in that1--the action of mind on matter4 ,we must not dream that we can give a final solution of it at the present time4 ,to reduce the new facts to conformity with the old ones2 that is to say1 to relate the action of mind upon inert bodies outside of us to the action of mind upon the matter in our bodies--such is the only problem which the science of to-day can reasonably propose to itself4 ,thury states it in general terms as follows3 ,general ,question of the ,action of ,mind upon ,matter4--,we shall seek to formulate the results of experiment up to the point where experiment abandons us4 ,from there on we shall study all the alternatives offered to our mind1 as simple possibilities1 some of which will give place to hypotheses explanatory of the new phenomena4 ,first principle3 ,in the ordinary state of the body1 the will acts directly only in the sphere of the organism4--,matter belonging to the external world is modified on contact with the organism1 and the modifications which it undergoes gradually produce others by contiguity4 ,it is thus that we can act upon objects at a distance from us4 ,our action at a distance upon all that surrounds us is mediate and not immediate4 ,we believe that this is true of the action of all physical forces1 such as gravity1 heat1 electricity4 ,their effect is gradually communicated1 and thus alone they put distance behind them and come into relation with man as a sentient being4 ,second principle3 ,in the organism itself there is a series of mediate acts4--,thus the will does not act directly upon the bones which receive the movement of the muscles2 nor does the will modify any more directly the muscles1 since1 when deprived of nerves1 they are incapable of movement4 ,does the will act directly upon the nerves8 ,it is a mooted question whether it modifies them directly or indirectly4 ,thus the substance upon which the soul immediately acts is still undetermined4 ,the substance may be solid1 may be fluid2 it may be a substance still unknown1 or perhaps a particular state of known substances4 ,in order to avoid a circumlocution1 let me give it a name4 ,i shall call it the psychode 7,greek3 psyche1 soul1 and ,greek3 odos1 way74 ,third principle3 ,the substance upon which the mind immediately acts--the psychode--is only susceptible of very simple modifications under the influence of the mind1 for1 since the movements are to be somewhat varied1 an extensive and complicated apparatus appears in the organism1--a whole system of muscles1 vessels1 nerves1 etc41 which are wanting in the inferior animals 7among whom movements are very simple71 and which would have been unnecessary had matter been directly susceptible of modifications equally varied under the influence of mind4 ,when movements are intended to be very simple 7as in the case of infusoria7 the complicated apparatus is wanting and the life-spirit acts upon matter that is almost homogeneous4 ,the following four hypotheses regarding the psychode may be formed3 a4 ,the psychode is a substance peculiar to the organism1 and not capable of emerging from it4 ,it acts only mediately upon everything outside of the visible organism4 b4 ,the psychode is a substance peculiar to the organism1 capable of extending beyond the limits of the visible organism under certain special conditions4 ,the modifications it receives necessarily act upon other inert bodies4 ,the will acts upon the psychode1 and thus mediately1 upon the bodies that the sphere of this substance embraces4 c4 ,the psychode is a universal substance which is conditioned in its action on other inert bodies by the structure of living organisms1 or by a certain state of inorganic bodies--a state determined by the influence of living organisms in certain special conditions4 d4 ,the psychode is a peculiar state of matter1 a state habitually produced within the sphere of the organism1 but which may also be produced beyond its limits under the influence of a certain state of the organism1--an influence comparable to that of magnets in the phenomena of diamagnetism4 ,thury proposes the adjective ecteneic 7from ,greek3 ekteneia1 extension7 to describe that special state of the organism in which the mind can1 in some measure1 extend the habitual limits of its action1 and he styles ecteneic force that which is developed in this state4 ,the first hypothesis 7he adds7 would not be at all adapted to explain the phenomena with which we are concerned4 ,but the three others give rise to three different explanations1 in which 7he assures us7 the greater part of the phenomena investigated will be comprised4 ,explanations based upon the ,intervention of ,spirits4--,m4 de ,gasparin has shown the error of all these explanations3 #a4 ,by theological considerations4 #b4 ,by the very just remark that we should not resort to explanations which introduce spirits into the problem until other interpretations have been proved to be entirely insufficient4 #c4 ,finally1 by physical considerations4 ,looking at the question here solely from the general physical point of view1 ,i do not follow ,m4 de ,gasparin 7says ,thury7 in his exploitation of theological explanations4 ,as to the second1 ,i will only call attention to the suggestion that the sufficiency of explanations purely physical should strictly apply only to the ,valleyres experiments1 where1 in truth1 nothing gives evidence of the intervention of wills other than the human will4 ,the question of the intervention of spirits might be decided from the tenor or content of the revelations1 in any case in which this content would be such as evidently could not have originated in the human mind4 ,it is not my intention to discuss this point4 ,the present study takes cognizance solely of movements of inert bodies1 and we have only to consider1 among the arguments of ,m4 de ,gasparin1 those which are included in this field of view4 ,now1 his arguments on this point seem to me to be all summed up in these slightly ironical lines3 ,strange spirits6 444 whose presence or absence could depend upon a rotation1 depend upon cold or warmth1 or health or disease1 on high spirits or lassitude1 on an unskilful company of unconscious magicians6 ,i have the headache or the grip1 therefore the daemonic beings will not be able to appear to-day4 ,m4 de ,mirville1 who believes in spirits who manifest themselves through the agency of the fluid1 might reply to ,gasparin that the conditions of the ostensible manifestation of spirits are perhaps the fluidic state itself2 that if this is so1 we might very well1 in a seance phenomenon1 have a fluidic manifestation without the intervention of spirits1 but not the intervention of spirits without a preliminary fluidic manifestation1 and that1 thus1 anyone will invite such manifestation only at his own risk and peril4 ,thury next discusses how the question of spirits ought to be considered4 ,the task of science 7he writes7 is to bear witness to the truth4 ,it cannot do so if it borrows a part of its data from revelation or from tradition2 to do this would be a begging of the question1 and the testimony of science would become worthless4 ,the facts of the natural order are connected with two categories of forces1 the one that of necessity1 the other that of freedom4 ,to the first belong the general forces of gravitation1 heat1 light1 electricity1 and the vegetative force4 ,it is possible that we may discover others some day2 but at present they are the only ones we know4 ,to the second category belong solely the mind of animals and that of man4 ,these are truly forces1 since they are the cause of movements and of various phenomena in the physical world4 ,experience instructs us that these mental forces manifest themselves by the intermediary of special organisms1 very complex in the case of man and the superior animals1 but simple in that of the lowest1 among which latter class mind has no need of muscles and nerves in order to manifest itself externally1 but seems to act directly upon a homogeneous matter1 the movements of which it determines 7the amoeba of ,ehrenberg74 ,it is in these elementary organizations that the problem of the action of mind on matter is stated1 after a fashion1 in its simplest terms4 ,when once we have admitted the existence of the will as distinct1 at least in principle1 from the material body1 it becomes solely a question of experience to ascertain whether other wills than that of man and the animals play any role whatever1 frequent or occasional1 on the stage of life4 ,if these wills exist1 they will have some means or other of manifestation1 with which experience alone can make us acquainted4 ,as a matter of fact1 all that it is possible to affirm1 a priori1 is that1 in order to appear1 they must manifest themselves through some one of the forms of the eternal substance we call matter4 ,but1 to say that this matter must necessarily have an organization of muscles1 nerves1 etc41 would be to hold to a very narrow idea1 and one already belied by observation of the animal kingdom in its lower types4 ,as long as we do not know what the bond is that unites the mind to the matter in which it manifests itself1 it would be perfectly illogical to lay down1 a priori1 particular conditions which matter must observe in this manifestation4 ,these conditions are at present wholly undetermined4 ,thus we are at liberty to seek for signs of these manifestations in the cosmic ether or in ponderable matter2 in the gases1 the liquids1 or the solids2 in unorganized matter1 or particularly in matter already organized1 such as that of which man and the animals are built up4 ,it would be poor logic to affirm that other wills than those of men and animals cannot be discovered1 on the ground that1 heretofore1 nothing of the kind has been seen2 for facts of this kind may have been observed1 but not scientifically elucidated and authenticated4 ,furthermore these wills might appear only at long intervals1 or what seem long to us2 but the vast abysses of nature's epochs are not to be spanned by our little memories or measured by the momentary duration of our lives4 ,such are the facts and the ideas set forth in this conscientious monograph of ,professor ,thury4 ,it is easily seen that1 in his opinion 7#a7 the phenomena are positive facts2 7#b7 that they are produced by an unknown substance1 to which he gives the name psychode1 a something that1 by the hypothesis1 exists in us and serves as the intermediary between the mind and the body1 between the will and the organs1 and can project itself beyond the limits of the body2 7#c7 that the hypothesis of spirits is not absurd1 and that there may exist in this world other wills than those of man and the animals1 wills capable of acting on matter4 ,professor ,marc ,thury died in #aije1 having devoted his entire life to the study of the exact sciences4 ,his specialty was astronomy4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,experiments ,,of ,,the ,,dialectical ,,society ,,of ,,london ,a well-known association of scholars and scientists1 the ,dialectical ,society of ,london1 founded in #ahfg under the presidency of ,sir ,john ,lubbock1 resolved1 in the year #ahfi1 to include within the sphere of its observations1 the physical phenomena which it is the object of this volume to study4 ,after a series of experiments the society published a report1 to which it added the attestations1 upon the same subject1 of a certain number of scientists1 among whom ,i had the honor of being included4#fj ,this report was translated into ,french by ,dr4 ,dusart and published#fa in the series of psychic works so happily planned and directed by ,count de ,rochas4 ,to give a true idea here of the results reached by this society ,i cannot do better than cite the salient and essential portions of this purely scientific memoir4 ,two or three paragraphs from the beginning of the report will show how and at what time the society first took up psycho-physical studies3 ,at a ,meeting of the ,london ,dialectical ,society1 held on ,wednesday1 the #fth of ,january1 #ahfi1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,levy in the chair1 it was resolved3-- ,that the ,council be requested to appoint a ,committee in conformity with ,bye-law ,,vii41 to investigate the ,phenomena alleged to be ,spiritual ,manifestations1 and to report thereon4 ,this committee was formed on ,january #bf following4 ,it was composed of twenty-seven members4 ,among these we note ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 the learned naturalist and member of the ,royal ,society1 of ,london4 ,professor ,huxley and ,george ,henry ,lewis were asked to collaborate with the committee4 ,they refused4 ,professor ,huxley's letter is too characteristic to be omitted3 ,sir1--,i regret that ,i am unable to accept the invitation of the ,council of the ,dialectical ,society to co-operate with a ,committee for the investigation of ,spiritualism2 and for two reasons4 ,in the first place1 ,i have no time for such an inquiry1 which would involve much trouble and 7unless it were unlike all inquiries of that kind ,i have known7 much annoyance4 ,in the second place1 ,i take no interest in the subject4 ,the only case of ,spiritualism ,i have had the opportunity of examining into for myself1 was as gross an imposture as ever came under my notice4 ,but supposing the phenomena to be genuine--they do not interest me4 ,if any body would endow me with the faculty of listening to the chatter of old women and curates in the nearest cathedral town1 ,i should decline the privilege1 having better things to do4 ,and if the folk in the spiritual world do not talk more wisely and sensibly than their friends report them to do1 ,i put them in the same category4 ,the only good that ,i can see in a demonstration of the truth of ,spiritualism is to furnish an additional argument against suicide4 ,better live a crossing-sweeper than die and be made to talk twaddle by a medium hired at a guinea a seance4 ,i am1 sir1 etc41 ,t4 ,h4 ,,huxley4 #bith ,january1 #ahfi4 ,as if opposing a direct negative and rebuke to this radical scepticism1 based on a single seance of observation 767 the learned electrician1 ,cromwell ,fleetwood ,varley1 in #ahfg1 who did so much to forward and encourage the laying of the third 7and finally successful7 ,atlantic cable between ,europe and ,america1 hastened to identify himself with the investigations1 and by his aid materially furthered the progress of this scientific examination4 ,the report1 with its various pieces of testimony1 was presented to the ,dialectical ,society on the #bjth of ,july1 #ahgj4 ,but1 in order not to compromise the society1 it was decided not to publish it officially1 under the aegis of the association4 ,consequently the committee unanimously resolved to publish the report on its own responsibility4 ,it reads as follows3 ,your ,committee have held fifteen meetings1 at which they received evidence from thirty-three persons1 who described phenomena which1 they stated1 had occurred within their own personal experience4 ,your ,committee have received written statements relating to the phenomena from thirty-one persons4 ,your ,committee invited the attendance and requested the co-operation and advice of scientific men who had publicly expressed opinions1 favourable or adverse1 to the genuineness of the phenomena4 ,your ,committee also specially invited the attendance of persons who had publicly ascribed the phenomena to imposture or delusion4 ,as it appeared to your ,committee to be of the greatest importance that they should investigate the phenomena in question by personal experiment and test1 they resolved themselves into sub-committees as the best means of doing so4 ,six ,sub-committees were accordingly formed4 ,these reports1 hereto subjoined1 substantially corroborate each other1 and would appear to establish the following propositions3-- #a4 ,that sounds of a varied character1 apparently proceeding from articles of furniture1 the floor and walls of the room 7the vibrations accompanying which sounds are often distinctly perceptible to the touch7 occur1 without being produced by muscular action or mechanical contrivance4 #b4 ,that movements of heavy bodies take place without mechanical contrivance of any kind or adequate exertion of muscular force by the persons present1 and frequently without contact or connection with any person4 #c4 ,that these sounds and movements often occur at the times and in the manner asked for by persons present1 and1 by means of a simple code of signals1 answer questions and spell out coherent communications4 #d4 ,that the answers and communications thus obtained are1 for the most part1 of a commonplace character2 but facts are sometimes correctly given which are only known to one of the persons present4 #e4 ,that the circumstances under which the phenomena occur are variable1 the most prominent fact being that the presence of certain persons seem necessary to their occurrence1 and that of others generally adverse4 ,but this difference does not appear to depend upon any belief or disbelief concerning the phenomena4 #f4 ,that1 nevertheless1 the occurrence of the phenomena is not insured by the presence or absence of such persons respectively4 ,the oral and written evidence received by your ,committee not only testifies to phenomena of the same nature as those witnessed by the sub-committees1 but to others of a more varied and extraordinary character4 ,this evidence may be briefly summarized as follows3-- #a4 ,thirteen witnesses state that they have seen heavy bodies--in some instances men--rise slowly in the air and remain there for some time without visible or tangible support4 #b4 ,fourteen witnesses testify to having seen hands or figures1 not appertaining to any human being1 but life-like in appearance and mobility1 which they have sometimes touched or even grasped1 and which they are therefore convinced were not the result of imposture or illusion4 #c4 ,five witnesses state that they have been touched1 by some invisible agency1 on various parts of the body1 and often where requested1 when the hands of all present were visible4 #d4 ,thirteen witnesses declare that they have heard musical pieces well played upon instruments not manipulated by any ascertainable agency4 #e4 ,five witnesses state that they have seen red-hot coals applied to the hands or heads of several persons without producing pain or scorching2 and three witnesses state that they have had the same experiment made upon themselves with the like immunity4 #f4 ,eight witnesses state that they have received precise information through rappings1 writings1 and in other ways1 the accuracy of which was unknown at the time to themselves or to any persons present1 and which1 on subsequent inquiry1 was found to be correct4 #g4 ,one witness declares that he has received a precise and detailed statement which1 nevertheless1 proved to be entirely erroneous4 #h4 ,three witnesses state that they have been present when drawings1 both in pencil and colors1 were produced in so short a time1 and under such conditions1 as to render human agency impossible4 #i4 ,six witnesses declare that they have received information of future events1 and that in some cases the hour and minute of their occurrence have been accurately foretold1 days and even weeks before4 ,in addition to the above1 evidence has been given of trance-speaking1 of healing1 of automatic writing1 of the introduction of flowers and fruits into closed rooms1 of voices in the air1 of visions in crystals and glasses1 and of the elongation of the human body4 ,some extracts from the reports will give my readers a better idea of these experiments and show their wholly scientific character3 ,all of these meetings were held at the private residences of members of the ,committee1 purposely to preclude the possibility of prearranged mechanism or contrivance4 ,the furniture of the room in which the experiments were conducted was on every occasion its accustomed furniture4 ,the tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables1 requiring a strong effort to move them4 ,the smallest of them was #e;ft4 #i;in4 long by #d;ft4 wide1 and the largest1 #i;ft4 #c;in4 long and #d-a_/b;ft4 wide1 and of proportionate weight4 ,the room1 tables1 and furniture generally were repeatedly subjected to careful examination before1 during1 and after the experiments1 to ascertain that no concealed machinery1 instrument or other contrivances existed by means of which the sounds or movements hereinafter mentioned could be caused4 ,the experiments were conducted in the light of gas1 except on the few occasions specially noted in the minutes4 ,your ,committee have avoided the employment of professional or paid mediums1 the mediumship being that of members of your ,sub-committee1 persons of good social position and of unimpeachable integrity1 having no pecuniary object to serve1 and nothing to gain by deception4 ,of the members of your ,sub-committee about four-fifths entered upon the investigation wholly sceptical as to the reality of the alleged phenomena1 firmly believing them to be the result either of imposture or of delusion1 or of involuntary muscular action4 ,it was only by irresistible evidence1 under conditions that precluded the possibility of either of these solutions1 and after trial and test many times repeated1 that the most sceptical of your ,sub-committee were slowly and reluctantly convinced that the phenomena exhibited in the course of their protracted inquiry were veritable facts4 ,a description of one experiment1 and the manner of conducting it1 will best show the care and caution with which your ,committee have pursued their investigations4 ,so long as there was contact1 or even the possibility of contact1 by the hands or feet1 or even by the clothes of any person in the room1 with the substance moved or sounded1 there could be no perfect assurance that the motions and sounds were not produced by the person so in contact4 ,the following experiment was therefore tried3 ,on an occasion when eleven members of your ,sub-committee had been sitting round one of the dining-tables above described for forty minutes1 and various motions and sounds had occurred1 they1 by way of test1 turned the backs of their chairs to the table1 at about nine inches from it4 ,they all then knelt upon their chairs1 placing their arms upon the backs thereof4 ,in this position1 their feet were of course turned away from the table1 and by no possibility could be placed under it or touch the floor4 ,the hands of each person were extended over the table at about four inches from the surface4 ,contact1 therefore1 with any part of the table could not take place without detection4 ,in less than a minute the table1 untouched1 moved four times2 at first about five inches to one side1 then about twelve inches to the opposite side1 and then1 in like manner1 four inches and six inches respectively4 ,the hands of all present were next placed on the backs of their chairs1 and about a foot from the table1 which again moved1 as before1 five times1 over spaces varying from four to six inches4 ,then all the chairs were removed twelve inches from the table1 and each person knelt on his chair as before1 this time however folding his hands behind his back1 his body being thus about eighteen inches from the table1 and having the back of the chair between himself and the table4 ,the table again moved four times1 in various directions4 ,in the course of this conclusive experiment1 and in less than half-an-hour1 the table thus moved1 without contact or possibility of contact with any person present1 thirteen times1 the movements being in different directions1 and some of them according to the request of various members of your ,sub-committee4 ,the table was then carefully examined1 turned upside down and taken to pieces1 but nothing was discovered to account for the phenomena4 ,the experiment was conducted throughout in the full light of gas above the table4 ,altogether1 your ,sub-committee have witnessed upwards of fifty similar motions without contact on eight different evenings1 in the houses of members of your ,sub-committee1 the most careful tests being applied on each occasion4 ,in all similar experiments the possibility of mechanical or other contrivance was further negatived by the fact that the movements were in various directions1 now to one side1 then to the other2 now up the room1 now down the room--motions that would have required the co-operation of many hands or feet2 and these1 from the great size and weight of the tables1 could not have been so used without the visible exercise of muscular force4 ,every hand and foot was plainly to be seen and could not have been moved without instant detection4 ,the motions were witnessed simultaneously by all present4 ,they were matters of measurement1 and not of opinion or fancy4 ,and they occurred so often1 under so many and such various conditions1 with such safeguards against error or deception1 and with such invariable results1 as to satisfy the members of your ,sub-committee by whom the experiments were tried1 wholly sceptical as most of them were when they entered upon the investigation1 that there is a force capable of moving heavy bodies without material contact1 and which force is in some unknown manner dependent upon the presence of human beings4 ,such was the first verdict of science upon ,spiritualistic doings in ,england1 a verdict rendered by physicists1 chemists1 astronomers and naturalists1 several of them members of the ,london ,royal ,society4 ,the investigations were under the especial care of ,professor ,morgan1 president of the ,mathematical ,society1 of ,london2 of ,varley1 chief electrical engineer of the department of telegraphs1 and ,alfred ,wallace1 naturalist1 etc4 ,several members of the ,dialectical ,society refused to join in the conclusions of the committee1 and declared they ought to be verified by another scientist2 for example1 by the chemist1 ,crookes4 ,this gentleman accepted the proposition1 and in this way it was that he began his experiments1 of which more anon4 ,but1 before presenting an account of the experiments of the eminent chemist1 ,i should like to place before my readers the chief points settled by the ,experimental ,committee1 of which ,i have just spoken4 ,,special ,,observations4 ,march #ith4 ,nine members present4 ,reunion at eight o'clock4 ,the following phenomena were produced3 #a4 ,the members of the circle standing1 rested the tips of their fingers only on the table4 ,it made a considerable movement4 #b4 ,holding their hands a few inches above the table1 and no one in any way touching it1 it moved a distance of more than a foot4 #c4 ,to render the experiment absolutely conclusive1 all present stood clear away from the table1 and stretching out their hands over it without touching it1 it again moved as before1 and about the same distance4 ,during this time1 one of the ,committee was placed upon the floor to look carefully beneath the table1 while others were placed outside to see that no person went near to the table4 ,in this position it was frequently moved1 without possibility of contact by any person present4 #d4 ,whilst thus standing clear of the table1 but with the tips of their fingers resting upon it1 all at the same moment raised their hands at a given signal2 and on several occasions the table jumped from the floor to an elevation varying from half an inch to an inch4 #e4 ,all held their hands close above the table1 but not touching it1 and then on a word of command raised them suddenly1 and the table jumped as before4 ,the member lying on the floor1 and those placed outside the circle1 were keenly watching as before1 and all observed the phenomena as described4 ,april #aeth4 ,eight members present4 ,sitting at #h p4 m4 ,within five minutes tapping sounds were heard on the leaf of the table4 ,various questions1 as to order of sitting1 etc41 were put1 and answered by rappings4 ,the alphabet was called for1 and the word laugh was spelled out4 ,it was asked if it was intended that we should laugh4 ,an affirmative answer being given1 the members laughed2 upon which the table made a most vigorous sound and motion imitative of and responsive to the laughter1 and so ludicrous as to cause a general peal of real laughter1 to which the table shook1 and the rapping kept time as an accompaniment4 ,the following questions were then put and answered by the number of raps given3--,how many children has ,mrs4 ,m----8 ,four2 ,mrs4 ,w----8 ,three2 ,mrs4 ,d----8 ,no rap2 ,mrs4 ,e----8 ,five2 ,mrs4 ,s----8 ,two4 ,it was ascertained1 upon inquiry that these replies were perfectly correct1 except in the case of ,mrs4 ,e----1 who has only four children living1 but has lost one4 ,neither the medium nor any person present1 was aware of all the above numbers1 but each number was known to some of them4 ,the inquiry for a written communication being responded to by three raps1 some sheets of paper with a pencil were laid under the table1 and at the end of the sitting examined1 but no letter or mark was found on the paper4 ,in order to test whether these sounds would continue under different conditions1 all sat some distance from the table1 holding hands in a circle round it4 ,but instead of upon the table as before1 loud rappings were heard to proceed from various parts of the floor1 and from the chair on which the medium sat2 while some came from the other side of the room1 a distance of about fifteen feet from the nearest person4 ,a desire having been expressed for a shower of raps1 loud rapping came from every part of the table at once1 producing an effect similar to that of a shower of hail falling upon it4 ,the sounds throughout the evening were very sharp and distinct4 ,it was observed that1 although during the conversation the rappings are sometimes of a singularly lively character1 yet when a question is put they cease instantly1 and not one is heard until the response is given4 ,april #bith4 ,nine members present4 ,medium and conditions as before4 ,in about a quarter of an hour the table made sundry movements along the floor1 with rappings4 ,the sounds at first were very softly given1 but subsequently became much stronger4 ,they beat time to the airs played by a musical box1 and came from any part of the table requested by the members4 ,some questions were put and followed by raps1 but more frequently by tilting of the table at its sides1 ends1 or corners1 the elevation being from one to four inches4 ,an endeavour was made by those sitting near1 to prevent the table from rising1 but it resisted all their efforts4 ,the chair on which the medium was seated was drawn several times over the floor4 ,first it moved backward several feet2 then it gave several twists and turns1 and finally returned with the medium to nearly its original position4 ,the chair had no casters1 and moved quite noiselessly1 the medium appearing perfectly still and holding her feet above the carpet2 so that during the entire phenomenon no part of her person or of her dress touched the floor4 ,there was bright gaslight1 and the members had a clear opportunity to observe all that occurred2 and all agreed that imposture was impossible4 ,while this was going on1 a rapping sound came continually from the floor beneath and around the chair4 ,it was then suggested that trials should be made if the table would move without contact4 ,all present1 including the medium stood quite clear of the table1 holding their hands from three to six inches above it1 and without any way of touching it4 ,observers were placed under it to see that it was not touched there4 ,the following were the observations3 #a4 ,the table repeatedly moved along the floor in different directions1 often taking that requested4 ,thus1 in accordance with a desire expressed that it should move from the front to the back room1 it took that direction1 and1 on approaching the folding doors and meeting with an obstruction1 turned as if to avoid it4 #b4 ,on a given signal all raised their hands suddenly1 and the table immediately sprang or jerked up from the floor about one inch4 ,various members of the ,committee volunteered by turns to keep watch below the table1 whilst others standing round them carefully noted everything that took place2 but no one could discover any visible agency in their production4 ,may #ahth4 ,music was played on the piano-forte1 and one piece was accompanied by tapping sounds from all parts of the table1 and another piece both by tapping sounds1 vibrations1 and slight vertical movements of the table at its sides1 ends1 and corners4 ,the sounds and movements all kept time with the music4 ,the same phenomena also occurred when a song was sang4 ,during the seance the sounds were very equally distributed1 being seldom confined to one part of the table4 ,june #ith4 ,eight members present4 ,the most interesting fact this evening was1 that though the tapping sounds proceeded from different parts of the table1 but principally from that in front of the medium2 yet1 when she went into the hall to receive a message1 they still continued to come from that part of the table4 ,the alphabet being repeated in accordance with the signal1 ,queer ,pals was spelt out4 ,these words seemed to amuse and puzzle the meeting4 ,however1 it was suggested they might apply to the ,christy ,minstrels1 whose nigger melodies1 at ,st4 ,george's ,hall1 were very clearly heard through the open window of the back room4 ,at this suggestion the table gave three considerable tilts4 ,june #agth4 ,the medium held a sheet of note paper at arm's length over the table by one of its corners1 and1 at request1 faint but distinct taps were heard upon it4 ,the other corners of the paper were then held by members of the ,committee1 and the sounds were again heard by all at the table2 while those who held the paper felt the impact of the invisible blows4 ,one or more questions were answered in this way by three clear and distinctly audible taps1 which had a sound similar in character to that produced by dropping water4 ,this new and curious phenomenon occurred close under the eyes of all present1 without any physical cause for it being detected4 ,june #bast4 ,movement of harmonican without contact4 ,on the medium and two other members holding their hands above the harmonican without in any way touching it1 it moved almost entirely round1 by successive jerks1 on the table on which it was placed4 ,the dining-table was strongly moved a distance of six feet1 the hands of the members present resting lightly on it4 ,oct4 #ahth4 ,a cylinder of canvas1 three feet in height1 and about two feet in diameter1 was placed under a small table1 the legs of which were contained within it4 ,inside the cylinder was a bell1 resting on the floor4 ,no sounds proceeded from the bell1 but there were repeated rappings upon and jerkings of the table4 ,this cylinder precluded the possibility of contact with the table by a foot of any of the persons present1 during the entire continuance of the knockings and jerkings of the table4 ,dec4 #adth4 ,sounds from table without contact4--,all sat away from the table1 without in any manner touching it1 and the sounds1 although somewhat fainter1 continued to proceed from it4 ,dec4 #bhth4 ,movements without contact4--,question3 ,would the table now be moved without contact8 ,answer3 ,yes1 by three raps on the table4 ,all chairs were then turned with their backs to the table1 and nine inches away from it2 and all present knelt on the chairs1 with their wrists resting on the backs1 and their hands a few inches above the table4 ,under these conditions1 the table 7the heavy dining-room table previously described7 moved four times1 each time from four to six inches1 and the second time nearly twelve inches4 ,then all hands were placed on the backs of the chairs1 and nearly a foot from the table1 when four movements occurred1 one slow and continuous1 for nearly a minute4 ,then all present placed their hands behind their backs1 kneeling erect on their chairs1 which were removed a foot clear away from the table2 the gas also was turned up higher1 so as to give abundance of light1 and under these test conditions1 distinct movements occurred1 to the extent of several inches each time1 and visible to every one present4 ,the motions were in various directions1 towards all parts of the room--some were abrupt1 others steady4 ,at the same time1 and under the same conditions1 distinct raps occurred1 apparently both on the floor and on the table1 in answer to requests for them4 ,the above described movements were so unmistakable1 that all present unhesitatingly declared their conviction1 that no physical force1 exerted by any one present1 could possibly have produced them4 ,and they declared1 further1 in writing1 that a rigid examination of the table1 showed it to be an ordinary dining-table1 with no machinery or apparatus of any kind connected with it4 ,the table was laid on the floor with its legs up1 and taken to pieces as far as practicable4 ,special ,observations4 ,these experiments are only a repetition and absolute confirmation of those that have been described all through this volume1 from its very first pages4 ,yet they are enough in themselves alone to justify one's convictions4 ,this first sub-committee1 the principal experiments of which we have been giving1 was studying only physical phenomena4 ,sub-committee ,no4 #b was more especially occupied with intelligent communications and mediumistic dictations4 ,they need not detain us here1 but will find their place in a special work on ,spiritualism4 ,the same committee published in its general report the following letter1 which it did me the honor of requesting3 ,i must confess to you1 in the first place1 gentlemen1 that1 of those who call themselves mediums and spiritists1 a considerable number are persons of limited intelligence1 incapable of bringing the experimental method to bear on the investigation of this order of phenomena1 and consequently are often the dupes of their credulity or ignorance2 while others1 of whom the number is also considerable1 are impostors whose moral sense has become so blunted by the habit of fraud that they seem to be incapable of appreciating the heinousness of their criminal abuse of the confidence of those who apply to them for instruction or for consolation4 ,and even where the subject is being investigated seriously and in good faith1 the force to which the production of these phenomena is due is so capricious in its action that much delay and disappointment is inevitable in the prosecution of any experimental inquiry in regard to them4 ,it is1 therefore1 no easy matter to put aside the obstacles thus placed in the way of the serious inquirer1 to eliminate these sources of error1 and to get at genuine manifestations of the phenomena in question2 carefully guarding one's own mind against all error1 all self-deception in the methodical and scrupulous examination of the order of facts now under discussion4 ,nevertheless1 ,i do not hesitate to affirm my conviction1 based on personal examination of the subject1 that any scientific man who declares the phenomena denominated magnetic somnambulistic1 mediumistic1 and others not yet explained by science1 to be impossible1 is one who speaks without knowing what he is talking about2 and also any man accustomed1 by his professional avocations1 to scientific observation--provided that his mind be not biased by preconceived opinions1 nor his mental vision blinded by that opposite kind of illusion1 unhappily too common in the learned world1 which consists in imagining that the laws of ,nature are already known to us1 and that everything which appears to overstep the limit of our present formulas is impossible--may acquire a radical and absolute certainty of the reality of the facts alluded to4 ,after an affirmation so categorical1 it is hardly necessary for me to assure the members of the ,dialectical ,society that ,i have acquired1 through my own observation1 the absolute certainty of the reality of these phenomena4444 ,but although thus compelled1 in the absence of conclusive data in regard to the cause of the so-called ,spiritual ,phenomena1 to refrain from making any positive affirmation in regard to this part of the subject1 ,i may add that while the general assertion of its spiritual nature1 on the part of the occult force which1 within the last quarter of a century1 has thus manifested itself all over the globe1 constitutes a feature of the case which1 from its universality1 merits the attention of the impartial investigator--the history of the human race1 from the earliest ages1 furnishes instances of coincidences1 previsions and presentiments of warnings experienced in certain critical moments1 of apparitions more or less distinctly seen1 which are stated1 on evidence as trustworthy as that which we possess with regard to any other branch of historical tradition1 to have occurred1 spontaneously1 in the experience of all nations1 and which may therefore be held to strengthen the presumption of the possibility of communication between incarnate and discarnate spirits4 ,i may also add that my own investigations in the fields of philosophy and of modern astronomy have led me1 as is well known1 to adopt a personal and individual way of regarding the subject of space and time1 the plurality of inhabited worlds1 the eternity and ubiquity of the acting forces of the universe1 and the indestructibility of souls1 as well as of atoms4 ,the everlastingness of intelligent life ought to be regarded as the result of the harmonious succession of sidereal incarnations4 ,our earth being one of the heavenly bodies1 a province of planetary existence1 and our present life being a phase of our eternal duration1 it appears only natural 7the supernatural does not exist7 that there should exist a permanent link between the spheres1 the bodies1 and the souls of the universe1 and therefore altogether probable that the existence of this link will be demonstrated1 in course of time1 by the advance of scientific discovery4 ,it would be difficult to over-rate the importance of the questions thus brought forward for consideration2 and ,i have seen with lively satisfaction the noble initiative which1 through the formation of your ,committee of ,inquiry1 has been taken by a body of men so justly eminent as the members of the ,dialectical ,society1 in the experimental investigation of these deeply interesting phenomena4 ,i am most happy1 therefore1 to comply with the tenor of your letter1 by sending you the humble tribute of my observations on the subject in question1 and thus to have the opportunity of offering to your society the expression of my sincerest good wishes for the speedy elucidation of the mysteries of nature that have not yet been brought within the domain of positive science4 ,i am1 sir1 yours faithfully1 ,,camille ,,flammarion1 #aj1 ,rue des ,moineaux 7,palais ,royal74 ,paris1 ,may #h1 #ahgj4 ,the foregoing resume of the labors of the ,dialectical ,society of ,london shows once more that mediumistic phenomena long ago entered upon the road of scientific experiment4 ,it would seem as if only the wilfully blind could henceforth deny their allegiance4 ,the results of the studies described also form an answer to the question frequently asked1 whether one can undertake similar experiments without knowing a true medium4 ,i reply that1 in any meeting of a dozen persons1 there will always be one or more mediums4 ,this was proved by the seances of the ,count de ,gasparin4 ,the ,english report also contains 7,may #be1 #ahfi7 a communication from the electrician1 ,cromwell ,varley1 declaring that mediumistic phenomena could not be discredited by any observer of good faith1 and that1 to him1 the hypothesis of disembodied spirits is the one that best explains them--just plain1 common spirits 7as a general thing71 like the majority of the citizens of our planet4 ,the scientific experiments of the ,dialectical ,society's committee were continued by the ,society for ,psychical ,research1 founded in #ahhb1 the successive presidents of which were ,professor ,sidgwick1 ,professor ,balfour ,stewart1 ,professor ,sidgwick for a second time1 ,professor ,william ,james1 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 ,frederick ,myers1 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 ,professor ,richet--all eminent in the departments of science and education4 ,let me mention here the splendid work of ,dr4 ,hodgson and of ,professor ,hyslop in the ,american branch of this society4 ,the experiments were continued1 in a masterly way1 by the celebrated chemist1 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 and yielded him the most wondrous results4 ,my readers will presently realize this4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,experiments ,,of ,,sir ,,william ,,crookes ,the learned chemist1 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 member of the ,royal ,society of ,london1 the author of several discoveries of the first rank 7among which should be placed the discovery1 in #ahfa1 of the metal1 thallium71 and of ingenious experiments on radiant matter1 published his first researches on the subject we are here considering in a review of which he was the editor--the ,quarterly ,journal of ,science4 ,i had the honor of contributing certain astronomical papers to this journal4#fb ,i will first lay before my readers an extract from ,mr4 ,crookes's article of the #ast of ,july1 #ahga1 entitled ,experimental ,investigation of a ,new ,force1 in which he describes his studies with ,home4 ,i also had occasion myself more than once to hold conversation with this medium4#fc ,twelve months ago in this journal1 ,july #a1 #ahgj1 ,i wrote an article1 in which1 after expressing in the most emphatic manner my belief in the occurrence1 under certain circumstances1 of phenomena inexplicable by any known natural laws1 ,i indicated several tests which men of science had a right to demand before giving credence to the genuineness of these phenomena4 ,among the tests pointed out were1 that a delicately poised balance should be moved under test conditions2 and that some exhibition of power equivalent to so many foot-pounds should be manifested in his laboratory1 where the experimentalists could weigh1 measure1 and submit it to proper tests4 ,i said1 too1 that ,i could not promise to enter fully into this subject1 owing to the difficulties of obtaining opportunities1 and the numerous failures attending the enquiry2 moreover1 that the persons in whose presence these phenomena take place are few in number1 and opportunities for experimenting with previously arranged apparatus are rarer still4 ,opportunities having since offered for pursuing the investigation1 ,i have gladly availed myself of them for applying to these phenomena careful scientific testing experiments1 and ,i have thus arrived at certain definite results which ,i think it right should be published4 ,these experiments appear conclusively to establish the existence of a new force1 in some unknown manner connected with the human organization1 which for convenience may be called the ,psychic ,force4 ,of all the persons endowed with a powerful development of this psychic force1 and who have been termed mediums upon quite another theory of its origin1 ,mr4 ,daniel ,dunglas ,home is the most remarkable1 and it is mainly owing to the many opportunities ,i have had of carrying on my investigation in his presence that ,i am enabled to affirm so conclusively the existence of this force4 ,the experiments ,i have tried have been very numerous1 but owing to our imperfect knowledge of the conditions which favor or oppose the manifestations of this force1 to the apparently capricious manner in which it is exerted1 and to the fact that ,mr4 ,home himself is subject to unaccountable ebbs and flows of the force1 it has but seldom happened that a result obtained on one occasion could be subsequently confirmed and tested with apparatus specially contrived for the purpose4 ,among the remarkable phenomena which occur under ,mr4 ,home's influence1 the most striking1 as well as the most easily tested with scientific accuracy1 are--7#a7 the alteration in the weight of bodies1 and 7#b7 the playing of tunes upon musical instruments 7generally an accordion1 for convenience of portability7 without direct human intervention1 under conditions rendering contact or connection with the keys impossible4 ,not until ,i had witnessed these facts some half-dozen times1 and scrutinized them with all the critical acumen ,i possess1 did ,i become convinced of their objective reality4 ,still1 desiring to place the matter beyond the shadow of doubt1 ,i invited ,mr4 ,home on several occasions to come to my own house1 where1 in the presence of a few scientific enquirers1 these phenomena could be submitted to crucial experiments4 ,the meetings took place in the evening1 in a large room lighted by gas4 ,the apparatus prepared for the purpose of testing the movements of the accordion1 consisted of a cage1 formed of two wooden hoops1 respectively #a foot #aj inches and #b feet diameter1 connected together by #ab narrow laths1 each #a foot #aj inches long1 so as to form a drum-shaped frame1 open at the top and bottom2 round this #ej yards of insulated copper wire were wound in #bd rounds1 each being rather less than an inch from its neighbor4 ,the horizontal strands of wire were then netted together firmly with string1 so as to form meshes rather less than #b inches long by #a inch high4 ,the height of this cage was such that it would just slip under my dining-table1 but be too close to the top to allow of the hand being introduced into the interior1 or to admit of a foot being pushed underneath it4 ,in another room were two ,grove's cells1 wires being led from them into the dining-room for connection1 if desirable1 with the wire surrounding the cage4 ,the accordion was a new one1 having been purchased by myself for the purpose of these experiments at ,wheatstone's1 in ,conduit ,street4 ,mr4 ,home had neither handled nor seen the instrument before the commencement of the test experiments4 ,in another part of the room an apparatus was fitted up for experimenting on the alteration in the weight of a body4 ,it consisted of a mahogany board1 #cf inches long by #i-a_/b inches wide and #a inch thick4 ,at each end a strip of mahogany #a-a_/b inches wide was screwed on1 forming feet4 ,one end of the board rested on a firm table1 whilst the other end was supported by a spring balance hanging from a substantial tripod stand4 ,the balance was fitted with a self-registering index1 in such a manner that it would record the maximum weight indicated by the pointer4 ,the apparatus was adjusted so that the mahogany board was horizontal1 its foot resting flat on the support4 ,in this position its weight was #c lbs41 as marked by the pointer of the balance4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xii4 ,,cage ,,of ,,copper ,,wire1 ,,electrically ,,charged1 ,,used ,,by ,,professor ,,crookes ,,in ,,the ,,home ,,accordion ,,experiment4 ,before ,mr4 ,home entered the room the apparatus had been arranged in position1 and he had not even the object of some parts of it explained before sitting down4 ,it may1 perhaps1 be worth while to add1 for the purpose of anticipating some critical remarks which are likely to be made1 that in the afternoon ,i called for ,mr4 ,home at his apartments1 and when there he suggested that1 as he had to change his dress1 perhaps ,i should not object to continue our conversation in his bedroom4 ,i am1 therefore1 enabled to state positively1 that no machinery1 apparatus1 or contrivance of any sort was secreted about his person4 ,the investigators present on the test occasion were an eminent physicist1 high in the ranks of the ,royal ,society1#fd a well-known ,serjeant-at-,law2#fe my brother2 and my chemical assistant4 ,mr4 ,home sat in a low easy-chair at the side of the table4 ,in front of him under the table was the aforesaid cage1 one of his legs being on each side of it4 ,i sat close to him on his left1 and another observer sat close to him on his right1 the rest of the party being seated at convenient distances round the table4 ,for the greater part of the evening1 particularly when anything of importance was proceeding1 the observers on each side of ,mr4 ,home kept their feet respectively on his feet1 so as to be able to detect his slightest movement4 ,the temperature of the room varied from #fh degrees to #gj degrees ,f4 ,mr4 ,home took the accordion between the thumb and middle finger of one hand at the opposite end to the keys 7see ,pl4 ,,xii ,a7 7to save repetition this will be subsequently called in the usual manner74 ,having previously opened the bass key myself1 and the cage being drawn from under the table so as just to allow the accordion to be pushed in with its keys downwards1 it was pushed back as close as ,mr4 ,home's arm would permit1 but without hiding his hand from those next to him 7,pl4 ,,xii1 ,cut ,b74 ,very soon the accordion was seen by those on each side to be waving about in a somewhat curious manner2 then sounds came from it1 and finally several notes were played in succession4 ,whilst this was going on1 my assistant went under the table1 and reported that the accordion was expanding and contracting2 at the same time it was seen that the hand of ,mr4 ,home by which it was held was quite still1 his other hand resting on the table4 ,presently the accordion was seen by those on either side of ,mr4 ,home to move about1 oscillating and going round and round the cage1 and playing at the same time4 ,dr4 ,a4 ,b4 now looked under the table1 and said that ,mr4 ,home's hand appeared quite still whilst the accordion was moving about emitting distinct sounds4 ,mr4 ,home still holding the accordion in the usual manner in the cage1 his feet being held by those next him1 and his other hand resting on the table1 we heard distinct and separate notes sounded in succession1 and then a simple air was played4 ,as such a result could only have been produced by the various keys of the instrument being acted upon in harmonious succession1 this was considered by those present to be a crucial experiment4 ,but the sequel was still more striking1 for ,mr4 ,home then removed his hand altogether from the accordion1 taking it quite out of the cage1 and placed it in the hand of the person next to him4 ,the instrument then continued to play1 no person touching it and no hand being near it4 ,i was now desirous of trying what would be the effect of passing the battery current round the insulated wire of the cage1 and my assistant accordingly made the connection with the wires from the two ,grove's cells4 ,mr4 ,home again held the instrument inside the cage in the same manner as before1 when it immediately sounded and moved about vigorously4 ,but whether the electric current passing round the cage assisted the manifestation of force inside1 it is impossible to say4 ,after this experiment1 the accordion1 which he kept holding in one hand1 then commenced to play1 at first chords and runs1 and afterwards a well-known sweet and plaintive melody1 which was executed perfectly in a very beautiful manner4 ,whilst this tune was being played ,i grasped ,mr4 ,home's arm1 below the elbow1 and gently slid my hand down it until ,i touched the top of the accordion4 ,he was not moving a muscle4 ,his other hand was on the table1 visible to all1 and his feet were under the feet of those next to him4 ,having met with such striking results in the experiments with the accordion in the cage1 we turned to the balance apparatus already described4 ,mr4 ,home placed the tips of his fingers lightly on the extreme end of the mahogany board1 which was resting on the support1 whilst ,dr4 ,a4 ,b4 and myself sat1 one on each side of it1 watching for any effect which might be produced4 ,almost immediately the pointer of the balance was seen to descend4 ,after a few seconds it rose again4 ,this movement was repeated several times1 as if by successive waves of the psychic force4 ,the end of the board was observed to oscillate slowly up and down during the experiment4 ,mr4 ,home now of his own accord took a small hand-bell and a little card match-box1 which happened to be near1 and placed one under each hand1 to satisfy us1 as he said1 that he was not producing the downward pressure 7see ,fig4 #c74 ,the very slow oscillation of the spring balance became more marked1 and ,dr4 ,a4 ,b41 watching the index1 said that he saw it descend to #f-a_/b lbs4 ,the normal weight of the board as so suspended being #c lbs41 the additional downward pull was therefore #c-a_/b lbs4 ,on looking immediately afterwards at the automatic register1 we saw that the index had at one time descended as low as #i lbs41 showing a maximum pull of #f lbs4 upon a board whose normal weight was #c lbs4 ,in order to see whether it was possible to produce much effect on the spring balance by pressure at the place where ,mr4 ,home's fingers had been1 ,i stepped upon the table and stood on one foot at the end of the board4 ,dr4 ,a4 ,b41 who was observing the index of the balance1 said that the whole weight of my body 7#adj lbs47 so applied only sunk the index #a-a_/b lbs41 or #b lbs4 when ,i shook it4 ,mr4 ,home had been sitting in a low easy-chair1 and could not1 therefore1 had he tried his utmost1 have exerted any material influence on these results4 ,i need scarcely add that his feet as well as his hands were closely guarded by all in the room4 ,this experiment appears to me more striking1 if possible1 than the one with the accordion4 ,as will be seen on referring to the cut 7,fig4 #c71 the board was arranged perfectly horizontally1 and it was particularly noticed that ,mr4 ,home's fingers were not at any time advanced more than #a-a_/b inches from the extreme end1 as shown by a pencil-mark1 which1 with ,dr4 ,a4 ,b4's acquiescence1 ,i made at the time4 ,now1 the wooden foot being also #a-a_/b inches wide1 and resting flat on the table1 it is evident that no amount of pressure exerted within this space of #a-a_/b inches could produce any action on the balance4 ,again1 it is also evident that when the end farthest from ,mr4 ,home sank1 the board would turn on the farther edge of this foot as on a fulcrum4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4 ,the arrangement was consequently that of a see-saw1 #cf inches in length1 the fulcrum being #a-a_/b inches from one end2 were he1 therefore1 to have exerted a downward pressure1 it would have been in opposition to the force which was causing the other end of the board to move down4 ,the slight downward pressure shown by the balance when ,i stood on the board was owing probably to my foot extending beyond this fulcrum4 ,i have now given a plain1 unvarnished statement of the facts from copious notes written at the time the occurrences were taking place1 and copied out in full immediately after4 ,respecting the cause of these phenomena1 the nature of the force to which1 to avoid periphrasis1 ,i have ventured to give the name of ,psychic1 and the correlation existing between that and the other forces of nature1 it would be wrong to hazard the most vague hypothesis4 ,indeed1 in inquiries connected so intimately with rare physiological and psychological conditions1 it is the duty of the inquirer to abstain altogether from framing theories until he has accumulated a sufficient number of facts to form a substantial basis upon which to reason4 ,in the presence of strange phenomena as yet unexplored and unexplained following each other in such rapid succession1 ,i confess it is difficult to avoid clothing their record in language of a sensational character4 ,but1 to be successful1 an inquiry of this kind must be undertaken by the philosopher without prejudice and without sentiment4 ,romantic and superstitious ideas should be entirely banished1 and the steps of his investigation should be guided by intellect as cold and passionless as the instruments he uses4 ,apropos of this ,mr4 ,cox wrote to ,mr4 ,crooks3 ,the results appear to me conclusively to establish the important fact1 that there is a force proceeding from the nerve-system capable of imparting motion and weight to solid bodies within the sphere of its influence4 ,i noticed that the force was exhibited in tremulous pulsations1 and not in the form of steady continuous pressure1 the indicator rising and falling incessantly throughout the experiment4 ,the fact seems to me of great significance1 as tending to confirm the opinion that assigns its source to the nerve organization1 and it goes far to establish ,dr4 ,richardson's important discovery of a nerve atmosphere of various intensity enveloping the human structure4 ,your experiments completely confirm the conclusion at which the ,investigation ,committee of the ,dialectical ,society arrived1 after more than forty meetings for trial and test4 ,allow me to add that ,i can find no evidence even tending to prove that this force is other than a force proceeding from1 or directly dependent upon1 the human organization1 and therefore1 like all other forces of nature1 wholly within the province of that strictly scientific investigation to which you have been the first to subject it4 ,now that it is proved by mechanical tests to be a fact in nature 7and if a fact1 it is impossible to exaggerate its importance to physiology and the light it must throw upon the obscure laws of life1 of mind and the science of medicine7 it cannot fail to command the immediate and most earnest examination and discussion by physiologists and by all who take an interest in that knowledge of man1 which has been truly termed the noblest study of mankind4 ,to avoid the appearance of any foregone conclusion1 ,i would recommend the adoption for it of some appropriate name1 and ,i venture to suggest that the force be termed the ,psychic ,force2 the persons in whom it is manifested in extraordinary power ,psychics2 and the science relating to it ,psychism as1 being a branch of psychology4 ,the preceding article was published separately by ,william ,crookes in a special brochure which lies before me1#ff and which contains1 in addition1 the following study1 not less curious from the human and anecdotical point of view than from the point of view of the experimenter in physics3 ,when ,i first stated in this journal that ,i was about to investigate the phenomena of so-called ,spiritualism1 the announcement called forth universal expressions of approval4 ,one said that my statements deserved respectful consideration2 another expressed profound satisfaction that the subject was about to be investigated by a man so thoroughly qualified as1 etc42 a third was gratified to learn that the matter is now receiving the attention of cool and clear-headed men of recognized position in science2 a fourth asserted that no one could doubt ,mr4 ,crookes's ability to conduct the investigation with rigid philosophical impartiality2 and a fifth was good enough to tell its readers that if men like ,mr4 ,crookes grapple with the subject1 taking nothing for granted until it is proved1 we shall soon know how much to believe4 ,those remarks1 however1 were written too hastily4 ,it was taken for granted by the writers that the results of my experiments would be in accordance with their preconceptions4 ,what they really desired was not the truth1 but an additional witness in favor of their own foregone conclusion4 ,when they found that the facts which that investigation established could not be made to fit those opinions1 why--so much the worse for the facts4 ,they try to creep out of their own confident recommendations of the enquiry by declaring that ,mr4 ,home is a clever conjurer1 who has duped us all4 ,mr4 ,crookes might1 with equal propriety1 examine the performances of an ,indian juggler4 ,mr4 ,crookes must get better witnesses before he can be believed4 ,the thing is too absurd to be treated seriously4 ,it is impossible1 and therefore can't be4#fg ,the observers have all been biologized 767 and fancy they saw things occur which really never took place1 etc4 ,these remarks imply a curious oblivion of the very functions which the scientific enquirer has to fulfill4 ,i am scarcely surprised when the objectors say that ,i have been deceived merely because they are unconvinced without personal investigation1 since the same unscientific course of a priori argument has been opposed to all great discoveries4 ,when ,i am told that what ,i describe cannot be explained in accordance with preconceived ideas of the laws of nature1 the objector really begs the very question at issue1 and resorts to a mode of reasoning which brings science to a standstill4 ,the argument runs in a vicious circle3 we must not assert a fact till we know that it is in accordance with the laws of nature1 while our only knowledge of the laws of nature must be based on an extensive observation of facts4 ,if a new fact seems to oppose what is called a law of nature1 it does not prove the asserted fact to be false1 but only that we have not yet ascertained all the laws of nature1 or not learned them correctly4 ,in his opening address before the ,british ,association at ,edinburgh this year 7#ahga71 ,sir ,william ,thomson said1 ,science is bound by the everlasting law of honor to face fearlessly every problem which can fairly be presented to it4 ,my object in thus placing on record the results of a very remarkable series of experiments is to present such a problem1 which1 according to ,sir ,william ,thomson1 ,science is bound by the everlasting law of honor to face fearlessly4 ,it will not do merely to deny its existence1 or try to sneer it down4 ,remember1 ,i hazard no hypothesis or theory whatever2 ,i merely vouch for certain facts1 my only object being--the truth4 ,doubt1 but do not deny2 point out1 by the severest criticism1 what are considered fallacies in my experimental tests1 and suggest more conclusive trials2 but do not let us hastily call our senses lying witnesses merely because they testify against preconceptions4 ,i say to my critics1 ,try the experiments2 investigate with care and patience as ,i have done4 ,if1 having examined1 you discover imposture or delusion1 proclaim it and say how it was done4 ,but1 if you find it be a fact1 avow it fearlessly1 as by the everlasting law of honor you are bound to do4 ,in this part of his work ,professor ,crookes recalls the experiments of ,count de ,gasparin and of ,thury 7detailed above7 on the phenomenon of the movement of bodies without contact1 a thing proved and demonstrated4 ,we need not recur to that4 ,he adds that the ecteneic force of ,professor ,thury and psychical force are equivalent terms1 and that the nervous atmosphere or fluid of ,dr4 ,benjamin ,richardson also belongs here4 ,professor ,crookes sent his observations to the ,royal ,society1 of which he is a member4 ,the society refused his communications4 ,the evidence goes to show that it had only approved of the gifted chemist's mixing in heretical and occult researches on consideration of his demonstrating the fallacy of all those prodigies4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #d4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #e4 ,professor ,stokes1 the secretary1 refused to consider the subject at all1 or to inscribe even the title of the papers in the society's publications4 ,it was an exact repetition of what took place at the ,academy of ,science in ,paris in #ahec4 ,professor ,crookes scorned these arbitrary and anti-scientific judgments and denials and answered them by publishing the detailed description of his experiments4 ,the following are the essential points of this description3 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #f4 ,on trying these experiments for the first time1 ,i thought that actual contact between ,mr4 ,home's hands and the suspended body whose weight was to be altered was essential to the exhibition of the force2 but ,i found afterwards that this was not a necessary condition1 and ,i therefore arranged my apparatus in the following manner3 ,the accompanying cuts 7,figs4 #d1 #e1 #f7 explain the arrangement4 ,fig4 #d is a general view1 and ,figs4 #e and #f show the essential parts more in detail4 ,the reference letters are the same in each illustration4 ,a ,b is a mahogany board1 #cf inches long by #i-a_/b inches wide and #a inch thick4 ,it is suspended at the end1 ,b1 by a spring balance1 ,c1 furnished with an automatic register1 ,d4 ,the balance is suspended from a very firm tripod support1 ,e4 ,the following piece of apparatus is not shown in the figures4 ,to the moving index1 ,o1 of the spring balance1 a fine steel point is soldered1 projecting horizontally outwards4 ,in front of the balance1 and firmly fastened to it1 is a grooved frame carrying a flat box similar to the dark box of a photographic camera4 ,this box is made to travel by clock-work horizontally in front of the moving index1 and it contains a sheet of plate-glass which has been smoked over a flame4 ,the projecting steel point impresses a mark on this smoked surface4 ,if the balance is at rest1 and the clock set going1 the result is a perfectly straight horizontal line4 ,if the clock is stopped and weights are placed on the end1 ,b1 of the board1 the result is a vertical line1 whose length depends on the weight applied4 ,if1 whilst the clock draws the plate along1 the weight of the board 7or the tension on the balance7 varies1 the result is a curved line1 from which the tension in grains at any moment during the continuance of the experiments can be calculated4 ,the instrument was capable of registering a diminution of the force of gravitation as well as an increase2 registrations of such a diminution were frequently obtained4 ,to avoid complication1 however1 ,i will only here refer to results in which an increase of gravitation was experienced4 ,the end1 ,b1 of the board being supported by the spring balance1 the end1 ,a1 is supported on a wooden strip1 ,f1 screwed across its lower side and cut to a knife edge 7see ,fig4 #f74 ,this fulcrum rests on a firm and heavy wooden stand1 ,g ,h4 ,on the board1 exactly over the fulcrum1 is placed a large glass vessel filled with water1 ,i4 ,l is a massive iron stand1 furnished with an arm and ring1 ,m ,n1 in which rests a hemispherical copper vessel perforated with several holes at the bottom4 ,the iron stand is two inches from the board1 ,a ,b1 and the arm and copper vessel1 ,m ,n1 are so adjusted that the latter dips into the water #a-a_/b inches1 being #e-a_/b inches from the bottom of ,i1 and #b inches from its circumference4 ,shaking or striking the arm1 ,m1 or the vessel1 ,n1 produces no appreciable mechanical effect on the board1 ,a ,b1 capable of affecting the balance4 ,dipping the hand to the fullest extent into the water in ,n1 does not produce the least appreciable action on the balance4 ,as the mechanical transmission of power by ,mr4 ,home is by this means entirely cut off between the copper vessel and the board1 ,a ,b1 it follows that the power of muscular control is thereby completely eliminated4 ,there was always ample light in the room where the experiments were conducted 7my own dining-room7 to see all that took place4 ,furthermore1 ,i repeated the experiments1 not only with ,mr4 ,home1 but also with another person possessing similar powers4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #g4 ,experiment ,i4--,the apparatus having been properly adjusted before ,mr4 ,home entered the room1 he was brought in1 and asked to place his fingers in the water in the copper vessel1 ,n4 ,he stood up and dipped the tips of the fingers of his right hand in the water1 his other hand and his feet being held4 ,when he said he felt a power1 force1 or influence1 proceeding from his hand1 ,i set the clock going1 and almost immediately the end1 ,b1 of the board was seen to descend slowly and remain down for about #aj seconds2 it then descended a little farther1 and afterwards rose to its normal height4 ,it then descended again1 rose suddenly1 gradually sunk for #ag seconds1 and finally rose to its normal height1 where it remained till the experiment was concluded4 ,the lowest point marked on the glass was equivalent to a direct pull of about #e1jjj grains4 ,the accompanying figure #g is a copy of the curve traced on the glass4 ,experiment ,,ii4--,contact through water having proved to be as effectual as actual mechanical contact1 ,i wished to see if the power or force could affect the weight1 either through other portions of the apparatus or through the air4 ,the glass vessel and iron stand1 etc41 were therefore removed1 as an unnecessary complication1 and ,mr4 ,home's hands were placed on the stand of the apparatus at ,p 7,fig4 #d74 ,a gentleman present put his hand on ,mr4 ,home's hands1 and his foot on both ,mr4 ,home's feet1 and ,i also watched him closely all the time4 ,at the proper moment the clock was again set going2 the board descended and rose in an irregular manner1 the result being a curved tracing on the glass1 of which ,fig4 #h is a copy4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #h4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #i4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #aj4 ,experiment ,,iii4--,mr4 ,home was now placed #a foot from the board1 ,a ,b1 on one side of it4 ,his hands and feet were firmly grasped by a bystander1 and another tracing1 of which ,fig4 #i is a copy1 was taken on a moving glass plate4 ,experiment ,,iv4--7,tried on an occasion when the power was stronger than on the previous occasions47 ,mr4 ,home was now placed three feet from the apparatus1 his hands and feet being tightly held4 ,the clock was set going when he gave the word1 and the end1 ,b1 of the board soon descended1 and again rose in an irregular manner1 as shown in ,fig4 #aj4 ,the following series of experiments were tried with more delicate apparatus1 and with another person1 a lady1 ,mr4 ,home being absent4 ,as the lady is non-professional1 ,i do not mention her name4 ,she has1 however1 consented to meet any scientific men whom ,i may introduce for purposes of investigation4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #aa4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ab4 ,a piece of thin parchment1 ,a1 ,figs4 #aa and #ab1 is stretched tightly across a circular hoop of wood4 ,b ,c is a light lever turning on ,d4 ,at the end1 ,b1 is a vertical needle-point touching the membrane1 ,a1 and at ,c is another needle-point1 projecting horizontally and touching a smoked glass plate1 ,e ,f4 ,this glass plate is drawn along in the direction1 ,h ,g1 by clockwork1 ,k4 ,the end1 ,b1 of the lever is weighted so that it shall quickly follow the movements of the centre of the disc1 ,a4 ,these movements are transmitted and recorded on the glass plate1 ,e ,f1 by means of the lever and needle-point1 ,c4 ,holes are cut in the side of the hoop to allow a free passage of air to the under side of the membrane4 ,the apparatus was well tested beforehand by myself and others1 to see that no shaking or jar on the table or support would interfere with the results4 ,the line traced by the point1 ,c1 on the smoked glass was perfectly straight in spite of all our attempts to influence the lever by shaking the stand or stamping on the floor4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ac4 ,experiment ,v4--,without having the object of the instrument explained to her1 the lady was brought into the room and asked to place her fingers on the wooden stand at the points1 ,l ,m1 ,fig4 #aa4 ,i then placed my hands over hers to enable me to detect any conscious or unconscious movement on her part4 ,presently percussive noises were heard on the parchment1 resembling the dropping of grains of sand on its surface4 ,at each percussion a fragment of graphite which ,i had placed on the membrane was seen to be projected upwards about #a-ejth of an inch1 and the end1 ,c1 of the lever moved slightly up and down4 ,sometimes the sounds were as rapid as those from an induction-coil1 whilst at others they were more than a second apart4 ,five or six tracings were taken1 and in all cases a movement of the end1 ,c1 of the lever was seen to have occurred with each vibration of the membrane4 ,in some cases the lady's hands were not so near the membrane as ,l ,m1 but were at ,n ,o1 ,fig4 #ab4 ,the accompanying figure #ac gives tracings taken from the plates used on these occasions4 ,experiment ,,vi4--,having met with these results in ,mr4 ,home's absence1 ,i was anxious to see what action would be produced on the instrument in his presence4 ,accordingly ,i asked him to try1 but without explaining the instrument to him4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ad4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ae4 ,i grasped ,mr4 ,home's right arm above the wrist and held his hand over the membrane1 about #aj inches from its surface1 in the position shown at ,p1 ,fig4 #ab4 ,his other hand was held by a friend4 ,after remaining in this position for about half a minute1 ,mr4 ,home said he felt some influence passing4 ,i then set the clock going1 and we all saw the index1 ,c1 moving up and down4 ,the movements were much slower than in the former case1 and were almost entirely unaccompanied by the percussive vibrations then noticed4 ,figs4 #ad and #ae show the curves produced on the glass on two of these occasions4 ,figs4 #ac1 #ad1 #ae are magnified4 ,these experiments confirm beyond doubt the conclusion at which ,i arrived in my former paper2 namely1 the existence of a force associated1 in some manner not yet explained1 with the human organization1 by which force increased weight is capable of being imparted to solid bodies without physical contact4 ,now1 however1 having seen more of ,mr4 ,home1 ,i think ,i perceive what it is that this psychic force uses up for its development4 ,in employing the terms vital force1 or nervous energy1 ,i am aware that ,i am employing words which convey very different significations to many investigators2 but after witnessing the painful state of nervous and bodily prostration in which some of these experiments have left ,mr4 ,home--after seeing him lying in an almost fainting condition on the floor1 pale and speechless--,i could scarcely doubt that the evolution of psychic force is accompanied by a corresponding drain on vital force4 ,to witness exhibitions of this force it is not necessary to have access to known psychics4 ,the force itself is probably possessed by all human beings1 although the individuals endowed with an extraordinary amount of it are doubtless few4 ,within the last twelve months ,i have met in private families five or six persons possessing a sufficiently vigorous development to make me feel confident that similar results might be produced through their means to those here recorded1 though less intense4 ,these experiments continued to be the object of bitter and relentless criticism on the part of the recognized authorities in science and education in ,england4 ,these persons absolutely refused to recognize their value4 ,professor ,crookes amused himself1 at times1 by replying to these fantastic attacks1 but1 naturally1 without convincing his uncompromising opponents4 ,it is unnecessary to reproduce these letters here2 they can be found in the ,french edition of ,crookes's ,researches4 ,the learned chemist did better still3 he continued his researches into the domain of the ,unknown1 and got still more remarkable results--still more extraordinary1 more inexplicable1 more incomprehensible4 ,his notes continue as follows3 ,like a traveler exploring some distant country1 the wonders of which have hitherto been known only through reports and rumors of a vague or distorted character1 so for four years have ,i been occupied in pushing an inquiry into a territory of natural knowledge which offers almost virgin soil to a scientific man4 ,as the traveller sees in the natural phenomena he may witness the action of forces governed by natural laws1 where others see only the capricious intervention of offended gods1 so have ,i endeavored to trace the operation of natural laws and forces1 where others have seen only the agency of supernatural beings1 owning no laws1 and obeying no force but their own free will4 ,the phenomena ,i am prepared to attest are so extraordinary and so directly oppose the most firmly rooted articles of scientific belief--amongst others1 the ubiquity and invariable action of the force of gravitation--that1 even now1 on recalling the details of what ,i witnessed1 there is an antagonism in my mind between reason1 which pronounces it to be scientifically impossible1 and the consciousness that my senses1 both of touch and sight--and these corroborated1 as they were1 by the senses of all who were present1--are not lying witnesses when they testify against my preconceptions4 ,but the supposition that there is a sort of mania or delusion which suddenly attacks a whole roomful of intelligent persons who are quite sane elsewhere1 and that they all concur to the minutest particulars1 in the details of the occurrences of which they suppose themselves to be witnesses1 seems to my mind more incredible than even the facts they attest4 ,the subject is far more difficult and extensive than it appears4 ,four years ago ,i intended only to devote a leisure month or two to ascertain whether certain marvellous occurrences ,i had heard about would stand the test of close scrutiny4 ,having1 however1 soon arrived at the same conclusion as1 ,i may say1 every impartial inquirer1 that there was something in it1 ,i could not1 as a student of nature's laws1 refuse to follow the inquiry wheresoever the facts might lead4 ,thus a few months have grown into a few years1 and1 were my time at my own disposal it would probably extend still longer4 ,my principal object will be to place on record a series of actual occurrences which have taken place in my own house1 in the presence of trustworthy witnesses1 and under as strict test conditions as ,i could devise4 ,every fact which ,i have observed is1 moreover1 corroborated by the records of independent observers at other times and places4 ,it will be seen that the facts are of the most astounding character1 and seem utterly irreconcilable with all known theories of modern science4 ,having satisfied myself of their truth1 it would be moral cowardice to withhold my testimony because my previous publications were ridiculed by critics and others who knew nothing whatever of the subject1 and who were too prejudiced to see and judge for themselves whether or not there was truth in the phenomena4 ,i shall state simply what ,i have seen and proved by repeated experiment and test4 ,except where darkness has been a necessary condition1 as with some of the phenomena of luminous appearances1 and a few other instances1 everything recorded has taken place in the light4 ,in the few cases where the phenomena noted have occurred in darkness ,i have been very particular to mention the fact4 ,moreover1 some special reason can be shown for the exclusion of light1 or the results have been produced under such perfect test conditions that the suppression of one of the senses has not really weakened the evidence4 ,i have said that darkness is not essential4 ,it is1 however1 a well-ascertained fact that when the force is weak a bright light exerts an interfering action on some of the phenomena4 ,the power possessed by ,mr4 ,home is sufficiently strong to withstand this antagonistic influence2 consequently1 he always objects to darkness at his seances4 ,indeed1 except on two occasions1 when1 for some particular experiments of my own1 light was excluded1 everything which ,i have witnessed with him has taken place in the light4 ,i have had many opportunities of testing the action of light on different sources and colors1--such as sunlight1 diffused daylight1 moonlight1 gas1 lamp1 and candle-light1 electric light from a vacuum tube1 homogeneous yellow light1 etc4 ,the interfering rays appear to be those at the extreme end of the spectrum4 ,professor ,crookes next proceeds to classify the phenomena observed by him1 going from the more simple to the more complex and giving in rapid review under each head1 a sketch of some of the facts4 ,in the abridgment of his report which follows ,i eliminate what has already been fully demonstrated elsewhere in this book4 ,,first ,,class3 ,the movement of ,heavy ,bodies with ,contact1 but without ,mechanical ,exertion4 7,this movement has been fully proved in this volume47 ,,second ,,class3 ,the ,phenomena of ,percussive and other ,allied ,sounds4 ,an important question here forces itself upon the attention4 ,are the movements and sounds governed by intelligence8 ,at a very early stage of the inquiry1 it was seen that the power producing the phenomena was not merely a blind force1 but was associated with or governed by intelligence4 ,thus the sounds to which ,i have just alluded will be repeated a definite number of times4 ,they will come loud or faint1 and in different places at request2 and by a pre-arranged code of signals1 questions are answered1 and messages given with more or less accuracy4 ,the intelligence governing the phenomena is sometimes manifestly below that of the medium4 ,it is frequently in direct opposition to the wishes of the medium4 ,when a determination has been expressed to do something which might not be considered quite right1 ,i have known urgent messages given to induce a reconsideration4 ,the intelligence is sometimes of such a character as to lead to the belief that it does not emanate from any person present4 ,,third ,,class3 ,the ,alteration of ,weights of ,bodies4--7,experiments which have been already described47 ,,fourth ,,class3 ,movements of ,heavy ,substances when at a distance from the ,medium4--,the instances in which heavy bodies1 such as tables1 chairs1 sofas1 etc41 have been moved1 when the medium has not been touching them1 are very numerous4 ,i will briefly mention a few of the most striking4 ,my own chair has been twisted partly round1 whilst my feet were off the floor4 ,a chair was seen by all present to move slowly up to the table from a far corner1 when all were watching it4 ,on another occasion an arm-chair moved to where we were sitting1 and then moved slowly back again 7a distance of about three feet7 at my request4 ,on three successive evenings a small table moved slowly across the room1 under conditions which ,i had specially pre-arranged1 so as to answer any objection which might be raised to the evidence4 ,i have had several repetitions of the experiment considered by the ,committee of the ,dialectical ,society to be conclusive1 viz41 the movement of a heavy table1 in full light1 the chairs turned with their backs to the table1 about a foot off1 and each person kneeling on his chair1 with hands resting over the back of the chair1 but not touching the table4 ,on one occasion this took place when ,i was moving about so as to see how everyone was placed4 ,,fifth ,,class3 ,the ,rising of ,tables and ,chairs off the ,ground1 without ,contact with any ,person4 7,we need not recur to these matters47 ,,sixth ,,class3 ,the ,levitation of ,human ,beings4--,the most striking cases of levitation which ,i have witnessed have been with ,mr4 ,home4 ,on three separate occasions have ,i seen him raised completely from the floor of the room4 ,once sitting in an easy-chair1 once kneeling on his chair1 and once standing up4 ,on each occasion ,i had full opportunity of watching the occurrence as it was taking place4 ,there are at least a hundred recorded instances of ,mr4 ,home's rising from the ground1 in the presence of as many separate persons1 and ,i have heard from the lips of the three witnesses to the most striking occurrence of this kind--the ,earl of ,dunraven1 ,lord ,lindsay1 and ,captain ,c4 ,wynne--their own most minute accounts of what took place4 ,to reject the recorded evidence on this subject is to reject all human testimony whatever2 for no fact in sacred or profane history is supported by a stronger array of proofs4 ,,seventh ,,class3 ,movement of ,various ,small ,articles without ,contact with any ,person4--7,as in the case of the sixth class1 this is well known to my readers47 ,,eighth ,,class3 ,luminous ,appearances4--,these1 being rather faint1 generally require the room to be darkened4 ,i need scarcely remind my readers again that1 under these circumstances1 ,i have taken proper precautions to avoid being imposed upon by phosphorized oil or other means4 ,moreover1 many of these lights are such as ,i have tried to imitate artificially1 but cannot4 ,under the strictest test conditions1 ,i have seen a solid self-luminous body1 the size and nearly the shape of a turkey's egg1 float noiselessly about the room1 at one time higher than any one present could reach standing on tiptoe1 and then gently descend to the floor4 ,it was visible for more than ten minutes1 and before it faded away it struck the table three times with a sound like that of a hard solid body4 ,during this time the medium was lying back1 apparently insensible1 in an easy-chair4 ,i have seen luminous points of light darting about and settling on the heads of different persons2 ,i have had questions answered by the flashing of a bright light a desired number of times in front of my face4 ,i have seen sparks of light rising from the table to the ceiling1 and again falling upon the table1 striking it with an audible sound4 ,i have had an alphabetic communication given by luminous flashes occurring before me in the air1 whilst my hand was moving about amongst them4 ,i have seen a luminous cloud floating upwards to a picture4 ,under the strictest test conditions1 ,i have more than once had a solid1 self-luminous1 crystalline body placed in my hand by a hand which did not belong to any person in the room4 ,in the light1 ,i have seen a luminous cloud hover over a heliotrope on a side table1 break a sprig off1 and carry it to a lady2 and on some occasions ,i have seen a similar luminous cloud visibly condense to the form of a hand and carry small objects about4 ,,ninth ,,class3 ,the ,appearance of ,hands1 either ,self-,luminous or ,visible by ,ordinary ,light4--,during a seance in full light a beautifully-formed small hand rose up from an opening in a dining-table and gave me a flower2 it appeared and then disappeared three times at intervals1 affording me ample opportunity of satisfying myself that it was as real in appearance as my own4 ,this occurred in the light in my own room1 whilst ,i was holding the medium's hands and feet4 ,on another occasion1 a small hand and arm1 like a baby's1 appeared playing about a lady who was sitting next to me4 ,it then patted my arm and pulled my coat several times4 ,at another time1 a finger and thumb were seen to pick the petals from a flower in ,mr4 ,home's button-hole1 and lay them in front of several persons who were sitting near him4 ,a hand has been repeatedly seen by myself and others playing the keys of an accordion1 both of the medium's hands being visible at the same time1 and sometimes being held by those near him4 ,the hands and fingers do not always appear to me to be solid and life-like4 ,sometimes1 indeed1 they present more the appearance of a nebulous cloud partly condensed into the form of a hand4 ,this is not equally visible to all present4 ,for instance1 a flower or other small object is seen to move2 one person present will see a luminous cloud hovering over it1 another will detect a nebulous-looking hand1 whilst others will see nothing at all but the moving flower4 ,i have more than once seen1 first an object move1 then a luminous cloud appear to form about it1 and1 lastly1 the cloud condense into shape and become a perfectly-formed hand4 ,at this stage the hand is visible to all present4 ,it is not always a mere form1 but sometimes appears perfectly life-like and graceful1 the fingers moving1 and the flesh apparently as human as that of any in the room4 ,at the wrist1 or arm1 it becomes hazy1 and fades off into a luminous cloud4 ,to the touch1 the hand sometimes appears icy-cold and dead1 at other times1 warm and life-like1 grasping my own with the firm pressure of an old friend4 ,i have retained one of these hands in my own1 firmly resolved not to let it escape4 ,there was no struggle or effort made to get loose1 but it gradually seemed to resolve itself into vapor1 and faded in that manner from my grasp4 ,,tenth ,,class3 ,direct ,writing4--7,the learned chemist cites some remarkable examples obtained by him4 ,we need not speak of them in this book47 ,,eleventh ,,class3 ,phantom ,forms and ,faces4--,these are the rarest of the phenomena ,i have witnessed4 ,the conditions requisite for their appearance appear to be so delicate1 and such trifles interfere with their production1 that only on very few occasions have ,i witnessed them under satisfactory test conditions4 ,i will mention two of these cases4 ,in the dusk of the evening1 during a seance with ,mr4 ,home at my house1 the curtains of a window about eight feet from ,mr4 ,home were seen to move4 ,a dark1 shadowy1 semi-transparent form1 like that of a man1 was then seen by all present standing near the window1 waving the curtain with his hand4 ,as we looked1 the form faded away1 and the curtains ceased to move4 ,the following is a still more striking instance4 ,as in the former case1 ,mr4 ,home was the medium4 ,a phantom form came from a corner of the room1 took an accordion in its hand1 and then glided about the room playing the instrument4 ,the form was visible to all present for many minutes1 ,mr4 ,home also being seen at the same time4 ,coming rather close to a lady who was sitting apart from the rest of the company1 she gave a slight cry1 upon which it vanished4 ,,twelfth ,,class3 ,special ,instances which seem to point to the ,agency of an ,exterior ,intelligence4--,it has already been shown that the phenomena are governed by an intelligence4 ,it becomes a question of importance as to the source of that intelligence4 ,is it the intelligence of the medium1 of any of the other persons in the room1 or is it an exterior intelligence8 ,without wishing at present to speak positively on this point1 ,i may say that whilst ,i have observed many circumstances which appear to show that the will and intelligence of the medium have much to do with the phenomena1 ,i have observed some circumstances which seem conclusively to point to the agency of an outside intelligence1 not belonging to any human being in the room4 ,space does not allow me to give here all the arguments which can be adduced to prove these points1 but ,i will briefly mention one or two circumstances out of many4 ,i have been present when several phenomena were going on at the same time1 some being unknown to the medium4 ,i have been with ,miss ,fox when she has been writing a message automatically to one person present1 whilst a message to another person on another subject was being given alphabetically by means of raps1 and the whole time she was conversing freely with a third person on a subject totally different from either4 ,perhaps a more striking instance is the following3 ,during a seance with ,mr4 ,home1 a small lath1 which ,i have before mentioned1 moved across the table to me1 in the light1 and delivered a message to me by tapping my hand1 ,i repeating the alphabet1 and the lath tapping me at the right letters4 ,the other end of the lath was resting on the table1 some distance from ,mr4 ,home's hands4 ,the taps were so sharp and clear1 and the lath was evidently so well under control of the invisible power which was governing its movements1 that ,i said1 ,can the intelligence governing the motion of this lath change the character of the movements1 and give me a telegraphic message through the ,morse alphabet by taps on my hand8 7,i have every reason to believe that the ,morse code was quite unknown to any other person present1 and it was only imperfectly known to me47 ,immediately ,i said this1 the character of the taps changed1 and the message was continued in the way ,i had requested4 ,the letters were given too rapidly for me to do more than catch a word here and there1 and consequently ,i lost the message2 but ,i heard sufficient to convince me that there was a good ,morse operator at the other end of the line1 wherever that might be4 ,another instance4 ,a lady was writing automatically by means of the planchette4 ,i was trying to devise a means of proving that what she wrote was not due to unconscious cerebration4 ,the planchette1 as it always does1 insisted that1 although it was moved by the hand and the arm of the lady1 the intelligence was that of an invisible being who was playing on her brain as on a musical instrument1 and thus moving her muscles4 ,i therefore said to this intelligence1 ,can you see the contents of this room8 ,yes1 wrote the planchette4 ,can you see to read this newspaper8 said ,i1 putting my finger on a copy of the ,times1 which was on a table behind me1 but without looking at it4 ,yes1 was the reply of the planchette4 ,well1 ,i said1 if you can see that1 write the word which is now covered by my finger1 and ,i will believe you4 ,the planchette commenced to move4 ,slowly and with great difficulty the word however was written4 ,i turned round and saw that the word however was covered by the tip of my finger4 ,i had purposely avoided looking at the newspaper when ,i tried this experiment1 and it was impossible for the lady1 had she tried1 to have seen any of the printed words1 for she was sitting at one table1 and the paper was on another table behind1 my body intervening4 ,,thirteenth ,,class3 ,miscellaneous ,occurrences of a ,complex ,character4 7,professor ,crookes here cites two examples of the transference of matter through matter1--a bell passing from neighboring room into that in which the seance was being held1 and a flower separating from a bouquet and passing through the table47 ,the spare at my disposal will not permit me to give more details here2 but all my readers must appreciate1 as ,i do1 the importance of these experiments of the eminent chemist4 ,i will especially call attention to the proofs they afford of the presence of a mind or intelligence1 other than that of the experimenters2 to the formation of hands and spirit-forms2 and to the passage of matter through matter4 ,these experiments date from the years #ahga to #ahgc4 ,during the last mentioned year1 a new medium1 endowed with particularly remarkable powers1 appeared in ,london1 namely1 ,miss ,florence ,cook1 who was born in #ahef1 and was1 therefore1 seventeen in #ahgc4 ,since the preceding year 7#ahgb71 she had often seen the apparition by her side of a young girl4 ,this spectral form had taken a liking to her1 and told her she was called ,katie ,king in the other world1 and had been a lady called ,annie ,morgan during one of her lives on earth4 ,some observers told marvellous stories of these apparitions1 which they also saw1--among them being ,william ,harrison1 ,benjamin ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,luxmore1 ,dr4 ,sexton1 ,dr4 ,gully1 the ,prince of ,sayn ,wittgenstein1 who have all published accounts of them which breathe an air of sincere belief4 ,professor ,crookes got in touch with this new medium in ,december1 #ahgc4 ,in ,the ,spiritualist--a journal edited by ,mr4 ,harrison1 at whose home several sittings had taken place--there appeared in the numbers for ,february and ,march1 #ahgd1 two letters from ,professor ,crookes4 ,a few extracts from these letters here follow3 ,i have reason to know that the power at work in these phenomena1 like ,love1 laughs at locksmiths4 ,the seance of which you speak and at which ,i was present1 was held at the house of ,mr4 ,luxmore1 and the cabinet was a back drawing-room separated from the front room in which the company sat by a curtain4 ,the usual formality of searching the room and examining the fastenings having been gone through1 ,miss ,cook entered the cabinet4 ,after a little time the form of ,katie appeared at the side of the curtain1 but soon retreated1 saying her medium was not well1 and could not be put into a sufficiently deep sleep to make it safe for her to be left4 ,i was sitting within a few feet of the curtain close behind which ,miss ,cook was sitting1 and ,i could frequently hear her moan and sob1 as if in pain4 ,this uneasiness continued at intervals nearly the whole duration of the seance1 and once1 when the form of ,katie was standing before me in the room1 ,i distinctly heard a sobbing1 moaning sound1 identical with that which ,miss ,cook had been making at intervals the whole time of the seance1 come from behind the curtain where the young lady was supposed to be sitting4 ,i admit that the figure was startlingly life-like and real1 and1 as far as ,i could see in the somewhat dim light1 the features resembled those of ,miss ,cook2 but still the positive evidence of one of my own senses that the moan came from ,miss ,cook in the cabinet1 whilst the figure was outside1 is too strong to be upset by a mere inference to the contrary1 however well supported4 ,your readers1 sir1 know me1 and will1 ,i hope1 believe that ,i will not come hastily to an opinion1 or ask them to agree with me on insufficient evidence4 ,it is perhaps expecting too much to think that the little incident ,i have mentioned will have the same weight with them that it had with me4 ,but this ,i do beg of them--,let those who are inclined to judge ,miss ,cook harshly suspend their judgment until ,i bring forward positive evidence which ,i think will be sufficient to settle the question4 ,miss ,cook is now devoting herself exclusively to a series of private seances with me and one or two friends4 ,the seances will probably extend over some months1 and ,i am promised that every desirable test shall be given to me4 ,these seances have not been going on many weeks1 but enough has taken place to thoroughly convince me of the perfect truth and honesty of ,miss ,cook1 and to give me every reason to expect that the promises so freely made to me by ,katie will be kept4 ,,william ,,crookes4 ,here is the second letter from the cautious investigator3 ,in a letter which ,i wrote to this journal early in ,february last1 speaking of the phenomena of spirit-forms which have appeared through ,miss ,cook's mediumship1 ,i said1 ,let those who are inclined to judge ,miss ,cook harshly suspend their judgment until ,i bring forward positive evidence which ,i think will be sufficient to settle the question4 ,in that letter ,i described an incident which1 to my mind1 went very far towards convincing me that ,katie and ,miss ,cook were two separate material beings4 ,when ,katie was outside the cabinet1 standing before me1 ,i heard a moaning noise from ,miss ,cook in the cabinet4 ,i am happy to say that ,i have at last obtained the absolute proof to which ,i referred in the above-quoted letter4 ,on ,march #abth1 during a seance here1 after ,katie had been walking amongst us and talking for some time1 she retreated behind the curtain which separated my laboratory1 where the company was sitting1 from my library which did temporary duty as a cabinet4 ,in a minute she came to the curtain and called me to her1 saying1 ,come into the room and lift my medium's head up1 she has slipped down4 ,katie was then standing before me clothed in her usual white robes and turban head-dress4 ,i immediately walked into the library up to ,miss ,cook1 ,katie stepping aside to allow me to pass4 ,i found ,miss ,cook had slipped partially off the sofa1 and her head was hanging in a very awkward position4 ,i lifted her on to the sofa1 and in so doing had satisfactory evidence1 in spite of the darkness1 that ,miss ,cook was not attired in the ,katie costume1 but had on her ordinary black velvet dress1 and was in a deep trance4 ,not more than three seconds elapsed between my seeing the white-robed ,katie standing before me and my raising ,miss ,cook onto the sofa from the position into which she had fallen4 ,on returning to my post of observation by the curtain1 ,katie again appeared1 and said she thought she would be able to show herself and her medium to me at the same time4 ,the gas was then turned out and she asked for my phosphorus lamp4 ,after exhibiting herself by it for some seconds1 she handed it back to me1 saying1 ,now come in and see my medium4 ,i closely followed her into the library1 and by the light of my lamp saw ,miss ,cook lying on the sofa just as ,i had left her4 ,i looked round for ,katie1 but she had disappeared4 ,i called her1 but there was no answer4 ,on resuming my place1 ,katie soon reappeared1 and told me that she had been standing close to ,miss ,cook all the time4 ,she then asked if she might try an experiment herself1 and taking the phosphorus lamp from me she passed behind the curtain1 asking me not to look in for the present4 ,in a few minutes she handed the lamp back to me1 saying she could not succeed1 as she had used up all the power1 but would try again another time4 ,my eldest son1 a lad of fourteen1 who was sitting opposite me1 in such a position that he could see behind the curtain1 tells me he distinctly saw the phosphorus lamp apparently floating about in space over ,miss ,cook1 illuminating her as she lay motionless on the sofa1 but he could not see anyone holding the lamp4 ,i pass on to a seance held last night at ,hackney4 ,katie never appeared to greater perfection1 and for nearly two hours she walked about the room1 conversing familiarly with those present4 ,on several occasions she took my arm when walking1 and the impression conveyed to my mind that it was a living woman by my side1 instead of a visitor from the other world1 was so strong that the temptation to repeat a recent celebrated experiment became almost irresistible4 ,feeling1 however1 that if ,i had not a spirit1 ,i had at all events a lady close to me1 ,i asked her permission to clasp her in my arms1 so as to be able to verify the interesting observations which a bold experimentalist has recently somewhat verbosely recorded4 ,permission was graciously given1 and ,i accordingly did--well1 as any gentleman would do under the circumstances4 ,mr4 ,volckman will be pleased to know that ,i can corroborate his statement that the ghost 7not struggling however7 was as material a being as ,miss ,cook herself4 ,katie now said she thought she would be able this time to show herself and ,miss ,cook together4 ,i was to turn the gas out1 and then come with my phosphorus lamp into the room now used as a cabinet4 ,this ,i did1 having previously asked a friend who was skillful at shorthand to take down any statement ,i might make when in the cabinet1 knowing the importance attaching to first impressions1 and not wishing to leave more to memory than necessary4 ,his notes are now before me4 ,i went cautiously into the room1 it being dark1 and felt about for ,miss ,cook4 ,i found her crouching on the floor4 ,kneeling down1 ,i let air enter the lamp1 and by its light ,i saw the young lady dressed in black velvet1 as she had been in the early part of the evening1 and to all appearance perfectly senseless2 she did not move when ,i took her hand and held the light quite close to her face1 but continued quietly breathing4 ,raising the lamp1 ,i looked around and saw ,katie standing close behind ,miss ,cook4 ,she was robed in flowing white drapery as we had seen her previously during the seance4 ,holding one of ,miss ,cook's hands in mine1 and still kneeling1 ,i passed the lamp up and down so as to illuminate ,katie's whole figure1 and satisfy myself thoroughly that ,i was really looking at the veritable ,katie whom ,i had clasped in my arms a few minutes before1 and not at the phantasm of a disordered brain4 ,she did not speak1 but moved her head and smiled in recognition4 ,three separate times did ,i carefully examine ,miss ,cook crouching before me1 to be sure that the hand ,i held was that of a living woman1 and three separate times did ,i turn the lamp to ,katie and examine her with steadfast scrutiny1 until ,i had no doubt whatever of her objective reality4 ,at last ,miss ,cook moved slightly1 and ,katie instantly motioned me to go away4 ,i went to another part of the cabinet1 and then ceased to see ,katie1 but did not leave the room till ,miss ,cook woke up1 and two of the visitors came in with a light4 ,before concluding this article ,i wish to give some of the points of difference which ,i have observed between ,miss ,cook and ,katie4 ,katie's height varies2 in my house ,i have seen her six inches taller than ,miss ,cook4 ,last night1 with bare feet1 and not tiptoeing1 she was four-and-a-half inches taller than ,miss ,cook4 ,katie's neck was bare last night2 the skin was perfectly smooth both to touch and sight1 whilst on ,miss ,cook's neck is a large blister1 which under similar circumstances is distinctly visible and rough to the touch4 ,katie's ears are unpierced1 whilst ,miss ,cook habitually wears earrings4 ,katie's complexion is very fair1 while that of ,miss ,cook is very dark4 ,katie's fingers are much longer than ,miss ,cook's1 and her face is also larger4 ,in manners and ways of expression there are also many decided differences4 ,after the observations summarized in these two letters ,professor ,crookes continued his experiments at his own home1 for a space of two months4 ,the result of all is embodied in the following statements made by ,crookes himself3 ,during the week before ,katie took her departure she gave seances at my house almost nightly1 to enable me to photograph her by artificial light4 ,five complete sets of photographic apparatus were accordingly fitted up for the purpose1 consisting of five cameras1 one of the whole-plate size1 one half-plate1 one quarter-plate1 and two binocular stereoscopic cameras1 which were all brought to bear upon ,katie at the same time on each occasion on which she stood for her portrait4 ,five sensitizing and five fixing baths were used1 and plenty of plates were cleaned ready for use in advance1 so that there might be no hitch or delay during the photographic operations1 which were performed by myself1 aided by one assistant4 ,my library was used as a dark cabinet4 ,it has folding doors opening into the laboratory2 one of these doors was taken off its hinges1 and a curtain suspended in its place to enable ,katie to pass in and out easily4 ,those of our friends who were present were seated in the laboratory facing the curtain1 and the cameras were placed a little behind them1 ready to photograph ,katie when she came outside1 and to photograph anything also inside the cabinet1 whenever the curtain was withdrawn for the purpose4 ,each evening there were three or four exposures of plates in the five cameras1 giving at least fifteen separate pictures at each seance2 some of these were spoilt in the developing1 and some in regulating the amount of light4 ,altogether1 ,i have forty-four negatives1 some inferior1 some indifferent1 and some excellent4 ,katie instructed all the sitters but myself to keep their seats and to keep conditions2 but for some time past she has given me permission to do what ,i liked--to touch her1 and to enter and leave the cabinet almost whenever ,i pleased4 ,i have frequently followed her into the cabinet1 and have sometimes seen her and her medium together1 but most generally ,i have found nobody but the entranced medium lying on the floor1 ,katie and her white robes having instantaneously disappeared4 ,during the last six months ,miss ,cook has been a frequent visitor at my house1 remaining sometimes a week at a time4 ,she brings nothing with her but a little hand-bag1 not locked4 ,during the day she is constantly in the presence of ,mrs4 ,crookes1 myself1 or some other member of my family1 and1 not sleeping by herself1 there is absolutely no opportunity for any preparation even of a less elaborate character than would be required for enacting ,katie ,king4 ,i prepare and arrange my library myself as the dark cabinet1 and usually1 after ,miss ,cook has been dining and conversing with us1 and scarcely out of our sight for a minute1 she walks directly into the cabinet1 and ,i1 at her request1 lock its second door1 and keep possession of the key all through the seance4 ,the gas is then turned out1 and ,miss ,cook is left in darkness4 ,on entering the cabinet1 ,miss ,cook lies down upon the floor1 with her head on a pillow1 and is soon entranced4 ,during the photographic seance1 ,katie muffled her medium's head up in a shawl to prevent the light falling upon her face4 ,i frequently drew the curtain on one side when ,katie was standing near1 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 medium 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 ,during the time ,i took an active part in these seances ,katie's confidence in me gradually grew1 until she refused to give a seance unless ,i took charge of the arrangements4 ,she said she always wanted me to keep close to her1 and near the cabinet1 and ,i found that after this confidence was established1 and she was satisfied ,i would not break any promise ,i might make to her1 the phenomena increased greatly in power1 and tests were freely given that would have been unobtainable had ,i approached the subject in another manner4 ,she often consulted me about persons present at the seances1 and where they should be placed1 for of late she had become very nervous1 in consequence of certain ill-advised suggestions that force should be employed as an adjunct to more scientific modes of research4 ,one of the most interesting of the pictures is one in which ,i am standing by the side of ,katie2 she has her bare foot upon a particular part of the floor4 ,afterwards ,i dressed ,miss ,cook like ,katie1 placed her and myself in exactly the same position1 and we were photographed by the same cameras1 placed exactly as in the other experiment1 and illuminated by the same light4 ,when these two pictures are placed over each other1 the two photographs of myself coincide exactly as regards stature1 etc41 but ,katie is half a head taller than ,miss ,cook1 and looks a big woman in comparison with her4 ,in the breadth of her face1 in many of the pictures1 she differs essentially in size from her medium1 and the photographs show several other points of difference4 ,but photography is as inadequate to depict the perfect beauty of ,katie's face as words are powerless to describe her charms of manner4 ,photography may1 indeed1 give a map of her countenance2 but how can it reproduce the brilliant purity of her complexion1 or the ever-varying expression of her most mobile features1 now overshadowed with sadness when relating some of the bitter experiences of her past life1 now smiling with all the innocence of happy girlhood when she had collected my children round her and was amusing them by recounting anecdotes of her adventures in ,india8 ,round her she made an atmosphere of life2 ,the very air seemed lighter from her eyes1 ,they were so soft and beautiful1 and rife ,with all we can imagine of the skies2 ,her overpowering presence made you feel ,it would not be idolatry to kneel4 ,having seen so much of ,katie lately1 when she has been illuminated by the electric light1 ,i am enabled to add to the points of difference between her and her medium which ,i mentioned in a former article4 ,i have the most absolute certainty that ,miss ,cook and ,katie are two separate individuals so far as their bodies are concerned4 ,several little marks on ,miss ,cook's face are absent on ,katie's4 ,miss ,cook's hair is so dark a brown as almost to appear black2 a lock of ,katie's1 which is now before me1 and which she allowed me to cut from her luxuriant tresses1 having first traced it up to the scalp and satisfied myself that it actually grew there1 is a rich golden auburn4 ,one evening ,i timed ,katie's pulse4 ,it beat steadily at #ge1 whilst ,miss ,cook's pulse a little time after was going at its usual rate of #ij4 ,on applying my ear to ,katie's chest ,i could hear a heart beating rhythmically inside1 and pulsating even more steadily than did ,miss ,cook's heart when she allowed me to try a similar experiment after the seance4 ,tested in the same way1 ,katie's lungs were found to be sounder than her medium's1 for at the time ,i tried my experiment ,miss ,cook was under medical treatment for a severe cough4 ,this mysterious being1 this strange ,katie ,king1 had announced1 from the time of her first appearances1 that she would be able to show herself in this way for only three years4 ,the end of this period was now approaching4 ,when the time came for ,katie to take her farewell ,i asked that she would let me see the last of her4 ,accordingly when she had called each of the company up to her and had spoken to them a few words in private1 she gave some general directions for the future guidance and protection of ,miss ,cook4 ,from these1 which were taken down in shorthand1 ,i quote the following3 ,mr4 ,crookes has done very well throughout1 and ,i leave ,florrie with the greatest confidence in his hands1 feeling perfectly sure he will not abuse the trust ,i place in him4 ,he can act in any emergency better than ,i can myself1 for he has more strength4 ,having concluded her directions ,katie invited me into the cabinet with her1 and allowed me to remain there to the end4 ,after closing the curtain she conversed with me for some time1 and then walked across the room to where ,miss ,cook was lying senseless on the floor4 ,stooping over her1 ,katie touched her1 and said3 ,wake up1 ,florrie1 wake up6 ,i must leave you now4 ,miss ,cook then woke and tearfully entreated ,katie to stay a little time longer4 ,my dear1 ,i can't2 my work is done4 ,god bless you1 ,katie replied1 and then continued speaking to ,miss ,cook4 ,for several minutes the two were conversing with each other1 till at last ,miss ,cook's tears prevented her speaking4 ,following ,katie's instructions ,i then came forward to support ,miss ,cook1 who was falling onto the floor1 sobbing hysterically4 ,i looked round1 but the white-robed ,katie had gone4 ,as soon as ,miss ,cook was sufficiently calmed1 a light was procured and ,i led her out of the cabinet4 ,one word more about this astonishing phenomenon4 ,the medium ,home1 employed1 as we have seen1 in the first experiments of ,professor ,crookes1 gave it to me as his personal opinion that ,miss ,cook was only a skilful trickster1 and had shamefully deceived the eminent scientist1 and as for mediums1 why there was only one absolutely trustworthy and that was himself1 ,daniel ,dunglas ,home6 ,he even added that the fiance of ,miss ,cook had given striking proofs of her extreme cantankerousness6 ,he who has observed at close hand the rivalries of mediums--which are as strongly marked as those of doctors1 actors1 musicians and women--will not1 it seems to me1 find in this talk of ,home any intrinsic value whatever4 ,but ,i must confess that this matter of ,katie ,king is really so extraordinary that ,i am forced to try every possible explanation before admitting its truth4 ,this is also the opinion of ,mr4 ,crookes himself4 ,in order to convince myself 7says he7 ,i was constantly on my guard1 and ,miss ,cook readily assisted me in all my investigations4 ,every test that ,i have proposed she has at once agreed to submit to with the utmost willingness2 she is open and straightforward in speech1 and ,i have never seen anything approaching the slightest symptom of a wish to deceive4 ,indeed1 ,i do not believe she could carry on a deception if she were to try1 and if she did she would certainly be found out very quickly1 for such a line of action is altogether foreign to her nature4 ,and to imagine that an innocent school-girl of fifteen would be able to conceive and then successfully carry out for three years so gigantic an imposture as this1 and in that time would submit to any test which might be imposed upon her1 would bear the strictest scrutiny1 would be willing to be searched at any time1 either before or after a seance1 and would meet with even better success in my own house than at that of her parents1 knowing that she visited me with the express object of submitting to strict scientific tests--to imagine1 ,i say1 the ,katie ,king of the last three years to be the result of imposture does more violence to one's reason and common sense than to believe her to be what she herself affirms4 ,it will perhaps not be superfluous to round out these accounts of ,william ,crookes by giving an extract from the journal ,the ,spiritualist of the #bith of ,may1 #ahgd4 ,from the beginning of the mediumship of ,miss ,cook1 the spirit ,katie ,king or ,annie ,morgan1 who had produced the greater portion of the physical part of the manifestations1 had announced that she would not be able to be with her medium longer than three years1 and that after that time she would say good-bye to her forever4 ,the end of that period came last ,thursday2 but before leaving her medium1 she gave her friends three more seances4 ,the last took place on ,thursday1 the #bast of ,may1 #ahgd4 ,among the spectators was ,prof4 ,william ,crookes4 ,at #g4bc in the evening ,professor ,crookes led ,miss ,cook into the dark cabinet1 where she lay down upon the floor1 her head resting on a cushion4 ,at #g4bh ,katie spoke for the first time1 and at #g4cj she showed herself outside of the curtain in her full form4 ,she was dressed in white1 short sleeves and bare neck4 ,she had long light auburn hair of a rich tint1 falling in curls on each side of her head and down her back to her waist4 ,she wore a long white veil which was not drawn down over her face more than once or twice during the sitting4 ,the medium wore a light blue merino robe4 ,during almost the whole of the seance1 ,katie remained standing before us4 ,the curtain of the cabinet was drawn aside and all could distinctly see the medium lying asleep1 having her face covered with a red shawl1 in order to shield it from the light4 ,katie spoke of her approaching departure and accepted a bouquet which ,mr4 ,tapp had brought her1 as well as a bunch of lilies offered by ,mr4 ,crookes4 ,she asked ,mr4 ,tapp to untie the bouquet and to put the flowers before her on the floor4 ,she then sat down in the ,turkish style and asked all to sit around her in the same way4 ,then she divided the flowers and gave to each a little bouquet tied up with a blue ribbon4 ,she then wrote letters to some of her friends1 signing them ,annie ,owen ,morgan1 saying that was her true name during her life on earth4 ,she also wrote a letter to her medium1 and chose for her a rosebud as a good-bye gift4 ,katie then took the scissors1 cut off a lock of her hair and gave some of it to all of us4 ,she then took ,mr4 ,crookes' hand and made the tour of the room1 pressing the hand of each of us in turn4 ,she then sat down again and cut off several pieces of her robe and of her veil for remembrances4 ,seeing such holes in her robe 7she being seated all this while between ,mr4 ,crookes and ,mr4 ,tapp71 some one asked her if she could repair the damage1 as she had done on previous occasions4 ,she then held the cut part of the robe in the light1 gave one rap upon it1 and instantly that part was whole and unblemished as before4 ,those near her touched and examined the stuff1 with her permission4 ,they affirmed that there was neither hole nor scam1 nor anything added at the very place where an instant before they had seen holes several inches in diameter4 ,she next gave her last instructions to ,mr4 ,crookes4 ,then1 seeming fatigued1 she added that her force was disappearing1 and repeated her good-bye to everyone in the most affectionate manner4 ,all present thanked her for the wonderful manifestations which she had given them4 ,while she was directing toward her friends a last grave and pensive look1 she let fall the curtain1 and it hid her from our view4 ,we heard her waking up the medium1 who begged her with tears to remain a little longer4 ,but ,katie said1 ,it is impossible1 my dear2 my mission is accomplished2 ,god bless you6 ,and we heard the sound of a kiss4 ,the medium then came out among us wholly exhausted and in a state of deep dismay4 ,such are the experiments of ,sir ,william ,crookes4 ,i have restricted myself to relating his own personal observations1 as set forth by himself4 ,the story of ,katie ,king is truly one of the most mysterious1 the most incredible1 to be found in the whole history of ,spiritualistic research1 and is at the same time1 one of the cases that have been most scrupulously studied by the experimental method1 including photography4 ,the medium1 ,miss ,florence ,cook1 married in #ahgd ,mr4 ,elgie ,corner1 and1 from that time on1 her contributions to psychical research almost ceased4 ,i have several times been assured that she also had been caught in the very act of cheating4 7,always that feminine hysteria67 ,but the investigations of ,crookes were conducted with such care and competence1 that it is very difficult to refuse our credence4 ,besides1 this scientist was not the only one to study the mediumship of ,florence ,cook4 ,among other works that may be consulted on this subject is one containing a large number of proofs and testimonies1 as well as several photographs 7alluded to above74#fh ,these recorded cases1 or testimonies1 form a collection of records1 the study of which is most instructive4 ,the study of the great chemist surpass the rest1 to be sure1 but it does not diminish the intrinsic value of the others4 ,all the observations agree and mutually confirm each other4 ,as to the explanation of the phenomena1 ,crookes thinks that we cannot discover it4 ,was this apparition what it claimed to be8 ,there is nothing to prove it4 ,might it not be a double of the medium1 a product of her psychic force8 ,the learned chemist did not change his opinion 7as has been claimed7 about the authenticity of the phenomena studied by him4 ,in an address delivered at a meeting of the ,british ,association for the ,advancement of ,science1 held at ,bristol in #ahih1 and of which he was ,president1 he expressed himself as follows3 ,no incident in my scientific career is more widely known than the part ,i took many years ago in certain psychic researches4 ,thirty years have passed since ,i published an account of experiments tending to show that outside our scientific knowledge there exists a ,force exercised by intelligence differing from the ordinary intelligence common to mortals4 ,this fact in my life is1 of course1 well understood by those who honored me with the invitation to become your ,president4 ,perhaps among my audience some may feel curious as to whether ,i shall speak out or be silent4 ,i elect to speak1 although briefly4 ,to enter at length on a still debatable subject would be to insist on a topic which1--as ,wallace1 ,lodge and ,barrett have already shown1--though not unfitted for discussion at these meetings1 does not yet enlist the interest of the majority of my scientific brethren4 ,to ignore the subject would be an act of cowardice1 an act of cowardice ,i feel no temptation to commit4 ,to stop short in any research that bids fair to widen the gates of knowledge1 to recoil from fear of difficulty or adverse criticism1 is to bring reproach on science4 ,there is nothing for the investigator to do but to go straight on1 to explore up and down1 inch by inch1 with the taper1 his reason2 to follow the light wherever it may lead1 even should it at times resemble a will-o'-the wisp4 ,i have nothing to retract4 ,i adhere to my already published statements4 ,indeed1 ,i might add much thereto4 ,i regret only a certain crudity in those early expositions1 which1 no doubt justly1 militated against their acceptance by the scientific world4 ,my own knowledge at that time scarcely extended beyond the fact that certain phenomena new to science had assuredly occurred1 and were attested by my own sober senses1 and1 better still1 by automatic record4 ,i was like some two-dimensional being who might stand at the singular point of a ,riemann's surface1 and thus find himself in infinitesimal and inexplicable contact with a plane of existence not his own4 ,i think ,i see a little farther now4 ,i have glimpses of something like coherence among the strange elusive phenomena2 of something like continuity between those unexplained forces and laws already known4 ,this advance is largely due to the labors of another ,association of which ,i have also this year the honor to be ,president--the ,society for ,psychical ,research4 ,and were ,i now introducing for the first time these inquiries to the world of science ,i should choose a starting point different from that of old4 ,it would be well to begin with telepathy2 with the fundamental law1 as ,i believe it to be1 that thoughts and images may be transferred from one mind to another without the agency of the recognized organs of sense1 that knowledge may enter the human mind without being communicated in any hitherto known or recognized ways4 ,although the inquiry has elicited important facts with reference to the mind1 it has not yet reached the scientific stage of certainty which would entitle it to be usefully brought before one of our sections4 ,i will therefore confine myself to pointing out the direction in which scientific investigation can legitimately advance4 ,if telepathy take place we have two physical facts--the physical change in the brain of ,a1 the suggester1 and the analogous physical change in the brain of ,b1 the recipient of the suggestion4 ,between these two physical events there must exist a train of physical causes4 ,whenever the connecting sequence of intermediate causes begins to be revealed the inquiry will then come within the range of one of the sections of the ,british ,association4 ,such a sequence can only occur through an intervening medium4 ,all the phenomena of the universe are presumably in some way continous1 and it is unscientific to call in the aid of mysterious agencies when with every fresh advance in knowledge it is shown that ether vibrations have powers and attributes abundantly equal to any demand--even to the transmission of thought4 ,it is supposed by some physiologists that the essential cells of nerves do not actually touch1 but are separated by a narrow gap which widens in sleep while it narrows almost to extinction during mental activity4 ,this condition is so singuarly like that of a ,branly or ,lodge coherer as to suggest a further analogy4 ,the structure of brain and nerve being similar1 it is conceivable there may be present masses of such nerve coherers in the brain whose special function it may be to receive impulses brought from without through the connecting sequence of ether waves of appropriate order of magnitude4 ,roentgen has familiarized us with an order of vibrations of extreme minuteness compared with the smallest waves with which we have hitherto been acquainted1 and of dimensions comparable with the distances between centers of the atoms of which the material universe is built up2 and there is no reason to suppose that we have here reached the limit of frequency4 ,it is known that the action of thought is accompanied by certain molecular movements in the brain1 and here we have physical vibrations capable from their extreme minuteness of acting directly on individual molecules1 while their rapidity approaches that of the internal and external movements of the atoms themselves4 ,confirmation of telepathic phenomena is afforded by many converging experiments1 and by many spontaneous occurrences only thus intelligible4 ,the most varied proof1 perhaps1 is drawn from analysis of the sub-conscious workings of the mind1 when these1 whether by accident or design1 are brought into conscious survey4 ,evidence of a region below the threshold of consciousness has been presented1 since its first inception1 in the ,proceedings of the ,society for ,psychical ,research2 and its various aspects are being interpreted and welded into a comprehensive whole by the pertinacious genius of ,f4 ,w4 ,h4 ,myers4 ,a formidable range of phenomena must be scientifically sifted before we effectually grasp a faculty so strange1 so bewildering1 and for ages so inscrutable1 as the direct action of mind on mind4 ,an eminent predecessor in this chair declared that by an intellectual necessity be crossed the boundary of experimental evidence1 and discerned in that matter1 which we1 in our ignorance of its latent powers1 and notwithstanding our professed reverence for its ,creator1 have hitherto covered with opprobrium1 the potency and promise of all terrestrial life4 ,i should prefer to reverse the apophthegm1 and to say that in life ,i see the promise and potency of all forms of matter4 ,in old ,egyptian days a well-known inscription was carved over the portal of the temple of ,isis3 ,i am whatever hath been1 is1 or ever will be2 and my veil no man hath yet lifted4 ,not thus do modern seekers after truth confront ,nature1--the word that stands for the baffling mysteries of the ,universe4 ,steadily1 unflinchingly1 we strive to pierce the inmost heart of ,nature1 from what she is to re-construct what she has been1 and to prophesy what she yet shall be4 ,veil after veil we have lifted1 and her face grows more beautiful1 august1 and wonderful1 with every barrier that is withdrawn4 ,it would be difficult to find truer thought better expressed4 ,it is the language of true science1 and is also the expression of the highest philosophy4 ,,chapter ,x ,,sundry ,,experiments ,,and ,,observations ,abundant testimony as to the existence of a hitherto little explored psychic realm has doubtless been given in the preceding pages4 ,mediumistic phenomena proclaim the existence of unknown forces4 ,it is almost superfluous to heap up in this place a still greater number of recorded instances4 ,however1 these facts are so extraordinary1 so incomprehensible1 so hard to believe1 that a mere increase in the number of cases is not without value1 especially when they are furnished by men of incontestable skill and learning4 ,the old law proverb ,testis unus1 testis nullus 7,one witness is no witness7 is applicable here4 ,we must not verify once1 we must verify a hundred times1 such apparently scientific extravagances1 in order to make sure they are not delusions1 but sober facts4 ,in short1 the whole subject is so curious1 so strange that the investigator of these mysteries is never surfeited4 ,hence1 in addition to what has already been given1 ,i shall select and present in this place1 out of the immense collection of observations which ,i have for a long time been making1 those which most strike the attention and give added confirmation to what has preceded4 ,in addition to the experiments of ,crookes1 it is fitting to add in this place those of the great ,english naturalist1 ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 also a member of the ,royal ,society of ,london1 ,president of the ,english ,anthropological ,society1 and well known as the scientist1 who at the same time with ,darwin 7,june1 #aheh71 gave to the world the theory of the variation of species by natural selection4 ,he himself gives the following account#fi of his studies in this matter of the mysterious psychic force3 ,it was in the summer of #ahfe that ,i first witnessed any of the phenomena of what is called ,spiritualism1 in the house of a friend1--a sceptic1 a man of science1 and a lawyer1 with none but members of his own family present4 ,sitting at a good-sized round table1 with our hands placed upon it1 after a short time slight movements would commence--not often turnings or tiltings but a gentle intermittent movement1 like steps1 which after a time would bring the table quite across the room4 ,slight but distinct tapping sounds were also heard4 ,the following notes made at the time were intended to describe exactly what took place3-- ,july #bbnd1 #ahfe4--,sat with my friend1 his wife1 and two daughters at a large loo table1 by daylight4 ,in about half an hour some faint motions were perceived1 and some faint taps heard4 ,they gradually increased2 the taps became very distinct1 and the table moved considerably1 obliging us all to shift our chairs4 ,then a curious vibratory motion of the table commenced1 almost like the shivering of a living animal4 ,i could feel it up to my elbows4 ,these phenomena were variously repeated for two hours4 ,on trying afterwards1 we found the table could not be voluntarily moved in the same manner without a great exertion of force1 and we could discover no possible way of producing the taps while our hands were upon the table4 ,on other occasions we tried the experiment of each person in succession leaving the table1 and found that the phenomena continued the same as before1 both taps and the table movement4 ,once ,i requested one after another to leave the table4 ,the phenomena continued1 but1 as the number of sitters diminished1 with decreasing vigor1 and1 just after the last person had drawn back1 leaving me alone at the table1 there were two dull taps or blows1 as with a fist on the pillar or foot of the table1 the vibration of which ,i could feel as well as hear4 ,some time before these observations ,i had met a gentleman who had told me of most wonderful phenomena occurring in his own family1--among them the palpable motion of solid bodies when no person was touching them or near them2 and he had recommended me to go to a public medium in ,london 7,mrs4 ,marshall71 where ,i might see things equally wonderful4 ,accordingly1 in ,september1 #ahfe1 ,i began a series of visits to ,mrs4 ,marshall1 generally accompanied by a friend1--a good chemist and mechanic1 and of a thoroughly sceptical mind4 #a4 ,a small table1 on which the hands of four persons were placed 7including my own and ,mrs4 ,marshall's71 rose up vertically about a foot from the floor1 and remained suspended for about twenty seconds1 while my friend1 who was sitting looking on1 could see the lower part of the table with the feet freely suspended above the floor4 #b4 ,while sitting at a large table1 with ,miss ,t4 on my left and ,mr4 ,r4 on my right1 a guitar which had been played in ,miss ,t's hand slid down onto the floor1 passed over my feet1 and came to ,mr4 ,r41 against whose legs it raised itself up till it appeared above the table4 ,i and ,mr4 ,r4 were watching it carefully the whole time1 and it behaved as if alive itself1 or rather as if a small invisible child were by great exertions moving it and raising it up4 ,these two phenomena were witnessed in bright gaslight4 #c4 ,a chair1 on which a relation of ,mr4 ,r's sat1 was lifted up with her on it4 ,afterwards1 when she returned to the table from the piano1 where she had been playing1 her chair moved away just as she was going to sit down4 ,on drawing it up1 it moved away again4 ,after this had happened three times1 it became apparently fixed to the floor1 so that she could not raise it4 ,mr4 ,r4 then took hold of it1 and found that it was only by a great exertion he could lift it off the floor4 ,this sitting took place in broad daylight1 on a bright day1 and in a room on the first floor with two windows4 ,however strange and unreal these few phenomena may seem to readers who have seen nothing of the kind1 ,i positively affirm that they are facts which really happened just as ,i have narrated them1 and that there was no room for any possible trick or deception4 ,in each case1 before we began1 we turned up the tables and chairs1 and saw that they were ordinary pieces of furniture1 and that there was no connection between them and the floor1 and we placed them where we pleased before we sat down4 ,several of the phenomena occurred entirely under our own hands1 and quite disconnected from the medium4 ,they were as much realities as the motion of nails towards a magnet1 and1 it may be added1 not in themselves more improbable or more incomprehensible4 ,the mental phenomena which most frequently occur are the spelling out of the names of relatives of persons present1 their ages1 or any other particulars about them4 ,they are especially uncertain in their manifestation1 though when they do succeed they are very conclusive to the persons who witness them4 ,the general opinion of sceptics as to these phenomena is1 that they depend simply on the acuteness and talent of the medium in hitting on the letters which form the name1 by the manner in which persons dwell upon or hurry over them1--the ordinary mode of receiving these communications being for the person interested to go over a printed alphabet1 letter by letter1 loud taps indicating the letters which form the required names4 ,i am going to choose some of our experiments which show how impossible it is to accept this explanation4 ,when ,i first received a communication myself ,i was particularly careful to avoid giving any indication1 by going with steady regularity over the letters2 yet there was spelt out correctly1 first1 the place where my brother died1 ,para2 then his ,christian name1 ,herbert2 and lastly1 at my request1 the name of the mutual friend who last saw him1 ,henry ,walter ,bates4 ,on this occasion our party of six visited ,mrs4 ,marshall for the first time1 and my name as well as those of the rest of the party1 except one1 were unknown to her4 ,that one was my married sister1 whose name was no clue to mine4 ,on the same occasion a young lady1 a connection of ,mr4 ,r4's was told that a communication was to be made to her4 ,she took the alphabet1 and instead of pointing to the letters one by one1 she moved the pencil smoothly over the lines with the greatest steadiness4 ,i watched her1 and wrote down the letters which the taps indicated4 ,the name produced was an extraordinary one1 the letters being ,thomas ,doe ,thacker4 ,i thought there must be an error in the latter part2 but the names were ,thomas ,doe ,thacker1 the lady's father1 every letter being correct4 ,a number of other names1 places1 and dates were spelt out on this occasion with equal accuracy2 but ,i give only these two1 because in these ,i am sure no clue was given by which the names could have been guessed by the most preternaturally acute intellect4 ,on another occasion1 ,i accompanied my sister and a lady who had never been there before to ,mrs4 ,marshall's1 and we had a very curious illustration of the absurdity of imputing the spelling of names to the receiver's hesitation and the medium's acuteness4 ,she wished the name of a particular deceased relative to be spelled out to her1 and pointed to the letters of the alphabet in the usual way1 while ,i wrote down those indicated4 ,the first three letters were y r n4 ,oh6 said she1 that's nonsense2 we had better begin again4 ,just then an e came1 and1 thinking ,i saw what it was1 ,i said1 ,please go on1 ,i understand it4 ,the whole was then spelt out thus3 yrnehkcocffej4 ,the lady even then did not see it1 till ,i separated it thus3 yrneh kcocffej1 or ,henry ,jeffcock1--the name of the relative she had wanted1 accurately spelt backwards4 ,another phenomenon1 necessitating the exertion both of force and intellect1 is the following3 ,the table having been previously examined1 a sheet of note paper was marked privately by me1 and placed with a lead-pencil under the centre foot of the table1 all present having their hands upon the table4 ,after a few minutes1 taps are heard1 and1 on taking up the paper1 ,i find written on it1 in a free hand1 ,william4 ,on another occasion1 a friend from the country--a total stranger to the medium1 and whose name was never mentioned--accompanied me2 and1 after receiving what purported to be a communication from his son1 a paper was put under the table1 and in a few minutes there was found written on it ,charley ,t4 ,dodd4 the correct name4 ,in these cases it is certain there was no machinery under the table2 and it simply remains to ask if it were possible for ,mrs4 ,marshall to slip off her boots1 seize the pencil and paper with her toes1 and write on it a name she had to guess at1 and again put on her boots without removing her hands from the table1 or giving any indication whatever of her exertions4 ,it was in ,november1 #ahff1 that my sister discovered that a lady living with her had the power of inducing loud and distinct taps and other curious phenomena2 and ,i now began a series of observations in my own house1 the most important of which ,i shall briefly narrate4 ,when we sat at a large loo table without a cloth1 with all our hands upon it1 the taps would generally commence in a few minutes4 ,they sound as if made on the under side of the leaf of the table1 in various parts of it4 ,they change in tone and loudness1 from a sound like that produced by tapping with a needle or a long finger-nail1 to others like blows with a fist or slaps with the fingers of a hand4 ,sounds are produced also like scraping with a finger-nail1 or like the rubbing of a damp finger pressed very hard on the table4 ,the rapidity with which these sounds are produced and are changed is very remarkable4 ,they will imitate1 more or less exactly1 sounds which we make with our fingers above the table2 they will keep good time to a tune whistled by one of the party2 they will sometimes1 at request1 play a very fair tune themselves1 or will follow accurately a hand tapping a tune upon the table4 ,of course1 the first impression is that some one's foot is lifting up the table4 ,to answer this objection1 ,i prepared the table before our second trial without telling any one1 by stretching some thin tissue paper between the feet an inch or two from the bottom of the pillar1 in such a manner that any attempt to insert the foot must crush or tear the paper4 ,the table rose up as before1 resisted pressure downwards1 as if it was resting on the back of some animal1 sunk to the floor1 and in a short time rose again1 and then dropped suddenly down4 ,i now with some anxiety turned up the table1 and1 to the surprise of all present1 showed them the delicate tissue stretched across altogether uninjured6 ,finding that this test was troublesome1 as the paper or threads had to be renewed every time1 and were liable to be broken accidentally before the experiment began1 ,i constructed a cylinder of hoops and laths1 covered with canvas4 ,the table was placed within this as in a well1 and1 as it was about eighteen inches high1 it kept the feet and dresses of the ladies away from the table4 ,the latter rose without the least difficulty1 the hands of all the group being held above it4 ,a small centre-table suddenly moved up of its own accord to the table by the side of the medium1 as if it had gradually got within the sphere of a strong attractive force4 ,afterwards1 at our request1 it was thrown down on the floor without any person touching it1 and it then moved about in a strange life-like manner1 as if seeking some means of getting up again1 turning its claws first on one side and then on the other4 ,on another occasion1 a very large leather arm-chair which stood at least four or five feet from the medium1 suddenly wheeled up to her1 after a few slight preliminary movements4 ,it is1 of course1 easy to say that what ,i relate is impossible4 ,i maintain that it is accurately true2 and that no man1 whatever be his attainments1 has such an exhaustive knowledge of the powers of nature as to justify him in using the word impossible with regard to facts which ,i and many others have repeatedly witnessed4 ,we evidently have here facts similar to those which ,i observed in my experiments with ,eusapia and with other mediums4 ,alfred ,russel ,wallace continues his account by the citation of cases analogous to those which have been described in this work2 then sums up the experiments of ,crookes1 of ,varley1 ,morgan1 and other ,english scientists2 does me the honor of citing my letter to the ,dialectical ,society which ,i have printed above2 passes in review the history of ,spiritualism1 and declares that 7#a7 the facts are incontestable1 and that 7#b71 in his opinion1 the best explanatory hypothesis is that of spirits1 or the souls of the disembodied--the theory of the unconscious being evidently inadequate4 ,such is also the opinion of the electrician ,cromwell ,varley4 ,neither he nor ,wallace believes that there is anything supernatural in the phenomena4 ,discarnate spirits are in nature1 as well as the incarnate4 ,the triviality of the communications ought not to astonish us1 if we consider the myriads of trivial and fantastic human beings who every day become ghosts and are the same beings the day after their death that they were the day before4 ,professor ,morgan1 the brilliant author of the ,budget of ,paradoxes 7an excellent piece of work1 and highly complimented by the ,london ,athenaeum1 in #ahfe71 expresses the same opinion in his work on ,mind 7#ahfc74 ,not only does he think that the facts are incontestable1 but he also believes that the hypothesis that explains the facts by intelligences exterior to ourselves is the only satisfying one4 ,he relates1 among other things1 that1 in one of the seances attended by him1 a friend of his 7a very sceptical person71 was making a little fun of the spirits1 whereupon1 while they were all standing 7a dozen experimenters of them7 around the dining room table1 and forming the chain above it1 without contact1 the heavy table began to move of its own accord1 and1 dragging along the whole group1 made a rush at the sceptic1 and pinned him against the back of the sofa1 until he cried ,hold6 enough6 ,still1 does that constitute proof of an independent spirit8 ,was it not an expression of the collective thought of the company8 ,and1 likewise1 in the experience which ,wallace has just cited1 were not the dictated names latent in the brain of the questioner8 ,and was not the little centre-table1 in its climbings acting under the physical and pyschical influences of the medium8 ,whatever may be the explanatory hypothesis1 the ,,facts are undeniable4 ,we have here1 before all1 a group of substantial ,english scientists of the first rank1 in whose opinion the denial of the phenomena is a sort of madness4 ,french scientists are a little more belated than their neighbors4 ,nevertheless1 ,i have already called attention to some of them during the course of this work4 ,i should have taken pleasure in adding the names of the lamented ,pierre ,curie and of ,professor d',arsonval1 if they had published the experiments they made with ,eusapia during ,july1 #aije1 and ,march and ,april1 #aijf1 at the ,general ,institute of ,psychology4 ,among the most judicious of experimenters in psychical phenomena ,i ought also to mention ,m4 ,j4 ,maxwell1 a doctor of medicine and 7a very different function7 advocate-general at the ,court of ,appeals in ,bordeaux4 ,the reader may have already noticed 7p4 #agc7 the part which this investigator1 at once a magistrate and a scientist1 took in the experiments made at l',agnelas in #ahie4 ,eusapia is not the only medium with whom he studied1 and his acquaintance with our subject is supported by the best of documentary evidence4 ,it is fitting that ,i present to the reader at this point the most characteristic facts and the essential conclusions set forth in his work4#gj ,the author has made a special examinations of raps4 ,raps 7coups frappes74--,the contact of hands is not necessary to obtain raps4 ,with certain mediums ,i have very readily obtained them without contact4 ,when one has succeeded in obtaining raps with contact1 one of the surest means of continuing to thus obtain them1 is to keep the hands resting on the table for a certain time1 then to lift them very slowly1 keeping the palms turned downward toward the table1 the fingers loosely opened1 but not held stiffly4 ,it rarely happens under such circumstances1 that the raps do not continue to make themselves heard1 at least for some time4 ,i need not add that the experimenters should not only avoid touching the table with their hands1 but even with any other part of their bodies1 or their clothes4 ,the contact of garments with the table may be sufficient to produce raps which have in them nothing supernormal4 ,it is necessary therefore to exercise great care that the dresses of ladies do not come in contact with the legs of the table4 ,when the necessary precautions are used1 the raps sound in a very convincing way4 ,in the case of certain mediums1 the energy set free is powerful enough to act at a distance4 ,i once happened to hear raps upon a table which was almost six feet from the medium4 ,we had had a very short sitting and had left the table4 ,i was reclining in an easy-chair2 the medium1 standing1 was conversing with me1 when a series of raps was made upon the table which we had just left4 ,it was broad daylight in midsummer1 about five o'clock in the evening4 ,the raps were forcible and lasted for several minutes4 ,i have often observed facts of this kind4 ,i happened once1 while travelling1 to meet an interesting medium4 ,he did not allow me to use his name1 but ,i may say that he is an honorable man1 well informed1 occupying an official position4 ,i obtained with him lively raps in restaurants and in railway lunch counters4 ,he did not suspect that he possessed this latent faculty before he had experimented with me4 ,to have observed the raps produced under these conditions would have been sufficient to convince anyone of their authenticity4 ,the unusual noise made by these raps attracted the attention of persons present and gave us much annoyance4 ,the result surpassed our expectations4 ,it is to be noted that the more we were confused with the noise made by our raps1 the more frequent they became4 ,one would have said that some waggish creature was producing them and amusing himself with our embarrassment4 ,i also obtained fine raps upon the floors of museums before the pictures of the old masters4 ,the most common are those made1 with contact1 upon the table or upon the floor2 next1 those made at a distance upon various articles of furniture4 ,more rarely1 ,i have heard them on the garments of the sitters or of the medium1 or upon the coverings of pieces of furniture4 ,i have heard them on sheets of paper laid on the experiment-table1 in books1 in walls1 in tambourines1 in small wooden objects1 especially in a planchette used for automatic writing4 ,i noticed very curious raps in the case of a writing-medium4 ,when she had automatic writing1 the raps were produced with extreme rapidity at the end of her pencil2 but1 the pencil itself did not tap the table4 ,several times and very carefully ,i put my hand on the end of the pencil opposite the point1 without the latter leaving for a single moment the paper on the table3 the raps sounded in the wood1 not on the paper4 ,in this case1 of course1 the medium held the pencil4 ,the raps occur even when ,i place my finger on the upper end of the pencil and when ,i press its point against the paper4 ,you feel the pencil vibrating1 but it is not displaced4 ,inasmuch as these raps are very resonant1 ,i calculated that it would be necessary to give a pretty strong blow in order to produce them artificially4 ,the necessary movement requires a lifting of the point from two to five millimeters1 according to the intensity of the raps4 ,now the point does not seem to be displaced4 ,furthermore1 when the writing is going on1 these raps take place with great rapidity1 and the examination of the writing does not show any place where a stop occurred4 ,the text is continuous1 no trace of tapping is perceptible in it1 no thickening of the strokes can be perceived4 ,observations made under such conditions seem to me to exclude the possibility of fraud4 ,i have observed that these raps occur1 without apparent cause1 as far as nine feet from the medium4 ,they manifest themselves as the expression of an activity and of a will distinct from those of the observers4 ,such is the appearance of the phenomenon4 ,a curious fact results from all this1 that not only do the raps occur as the product of an intelligent action1 but they also usually agree to perform as often as asked1 and to produce definite rhythms1 for example1 certain airs4 ,in like manner they imitate the raps made by the experimenters1 upon demand of the latter4 ,the different raps frequently respond to each other1 and it is one of the prettiest experiments in which one can take part to hear these blows1 now slight and muffled1 now sharp and abrupt1 or again soft and gentle1 sounding simultaneously upon the table1 the floor1 and the frame-work and coverings of the furniture4 ,i had the good fortune to be able to study these curious rappings at close range1 and ,i believe ,i have reached certain conclusions4 ,the first1 and the best attested1 is that the raps are closely connected with the muscular movements of the sitters4 ,i will sum up my observations on this point as follows3 #a4 ,every muscular movement1 even a feeble one1 is generally followed by a rap4 #b4 ,the intensity of the raps did not seem to me to be proportional to the muscular movement made4 #c4 ,the intensity of the raps did not seem to me to vary in proportion to their distance from the medium4 ,the following are the facts upon which my conclusions rest3 ,i frequently observed that when we had raps that were feeble and occurred only at intervals1 an excellent means of producing them was to form the chain upon the table1 the hands resting upon it1 and the observers putting their fingers in light contact4 ,one of them1 without breaking the chain 7a feat he accomplished by holding in the same hand the right hand of his neighbor on the left and the left hand of his neighbor on the right7 moved his released hand in circular sweeps or passes over the table1 at the level of the circle formed by the opened hands of the observers4 ,after having made this movement four or five times1 always in the same direction1--that is to say1 after having thus traced four or five circles over the table1 the experimenter brought his hand over toward the centre at a variable height and moved it down towards the table4 ,then he abruptly arrested this movement at a distance of seven or eight inches from the top4 ,the abrupt stoppage of his hand was tallied by a rap in the wood4 ,it is an exceptional case when this process does not yield taps1--that is to say1 when there is a medium in the circle capable1 even feebly1 of producing them4 ,the same experiment can be made without touching the table1 but forming around it a kind of closed chain4 ,one of the operators then acts as in the preceding case4 ,i have no need to recall to the minds of my readers that with certain mediums1 raps are produced without any movement being made4 ,almost all mediums can obtain them in this way by keeping perfectly quiet and having patience4 ,but one would say that the execution of the movement acts as a determining cause4 ,it seems as if the accumulated energy received a kind of stimulus4 ,levitations4--,one day we improvised an experiment in the afternoon1 and ,i remember that ,i observed a very interesting levitation made under these circumstances4 ,it was about five o'clock in the evening 7at any rate it was broad daylight71 in the salon at l',agnelas4 ,we took our places about the table1 standing4 ,eusapia took the hand of one of us and placed it on the corner of the table1 at her right4 ,the table thereupon rose up to the height of our foreheads2 that is to say1 the top of the table rose at least as high as five feet above the floor4 ,such experiments were very convincing1 for it was impossible for ,eusapia1 the circumstances being such as they were1 to lift the table by a normal act4 ,it is enough to suppose that she merely touched the corner of the table1 to find out how heavy a weight she would have had to lift if she had made a muscular movement4 ,besides1 she had not a sufficient grip on the table to lift it4 ,evidently1 the conditions of the experiment being such1 she could not make use of one of the fraudulent processes mentioned by her critics1 such as straps or hooks of any kind4 ,the phenomenon is undeniably authentic4 ,the breathing seems to have a very great influence4 ,in the way things take place1 it seems as if the sitters released1 by breathing1 an amount of motor energy comparable to that which they release when rapidly moving their limbs4 ,there is something in this very curious and difficult to explain4 ,the more complete analysis of the facts allows us to think that the liberation of the energy employed depends upon the contraction of the muscles and not upon the movement made4 ,the thing which reveals this peculiarity is easy to observe4 ,when we are forming the chain about the table1 we can set up a movement without contact by mutually pressing our hands together with a certain force1 or by pressing the feet hard upon the floor4 ,the first of these means is much the better of the two4 ,the arms have only made an insignificant movement1 and one can say that the muscular contraction is almost the only physiological phenomenon observable4 ,yet it suffices4 ,all these authenticated experiments tend to show that the agent which determines movements without contact has some connection with our organism1 and probably with our nervous system4 ,conditions of the ,experiments4--,we must never lose out of our sight the relative importance of the moral and intellectual status of the group of experimenters4 ,that is one of the most difficult things to seize and comprehend4 ,but when the force is abundant1 the simple manifestation of the will is sometimes able to determine the movement4 ,for example1 upon a desire to that affect being expressed by the sitters1 the table moves in the way it is requested to do4 ,the phenomena occur as if this force were guided by an ,intelligence distinct from that of the experimenters4 ,i hasten to say that ,i regard that only as a probability1 and that ,i think ,i have observed a certain resemblance between these personifications and the secondary personalities of somnambulists4 ,in this apparent bond between the indirect will of the sitters and the phenomena there is a problem the solution of which has so far completely escaped me4 ,i suspect that this bond has nothing supernatural about it and ,i realize that the ,spiritualistic hypothesis is a poorer explanation and inadequate to meet the facts2 but ,i cannot formulate any satisfactory explanation4 ,close observations of the relations existing between the phenomena and the will of the sitters brings out other discoveries also4 ,i mean1 in the first place1 the bad affect which disagreement among the experimenters produces4 ,it sometimes happens that one of them expresses the desire to perceive a certain phenomenon4 ,if the thing is slow in taking place1 the same experimenter1 or another one1 will ask for a different spectacle4 ,sometimes different sitters will ask for several contradictory things at the same time4 ,the confusion which reigns in the collective thought manifests itself in the phenomena1 which themselves become confused and vague4#ga ,however1 things do not happen absolutely as if the phenomena were directed by a will which is only the shadow or the reflex of that of the sitters4 ,it sometimes happens that they show great independence1 and flatly refuse to yield to the desires expressed4 ,forms and ,phantoms4--,at ,bordeaux1 in #ahig1 the room where we held our sittings was lighted by a very large window4 ,the outside ,venetian blinds of this window were closed2 but when the gas was lighted in a little building which formed an adjunct to the kitchen1 in the corner of the court near the garden1 a feeble light penetrated the room and dimly illuminated the window panes4 ,the window itself formed in this way a bright background upon which certain dark forms were perceived by a part of the experimenters4 ,we all saw these forms1 or rather this form1 for it was always the same one that appeared1--a long bearded profile1 with a very high arched nose4 ,this apparition said it was head of ,john1 a personification who always appears with ,eusapia4#gb ,this is a very extraordinary phenomenon4 ,the first idea which presents itself to the mind is that this is a case of collective hallucination4 ,but the care with which we observed this curious phenomenon--and1 it seems needless for me to add1 the calmness with which we experimented--renders this hypothesis very unlikely4 ,the supposition of fraud is still less admissible4 ,the head1 which we saw was of life size1 measuring say sixteen inches from the forehead to the end of the beard4 ,it is impossible to understand how ,eusapia could have hidden in her pockets or under her clothes any kind of a cardboard profile4 ,nor can one understand any better how1 unknown to us1 she could have taken out this paper figure1 mounted it upon a stick1 or upon a wire1 and so operated with it4 ,eusapia had not gone into a trance3 she herself sometimes saw the profile which appeared1 and1 thoroughly awake and conscious1 took pleasure in assisting in the phenomena which she was producing4 ,the feeble light which the illumined window shed was sufficient to enable us to see her hands being carefully held by the controllers on the right and on the left4 ,it would have been impossible for her to manipulate these objects4 ,in fact1 however1 the profile observed seemed to form at the top of the cabinet1 at the height of about three and a half feet above ,eusapia's head4 ,it descended rather slowly and so took its place above and in front of her4 ,then at the end of some seconds it disappeared1 only to reappear some time afterwards in the same circumstances4 ,every time1 we carefully assured ourselves of the relative immobility of the hand and arms of the medium4 ,hence ,i regard the prodigy which ,i am relating as one of the most certain ,i ever verified1 so incompatible was the hypothesis of fraud with the conditions under which we observed4 ,i am persuaded that these facts will one day 7soon perhaps7 receive the stamp of scientific approval as subjects of study4 ,they will do this in spite of the obstacles which obstinate infatuation and the fear of ridicule pile in the way4 ,the intolerance of certain beings matches that of certain dogmas4 ,catholicism1 for example1 considers psychic phenomena as the work of the ,devil4 ,is it worth while at the present time to combat such a theory8 ,i do not think it is4 ,but this question is foreign to the psychic facts themselves4 ,so far as my experience permits me to judge1 these phenomena are entirely natural4 ,the ,devil does not show his claws in them4 ,if the tables should announce that they were ,satan himself1 there would be nothing on the face of things which would lead us to believe they were speaking the truth4 ,if called on to prove his power1 this grandiloquent ,satan would turn out1 ,i fear1 to be a sorry thaumaturgist4 ,the religious prejudice which proscribes these experiments as supernatural is as little justified as the scientific prejudice which only sees in them fraud and imposture4 ,here again the old adage of ,aristotle finds its application3 ,equity lies between the two extremes of opinion4 ,it is evident that these experiments of ,dr4 ,maxwell are in accord with all the preceding ones4 ,the results ascertained mutually confirm each other4 ,apropos of mediums who produce physical or material effects1 ,i should also like to mention here the one who was very specially examined at ,paris1 in #aijb1 by a group of men composed in large part of former pupils of the ,polytechnic ,school4 ,they held a dozen seances in ,july and ,august4 ,this group was composed of ,,mm4 ,a4 de ,rochas1 ,taton1 ,lemerle1 ,bacle1 de ,fontenay1 and ,dariex4 ,the medium was ,auguste ,politi1 of ,rome4 ,he was forty-seven years old4 ,several very remarkable table-levitations were observed and photographed by these gentlemen during their sittings4 ,i reproduce here 7,pl4 ,,xiii7 one of these photographs1 taken by ,m4 de ,fontenay which he kindly allows me to use4 ,it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful that has been obtained1 and one of the most striking4 ,all the hands that form the chain are carefully held away from the table4 ,it seems to me that not to recognize the value of this photograph as a record would be to deny the evidence itself4 ,it was taken instantaneously by a flash of magnesium light4 ,the eyes of the medium had been bandaged1 that the light might not give him a nervous shock4 ,this same medium was studied at ,rome1 in ,february1 #aijd1 by a group composed of ,professor ,milesi1 of the ,university of ,rome1 ,m4 ,joseph ,squanquarillo1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,franklin ,simmons 7,american travellers passing through ,rome71 and ,m4 and ,mme4 ,cartoni4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiii4 ,,instantaneous ,,photograph ,,taken ,,by ,m4 ,,de ,,fontenay ,,of ,,table ,,levitation ,,produced ,,by ,,the ,,medium ,,auguste ,,politi4 ,they declare that they heard scales very well executed upon the piano 7which was an upright one71 at quite a distance from the sitters2 yet none of the sitters knew how to play on the piano1 while ,professor ,milesi's deceased sister1 who was called upon to manifest herself1 was a very good pianist4 ,another musical phenomenon was produced3 ,a mandolin placed on the lid of the piano1 began of its own accord to play1 balancing itself in the air until it went and fell down 7playing all the while7 between the hands of the experimenters who formed the chain4 ,later1 at intervals1 the piano was lifted in its turn1 falling back noisily4 ,it must be remarked that two men scarcely sufficed to lift this piano1 even by one of its sides4 ,after the sitting1 it was ascertained that the instrument had been displaced about a foot and a half4 ,but here follows a resume of the phenomena observed with this medium4 ,in every seance1 very vigorous raps were obtained in the table around which were grouped the experimenters and the medium 7they together forming the chain71 while the lamp with red light was on the table itself4 ,if we wished to produce raps so sharp and strong 7says ,m4 ,c4 ,caccia1 the reporter of these seances71 we had to rap with all our might on the table with some solid object1 while the kind of raps which were produced in the seances with ,politi seemed to issue from the interior of the table with loud sounds like explosions4 ,but now the table begins to be shaken4 ,the white curtain of the cabinet which was behind the medium1 at a distance of twenty inches1 swelled out and floated in every direction1 as if a violent wind had inflated it from the other side4 ,we heard a chair moving with a gliding motion over the floor4 ,it had been placed there before the beginning of the sitting and was now thrown violently over4 ,during the course of the fifth sitting it came clear out of the cabinet1 in the presence of everybody1 and did not stop until it got near the medium4 ,these phenomena took place by the red light of a photographic lamp4 ,in the complete darkness which attended the third seance an extraordinary thing occurred1--so much the more extraordinary because we had taken special measures to forestall any attempt at fraud4 ,the medium was held by two sitters who1 being very sceptical1 had taken their places on his right and on his left1 and were holding his hands and his feet4 ,at a certain moment the medium ordered the operators to lift their hands from the table and not to hinder its movements2 above all1 not to break the chain4 ,whereupon a great uproar was heard in the cabinet4 ,the medium calls for light1 and1 to the great amazement of all of us1 we discover that the table1 which was rectangular in form and did not weigh less than thirty-nine pounds1 was found turned upside down upon the floor of the cabinet4 ,the controllers declared that the medium had not stirred4 ,it is to be remarked3 #a4 ,that the table must have been lifted high enough to pass over the heads of the sitters4 #b4 ,that it must have passed above the group forming the chain4 #c4 ,that as the opening in the curtains of the cabinet only measured thirty-seven inches across1 and the table1 on its shortest side1 thirty inches1 there only remained free seven inches for passing through this opening4 #d4 ,that the table must have come forward endwise1 then moved around lengthwise 7it was three feet long71 and turned upside down1 resting on the floor2 that the whole of this difficult manoeuvre was executed in a few seconds in complete darkness and without any of the sitters having touched the table in the slightest degree4#gc ,luminous phenomena were also obtained4 ,lights appeared and disappeared in the air4 ,some of them gave the outline of a curve4 ,they did not show any radiation4 ,in the fifth seance1 everybody was able to testify to the appearance of two luminous crosses1 about four inches in height4 ,at the last seance1 the tambourine fringed with bells1 which had been rubbed with phosphorous1 went circling around the whole room1 and in such a way that all its movements could be followed4 ,during almost all the sittings1 mysterious touchings were noticed1--among others1 those produced by an enormous hairy hand6 ,in the first1 fourth and fifth seances there were materializations4 ,prof4 ,italo ,palmarini believed that he recognized his daughter1 who had been dead three years4 ,he felt himself embraced2 everybody heard the sound of a kiss4 ,the same manifestation took place in the fifth seance4 ,professor ,palmarini believed that he still recognized the person of his daughter4 ,at the opening of each seance the medium was searched1 and was then placed in a kind of big sack1 made to order for this purpose1 and fastened at the neck1 the wrists1 and the feet4 ,another medium1 the ,russian ,sambor1 was the object of numerous experiments at ,st4 ,petersburg during a period of six years4 7#ahig-aijb47 ,it will be interesting also to give a summing up in this place of the report about this man published by ,m4 ,petrovo ,solovovo4#gd ,in the first seances a large folding screen placed behind the medium was observed to be vigorously shaken4 ,the medium's feet and hands were carefully held4 ,a table in a neighboring chamber moved of its own accord4 ,in a metal cone placed on the table1 enclosing a bit of paper and a lead-pencil1 and then riveted up1 there was found1 when it was unriveted1 a ribbon1 and a phrase written on the paper in script that had to be read in a looking-glass 7ecriture en miroir74 ,other cases of the passage of matter through matter were tried1 none of which succeeded4 ,but further on the reports relate the following experiments3 ,in the month of ,february1 #aija1 one of ,sambor's seances took place at my house1 in my study1 against the windows of which ,i had hung curtains of black calico in such a way that the room was plunged in the deepest darkness4 ,the medium occupied a place in the chain4 ,next to the medium were ,m4 ,j4 ,lomatzsch1 on his right1 myself on his left4 ,sambor's hands and feet were faithfully held the whole time in a way that gave perfect satisfaction4 ,the phenomena soon began to develop4 ,i do not intend to take the time here to describe them1 but ,i wish to mention a remarkable case of the passage of matter through matter4 ,m4 ,lomatzsch1 controller on the right1 declares that someone is pulling his chair from under him4 ,so1 redoubling our attention1 we continue to hold the medium4 ,m4 ,lomatzsch's chair is soon positively lifted up1 so that he is obliged to stand4 ,sometime after1 he declares that someone is trying to hang the chair on the hand with which he is holding ,sambor4 ,then the chair suddenly disappears from the arm of ,m4 ,lomatzsch1 and at the same moment ,i feel a light pressure upon my left arm 7,i do not mean the one which was in contact with the medium1 but with my neighbor on the left ,m4 ,a4 ,weber72 after which ,i feel that something heavy is hanging from my arm4 ,when the candle was lighted1 we all saw that my left arm had been passed through the back of the chair4 ,in this way the chair was nicely balanced upon that one of my arms which was not in contact with ,sambor1 but with my neighbor on the left4 ,i had not let go of the hands of my neighbors4 ,such an observation as this needs no commentary 7says the reporter of this occurrence1 ,m4 ,petrovo ,solovovo74 ,the fact is simply incomprehensible4 ,i give here some other phenomena which were observed in ,may1 #aijb3 #a4 ,a cedar apple1 an old copper coin which was found to be a ,persian coin of #agbc1 and an amateur photographic portrait of a young woman in mourning unknown to anybody present were found 7coming from nobody knew where1 nor in what way71 upon the table about which we were seated4 #b4 ,several different objects in the room were transported to the table by the mysterious force2 such1 for example1 as a thermometer1 which had been hung on the wall behind the piano at a distance of from one-half to seven feet from the medium2 a large lantern placed upon the piano somewhere between two and four feet behind the medium2 several piles of music-books which had rested on the same piano2 a framed portrait2 and1 finally1 the candlesconce1 the candle1 and the different parts of a candlestick belonging to the piano4 #c4 ,several times a bronze bell placed on the table was lifted into the air by the mysterious force and noisily rung4 ,on the request of the sitters it was once carried over to the piano 7against which it struck a sounding blow71 and from there again over to the table4 #d4 ,unoccupied chairs had been placed behind the medium4 ,one of them was several times lifted and placed noisily on the table in the midst of the sitters1 and without having run against any of them4 ,when upon the table1 this chair several times moved about1 fell over1 and picked itself up4 #e4 ,one of these same chairs was found to be hung by the back upon the joined hands of the medium and ,m4 de ,poggenpohl4 ,before the beginning of that part of the seance which witnessed this phenomenon1 a strip of cloth1 slipped over the sleeves of the medium1 had been several times tightly twisted around the wrists of ,m4 de ,poggenpohl4 #f4 ,at the request of the sitters1 the mysterious force several times stopped the playing of the music-box 7it stood on the table around which we were seated71 after which it began to play again4 #g4 ,a sheet of paper and a lead pencil1 placed on the table1 were thrown on the floor1 and everybody distinctly heard the pencil moving over the paper with a heavy pressure and1 with a sharp tap1 putting a period at the end of what had been written4 ,after this the pencil was laid on the table4 #h4 ,five of the experimenters declared that they had been touched by some mysterious hand4 #i4 ,twice the mysterious force drew sounds from the piano4 ,the first time1 this took place when the lid of the piano was open4 ,the second time1 the sounds were heard after the lid had been locked with a key1 the key remaining on the table in the midst of the circle of experimenters4 ,at first the unknown force began to play a melody on the high notes1 and two or three times produced trills4 ,then chords on the bass notes were heard at the same time with the melody1 and1 when the piano was playing1 the music-box also began to play1 both performances lasting several minutes4 #aj4 ,during all the phenomena which have just been described1 the medium 7,sambor71 seemed sunk in a profound trance1 and remained almost motionless4 ,the phenomena were not accompanied by any bustle or confusion4 ,his hands and his feet were all the time controlled by his neighbors4 ,m4 de ,poggenpohl and ,loris-,melikow several times saw something long1 black1 and slender detaching itself from him during the phenomena and moving toward the objects4 ,i will add1 in closing 7says ,m4 ,petrovo ,solovovo71 that this medium was accused of cupidity and intemperance4 ,these seances were the last he gave 7he died a few months afterward74 ,but1 to tell the truth1 ,i have a tender spot in my heart for the late ,m4 ,sambor4 ,this ,little-,russian1 a former telegraph operator1 polished and humanized by the six or seven winters that he had passed in ,st4 ,petersburg--can it be that blind ,nature had chosen this man to be the intermediary between our world and the doubtful ,beyond8--or1 at least1 another world of beings whose precise nature 7begging the pardon of the spirits7 would be an enigma to me1 provided ,i positively believed in them4 ,it is with that word doubt 7alas6 is not doubt the most certain result of mediumistic experiments87 that ,i end this ,report4 ,to this whole series of varied observations and experiments we could still add many more4 ,in #aije ,,mm4 ,charles ,richet and ,gabriel ,delanne held some famous seances in ,algiers4 ,but is not impossible that fraud may have crept into their experiments1 in spite of all the precautions taken by them4 7,the photographs of the phantom ,bien-,boa have an artificial look47 ,in #aijf1 the ,american medium1 ,miller1 gave in ,paris several seances in which it really seems as if true apparitions were manifested4 ,i cannot say anything personally about it1 not having been present4 ,among other experimenters1 there were two very competent ones1 who studied this medium2 namely1 ,,mm4 ,g4 ,delanne and ,g4 ,mery4 ,the first concludes that the apparitions were what they represented themselves to be 7see ,revue scientifique et morale du spiritisme72 that is to say1 the spirits of the departed4 ,the second1 on the other hand1 declares in ,l',echo du ,merveilleux1 that1 until there is fuller information1 we must be satisfied with not comprehending4 ,it is not within the scope of my plan to discuss in this particular place1 apparitions or materializations4 ,we may ask ourselves whether the fluid which certainly emanates from the medium may not produce a kind of condensation able to furnish to the most interested observer of the manifestation the elusive vision of an unreal personality which1 besides1 only lasts1 as a general thing1 for a few seconds4 ,is it a melange or combination of fluids8 ,but it is not yet time to make hypotheses4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,my ,,general ,,inquiry ,,respecting ,,observations ,,of ,,unexplained ,,phenomena ,a certain number of my readers perhaps remember the general inquiry that ,i instituted in the course of the year #ahii respecting observation of the unexplained phenomena of telepathy1 manifestations of the dying1 premonitory dreams1 etc4--an inquiry published in part in my work ,l',inconnu et les problemes psychiques4 ,i received #dbhj replies composed of #bdef no and #ahbd yes4 ,among the latter there are #ageh letters with more or less of detail4 ,a large number of these were not presented in such a shape that their claims could be discussed4 ,but ,i was able to use #ghf of the most important of them4 ,they were classified1 the essential matters transcribed1 and summed up in the work of which ,i have just spoken4 ,the most striking thing in all these accounts is the loyalty1 conscientiousness1 the frankness1 and the sensitive refinement of the narrators1 who are anxiously concerned to say only what they know1 and as they know it1 without adding or subtracting anything4 ,in doing this1 each becomes the servant of truth4 ,these #ghf letters1 transcribed1 classified1 and numbered1 contained #aacj different facts or observations4 ,my examination of the instances recorded in the letters reveals several kinds of subjects which may be classified as follows3 ,manifestations and ,apparitions of the ,dying4 ,manifestations of the ,living 7in ,health74 ,manifestations and ,apparitions of the ,dead4 ,clairvoyance4 ,premonitory ,dreams4 ,forecast of the ,future4 ,dreams that give ,information of the ,dead4 ,meetings foreseen by ,presentiment4 ,presentiments realized4 ,doubles of the ,living4 ,communications of ,thought at a ,distance 7,telepathy74 ,instinctive ,presentiments of ,animals4 ,calls heard at ,great ,distances4 ,movements of ,objects without ,apparent ,cause4 ,bolted ,doors ,opening of ,themselves4 ,haunted ,houses4 ,spiritualistic ,experiments4 ,since my first publication of these documents1 ,i have received many new ones4 ,more than one thousand are to-day crowded into my manuscript library4 ,they contain about fifteen hundred observations which seem to me to be sincere and authentic4 ,the doubtful ones have been eliminated4 ,these narratives emanate as a general thing from persons who are filled with astonishment and are extremely desirous of receiving1 if possible1 an explanation of these strange events 7often very affecting74 ,all the narratives which ,i have been able to verify have been found to be fundamentally accurate--sometimes modified afterwards1 as respects their mere form1 by a memory more or less confused4 ,in ,l',inconnu1 ,i published a portion of these narratives4 ,but ,i excluded from that work#ge phenomena not properly included within the limits of its main plan1 which was to show the existence of unknown faculties of the soul4 ,i excluded1 ,i say1 movements of objects without apparent cause1 bolted doors opening of themselves1 haunted houses1 ,spiritualistic experiments2 that is to say1 the very cases studied in the present work1 in which ,i hoped to be able to publish them4 ,but space fails me4 ,in my desire to offer to my readers a set of records as complete as possible1 for the purpose of giving them a firmly based opinion1 ,i have been swamped by the abundance of material1 and1 can only rescue a few of the most interesting specimens of them for presentation here4 ,first of all1 ,i select the following communication as having a certain intrinsic value4 ,it was sent me by my regretted friend ,victorin ,joncieres1 the well-known composer of music4 ,i was on a tour of inspection of the music-schools of the ,provinces 7he says71 and happened to be in a city which ,i cannot name to you for the reasons which ,i gave4 ,i was coming out of the branch establishment of our ,conservatory1 after having examined the piano-class there1 when ,i was addressed by a lady who asked me what ,i thought of her daughter1 and whether ,i judged that she ought to enter upon an artistic career4 ,after a rather long conversation1 in the course of which ,i promised to go to hear the young artist1 ,i found myself engaged to go the same evening 7for ,i was leaving the next day7 to the house of one of their friends1 a high official in the state service1 to take part in a ,spiritualistic seance4 ,the master of the house received me with extreme cordialty1 recalling the promise ,i had given him to keep secret his name and that of the city in which he lived4 ,he presented his niece1 the medium1 to whom he attributes the phenomena which take place in his house4 ,it was1 in fact1 after the young girl's mother had died1 and she came to live with him1 that the strange occurrences began to take place4 ,they began with unusual noises in the walls1 and in the floors1 with the displacement of articles of furniture that moved without being touched1 and with the warblings of birds4 ,m4 ,n4 at first believed that it was a piece of foolery planned either by one of his own family or by one of his clerks4 ,however1 in spite of the most vigilant watching1 he could not discover any trickery1 and he finally came to the conclusion that the phenomena were produced1 by invisible agents1 with whom he believed he could communicate4 ,he soon obtained raps1 direct writing1 the mysterious appearance of flowers1 etc4 ,after this account1 he led me into a large room with bare walls1 in which several persons had assembled1 among whom were his wife and a professor of natural philosophy at the lyceum--altogether1 a dozen of experimenters4 ,in the middle of the room there was a big oak table1 upon which were placed paper1 a pencil1 a small harmonica1 a bell1 and a lighted lamp4 ,the spirit announced to me a little while ago that he would come at ten o'clock1 said the gentleman to me4 ,we have a good hour before us4 ,i am going to utilize it by reading to you the minutes of our meetings for a year past4 ,he laid on the table his watch1 which showed five minutes to nine1 and covered it with a handkerchief4 ,for a whole hour he applied himself to reading what seemed to be very improbable stories2 but ,i was longing to see some of the wonders4 ,suddenly a loud cracking sound was heard in the table4 ,m4 ,n4 lifted the handkerchief which covered the watch4 ,it was just ten o'clock4 ,art thou there1 spirit8 said he4 ,nobody was touching the table2 and on his recommendation1 we formed the chain about it1 holding each other by the hand4 ,a vigorous rap was heard4 ,the young niece placed her two fingers against the edge of the table and asked us to imitate her4 ,thereupon this extremely heavy table rose up well above our heads1 in such a way that we were obliged to stand on tip-toe in order to follow it in its ascent4 ,it hung poised for some moments in the air and then slowly descended to the floor and came to a stop without noise4 ,then ,m4 ,n4 went to look up a large design for a church window4 ,he put it on the table and placed beside it a glass of water1 a box of colors1 and a camel's hair brush4 ,then he put the lamp out4 ,he lighted it again at the end of two or three minutes3 the sketch 7still damp7 was painted in two colors1 yellow and blue1 and not a single brush mark had passed beyond the traced lines of the sketch4 ,even if we admit that some one of the sitters might have been able to play the role of spirit1 how1 in the darkness of the room1 could he have so handled the brush as to precisely follow the lines of the design8 ,i will add that the door was closely shut1 and1 that1 during the very short space of time in which the performance took place1 ,i heard nothing but the sound of the water splashing in the glass4 ,raps were next struck in the table1 corresponding to the letters of the alphabet4 ,the spirit announced that he was going to produce a special phenomenon in order to convince me personally4 ,by his order the light was again extinguished4 ,the harmonica then played a little sprightly motif1 in six-eight4 ,scarcely had the last note sounded when ,m4 ,x4 lighted the lamp4 ,upon a sheet of music-paper which had been placed near the harmonica1 the theme was written very correctly in pencil4 ,it would have been impossible for any one of the company1 in the complete darkness of the room1 to write down these notes upon the ruled staff-lines4 ,thirteen freshly cut daisies lay scattered over the table4 ,hello6 says ,m4 ,x4 these are daisies from the flower-pot at the end of the passageway4 ,as ,i said a moment ago1 the door of the room where we were met had remained closed1 and no one had stirred4 ,we went into the passageway1 and1 on noticing the stems denuded of their flowers1 we could see very plainly that the daisies came from the place indicated4 ,scarcely had we entered the room1 when the bell on the table rose up to the very ceiling1 ringing as it went1 but fell abruptly back as soon as it touched it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the next day1 before my departure1 ,i went to pay a visit to ,m4 ,x4 ,he received me in his dining-hall4 ,through the large open window a beautiful ,june sun flooded the room with its brilliant light4 ,while we were conversing in a desultory way1 a piece of military music rang out in the distance4 ,if there is a spirit here1 said ,i1 smiling1 it ought by rights to accompany the music4 ,at once rhythmic taps1 in exact harmony with the double quick time1 were heard in the table4 ,the crackle of sounds in it died away little by little in a decrescendo very skilfully timed to the last vanishing blare of the bugles4 ,give us a fine tattoo to finish1 said ,i1 when the sounds had completely ceased4 ,the reply was a series of sounds like the heavy roll of drums1 given with such force that the table trembled on its legs4 ,i put my hand on it and very plainly felt the vibrations of the wood as it was struck by the invisible force4 ,i asked if ,i might inspect the table4 ,it was turned upside down in my presence1 and ,i examined it1 as well as the floor1 very carefully4 ,i discovered nothing4 ,besides1 ,m4 ,x4 could not1 you know1 foresee1 that1 during my visit1 a military band would pass by1 and that ,i should ask the table to accompany it by imitating the drum4 ,i afterwards returned to the city where these things occurred and was present at other very curious seances4 ,i should be enchanted1 my dear master and friend1 as ,i have said to you1 to be your guide there some day4 ,but this high functionary absolutely insists on his incognito4 ,these remarkable observations by my friend ,joncieres evidently have their value1 and belong here1 in the train of all the preceding ones4 ,i give a few others below which we owe to an attentive and sceptical observer1 ,m4 ,castex-,degrange1 sub-director of the ,national ,school ,of ,fine ,arts at ,lyons1 upon whose veracity and sincerity not the least shadow of suspicion can rest1 any more than in the preceding instances4 ,i owe to his kindness a large number of interesting letters1 and ,i will ask his permission to cite from them the most important passages4 ,the following is dated the #ahth of ,april1 #ahii4 ,for the second time1 ,i affirm upon my honor that ,i will tell you nothing that is not strictly true1 and usually easy to verify4 ,in spite of the calling ,i follow1 ,i am not at all gifted with imagination4 ,i have lived much in the company of physicians1 men from the nature of their profession little given to credulity2 and1 whether it is in consequence of my natural disposition1 or by reason of the principles which ,i absorbed in this kind of company1 ,i have always been very sceptical4 ,this is1 indeed1 one of the reasons why ,i abandoned my psychical experiments4 ,i reached the most stupifying results1 and yet it was impossible for me to get to believe myself4 ,i was thoroughly convinced that ,i was not seeking to deceive myself or to deceive others1 and1 not being able to surrender myself to the evidence1 ,i was always seeking some other reason than the one given by the believers4 ,that made me suffer1 and ,i stopped4 ,i here end this preamble1 and am going to unfold to you the course of my observations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was acquainted with a company of people1 who were occupied with ,spiritualism and with turning-tables1 and had made them the butt of my wit1#gf a little2 for1 although not bitter or severe1 ,i never neglected to play a good practical joke on them when occasion served4 ,it seemed to me that these worthy people1 who were1 moreover1 very sincere1 were all a little cracked 7maboules71 if ,i may be allowed so uncouth1 or fin de siecle1 an expression4 ,one day ,i was visiting them4 ,the drawing-room was lighted by two large windows4 ,i began1 as usual1 by some pleasantries4 ,their reply was in the shape of an invitation to me to take part in the experiments4 ,but1 said ,i1 if ,i take a seat at your table it will not turn any more1 because ,i shall not push it4 ,come all the same4 ,well1 ,i declare upon my honor that1 just for a joke1 ,i tried it4 ,i had scarcely put my hands on the table when it made a rush at me4 ,i said to the person facing me1 ,don't push so hard4 ,but1 dear sir1 ,i was not pushing4 ,i put the centre-table back in its place1 but the same thing occurred again1 once1 twice1 thrice4 ,i began to get impatient and said1 ,what you are doing is not very clever4 ,if you want to convince me1 don't push4 ,he replied to me1 ,nobody is pushing1 only you probably have so much fluid in you that the table is attracted toward you4 ,perhaps you could make it go1 by yourself4 ,oh1 if ,i myself could make it go1 that would be different6 ,try it4 ,they all moved back4 ,i remained alone face to face with the table4 ,i took hold of it1 lifted it1 thoroughly examined it4 ,there was no trick about it4 ,i made every body go behind me4 ,i was facing the windows1 and had my eyes open1 ,i assure you4 ,i stretched my arms out as far as possible1 in order to have a good view1 only placing the ends of my fingers on the table4 ,in a little less than two minutes it began to rock to and fro4 ,i confess that ,i felt a little foolish1 not wishing to surrender-- ,yes1 perhaps it moves1 said ,i4 ,it is possible that an unknown fluid is acting upon it2 at any rate1 it does not come toward me1 and just now some one was pushing it4 ,no1 said one of the sitters1 nobody was pushing it2 but1 although you are highly charged with fluid1 the assistance of another person is needed for the production of the phenomenon3 you are not enough by yourself4 ,will you allow one of us to put a hand upon yours1 without touching the table8 ,yes4 ,someone put a hand on mine and ,i watched4 ,the table at once began to move1 and came and pressed against me4 ,they all cried out1 and claimed that they had caught a medium in me4 ,i was not very much flattered with the title1 which ,i considered as synonymous with lunatic4 ,you ought to try to write1 said some one to me4 ,what do you mean by that8 ,why1 see here4 ,you take paper and pen1 let your arm lie passive1 and have the wish in your mind that some unknown person or force shall cause you to write4 ,i tried it4 ,at the end of five minutes1 my arm felt as if it were wrapped in a woolen blanket4 ,then1 in spite of myself1 my hand began to trace at first mere strokes1 then o's1 a's1 letters of all sorts1 as a schoolboy learning to write would do4 ,then1 all of a sudden1 came the notorious word attributed to ,cambronne at ,waterloo6 ,i assure you1 my dear sir1 that ,i am never in the habit of using this coarse and dirty term1 and that there was no auto-suggestion1 or unconscious act of my own1 in the case4 ,i was absolutely stupefied by the occurrence4 ,i continued these experiments at my own home4 #a4 ,one day1 when ,i was seated at my writing-desk1 ,i felt the weird seizure in my arm4 ,i let my arm remain passive4 ,the ,unknown wrote3 ,your friend ,aroud is coming to see you4 ,he is at this moment in such and such an omnibus-office in the suburbs4 ,he is asking the price of tickets and the hour of departure4 7,this ,m4 ,aroud is chief of the bureau of police1 prefecture of the ,rhone47 ,in fact1 a half-hour afterwards1 ,aroud made his appearance4 ,i told him what had taken place4 ,it is a good thing for you that you are living in the nineteenth century1 said he to me4 ,a few hundred years ago you would not have escaped death at the stake4 #b4 ,on another occasion the phenomenon occurred again1 and this time also ,i was at my writing desk3 ,your friend ,dolard is coming to see you4 ,an hour afterward1 sure enough he came4 ,i told him how it happened that ,i was waiting for him4 ,although he was very incredulous by nature1 yet1 for all that1 this fact set him to thinking4 ,the next day saw his re-appearance4 ,can you get a reply to a question ,i am going to ask you8 said he4 ,don't ask1 ,i replied1 think it4 ,we will try4 ,i must here tell you parenthetically that ,i had known of ,dolard for thirty years4 ,he was my comrade at the ,beaux-,arts4 ,i knew that he had lost an elder brother1 that he had been married1 and had had the misfortune to lose1 one by one1 all the members of his family4 ,that was all ,i knew about them4 ,i took the pen and the ,invisible wrote1 ,the sufferings of your sister ,sophia have just ended4 ,now ,dolard had mentally asked what had become of the spirit of a sister named ,sophia1 whom he had lost forty-two years ago1 and about whom ,i had never heard a word spoken4 #c4 ,my principal at the ,school of ,fine ,arts in ,lyons1 a former architect of the city of ,paris1 was ,m4 ,hedin4 ,this ,m4 ,hedin had an only daughter1 who some years ago had married another architect1 ,m4 ,forget1 in ,paris4 ,the woman became enceinte4 ,one day when ,i was thinking of anything but her1 the same thing occurred as before4 ,the ,invisible wrote3 ,mme4 ,forget is going to die4 ,mme4 ,forget was not at all ill1 apart from her being in a delicate situation4 ,the next day morning1 ,m4 ,hedin said to me that his daughter was in her pains2 and the same evening he told me that his wife had just set out for ,paris to be with her4 ,the next day ,i received instructions to assume his duties4 ,mme4 ,hedin had telegraphed to her husband to come to her4 ,her daughter was taken with puerperal fever4 ,when the father got there he found only a corpse4 #d4 ,i had a cousin named ,poncet 7since dead7 who was formerly an apothecary1 at ,beaune 7,cote-d' ,or74 ,i had never been at his apartments4 ,one day he came to ,lyons to see our aunt 7she who had the vision about which ,i spoke to you74 ,we conversed about these extraordinary psychical occurrences4 ,he was incredulous4 ,well then1 said he1 try to find for me a thing which has no particular market value1 but which ,i laid great store by1 because it belonged to my deceased wife4 ,i had a little packet of laces that she was very fond of1 and ,i can't put my hand on it4 ,the ,unknown wrote1 ,it is in the middle drawer of the secretary in the chamber1 behind a package of visiting cards4 ,my cousin wrote to his servant at ,beaune1 without giving her any hint of our experiment1 ,send by post a little packet which you will find in such a place behind a package of visiting cards4 ,the laces arrived by return mail4 ,you will notice1 my dear sir1 that1 during the experiments1 ,i was by no means asleep or in a state of trance1 and that ,i was conversing in my usual manner4 #e4 ,one of my childhood friends1 ,m4 ,laloge1 at the present time a dealer in coffees and chocolates at ,saint-,etienne 7,loire71 had had as his professor1 as well as ,i1 an excellent man whom we most highly esteemed1 and who was named ,thollon4#gg ,m4 ,thollon1 after having directed the education of the children of the ,prince of ,oldenburg1 uncle of the present emperor of ,russia1 had returned to ,france and entered the ,nice ,observatory4 ,we had the misfortune to lose him shortly after4 ,laloge had a photograph of him but had lost it4 ,he came and begged me to try to find it4 ,the ,unknown wrote1 ,the photograph is in the upper drawer of the secretary in the chamber4 ,laloge had two rooms1--one which he called the salon1 and another called the chamber4 ,there is some mistake1 said he4 ,i have turned everything topsy-turvy in the place you mention and have found nothing4 ,in the evening having to search for some object in the drawer1 he saw in the middle of a package of letter-paper a little dark end of something sticking out4 ,he pulled it forth3 it was the photograph4 #f4 ,camille ,bellon1 ,no4 #ej ,avenue de ,noailles1 at ,lyons1 had three young children whose education he had intrusted to a young governess4 ,this person left when the children entered college1 and1 sometime after1 she married a very fine man1 whose name ,i have unfortunately forgotten1 but which ,i can easily find again if there is any need of it4 ,this young woman came on her wedding trip to visit her old employer4 ,i was invited to go and pass a day with them at the chateau of my friend ,bellon4 ,during the course of this visit1 we talked of spiritualistic phenomena2 and the newly married man1 a highly educated veterinary doctor1 joked me about my so-called mediumship4 ,i1 of course1 laughed about it and we parted the best kind of friends4 ,some days afterward1 ,i received a letter from my friend4 ,he had himself received a letter from the young lady1 who was in a great state of mind4 ,she had lost her wedding ring1 and was in despair4 ,she begged my friend to ask me to recover it for her4 ,the ,mysterious ,force wrote1 ,the ring slipped from her finger while she was asleep4 ,it is on one of the cleats which hold up the mattress of the bed4 ,i transmitted the despatch4 ,the husband put his hands between the wood of the bed and the mattress4 ,the wife did the same thing4 ,nothing was found4 ,some days afterwards1 having decided to change the arrangement of their apartments1 they moved their bed into another room4 ,of course they had to lift up the mattress1 in order to get it into the other chamber4 ,the ring was upon one of the cleats4 ,they had not found it when they were hunting for it1 because it had slipped under the mattress1 which did not adhere to the cleat in that particular place4 #g4 ,one of my friends1 named ,boucaut1 who lived at #ae quai de la ,guillotiere at ,lyons1 had lost a letter which he sadly wanted4 ,he begged me to ask where it was4 ,the ,invisible replied in writing1 ,he must remember that he has an oven in his garden4 ,before showing it to him1 ,i began to laugh1 saying that it was a joke and had nothing to do with his request4 ,as he insisted that it did1 ,i read it to him4 ,why yes1 he said to me1 that agrees very well4 ,my tenant-farmer had just had his bread baked4 ,i had heaps of papers which ,i wanted to get rid of1 to burn up4 ,my letter must have been burned in the pile which ,i reduced to ashes4 #h4 ,one evening1 in an assembly composed of a score of persons1 a lady dressed in black greeted my entrance with a little nervous laugh4 ,after the customary introductions1 this lady spoke to me as follows3 ,sir1 would it be possible to ask your spirits to reply to a question ,i am going to ask you8 ,in the first place1 madam1 ,i have no spirits at my disposal2 but ,i should be a lack-wit indeed if ,i said yes4 ,you1 of course1 don't suppose that ,i am unintelligent enough not to find some kind of an answer2 and1 consequently1 if any 'spirits1' as you so kindly call them should happen to respond1 you would not be convinced1 and you would be right4 ,write your request4 ,put it in an envelope there on the table and we will try4 ,you see that ,i am not in a somnambulistic state1 and you must believe that it is wholly impossible for me to know the contents of what you are going to enclose in it4 ,so said1 so done4 ,at the end of five minutes ,i assure you ,i was very much embarrassed4 ,i had written a reply1 but it was such that ,i did not dare to communicate it4 ,but here it is3 ,you are in a very bad way1 and1 if you persist1 you will be severely punished4 ,marriage is something sacred1 it should never be regarded as a question of money4 ,after some oratorical precautions1 ,i decided to read her this reply4 ,the lady blushed up to the roots of her hair and stretched out her hands to seize her envelope4 ,pardon me1 madam1 ,i replied1 putting my hand upon it4 ,you began by making fun of me4 ,you wished a reply4 ,it is only just1 since we are making an experiment1 that we know what the request was4 ,i tore open the envelope4 ,behold its contents3 ,will the marriage take place that ,i am trying to bring about between ,m4 ,x4 and ,mlle4 ,z8 ,and1 in that case1 shall ,i get what ,i have been promised8 ,notwithstanding this shameful exposure1 the woman did not consider that she was beaten4 ,she asked a second question under the same conditions4 ,reply3 ,leave me alone6 ,when ,i was living you abandoned me4 ,now don't bother me4 ,upon this1 the lady got up and disappeared6 ,i told you she was in mourning4 ,this last request of hers was as follows3 ,what has become of the soul of my father8 ,her father had been ill for six months4 ,persons who were present and who were stupefied at the results1 told me that during his illness she had not paid him a single visit4 #i4 ,one day1 shortly after ,i had lost one of my good friends1 ,i was seated at my writing-desk with my head resting on my hand1 and ,i was thinking of what the hereafter might possibly be4 ,if all the work that a man had done was to be irretrievably lost1 and if the beyond existed1 ,i was wondering what the life might be that one would lead there4 ,all of a sudden1 the phenomenon well known to me occurred 7that weird seizure of the arm74 ,of course1 ,i allowed my arm to remain passive1 and here is what ,i read3 ,you wish to know what our occupations are8 ,we organize matter1 we ameliorate the condition of the spirits1 and1 above all1 we adore the ,creator of your souls and ours4 ,,arago4 ,in all the communications which ,i have obtained1 every time a word representing an idea of the ,supreme ,being--such as ,god1 the ,all-,powerful1 etc4--came under my pen1 the writing doubled in size1 but immediately after resumed the same dimensions as before4#gh ,it would be very easy for me to give you still more numerous examples of the strange things that happened to me1 but those ,i have given seem to me quite remarkable4 ,i shall be happy if this true account can give you any assistance in your important researches4 ,the letter which my readers have just perused contains a series of cases of such great interest that ,i lost no time in entering into regular correspondence with the author4 ,and first ,i thought ,i ought to ask him about the conclusions which he himself had been able to draw from his personal experience4 ,the following is an abstract of his replies3 ,may #ast1 #ahii4 ,you ask me1 my dear sir1 the following questions3 #a4 ,whether ,i have reached absolute conviction as to the existence of one or of several spirits8 ,i am a person of absolute good faith4 ,i examined myself as a surgeon would examine an invalid4 ,i am a person of such good faith that ,i have long been seeking 7without finding him7 a skilful practitioner who would consent to study in my own person the phenomenon while it was taking place2 to ascertain the state of my pulse1 the warmth of the skin1 etc41--in a word1 the apparent physical side4 ,furthermore1 in my opinion there is no auto-suggestion in this thing2 and the proof is that ,i was absolutely ignorant of the things that ,i was writing mechanically1--so mechanically that1 when1 by chance1 my attention was called away1 whether by reading or by conversation1 and ,i forgot to look where my hand was going1 when it approached the edge of the paper the writing would continue backward across the sheet in reversed letters and just as fast1 so that ,i was obliged to turn the paper over in order by holding it to the light to read what was written on it4 ,so then1 if there is neither auto-suggestion in it1 nor a somnambulistic condition 7,i was completely awake and not at all hypnotized71 then there must be external forces acting upon my senses1 intelligent forces4 ,this is my fixed and unalterable opinion4 ,now are these forces spirits8 ,do they belong to beings like ourselves8 ,it is evident that this hypothesis would explain many things1 but leave quite a number obscure4 ,since ,i several times discovered a mental state of the lowest kind among these beings1 ,i have reached a conclusion that it is not absolutely necessary to think that they are men4 ,we are told that there are stars which photography alone can reveal1 and which1 possessing a color imperceptible to our eye1 are invisible to us4 ,then there are the gases through which a human body passes without experiencing resistence4 ,who will say then1 that there are not around us invisible beings8 ,and look at the instinct of the child1 of the woman1 of feeble beings in general4 ,they fear darkness2 isolation makes them afraid4 ,this sentiment is instinctive1 irrational4 ,is it not due to an intuitive perception of the presence of these invisible personages1 or forces1 against which they are helpless8 ,that is pure hypothesis on my part1 but after all it seems to me defensible4 ,as to the number of the invisible beings1 ,i believe they are legion4 #b4 ,you ask me whether ,i have been able to establish their identity4 ,i answer that they sign some name or other1 choosing in preference names of illustrious persons1 in whose mouths they sometimes put the most stupid sort of expressions4 ,furthermore the writing frequently ceases abruptly1 as if an electric current has just been interrupted1 and that without any appreciable reason4 ,then the writing changes1 and sometimes sensible things end in absurdities1 etc4 ,how explain this tangle of contradictions8 ,i was so chafed and fretted by these incoherent results that ,i had for a long time abandoned the study of psychic forces1 when your alluring researches came to wake in me my old self4 ,if the unconscious doubling of the personality of the individual 7his externalization7 can1 in an extreme case1 be sometimes admitted1 it seems to me that there are cases in which this explanation becomes possible4 ,but ,i will explain4 ,if1 as respects the facts which happened to me personally1 and the authenticity of which ,i affirm to you upon my honor1 there are some in which this externalization could have been possible1 there are others in which it seems to me impossible4 ,yes1 strictly speaking1 ,i might have been able1 without suspecting it1 to externalize myself1 or1 rather1 unknown to myself1 to be influenced by my friend ,dolard when1 in my own presence1 he mentally asked me what had become of the soul of a deceased sister of whose name and very existence ,i was ignorant2 yes1 the same thing may1 strictly speaking1 explain the responses ,i made to the lady who questioned me on the subject of a marriage and her father1 although it would in that case be necessary to suppose that she dictated to me the words that ,i was writing2 yes1 my friend ,boucaud1 who was hunting letters1 might1 at the moment when he was asking me about them1 have thought of that oven1 of the existence of which ,i was ignorant2 yes1 all of that is 7in the last analysis7 possible1 although it would need a large amount of good will to admit it4 ,yes1 once more ,i say--and always with much good will--a table may be under the unconscious domination of a musician present and dictate a musical phrase4 ,but1 as it stands1 it is difficult to admit the same phenomenon in the case of ,victor ,hugo1 whose curious seances you have just described to the public4 ,why1 just look at this great poet who1 when he is asked by the table to put one or more questions in verse1 and1 not feeling that he is man enough1 in spite of his genius1 to improvise something passable1 asks for a breathing spell to prepare his questions1 and brings them in next day6--and yet you would wish that1 on this same next day1 a part of himself should perform its functions1 unknown to himself1 and compose illico1 without any preparation1 verses at least as fine as those which he took an entire day to create6--verses of a pitiless logic and more profound than his own6 ,yet let us admit even that4 ,you see1 dear sir1 that ,i have all the good will possible1 and that ,i have the most profound respect for the scientific method4 ,but can you explain by externalization the case of finding a lost object when one is even ignorant of the way in which the apartment is arranged where it has been lost8 or the ability to know1 two days in advance1 of the death of a person about whom one was not thinking at all8 ,a possible coincidence1 you will tell me1 but at least very strange4 ,and those inverted dictations8 and those in which we are obliged to skip every other letter8 99 99 99 99 99 ,no1 ,i believe that we need not give ourselves so much trouble and rack our brains1 for it seems to me that it is like looking for mid-day at two o'clock in the afternoon4 ,it would require the labor of all the devils to explain how this phenomenon can take place in our nature without the knowledge of the proprietor4 ,i do not like to see a part of my personality scampering away1 and then housing itself again without my knowing anything about it4 ,as to what concerns the production of this externalization in a way which ,i may call voluntary--when a person who feels himself dying thinks intensely about those whom he loves and whose absence he deplores1 yes1 it may be that his will1 even unknown to himself1 suggesting the absent person produces the phenomena of telepathy2 but1 in the phenomena of which we are speaking1 that explanation seems to me more than doubtful4 ,i find much more simple the explanation that the phenomena are caused by the presence and the action of an independent being1--a spirit1 phantasm1 or elemental4 ,in fine what are we all seeking8 ,the proof of the survival of the ego1 of the individuality after death4 ,to be or not to be--it is all in that4 ,for ,i frankly confess to you if ,i am going to dissolve away again into the great ,all1 ,i should just as soon be annihilated4 ,that is perhaps a weakness2 but it cannot be helped4 ,i hold above everything else to my individuality2 not that ,i set a great value on it1 but the feeling is instinctive and ,i believe that at bottom everybody is of this opinion4 ,this then is the goal or end1 which at all epochs has powerfully interested man and interests him still to-day4 ,one of the weightiest proofs of the survival of the individual being that ,i have ever met with is1 in my opinion1 the vision which my aunt had several days after the death of a friend of hers who1 in order to give her a proof of the reality of her apparition1 inspired in her by mental suggestion the power of seeing her in the dress she had on in her coffin1 a costume which my aunt had never seen4 ,this is one of the fine and rare arguments in favor of the survival of the soul1 so far as my experience goes4 ,many things are explained by this survival1--above all1 what is apparently the frightful injustice of this world4 ,to these important observations of ,m4 ,castex-,degrange1 ,i should like to add those of a distinguished scientist1 who has also for a long time now devoted himself to the analysis and synthesis of these phenomena4 ,i mean ,m4 ,goupil4 ,some of his studies are yet in manuscript form1 and ,i am indebted to this savant for permission to use them4 ,others have been reprinted in a curious brochure 7,pour et ,contre1 ,tours1 #ahic74 ,but in citing such a large number of instances and experiments1 ,i am abusing the kindness of my readers1 even the most curious and the most eager for knowledge4 ,however1 ,i will at least point out the conclusions drawn by ,m4 ,goupil from his personal experiences4 ,they are to be found in the work of which ,i have just spoken1 and are as follows3 ,table-turning seances yield very insignificant results1 regarded as pure science obtained from the spirits2 but they are not lacking in interest from the point of view of the analysis of the facts and of the science to be established in accordance with the causes and the laws which govern these phenomena4 ,i believe that ,i can draw the conclusion from these phenomena that two theories 7the reflex and the ,spiritualistic7 may be drawn from the facts4 ,it seems to me impossible to maintain that an intelligent agent other than that of the experimenters is not operative in them4 ,what is this intelligence8 ,i believe it is very hazardous to express a confident opinion on this point in view of the incongruity of all these communications4 ,it is also undeniable that the intellects of the operators enter into the phenomena to a great extent1 and that in many cases they alone seem to act4 ,i should perhaps be sufficiently near the truth if ,i gave the following definition of the phenomenon3 ,functions external to the animistic principle of the operators1 and above all of the medium1 and governed by their intellects1 but sometimes associated with an intellect unknown and relatively independent of man4 ,experimenters have maintained that communications obtained from the so-called spirits through mediums never show more intellectual capacity than is possessed by the most intelligent person among the sitters4 ,this assertion is generally justified1 but it is not absolute4 ,i will mention1 in connection with this point1 some seances which took place at my house4 ,the medium was ,mme4 ,g41 whose life ,i had been familiar with for twenty-seven years1 day by day1 and consequently had an intimate acquaintance with her character1 her manners1 temperament and education4 ,the communications which were obtained through mediumistic writing in these seances extended over a period of more than fifteen months4 ,mme4 ,g4 had the sense of a kind of mental1 rather than auricular1 psychical rather than physical1 audition which dictated to her what she had to write in bits of sentences one after another2 and this impression was accompanied by a strong desire to write1 somewhat like the intense longing that a woman with child experiences4 ,if this medium gave her attention to the sense of the writing during the composition1 the current of power was shut off1 and everything resumed the state of ordinary composition4 ,her condition was that of a clerk writing unconcernedly and mechanically under the dictation of a superior4 ,it resulted from this that the writings1 executed at the maximum speed of the subject1 and generally without retardation or stoppage after the questions1 were in one long string1 without punctuation or paragraphs1 and full of mistakes in spelling1 resulting from the fact that the medium was acquainted with the sense of the writing only when she had read it over1 at least in the case of rather long communications4 ,the gist or substance of the writings seems very frequently to be drawn from our ideas1 our conversation1 our reading1 or our thoughts2 but there are certain plainly marked exceptions4 ,while ,mme4 ,g4 was writing1 ,i applied myself to other occupations1--calculations1 music1 etc41 or ,i walked up and down in the room2 but ,i only examined the replies when she had stopped writing4 ,nothing indicated that the physical and physiological condition of the medium during these writings was in any way different from that of her ordinary condition4 ,mme4 ,g4 could interrupt her writing at will and apply herself to other occupations or make responses about things unconnected with the seance1 and it never happened that she found herself short of an answer4 ,there is no parallelism between these writings and the mental endowments of ,mme4 ,g41 either in promptness of repartee1 in breadth of view1 or in philosophic depth4 ,in #ahij ,i bought ,flammarion's ,uranie1 which ,mme4 ,g4 did not read until #ahia4 ,i found in it doctrines absolutely similar to those which ,i had deduced from my experiments and from our communications4 ,any one who should compare these mediumistic writings with the philosophical works of the ,french astronomer would be led to believe that ,mme4 ,g4 had previously read them4 ,psychic phenomena have this peculiarity1 that identical assertions are made in far distant places through mediums who have never known each other1--a fact which would tend to demonstrate that1 running through many declarations which apparently contradict each other1 there is a certain uniformity of action on the part of the intelligent occult power4 ,in #ahij ,i also read the work of ,dr4 ,antoine ,cros1 ,the ,problem1 in which ,i also found astonishing agreements between the ideas of this author and those of our ,unknown ,inspirer1--among others this3 that man himself creates his ,paradises and becomes that to which he has aspired4 ,we should always seek the simplest explanation of the facts1 without desiring to find the occult in them1 and above all without looking for spirits everywhere1 but also without wishing1 under any circumstances1 to reject the intervention of unknown agents and deny the facts when they cannot be explained4 ,it is rather curious to remark that if we compare the dictations given by the tables and the other so-called mediumistic phenomena with observations made in conditions of natural or hypnotic somnambulism1 we find the same phases of incoherence1 hesitation1 error1 lucidity and supernormal excitation of the faculties4 ,on the other hand1 the supernormal excitation of the faculties neither explains the cases of prediction nor the citation of unknown facts4 ,in the case of many telepathic or other phenomena every explanation limps that excludes the intervention of external intelligences4 ,but it is still impossible to formulate a theory4 ,there exists a gap to be filled by new discoveries4#gi ,i will add to these conclusions two short extracts from a letter which ,m4 ,goupil wrote me on the #acth of ,april1 #ahii1 and from another one on the #ast of ,june1 in the same year4 #a4 ,replying to the request which you address to your readers1 ,i will say that ,i have never observed telepathic cases1 but that ,i have for a long time been experimenting with the phenomena called ,spiritualistic1 of which ,i was a simple analyst4 ,i have come to no conclusions as to explanatory theories4 ,however1 ,i consider it probable that there exists powerful intelligences other than human that intervene under certain circumstances4 ,my opinion is based upon a large number of very curious personal occurrences4 ,in my opinion1 we have not in these phenomena the appearance of simple coincidences1 but of circumstances willed1 foreseen1 and produced by an intelligent x4 #b4 ,of the ensemble--of all that ,i have seen--there is simultaneously the reflex action of the experimenters and an independent personality4 ,this hypothesis seems to me true1 while ,i should make at the same time this reservation1 that the personality or spirit is not a finished being1 with limitations of form1 such as an invisible man would have1 going1 coming and executing commissions for human beings4 ,i have glimpses of a grander and vaster system4 ,take a handful of the ocean1 and you have water4 ,take a handful of the atmosphere1 and you have air4 ,take a handful of space1 and you have mind4 ,that is the way ,i interpret it4 ,that is why mind is always present1 ready to respond when it finds in any place a stimulus that incites it1 and an organism which permits it to manifest itself4 ,let us confess that the problem is complex and that it is good to compare all the hypotheses4#hj ,from the numerous papers and documents laid out at this moment upon my writing-desk1 ,i can only select a small number for insertion here1 although they all have their special interest4 ,one is overwhelmed by the richness and vastness of the material4 ,however1 out of the material acquired in the course of the ,inquiry of which ,i spoke above1 let me give here one piece which ,i should regret not to be able to include within the compass of the present work4 ,the former governess of the poet ,alfred de ,musset1 ,mme4 ,martelet1 nee ,adele ,colin1--who still lives in ,paris and who has just been present 7in #aijf7 at the unveiling of the statue of the poet 7although his death dates from the year #aheg71--;has given the following account1 which may be added here to that of movements without contact4 ,an inexplicable occurrence which my sister1 ,mme4 ,charlot1 and myself witnessed impressed us most deeply4 ,it took place at the time of the last sickness of ,m4 de ,musset4 ,i shall never forget the emotion we felt that evening1 and ,i still have the minutest incidents of the strange occurrence stamped on my memory4 ,my master1 who had taken no rest during all the previous night1 had toward the end of the day1 fallen into a doze in a large easy-chair4 ,my sister and ,i had entered the chamber on tip-toe1 in order not to trouble this precious rest of his1 and we sat quietly down in a corner where we were concealed by the curtains of the bed4 ,the invalid could not perceive us1 but we saw him very well1 and ,i sorrowfully contemplated that suffering face which ,i knew ,i could not much longer look upon4 ,and still1 even now1 when ,i recall the features of my master1 ,i see them as they appeared to me on that evening1--the eyes closed1 his finely shaped head resting upon the easy-chair1 and his long1 thin1 pale hands 7the paleness of the dead already upon them71 crossed upon his knees in a contracted and shriveled way4 ,we remained motionless and silent1 and the chamber1 lighted only by a feeble lamp1 seemed wrapped in shadows and was filled with that peculiar mournful atmosphere that characterizes the chamber of the dying4 ,suddenly we heard a deep sigh4 ,the invalid had waked up and ,i saw his looks go toward the bell-cord that hung near the fireplace some steps from the easy-chair4 ,he evidently wanted to ring1 and ,i do not know what feeling it was that held me nailed to my place4 ,still ,i did not move1 and my master1 having a horror of solitude and believing that he was alone in his chamber1 rose up1 stretched out his arm with the evident intention of calling someone2 but1 already fatigued by this effort1 he fell back into the chair without having taken a step4 ,it was at this moment that we had an experience that terrified us4 ,the bell1 which the sick man had not touched1 rang1 and instinctively1 at the same moment1 my sister and ,i seized each other's hands1 each anxiously interrogating the face of the other4 ,did you hear8--,did you see8--,he did not move from his chair6 ,at this moment the nurse entered and innocently asked1 ,did you ring1 sir8 ,this event put us into an extraordinary state of mind1 and if ,i had not had my sister with me ,i should have believed that it was an hallucination4 ,but both of us saw1 and all three of us heard4 ,it is a good many years now since all that took place1 but ,i can still hear the ominous and mournful sound of that bell ringing in the silence of the chamber4 ,this account1 also1 seems not to be devoid of value4 ,there are undoubtedly several ways of explaining it4 ,the first is that which occurs to everybody4 ,the ,frenchman1 born malign1 says ,boileau1 does not mince matters1 and1 apropos of this story of ,de ,musset1 simply exclaims in his language 7always flashy and devoid of literary distinction71 ,what a fine piece of rot6 ,and that is all there is to it4 ,a few may reflect for a moment more1 and not admit that there is necessarily any invention on the part of the governess1 and may think that she1 as well as her sister1 believed that ,de ,musset had not touched the bell cord1 while in reality he touched it with the ends of his fingers4 ,but these ladies can answer that the distance between the hand of the poet and the cord was too great1 that the cord was inaccessible in that position1 and that it was that very thing which impressed them1 and without which there would have been no story to tell4 ,we may also suppose that the bell was rung by some external force impinging on it1 although the cord was not pulled4 ,we may still further suppose that1 in the restlessness of these hours of distress1 the waiting-woman came in without having heard anything1 and that the coincidence of her arrival with the gesture of ,de ,musset surprised the two watchers1 who afterward thought that they had heard the bell4 ,however1 to sum up the whole thing1 while we may regard the occurrence as inexplicable1 we may yet admit its truth as narrated4 ,this seems to me the most logical view1 and the more so that the gentle poet had1 several times in his life1 given other proofs of possessing faculties of this kind4 ,i will add here one more instance of the movement of objects without contact which is not without value4 ,it was published by ,dr4 ,coues in the ,annales des sciences psychiques1 for the year #ahic4 ,the views stated are also worthy of being summed up here4 ,the observers1 ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,elliott ,coues1 speak out of their own personal experience4 ,it is a principle of physics that a heavy body can only be put in motion by the direct application of a mechanical force sufficient to overcome its inertia1 and orthodox science maintains that the idea of action at a distance is an erroneous idea4 ,the authors of the present study assert1 on the contrary1 that heavy bodies may be1 and frequently are1 put in motion without any kind of direct application of mechanical force1 and that action at a distance is a well-established fact in nature4 ,we offer proofs of these propositions based on a series of experiments undertaken for this purpose4 ,we often repeated these experiments1 during more than two years1 with results that were convincing not only to ourselves but to many other witnesses4 ,we do not understand how the scientific world has been able to accept the idea that the expression action at a distance is a false one1 unless those who see an error in the assertion attach to these words a special meaning of which we are ignorant4 ,it is certain that the sun acts at a distance upon the earth and the other planets of the solar system4 ,it is certain that a piece of anything thrown into the air falls back in consequence of the attraction of gravitation1--and that1 too1 at no matter what distance4 ,the law of gravitation1 so far as we know it1 is universal1 and it is not yet proved that there exists a ponderable1 or otherwise palpable1 medium which serves to transmit the force4#ha ,we go a little farther1 even1 and declare that1 probably1 all action of matter is an action at a distance1 especially since 7so far as our knowledge goes7 there are not in the whole universe two particles of matter in absolute contact2 and1 consequently1 if they act the one upon the other1 it must be at some distance1 this distance being infinitely small and entirely inappreciable to our senses4 ,we therefore maintain that the law of movement at a distance is a universal mechanical law and that the idea that it does not exist is a kind of a paradox1 simply a hair-splitting quibble4 ,the two authors of this study sometimes experimented together1 sometimes separately1 more often with one or more additional experimenters1 sometimes with four1 five1 six1 seven or eight4 ,they witnessed at different times1 in full light1 the vigorous and even violent movements of a large table which nobody touched directly or indirectly4 ,the persons mentioned were all friends of theirs1 living1 like them1 in the city of ,washington1 and all sincerely desirous of knowing the truth of the matter4 ,there was no professional medium4 ,the scene opens in a little parlor in our house 7they write74 ,in the centre of the room is a large heavy oak table in marquetry1 which weighs about one hundred pounds4 ,the top is oval and measures four feet and a half by three and a half4 ,it has only a single support1 in the middle1 branching off into three legs1 or feet1 with casters4 ,above it is the chandelier1 several burners of which are lighted and give sufficient light for the ladies to read and work by the table4 ,dr4 ,coues is seated in his easy-chair1 in a corner of this large room1 at a distance from the table1 reading or writing by the light of two other burners4 ,the ladies express the wish to see if the table will do something1 as they say4 ,the cloth is removed4 ,mrs4 ,c41 seated in a low rocking-chair1 places her hands on the table4 ,mrs4 ,a41 also seated in a low easy-chair1 does the same1 facing her at the opposite side of the table4 ,their hands are opened and placed upon the upper surface of the table4 ,in this position1 they cannot lift the table by themselves with their hands3 that is an entire impossibility4 ,neither can they push it by leaning on it in order to make it rise on the opposite side1 except by muscular effort easily observed4 ,neither can they lift the table unaided with their knees1 since these are at least a foot away from the top and since moreover their feet never leave the floor4 ,finally1 they cannot lift the table by means of their toes slipped under a foot of the table1 because the table is too heavy4 ,under these conditions1 and beneath the full light of at least four gas jets1 the table habitually began to crack or snap1 and produced divers strange noises quite different from those which could be obtained by leaning upon it4 ,these noises soon showed1 if ,i may so say1 some reason in their incoherence1 and certain definite strokes or rappings came to represent yes1 and no4 ,according to an arranged code of signals1 we were able to enter into a conversation with an unknown being4 ,then the table was generally polite enough to do what it was asked4 ,one side or another of it tipped as we wished4 ,it went from one side or the other according as we requested4 ,under these circumstances we made the following experiments3 ,the two ladies removed their hands from the table and drew back their chairs1 while still remaining seated in them at a distance of one or two feet4 ,dr4 ,coues from his arm chair saw distinctly above and beneath the table4 ,the feet of the ladies were from twelve to thirty-six inches distant from the feet of the table4 ,their heads and their hands were still farther off4 ,there was no contact with it4 ,even their dresses were not within a foot or two of it4 ,under these conditions1 the table lifted one of its feet and let it fall heavily back4 ,it lifted two feet to a height of from two to six inches1 and1 when they fell back1 the blow was heavy enough to make the floor shake1 and make the glass globes of the chandelier tinkle4 ,besides these energetic1 even violent movements1 the table displayed its power by means of raps or balancings4 ,its yes's or its no's were commonly rational1 sometimes in agreement with the ideas of the one who put the question1 sometimes in persistent opposition to those ideas4 ,sometimes the invisible agent affirmed that he was a certain person1 and maintained that individuality during an entire seance4 ,or possibly this character was dropped1 so to speak1 or at least ceased to appear1 and another person1 or another being1 took its place1 with different ideas and opinions4 ,thereupon1 the raps or the movements also differed4 ,finally the inanimate table1 which was supposed to be inert1 took on for the moment all the appearance of a living being possessing an intelligence as keen as that of an ordinary person4 ,it expressed itself with as much will and individuality as our friends caused it to do by their voices and their gestures4 ,and yet1 during this whole time no one of the three persons present touched the table1 the two ladies being at a distance of two or three feet1 and ,dr4 ,coues seven to ten feet1 in a corner of the room1 which was lighted by four gas jets4 ,there was no other person present that one could see4 ,if this was not a case of telekinesis1 or movement of objects without contact1 absolutely different from ordinary and normal mechanical movement1 we can certainly no longer put trust in our senses4 ,these observations of ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,elliott ,coues are all as positively accurate and authentic as the occurrence of an earthquake1 the falling of a fire-ball from the sky1 a chemical combination1 an experiment with an electrical machine4 ,the sceptics who smile at them and say that everything is fraud are persons in whom the sense of logic is wanting4 ,as to the explanation to be given of them1 that is a different question from that of the pure and simple authentication of the facts4 ,those to whom these descriptions of phenomena and experiments appeal 7adds the narrator7 must take particular notice that the authors of this study1 although they have had occasion to speak of conversations held with the table and to mention special tones of voice1 and intelligible messages imparted by pieces of inert wood1 categorically refuse to approach the question of the source or origin of the intelligence thus manifested4 ,that is an entirely different question1 with which we do not meddle4 ,the single1 or at least the principal1 object of the publication of this study is to establish the truth of movement without contact4 ,but1 having very plainly verified the fact and established it by proofs in our possession1 it might perhaps be expected of us that we offer some explanation of the extraordinary things that we vouch for4 ,we respectfully reply that we are both too old and perhaps too wise to claim to explain anything4 ,when we were younger1 and fancied that we knew everything1 we could explain everything1--at least to our own satisfaction4 ,now that we have lived long enough1 we have discovered that every explanation of a thing raises at least two new questions1 and we do not feel any desire to stumble against new difficulties2 for these multiply in geometrical ratio1 in proportion to the extent and accuracy of our researches4 ,we hold to this principle1 that nothing is explained so long as there still remains an explanation to be sought4 ,under these conditions1 we shall do better to recognize the inexplicability of these psychical mysteries1 before1 rather than after1 futile theories about them4 ,there you have what is absolutely reasonable1 whatever may be said of it4 ,and now1 after these innumerable verifications of facts1 and after all these professions of faith1 shall ,i myself1 have the courage1 the pretension1 the pride or the simplicity of mind1 to start in search of the much desired information8 ,whether we find it or not1 the facts nevertheless exist4 ,it was the object of this book to convince my readers of this1--readers who should give to the subject their close attention1 be possessed of unbiased judgment and good faith1 and have the eyes of the spirit wide open and free from all weakness4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,explanatory ,,hypotheses--,,theories ,,and ,,doctrines--,,conclusions ,,of ,,the ,,author ,it is quite in the fashion1 as a general thing1 to profess absolute scepticism regarding the phenomena which form the subject of the present work4 ,in the opinion of three-quarters of the citizens of our planet all unexplained noises in haunted houses2 all displacements without contact of bodies more or less heavy2 all movements of tables1 pianos1 or other objects produced in the experiments styled ,spiritualistic2 all communications dictated by raps or by unconscious writing2 all apparitions1 partial or total1 of phantom forms--are illusions1 hallucinations1 or hoaxes4 ,no explanation is needed4 ,the only rational opinion is that all mediums1 professional or not1 are imposters1 and the participators in a seance are imbeciles4 ,sometimes one of these eminent judges consents1 not to cease tipping the wink and smiling in his royal competency1 but to condescend to be present at a seance4 ,if1 as only too frequently happens1 no response to the command of the will is obtained1 the illustrious observer retires1 firmly convinced that1 by his extraordinary penetration1 he has discovered the cheat and blocked everything by his clairvoyant intuition4 ,he at once writes to the journals1 shows up the fraud1 and sheds humanitarian crocodile tears over the sad spectacle of men1 apparently intelligent1 allowing themselves to be taken in by impostures1 detected by him at the first blush4 ,this first and easy explanation1 that everything in the manifestations is fraud1 has been so often exposed1 discussed1 and refuted during the course of this work that my readers probably consider it 7at least ,i hope they do7 as entirely1 absolutely1 and definitely decided and thrown out of the ring4 ,however1 ,i advise you not to speak too freely of these things at table1 or in a drawing room if you do not like to have people making fun of you1 more or less discreetly4 ,if you air your views in public1 you will produce the same effect as those eccentric fellows of the time of ,ptolemy1 who dared to speak of the movement of the earth and excited such inextinguishable laughter in respectable society that the echoes ring with it still in ,athens1 ,alexandria1 and ,rome4 ,it is only a repetition of what took place when ,galileo spoke of the spots on the sun1 ,galvani of electricity1 ,jenner of vaccine1 ,jouffroy and ,fulton of the steamship1 ,chappe of the telegraph1 ,lebon of gas-lighting1 ,stephenson of railways1 ,daguerre of photography1 ,boucher de ,perthes of the fossil man1 ,mayer of thermodynamics1 ,wheatstone of the transatlantic cable1 etc4 ,if we could gather up all the sarcasms launched at the heads of these poor crazy-wits1 we should get a fine basket of venerable blunders1 moldy as a remainder biscuit after a voyage4 ,so let us not speak too much of our mysteries--unless it amuses us1 in our turn1 to ask some questions of the prettiest dolls in the company4 ,one of them inquired in my presence1 yesterday evening1 what the man named ,lavoisier did1 and whether he was dead4 ,another thought that ,auguste ,comte was a writer of songs and asked if any one knew one of them which would suit a mezzo-soprano voice4 ,another was astonished that ,louis ,,xiv had not built one of the two railway stations of ,versailles nearer the palace4 ,moreover1 on my balcony1 a member of the ,institute1 who saw ,jupiter shining in the southern sky at the meridian point1 over one of the cupolas of the ,observatory1 obstinately maintained in my presence that this luminary was the polar star4 ,i did not dispute the point with him too long6 ,there are not a few people who believe at once in the value of universal suffrage and in that of titles of nobility4 ,of course1 we will not force these ,janus-faced wise men to vote upon the admissibility of psychic phenomena into the sphere of science4 ,but we will henceforth consider this admissibility as something granted1 and1 tossing back to the laughing sceptics1 to the habitues of clubs and cliques1 the general opinion of the world1 of which ,i have just spoken1 begin here our logical analysis4 ,we have had under consideration during the course of this work several theories by scientific investigators which are worthy of attention4 ,let us first of all sum these up4 ,in the opinion of ,gasparin1 these unexplained movements are produced by a fluid1 emanating from us under the action of our will4 ,professor ,thury thinks that this fluid1 which he calls psychode1 is a substance which forms a link between the soul and the body2 but there may also exist certain wills external to ourselves1 and of unknown nature1 working side by side with us4 ,the chemist ,crookes attributes the phenomena to psychic force1 this being the agent by which the phenomena are produced2 but he adds that this force may well be1 in certain cases1 seized upon and directed by some other intelligence4 ,the difference between the partisans of psychic force and those of ,spiritualism1 he writes1 consists in this3 we maintain that it is not yet proved that there exists a directing agent other than the intelligence of the medium and that presence and actions of the spirits of the dead are felt in the phenomena1 while1 on the contrary1 the ,spiritualists accept as an article of faith1 without demanding more proofs thereof1 that these spirits are the sole agents in the production of the observed facts4 ,albert de ,rochas defines these phenomena as an externalization of motivity1 and considers them to be produced by the fluidic double1 the astral body of the medium1 a nerve-fluid able to act and perceive at a distance4 ,lombroso declares that the explanation must be sought simply in the nervous system of the medium1 and that we have in the phenomena transformation of forces4 ,dr4 ,ochorowicz affirms that he has not found proofs in favor of the ,spiritualistic hypothesis1 any more than he has in favor of the intervention of external intelligences1 and that the cause of the phenomena is a fluidic double detaching itself from the organism of the medium4 ,the astronomer ,porro is inclined to admit the possible action of unknown spirits1 of living forms different from our own1 not necessarily the souls of the dead1 but psychical entities to be studied4 ,in a recent letter he wrote me that the theosophic doctrine appeared to him to approach the nearest to a solution4#hb ,prof4 ,charles ,richet thinks that the ,spiritualistic hypothesis is far from being demonstrated1 that the observed facts relate to an entirely different order of causes1 as yet very difficult to disentangle and that in the present state of our knowledge no final conclusion can be agreed on4 ,the naturalist ,wallace1 ,professor ,morgan1 and the electrician ,varley declare1 on the other hand1 that sufficient proof has been given them to warrant them in accepting without reserve the ,spiritualistic doctrine of disembodied souls4 ,prof4 ,james ,h4 ,hyslop1 of the ,university of ,columbia1 who has made a special study of these phenomena1 in the ,proceedings of the ,london ,society for ,psychical ,research1 and in his works ,science and a ,future ,life and ,enigmas of ,psychical ,research1 thinks that there are not yet enough severely critical verifications to warrant any theory4 ,dr4 ,grasset1 a disciple of ,pierre ,janet1 does not admit displacement of objects1 or levitation1 or the greater part of the facts described in this book as proved1 and thinks what is called ,spiritualism is a question of medical biology1 of the physiopathology of the nervous centres1 in which a celebrated cerebral polygon with a musical conductor named ,o1 plays an automatic role of a very curious description4 ,dr4 ,maxwell concludes from his observations that the greater part of the phenomena1 the reality of which cannot be doubted1 are produced by a force existing in us1 that this force is intelligent1 and that the intelligence manifested comes from the experimenters4 ,this would be a kind of collective consciousness4 ,m4 ,marcel ,mangin does not adopt this collective consciousness1 and declares that it is certain that the being1 in the seances1 who asserts that he is a manifestation is the sub-consciousness of the medium4 ,the foregoing are some of the principal opinions4 ,it would take a whole book to discuss in writing the proposed explanations1 but that is not my object4 ,my aim was to focus the question on what concerns ,,the ,,admissibility ,,of ,,the ,,phenomena ,,into ,,the ,,sphere ,,of ,,positive ,,science4 ,however1 now that this is done1 we cannot but ask ourselves1 what conclusions may be drawn from all these observations4 ,if we wish to obtain1 after this mass of verifications1 a satisfactory rational explanation1 it seems to me we must proceed gradually1 classify the facts1 analyze them1 and only admit them in proportion to their absolute and demonstrated certainty4 ,we live in a very complex universe1 and the most singular confusion has arisen among phenomena which are very distinct one from another4 ,as ,i said in #ahfi1 at the tomb of ,allan ,kardec1 ,the causes in action are of several kinds1 and are more numerous than one would suppose4 ,can we explain the observed phenomena1 or at least any portion of it8 ,it is our duty to try4 ,for this purpose ,i shall classify them in the order of increasing difficulties4 ,it is always advisable to begin with the beginning4 ,may ,i hope that the reader will have got a clear idea in his mind of the experiments and observations set forth in the previous pages of this work8 ,it would be a little insipid to refer every time to the pages where the phenomena have been described4 #a4 ,,rotation ,,of ,,the ,,table1 with contact of the hands of a certain number of operators4 ,this rotation can be explained by an unconscious impulse given to the table4 ,all that is necessary is that each one push a little in the same way1 and the movement will take place4 #b4 ,,movement ,,of ,,the ,,table1 the hands of the experimenters resting upon it4 ,the operators push and the table is led along without their knowing it1 each one acting in a greater or less degree4 ,they think they are following it1 but they are really leading it along4 ,we have in this only the result of muscular efforts1 generally of a rather slight nature4 #c4 ,,lifting ,,of ,,the ,,table on the side opposite to that upon which the hands of the principal actor are placed4 ,nothing is more simple4 ,the pressure of the hands upon a centre-table with three legs suffices to produce the lifting of the leg the farthest removed1 and thus to strike all the letters of the alphabet4 ,the movement is less easy in the case of a table with four legs2 but it can also be obtained4 ,these three movements are the only ones1 it seems to me1 which can be explained without the least mystery4 ,still1 the third is only explicable in case the table is not too heavy4 #d4 ,,imparting ,,life ,,to ,,the ,,table4 ,several experimenters being seated around the table1 and forming the chain with the desire of seeing it rise1 the waves of a kind of vibrations 7light at first7 are perceived to be passing through the wood4 ,then balancings are noticed1 some of which may be due to muscular impulses4 ,but already something more is now mingled in the process4 ,the table seems to be set in motion of itself4 ,sometimes it rises1 no longer as if moved by a lever1 or by pressure on one side1 but under the hands1 as if it were sticking to them4 ,this levitation is contrary to the law of gravitation4 ,hence we have here a discharge of force4 ,this force emanates from our organism4 ,there is no sufficient reason to seek for anything else4 ,nevertheless1 what we have detected is a thing of prime importance4 #e4 ,,rotation ,,without ,,contact4 ,the table being in rapid rotation1 we can remove our hands from it1 and see it continue the movement4 ,the velocity or momentum acquired may explain the momentary continuation of this movement and the explanation given in the case of ,no4 #a may suffice4 ,but there is more in it than this4 ,rotation is obtained by holding the hands at a distance of some inches above the table1 without any contact4 ,a light layer of flour dusted over the table is found to be untouched by a single finger4 ,hence the force emitted by the operators must penetrate the table4 ,the experiments prove that we have in us a force capable of acting at a distance upon matter1 a natural force1 generally latent1 but developed in different degrees in different mediums4 ,the action of the force is manifested under conditions as yet imperfectly determined4 7,see pp4 #ha1 #bdh et seq47 ,we can act upon brute matter1 upon living matter1 upon the brain and upon the mind4 ,this action of the will is shown in telepathy4 ,it is shown more simply still by means of a well-known experiment3 at the theatre1 in church1 when hearing music1 a man accustomed to the exercise of will-power1 and sitting several rows of seats behind a woman1 say1 compels her to turn around in less than a minute4 ,a force emanates from us1 from our spirit1 acting undoubtedly by means of etherwaves1 the point of departure of which is a cerebral movement4 ,and there is nothing very mysterious in this4 ,i bring my hand near a thermometer1 and ascertain that something invisible is escaping from my hand1 and1 at a certain remove1 making the column of mercury rise4 ,this something else is heat2 that is to say1 aerial waves in movement4 ,then why might not other radiations emanate from our hands and from our whole being8 ,but1 nevertheless1 there is a very important scientific fact to be established4 ,this physical force is greater than that of the muscles1 as ,i am going to prove4 #f4 ,,lifting ,,of ,,weights4 ,a table is loaded with sacks of sand and with stones weighing altogether from #afe to #agf pounds4 ,the table lifts each of its three legs several times in succession4 ,but it succumbs under the load and is broken4 ,the operators ascertain that their muscular force would not have sufficed to produce the observed movements4 ,the will acts by a dynamic prolongation4 #g4 ,,liftings ,,without ,,contact4 ,the hands forming the chain some inches above the side of the table which is to be lifted1 and all wills being concentrated on the one idea1 the lifting of each of the legs in succession takes place4 ,the liftings are more readily obtained than rotations without contact4 ,an energetic will seems to be indispensable4 ,the unknown force passes from the experimenters to the table without any contact4 ,if the table is dusted over with flour1 as ,i said1 not the slightest finger-touch is seen to be imprinted on it4 ,the will of the sitters is in play4 ,the table is ordered to make such and such a movement and it obeys4 ,this will seems to be prolonged beyond the bodies of the operating experimenters in the shape of a force that is quite intense4 ,this power is developed by action4 ,the balancings prepare for the rising and the latter for complete levitation4 #h4 ,,reducing ,,the ,,weight ,,of ,,the ,,table ,,or ,,other ,,objects4 ,a quadrangular table is suspended by one of its sides to a dynamometer attached to a cord which is held above by some kind of a hook4 ,the needle of the dynamometer1 which1 in a state of rest1 indicates #ce kilograms1 gradually descends to #c1 #b1 #a1 #j kilograms4 ,a mahogany board is placed horizontally1 and hung by one end to a spring balance4 ,this balance 7or scales71 has a point which touches a pane of glass blackened by smoke4 ,when this pane of glass is put in movement1 the needle traces a horizontal line4 ,during the experiments1 this line is no longer straight1 but marks reductions and increments of weight1 produced without any contact of hands4 ,in the experiments of ,crookes we saw that the weight of a board increased almost #a-a_/d pounds4 ,the medium places his hands upon the back of a chair and lifts the chair4 #i4 ,,augmentation ,,of ,,the ,,weight ,,of ,a ,,table ,,or ,,other ,,objects4--,,pressures ,,exerted4 ,the dynamometric experiments that we have just recalled themselves go to show this augmentation4 ,i have more than once seen1 in other circumstances1 a table become so heavy that it was absolutely impossible for two men to lift it from the floor4 ,when they succeeded in doing so1 in a measure1 by means of quick jerks1 it still seemed to stick to the floor as if held by glue or india rubber1 which immediately pulled it back to the floor after it had been slightly displaced4 ,in all these experiments1 there is proof of the action of an unknown natural force emanating from the chief experimenter or from the collective powers of the group1 an organic force under the influence of the will4 ,it is not necessary to suppose the presence of superhuman spirits4 #aj4 ,,the ,,complete ,,lifting ,,up1 ,,or ,,levitation ,,of ,,the ,,table4 ,as there may be confusion in applying the word lifting to a table which only rises on one side at a certain angle1 while still touching the floor1 it is expedient to apply the word levitation to the case in which it is completely separated from the floor4 ,generally1 in levitation1 it rises from six to eight inches from the floor1 for some seconds only1 and then falls back4 ,it moves up in a balancing1 undulating1 hesitating way1 with effort1 and then falls straight down4 ,while resting our hands upon it1 we have the sensation of a fluid resistance1 as of it were in water1--the kind of fluid sensation we experience when we bring a piece of iron into the field of force of a magnet4 ,a table1 a chair or other movable article sometimes rises1 not merely a foot or so1 but almost to the height of one's head1 and even as high as the ceiling4 ,the force brought into play is considerable4 #aa4 ,,levitation ,,of ,,human ,,bodies4 ,this case is of the same order as the preceding4 ,the medium may be raised with his chair and placed upon the table1 sometimes in unstable equilibrium4 ,he may also be lifted alone 7without the chair74#hc ,in this case the ,unknown ,force does not seem to be simply mechanical3 intention is mingled with the act1 and ideas of precaution1 which1 however may proceed from the mentality of the medium himself1 aided perhaps by that of the sitters4 ,this fact seems to us to contravene known scientific laws4 ,it is the same case as that of the cat which knows how to turn of itself1 without any outside support or leverage1 when it falls from a roof1 and always falls on its feet1 a fact contrary to the principles of mechanics taught in every university in the world4 #ab4 ,,lifting ,,of ,,very ,,heavy ,,pieces ,,of ,,furniture4 ,a piano weighing more than #gej pounds rises up off of its two front legs1 and it is ascertained that its weight varies4 ,the force with which it is animated arises from the proximity of a child eleven years old1 but it is not the conscious will of this child which acts4--,a heavy oak dining-table may rise so high that its under side can be inspected during the levitation4 #ac4 ,,displacement ,,of ,,objects ,,without ,,contact4 ,a heavy easy-chair moves about of its own accord in the room4 ,heavy curtains reaching from the ceiling to the floor are forcibly swelled out as if by a gust of wind1 and envelop as with a hood the heads of persons seated at a table1 at a distance of three feet and more4 ,a centre table persists in the endeavor to climb upon the experiment-table--and gets there4 ,while a sceptical spectator is bantering the spirits1 the table about which the experiments are taking place makes a move towards the incredulous person1 drawing the sitters along with it1 and pins him to the wall until he begs for mercy4 ,as in the preceding cases1 these movements may represent the expression of the will of the medium1 and may not necessarily indicate the presence of a mind external to his own4 ,nevertheless--8 #ad4 ,,raps ,,and ,,typtology4 ,in tables1 in pianos1 and other pieces of furniture1 in the walls1 in the air1 raps are heard1 and their vibrations perceived by the touch4 ,they somewhat resemble the sounds obtainable by tapping against a piece of wood with the joint of the bent finger4 ,the question arises1 ,whence come these noises8 ,the question is asked aloud4 ,they are repeated4 ,the request is made that a certain number of strokes be rapped4 ,the raps are heard4 ,well-known airs are accompanied by raps beaten in perfect time with them and identifiable as the counterpart of the airs4 ,when bits of music are played1 the accompaniment is rapped out4 ,things take place as if an invisible being were listening and acting4 ,but how could a being without acoustic nerve and without a tympanum hear8 ,the sonorous waves must strike something in order to be interpreted4 ,is this a mental transmission8 ,these raps are made4 ,who makes them8 ,and how8 ,the mysterious force emits radiations of wave-lengths inaccessible to our retina1 but powerful and rapid1 without doubt more rapid than those of light1 and situated beyond the ultraviolet4 ,besides1 light impedes their action4 ,in proportion as we advance in the examination of the phenomena1 the psychic1 intellectual1 mental element is more and more mingled with the physical and mechanical element4 ,in the case we are considering we are forced to admit the presence1 the action1 of a thought4 ,is this thought simply that of the medium1 of the chief experimenter1 or the resultant of the thoughts of all the sitters united8 ,since these raps or those made by the legs of the table1 on being interrogated1 dictate words and phrases and express ideas1 there is something more in the matter than a simple mechanical action4 ,the unknown force1 the existence of which we have been obliged to admit in the preceding observations1 is in this case at the service of an intelligence4 ,the mystery grows complicated4 ,it is owing to this intellectual element that ,i proposed 7before #ahfe2 see p4 xix7 to give the name psychic to this force1 a name proposed anew by ,crookes in #ahga4 ,we saw also that1 as early as the year #ahee1 ,thury had proposed the name psychode and ecteneic force4 ,from this on1 it would be impossible for us in our examination not to take into consideration this psychic force4 ,up to this point1 ,gasparin's fluid might suffice1 just as unconscious muscular action sufficed for the first three classes of facts4 ,but starting from this fourteenth class1 the psychic order plainly manifests itself 7and even in the preceding class we begin already to divine its presence74 #ae4 ,,mallet-,,blows4 ,i have heard--as have all other experimenters--not only sharp light raps upon a table1 like those of which ,i have just been speaking1 but mallet-blows1 or blows of the fist upon a door1 capable of knocking down a man if he had received them4 ,generally1 these tremendous blows are a protestation against a denial on the part of one of the sitters4 ,there is in them an intention1 a will1 an intelligence4 ,they may also be due to the medium1 who is indignant1 or who is amusing himself or herself4 ,the action is not muscular2 for the hands and feet of the medium are held1 and the rapping may occur some distance away from him or her4 #af4 ,,touchings4 ,fraud can explain those which take place within the reach of the medium's hands1 for they only occur in the darkness4 ,but they have been felt at a certain distance beyond this reach as if the hands of the medium were prolonged4 #ag4 ,,action ,,of ,,invisible ,,hands4 ,an accordion in an open-work case1 or cage1 which keeps any other hand from touching it1 is held in one hand by the end opposite the keys4 ,presently the instrument begins to lengthen and shorten of itself and plays various melodies4 ,an invisible hand with fingers 7or something like them71 must therefore be acting4 7,experiment of ,crookes with ,home47 ,as the reader has seen ,i repeated this experiment with ,eusapia4 ,another time1 a music-box1 the handle of which was turned by an invisible hand1 played in perfect time with the music movements that ,eusapia was making upon my cheek4 ,an invisible hand forcibly snatched from my hand a block of paper which ,i was holding out with extended arm at the height of my head4 ,invisible hands removed from ,m4 ,schiaparelli's head his spectacles 7furnished with a spring71 which were firmly fastened behind his ears1 and that so nimbly and with such light touch that he did not perceive it until afterwards4 #ah4 ,,apparitions ,,of ,,hands4 ,the hands are not always invisible4 ,sometimes semi-luminous ones are seen to appear in the dim light1--hands of men1 hands of women1 hands of children4 ,sometimes they have clear-cut outlines4 ,they are generally firm and moist to the touch1 sometimes icy cold4 ,at times they melt away in the hand4 ,for my part ,i was never able to grasp one4 ,it was always the mysterious hand that took mine1--often feeling through a curtain1 or sometimes by nude contact1 or pinching my ear1 or running its fingers through my hair with great rapidity4 #ai4 ,,apparitions ,,of ,,heads4 ,for my part1 ,i have only seen two3 the bearded silhouette at ,monfort-l',amaury1 and the head of a young girl with high-arched forehead1 in my drawing-room4 ,in the case of the first ,i had believed that there was a mask held at the end of a rod4 ,but at my own home1 there was no possibility of an accomplice1 and at present ,i am not less sure of the first instance than of the other4 ,moreover1 the testimony of other observers is so precise and so often given that it is imperative that it be classed with my own4 #bj4 ,,phantoms4 ,i have never seen any of these nor photographed them1 but it seems to me impossible to be sceptical about that of ,katie ,king1 observed for three consecutive years by ,crookes and others who experimented with the medium ,florence ,cook4 ,one can scarcely doubt1 also1 the reality of the phantoms seen by the committee of the ,dialectical ,society of ,london4 ,we have seen that trickery plays a frequent role in this sort of apparitions2 but1 in the experiments just mentioned1 the observations were really conducted with such perspicacity that they are safe from all objection1 and have on them the stamp of a purely scientific character4 ,these phantoms1 like the heads and the hands mentioned1 seem to be condensations of fluids produced by the powers of the medium1 and do not prove the existence of independent spirits4 ,when the hand is stretched out1 the rubbing of a beard can be felt upon it4 ,this happened to me1 as well as to others4 ,did the beard really exist1 or was it only a case of tactual and visual sensations8 ,the case here immediately following pleads in favor of its reality4 #ba4 ,,impressions ,,of ,,heads ,,and ,,of ,,hands4 ,the heads and the hands formed are sufficiently dense to leave a mould of their features and shape imprinted in the putty or the clay4 ,perhaps the most curious thing is that it is not necessary that these weird formations1 these forces1 be visible in order to produce impressions4 ,we have seen a vigorous gesture imprint itself at a distance in clay4 #bb4 ,,passing ,,of ,,matter ,,through ,,matter4--,,transfers1 ,,or ,,the ,,bringing ,,in ,,of ,,objects4 ,a book has been seen passing through a curtain4 ,a bell has passed from a library-room1 locked with a key1 into a drawing-room4 ,a flower has been seen passing perpendicularly downward through a dining-room table4 ,some have thought they had ocular proof of the mysterious appearance of plants1 of flowers1 of fruits1 and other objects1 which 7as the claim went7 had passed through walls1 ceilings1 doors4 ,the latter phenomenon took place several times in my presence4 ,but ,i was never able to get certain proof of it under unimpeachable conditions2 and ,i have ferreted out many a trick4 ,the experiments of ,zoellner 7a wooden ring entering into another wooden ring1 a string tied at the two ends making a knot1 etc47 would1 of course1 be a thing of exceptional interest if the medium ,slade had not the bad reputation of being just a skilful prestidigitator1--a reputation probably only too well merited4 ,i should think that there is good reason to suppose that the experiments of ,crookes are authentic4 ,has space only three dimensions8 ,we will set this question aside4 #bc4 ,,manifestations ,,directed ,,by ,,an ,,intelligence4 ,these have been already glimpsed in a certain number of the preceding cases4 ,the forces in action here are of the psychical as well as the physical class4 ,the question is to know whether the intellect of the medium and of the sitters is sufficient to explain everything4 ,in all the cases ,i have previously mentioned1 this intellect seem to suffice1 but only by attributing to it occult faculties of prodigious potency4 ,in the present state of our knowledge1 it is impossible for us to understand the way in which mind1 conscious or unconscious1 can lift a table1 make raps in wood1 form a hand or a head1 stamp an imprint4 ,the modus operandi is absolutely unintelligible to us4 ,future science will perhaps discover it4 ,but all these actions never overpass the limits of man's capacities1 and let us admit1 the capacity required is not an extraordinary one4 ,the hypothesis of spirits of another order than that of living human beings does not seem to be necessary4 ,the hypothesis of the doubling of the psychic personality of the medium is the most simple4 ,is it sufficient to entirely satisfy us8 ,hard blows on the table like those of a fist1 contrasting with gentle taps1 may have this origin1 in spite of appearance4 ,it is the same with apparitions of the hands1 of heads1 of spectral forms4 ,we cannot declare this origin of the phenomena to be impossible2 and it is more simple than to assume that they are due to wandering spirits4 ,the conveying of objects over the heads of the experimenters in complete darkness1 without touching either chandelier or heads1 is scarcely comprehensible4 ,but do we understand any better how a spirit can have hands8 ,and if it did1 might it not amuse itself thus8 ,spectacles are taken from a face without the act being perceived2 a handkerchief is removed from the neck1 then snatched from between the teeth that are holding it2 a fan is transferred from one pocket to another4 ,do latent faculties of the human organism suffice to explain these intentional actions8 ,it is right for us neither to affirm nor to deny4 ,i have thus passed in review the whole series of phenomena to be explained1 at least all those within the limits of the plan of this work4 ,a first1 and obviously safe1 conclusion is that man has in himself a fluidic and psychic force whose nature is still unknown1 but which is capable of acting at a distance upon matter and of moving the same4 ,this force is the expression of our will1 of our desires2 ,i mean as it appears in the first ten cases of the preceding classifications4 ,for the other cases we must add the unconscious1 the unforeseen1 wills different from our conscious wills4 ,the force is at once physical and psychical4 ,if the medium puts forth a force of twelve or fourteen pounds to lift a table1 his weight undergoes a corresponding increase4 ,the hand which we see forming near him is able to grasp an object4 ,the hand really exists1 and is then reabsorbed4 ,might we not compare the force which brings it into existence with that building-force of nature1 which reproduces a claw for the lobster and a tail for the lizard8 ,the intervention of spirits is not all indispensable4#hd ,in mediumistic experiments things happen as if an invisible being were present1 able to transport the different objects through the air1 usually without striking against the heads of the persons who are sitting in various parts of the room in almost complete darkness2 capable also of acting upon a curtain like a strong wind1 pushing it far out1 able to fling this curtain over your head1 giving you a ,capuchin hood or coiffure1 and pressing strongly against your body1 as if with two nervous arms1 and touching you with a warm and living hand4 ,i have perceived these hands in the most unmistakble way4 ,the invisible being can condense itself sufficiently to become visible1 and ,i have seen it passing in the air4 ,to suppose that ,i1 as well as other experimenters1 was the dupe of an hallucination is an hypothesis which cannot be maintained for a single moment and would simply show that those who entertained the idea were far more likely to have an hallucination than we were1 or else that they entertained the most inexcusable prepossession and prejudice4 ,we were in the best possible condition for observing and analysizing any phenomena whatever and no sceptic will make us believe anything different on this point4 ,there is certainly an invisible prolongation of the organism of the medium4 ,this prolongation may be compared to the radiation which leaps from the loadstone to reach a bit of iron and put it into movement4 ,we can also compare it with the effluvium which emanates from electrified bodies4#he ,i also compared it some pages back to calorific waves4 ,when a medium makes a gesture of striking the table with his closed fist1 but stops short at a distance of from eight to twelve inches1 and when1 at every gesture1 a sonorous stroke of the fist echoes in the table1 we see in that the proof of a dynamic prolongation of the arm of the medium4 ,when she pretends to imitate on my cheek the rotation of the crank of a music-box1 and when this box keeps time with the imitated movement1 stops when the fingers stop1 plays the tune faster when the finger accelerates its circular tracings1 goes slower when it goes slower1 etc41 we have here again proof of dynamic action at a distance4 ,when an accordion plays of its own will1 when a bell begins to ring of itself1 when a lever indicates such and such a pressure1 there is a real force in action4 ,we must therefore admit1 first of all1 this prolongation of the muscular and nervous force of the subject4 ,i am keenly sensible of the fact that this is a bold proposition1 almost incredible1 most strange and extraordinary2 but after all the facts are there1 and whether the matter irks us or not is a small matter4 ,this prolongation is real1 and only extends to a certain distance from the medium1 a distance which can be measured1 and which varies according to circumstances4 ,but is it sufficient to explain all the observed phenomena8 ,we are forced to admit that this prolongation1 usually invisible1 and impalpable1 may become visible and palpable2 take1 especially1 the form of an articulated hand1 with flesh and muscles2 and reveal the exact form of a head or a body4 ,the fact is incomprehensible2 but after so many different observations1 it seems to me impossible to see in this curious phenomenon only trickery or hallucination4 ,logic lays its laws upon us and commands our respect4 ,a fluidic and condensable double has therefore the power of gliding momentarily out from the body of the medium 7for his presence is indispensable74 ,how can this double1 this fluidic body have the consistency of flesh and of muscles8 ,we do not understand it4 ,but it would neither be wise nor intelligent to admit only that which we can comprehend4 ,it must be remembered that1 for the greater part of the time1 we imagine we comprehend things because we can give an explanation of them2 that is all4 ,now this explanation rarely has any intrinsic value4 ,it is only a framework of words tacked together4 ,thus you fancy you understand why an apple falls from the top of the tree1 because you say that the earth attracts it4 ,this is pure simple-mindedness4 ,for in what does the attraction of the earth consist8 ,you know nothing about it2 but you are satisfied1 because the fact is a common one4 ,when the curtain is inflated as if pushed out by a hand1 and when you feel you are pinched in the shoulder by a hand at the moment the curtain touches you1 you have the impression that you are the dupe of an accomplice hidden behind the curtain4 ,there is some one there who is playing a practical joke on you4 ,you draw aside the curtain4 ,nothing6 ,since it is impossible for you to admit a trick of any kind1 because you1 and you alone1 hung that curtain between the two walls2 and since you know that there is no person behind it because you are close by it and have not lost it out of your sight2 and since the medium is seated near you with his1 or her1 hands and legs held1 you are forced to admit that a temporarily materialized being has touched you4 ,it is certain that these facts may be denied and that they are denied4 ,those who have not personally verified them are excusable4 ,it is not a question of ordinary events which take place every day and which everybody can observe4 ,it is evident1 as a general proposition1 that1 if we admit only what we have ourselves seen1 we shall not get very far4 ,we admit the existence of the ,philippine ,islands without having been there1 of ,charlemagne and of ,julius ,caesar without having seen them1 of total eclipses of the sun1 volcanic eruptions1 earthquakes1 etc41 as facts of which we have not ourselves been eye-witnesses4 ,the distance of a star1 the weight of a planet1 the composition of one of the heavenly bodies1 the most marvelous discoveries of astronomy1 do not excite scepticism1 except in the minds of wholly uncultivated persons1 because people in general appreciate the value of astronomic methods4 ,but undoubtedly1 in these psychical matters1 the phenomena are so extraordinary that one is excusable for not believing them4 ,nevertheless1 if anyone will give himself the trouble to reason he will positively be compelled to recognize that1 in following on this trail1 he is inevitably brought to a stand in face of the following dilemma3 either the experimenters have been the dupes of the mediums1 who have uniformly cheated1 or else these stupefying facts actually exist4 ,now since the first hypothesis is eliminated1 we are forced to admit the reality of the occurrences4 ,a fluidic body is formed at the expense of the medium1 emerges from his organism1 moves1 acts4 ,what is the intelligent force that directs this fluidic body and makes it act in such or such a way8 ,either it is the mind of the medium1 or it is another mind that makes use of this same fluid4 ,there is no escape from this conclusion4 ,i may remark that the meteorological conditions1 fine weather1 agreeable temperature1 cheerfulness1 high spirits1 favor the phenomena2 that the medium is never wholly out of touch with the manifestations1 and frequently knows what is going to take place2 that the cause escapes the mental grasp and is fugitive and capricious2 and that the apparitions fade away like a dream as silently as they are formed4 ,note also that1 in important manifestations1 the medium suffers1 complains1 groans1 loses an enormous amount of force1 exhibits an astonishing nervous energy1 experiences hyperaesthesia1 and at the apogee of the manifestation1 seems for an instant to be absolutely prostrated4 ,and1 in truth1 why should not his mind as well as his fluidic force be haled out of his body and be exhausted in external work8 ,the psychical force of a living human being is able1 then1 to create material phenomena--organs1 spectral figures4 ,but what is matter8 ,my readers know that matter does not exist as it is perceived by our senses4 ,these only give us incomplete impressions of an ,unknown ,reality4 ,analysis shows us that matter is only a form of energy4 ,in the work called ,a ,propos d',eusapia ,paladino1 which sums up his experiments with this medium1 ,m4 ,guillaume de ,fontenay ingeniously tries to explain the phenomena by the dynamic theory of matter4 ,it is probable that this explanation is one of those that make the nearest approach to the truth4 ,according to this theory1 the quality which seems to us characteristic of matter--solidity1 stability--is no more substantial than the light which strikes our eyes1 or the sound which enters our ears4 ,we see2 that is to say1 we receive upon the retina rays which affect it4 ,but around and on every side of the retina undulate countless other rays that leave no impression upon it4 ,it is the same with the other senses4 ,matter1 like light1 like heat1 like electricity1 seems to be the result of a species of movement4 ,movement of what8 ,of the primitive monistic substance1 quickened by manifold vibrations4 ,most assuredly1 matter is not that inert thing that we commonly suppose4 ,a comparison will aid in comprehending this4 ,take a carriage-wheel4 ,place it horizontally on a pivot4 ,while the wheel is motionless1 let a rubber ball fall between its spokes4 ,this ball will almost always pass through between the spokes4 ,now give a slight movement to the wheel4 ,the ball will be pretty often hit by the revolving spokes1 and will rebound4 ,if we increase the rotation1 the ball will now no longer pass through the wheel1 which will have become for it a wholly impenetrable disc4 ,we can try a similar experiment by arranging the wheel vertically and shooting arrows through it4 ,a bicycle-wheel will serve the purpose very well1 owing to the slenderness of its spokes4 ,when not in movement1 the arrows will pass through it nine times out of ten4 ,in movement1 it will produce in the arrows deviations more or less marked4 ,with increase in the speed1 it would be made impenetrable1 and all the arrows would be broken as if against the steel plating of an armored ship4 ,these comparisons allow us to understand how matter is really only a mode of motion1 only an expression of force1 a manifestation of energy4 ,it will disappear 7it must be borne in mind7 on analysis1 which ends by taking refuge in the intangible1 invisible1 imponderable1 and almost immaterial atom4 ,the atom itself which was regarded as the basis of matter fifty years ago1 has now disappeared1 or rather has been metamorphosed and reappears as a hypothetical1 impalpable vortex4 ,i will allow myself to repeat here what ,i have said a hundred times elsewhere3 ,the universe is a dynamism4 ,the difficulty we have in explaining to ourselves apparitions1 materializations1 when we try to apply to them the ordinary conception of matter1 is considerably lessened the moment we conceive that matter is only a mode of motion4 ,life itself1 from the most rudimentary cell up to the most complicated organism1 is a special kind of movement1 a movement determined and organized by a directing force4 ,according to this theory1 momentary apparitions would be less difficult to accept and to comprehend4 ,the vital force of the medium might externalize itself and produce in a point of space a vibratory system which should be the counterpart of itself1 in a more or less advanced degree of visibility and solidity4 ,these phenomena can with difficulty be reconciled with the old hypothesis of the independent and intrinsic existence of matter3 ,they better fit that of matter as a mode of motion--in a word1 simple movement1 giving the sensation of matter4 ,there is1 of course1 only one substance1 the primitive substance1 which antedates the original nebula--the womb from which all bodies in the universe have issued4 ,the substances which the chemists take to be simple bodies--oxygen1 hydrogen1 azote1 iron1 gold1 silver1 etc4--are mineral elements which have been gradually formed and differentiated1 just as1 later1 the vegetable and animal species were differentiated4 ,and not only is the substance of the world one1 but it also has the same origin as energy1 and these two forms are mutually interchangeable4 ,nothing is lost1 nothing is created1 everything is transformed4#hf ,the unique substance is immaterial and unknowable in its essence4 ,we see and touch only its condensations1 its aggregations1 its arrangements2 that is to say1 forms produced by movement4 ,matter1 force1 life1 thought1 are all one4 ,in reality1 there is only one principle in the universe1 and it is at once intelligence1 force1 and matter1 embracing all that is and all that possibly can be4 ,that which we call matter is only a form of motion4 ,at the basis of all is force1 dynamism1 and universal mind1 or spirit4 ,visible matter1 which stands to us at the present moment for the universe1 and which certain classic doctrines consider as the origin of all things--movement1 life1 thought--is only a word void of meaning4 ,the universe is a great organism controlled by a dynamism of the psychical order4 ,mind gleams through its every atom4 ,the environment or atmosphere is psychic4 ,there is mind in every thing1 not only in human and animal life1 but in plants1 in minerals1 in space4 ,it is not the body which produces life3 it is rather life which organizes the body4 ,does not the will to live increase the viability of enfeebled persons1 just as the giving up of the wish to live may abridge life and even extinguish it8 ,your heart beats1 night and day1 whatever be the position of your body4 ,it is a well-mounted spring4 ,who or what adjusted this elastic spring8 ,the embryo is formed in the womb of the mother1 in the egg of the bird4 ,there is neither heart nor brain4 ,at a certain moment the heart beats for the first time4 ,sublime moment6 ,it will beat in the child1 in the adolescent1 in the man1 in the woman1 at the rate of about #ajj1jjj pulsations a day1 of #cf1ejj1jjj a year1 of #a1hbe1jjj1jjj in fifty years4 ,this heart that has just been formed is going to beat a thousand millions of pulsations1 two thousand millions1 three thousand millions1 a number determined by its inherent force2 then it will stop and the body will fall into ruins4 ,who or what wound up this watch once for all8 ,dynamism1 the vital energy4 ,what sustains the earth in space8 ,dynamism1 the velocity of its movement4 ,what is it in the bullet that kills8 ,its velocity4 ,everywhere energy1 everywhere the invisible element4 ,it is this same dynamism that produces the phenomena we have been studying4 ,the question at present resolves itself into this3 ,does this dynamism belong wholly to the experimenters8 ,we have so little real knowledge of our mental nature that it is impossible for us to know what this nature is capable of producing1 even in certain states of unconsciousness--in fact especially in these4 ,the directing intelligence is not always the personal1 normal1 intelligence of the experimenters or of any one whatever among them4 ,we ask the entity what its name is1 and it gives us a name which is not ours2 it replies to our questions1 and usually claims to be a discarnate soul1 the spirit of a deceased person4 ,but if we drive the question home1 this entity finally steals away without having given us sufficient proofs of its identity4 ,there results from this the impression that the medium1 or principal subject of the experiment1 has responded for himself1 has reflected himself1 without knowing it4 ,moreover1 this entity1 this personality1 this spirit1 has his individual will1 his caprices1 his cantankerousness1 and sometimes acts in opposition to our own thoughts4 ,he tells us absurd1 foolish1 brutal1 insane things1 and amuses himself with fantastic combinations of letters1 real head-splitting puzzles4 ,it astonishes and stupefies us4 ,what is this being8 ,two inescapable hypotheses present themselves4 ,either it is we who produce these phenomena or it is spirits4 ,but mark this well3 these spirits are not necessarily the souls of the dead2 for other kinds of spiritual beings may exist1 and space may be full of them without our ever knowing anything about it1 except under unusual circumstances4 ,do we not find in the different ancient literatures1 demons1 angels1 gnomes1 goblins1 sprites1 spectres1 elementals1 etc8 ,perhaps these legends are not without some foundation in fact4 ,then we cannot but remark that1 in our mediumistic studies and experiments1 in order to succeed we always address an invisible being who is supposed to hear us4 ,if this is an illusion1 it dates from the very origin of ,spiritualism1 from the raps produced unconsciously by the ,fox sisters in their chambers at ,hydesville and at ,rochester in #ahdh4 ,but once more1 this personification may pertain to our own being or it may represent a mind external to ourselves4 ,in order to admit the first hypothesis we must admit at the same time that our mental nature is not simple1 that there are in us several psychic elements1 and that one at least of these elements may act unknown to ourselves1 make raps in a table1 move any piece of furniture1 lift a weight1 touch us with a hand that seems real1 play an instrument1 create a spectral figure1 read hidden words1 answer questions1 act with a personal will--and all this1 ,i repeat1 without our own knowledge4 ,this is tolerably complicated2 but it is not impossible4 ,that there are in us psychic elements1 obscure1 unconscious1 capable of acting outside of the sphere of our normal consciousness1 this is something we can notice every night in our dreams2 that is to say1 during a quarter1 or a third part of our life4 ,scarcely has sleep closed our eyes1 our ears1 all our senses1 than our thoughts begin to work just the same as during the day1 though without rational direction1 without logic1 under the most incoherent forms1 freed from our customary conceptions of space and time1 in a world entirely different from the normal world4 ,the physiologists and psychologists have for centuries been trying to determine the mechanism of the dream without having yet obtained any satisfactory solution of the problem4 ,but the proved fact that we see sometimes1 in our dreams1 occurrences which take place at a distance1 proves that we have in us unknown powers4 ,again1 it is not rare for each of us to experience1 sometimes 7all our faculties being on the alert71 the play of an interior power1 distinct from our dominant reason4 ,we are on the point of pronouncing words that are not a part of our habitual vocabulary1 and ideas suddenly traverse and arrest the course of our thoughts4 ,during the reading of a book which seemed interesting to us1 our soul spreads her wings and flies to other realms1 while our eyes continue in vain the mechanical act of reading4 ,we are discussing certain projects in our mind1 as if we were so many judges2 and then1 one would like to know in all simplicity1 whence comes this distraction8 ,in his tireless researches1 the great investigator of psychic phenomena1 ,myers1 to whom we owe synthetic studies upon the subliminal consciousness1 reached the conviction1 with ,ribot1 that the me is a co-ordination4 ,these supernormal phenomena 7writes this competent and learned inquirer7 are due not to the action of the spirits of deceased persons1 as ,wallace believes1 but1 for the most part1 to the action of an incarnate spirit1 either that of the subject himself or of some agent or other4#hg ,the word subliminal means what is beneath the threshold 7limen7 of the consciousness1--the sensations1 the thoughts1 the memories1 which remain at the bottom1 and seem to represent a kind of sleeping me4 ,i do not pretend to affirm 7adds the author7 that there always exists in us two me's correlative and parallel3 ,i denote rather by the subliminal me that part of the me which ordinarily remains latent1 and ,i admit that there may be not merely co-operation between these two quasi-independent currents of thoughts1 but also changes of level and alternations of personality4#hh ,medical observation 7,felida1 ,alma7 proves that there is in us a rudimentary supernormal faculty1 something which is probably useless to us1 but which indicates the existence1 beneath the level of our consciousness1 of a reserve of latent unsuspected faculties4#hi ,what is it that is active in us in telepathic phenomena8 ,we may recall the case of ,thomas ,garrison 7,society for ,psychical ,research1 ,,viii1 p4 #abe7 who1 while sitting with his wife at a religious service1 suddenly gets up in the middle of the sermon1 goes out of the church1 and1 as if impelled by an irresistible impulse1 walks twenty miles afoot to go to see his mother1 whom he finds dead on his arrival1 although he did not know that she was ill and although she was relatively young 7fifty-eight years74 ,i have a hundred observations similar to this in writing before me4 ,it is not our normal habitual nature that is in action in such a case as this4 ,there is probably in us1 more or less sentient1 a sub-conscious nature1 and it is this which seems to be at work in mediumistic experiences4 ,i am pretty much of the opinion ,myers expresses in the following paragraph3#ij ,spiritualists attribute the movement and the dictations at their seances to the action of disembodied intelligences4 ,but if a table execute movements without being touched1 there is no reason to attribute these movements to the intervention of my deceased grandfather1 rather than to my own proper intervention2 for if ,i do not see how ,i could have done it myself1 it is not clear to me how the effect could have been produced by the action of my grandfather4 ,as for dictations1 the most plausible explanation seems to me to be for us to admit that they do not come from the conscious me1 but from that profound and hidden region where fragmentary and incoherent dreams are elaborated4 ,this explanatory hypothesis is held1 with an important modification1 by a distinguished savant to whom also we owe long and patient researches into the obscure phenomena of normal psychology2 ,i mean ,dr4 ,geley1 who thus sums up his own conclusions3 ,a certain amount of the force1 intelligence1 and matter of the body may perform work outside of the organism1--act1 perceive1 organize1 and think without the collaboration of muscles1 organs1 senses and brain4 ,it is nothing less than the uplifted sub-conscious portion of our being4 ,it constitutes1 in truth1 an externalizable sub-conscious nature1 existing in the me with the normal conscious nature4#ia ,this sub-conscious nature does not seem to depend upon the organism4 ,it is probably anterior to it1 and will survive it4 ,it seems to be superior to it1 endowed with powers and acquirements very different from the powers and acquirements of the normal1 supernormal1 and transcendent consciousness4 ,assuredly1 there is in this view of the case more than one mystery still1 were it only the feat of performing a material act at a distance1 and that 7not less strange7 of apparently having nothing to do with that kind of an act4 ,the first rule of the scientific method is first to seek explanations in the known before having recourse to the unknown1 and we should never fail to comply with this rule4 ,but if this method of sailing does not bring us to port1 it is our duty to confess it4 ,i very much fear that that is what is the matter here4 ,we are not satisfied4 ,the explanation is not clear1 and is floating a little too much at random in the waves--and the wavering uncertainty--of the hypothesis4 ,at the point at which we have now arrived in this chapter of explanations we are precisely in the position of ,alexander ,aksakof when he wrote his great work1 ,animism and ,spiritualism1 in reply to the book of ,dr4 von ,hartmann on ,spiritualism4 ,hartman claimed to explain all of these psychical phenomena by the following hypothesis4 ,a nervous force producing1 outside of the limits of the human body1 mechanical and plastic effects4 ,duplicate hallucinations of this same nervous force1 and producing also physical and plastic effects4 ,a latent somnambulistic consciousness1 capable 7the subject being in his normal state7 of reading in the intellectual background of another man1 his present and his past1 and being able to divine the future4 ,akaskof tried to see if these hypotheses 7the last of which is a pretty bold one7 are sufficient to explain everything1 and he concludes that they are not4 ,that is also my opinion4 ,there is something else4 ,this something else1 this residue at the bottom of the crucible of experiment1 is a psychic element1 the nature of which remains still wholly hidden from us4 ,i think that all the readers of this book will share my conviction4 ,anthropomorphic hypotheses are far from explaining everything4 ,besides1 they are only hypotheses4 ,we must not hide from ourselves that these phenomena introduce us into another world1 into an unknown world1 one that is still to be explored in its whole extent4 ,as to beings different from ourselves1--what may their nature be8 ,of this we cannot form any idea4 ,souls of the dead8 ,this is very far from being demonstrated4 ,the innumerable observations which ,i have collected during more than forty years all prove to me the contrary4 ,no satisfactory identification has been made4#ib ,the communications obtained have always seemed to proceed from the mentality of the group1 or1 when they are heterogeneous1 from spirits of an incomprehensible nature4 ,the being evoked soon vanishes when one insists on pushing him to the wall and having the heart out of his mystery4 ,and then my greatest hope has been deceived1 that hope of my twentieth year1 when ,i would so gladly have received celestial light upon the doctrine of the plurality of worlds4 ,the spirits have taught us nothing4 ,nevertheless1 the agents seem sometimes to be independent4 ,crookes mentions having seen ,miss ,fox write automatically a communication for one of her sitters while another communication upon another subject was given to her for a second person by means of the alphabet and by raps1 and all the while she was chatting with a third person upon another subject totally different from the other two4 ,does this remarkable fact prove with certainty the action of a spirit other than that of the medium8 ,the same scientist mentions that1 during one of his seances1 a little rod crossed the table1 in full light1 and came and rapped his hand1 giving him a communication by following the letters of the alphabet spelled out by him4 ,the other end of the rod rested on the table at a certain distance from the hand of the medium ,home4 ,this case seems to me1 as well as to ,crookes1 more conclusively in favor of an exterior spirit1 so much the more since the experimenter having asked that the raps be given by the ,morse telegraphic code1 another message was thus rapped out4 ,i also remember that the learned chemist mentions that the word however hidden by his finger1 upon a newspaper1 and unknown even to himself1 was rapped out by a little rod4 ,wallace also mentions a name written upon a piece of paper fastened by him under the central leg of the experiment table2 ,joncieres1 a water-color correctly painted in complete darkness1 and a musical theme written with a pencil2 ,m4 ,castex ,degrange1 the announcement of a death1 and the place where a lost object might be found4 ,we have also seen sentences dictated either backwards or in such a way that every other letter only must be read to get the sense1 or else by strange combinations showing the action of an unknown intellect4 ,we have a thousand examples of this kind4 ,but if the mind of the medium may liberate itself and appear in an extra-normal state1 why might it not be this mind which acts8 ,do we not have several distinct personalities in our dreams8 ,if they could dynamically appear1 would they not act somewhat in this way8 ,we ought not to lose sight of the fact that these phenomena are of a mixed character4 ,they are at once physical and psychical1 material and intellectual1 are not always produced by our conscious will1 and are rather the subject of observation than experiment4 ,it is expedient to insist on this characteristic4 ,i one day1 7,january #ca1 #aija7 heard ,e4 ,duclaux1 member of the ,institute1 director of the ,pasteur ,institute1 express the following confused idea 7an idea held by so many physicists and so many chemists71 in a company which was yet quite competent to discuss these phenomena3 ,there is no scientific fact except a fact which can be reproduced at will4#ic ,what a singular reasoning6 ,the witnesses of the fall of a meteor bring us an aerolite which has just fallen from the sky and been dug up1 all hot1 from the hole it had made in the ground4 ,error6 illusion6 we ought to reply3 ,we shall only believe when you repeat the experiment4 ,they bring to us the body of a man killed by a stroke of lightning1 stripped of his clothes1 and shaved as if with a razor4 ,impossible6 we ought to reply2 pure invention of your deluded senses4 ,a woman sees appear before her1 her husband1 who has just died nearly two thousand miles away4 ,we are asked to believe that this is not so1 and will not be so until the apparition appears a second time4 ,this confusion between observation and experiment is a very strange thing as coming from cultivated men4 ,in psychical phenomena there is a voluntary1 capricious1 incoherent1 intellectual element4 ,i repeat1 we must learn to comprehend that everything cannot be explained and resign ourselves to waiting for an extension of our knowledge4 ,there is intelligence1 thought1 psychism1 mind1 in these phenomena4 ,there is still more in certain communications4 ,can the observations be confirmed and justified by assuming the mind of the living merely as the active agents8 ,yes1 perhaps1 but only by attributing to us unknown and supernormal faculties4 ,yet it must be remembered that this is only an hypothesis4 ,the ,spiritualistic hypothesis of communication with the souls of the dead remains also as a working hypothesis4 ,that souls survive the destruction of the body ,i have not the shadow of a doubt4 ,but that they manifest themselves by the processes employed in seances the experimental method has not yet given us absolute proof4 ,i add that this hypothesis is not at all likely4 ,if the souls of the dead are about us1 upon our planet1 the invisible population would increase at the rate of #ajj1jjj a day1 about #cf millions a year1 #c billions #fbj millions a century1 #cf billions in ten centuries1 etc41--unless we admit re-incarnations upon the earth itself4 ,how many times do apparitions1 or manifestations occur8 ,when illusions1 auto-suggestions1 hallucinations1 are eliminated1 what remains8 ,scarcely anything4 ,such an exceptional rarity as this pleads against the reality of apparitions4 ,we may suppose1 it is true1 that all human beings do not survive their death1 and that1 in general1 their psychical entity is so insignificant1 so wavering1 so ineffectual1 that it almost disappears in the ether1 in the common reservoir1 in the environment1 like the souls of animals4 ,but thinking beings who have the consciousness of their psychical existence do not lose their personality1 but continue the cycle of their evolution4 ,it would seem natural therefore to see them manifest themselves under certain circumstances4 ,persons condemned to death1 in consequence of judicial errors1 and executed1 should they not return to protest their innocence8 ,would it not be reasonable to suppose that persons put to death in such a way that violence was not suspected would return to accuse the assassins8 ,knowing the characters of ,robespierre1 of ,saint-,just1 of ,fouquier-,tinville1 ,i should like to have seen them revenge themselves a little on those who triumphed over them4 ,the victims of '#ic1 should they not have returned to disturb the sleep of the conquerors8 ,out of the twenty thousand citizens shot by fusillades during the time of the ,commune of ,paris ,i should like to have seen a dozen unceasingly harassing the ,hon4 ,m4 ,theirs1 who was really too puffed up and vain-glorious over his having first permitted the organization of that insurrection and then punished it4 ,why do not children whose death is lamented by their parents ever come to console them8 ,why do our dearest attachments seem to disappear forever8 ,and how about last wills and testaments stolen away1 and the last will of the dead ignored and their intentions purposely misinterpreted8 ,it is only the dead that do not return1 says an old proverb4 ,this aphorism is not of absolute application1 perhaps2 but apparitions are rare1 very rare1 and we do not understand their precise nature4 ,are they actual apparitions of the dead8 ,it is not yet demonstrated4 ,up to this day1 ,i have sought in vain for certain proof of personal identity through mediumistic communications4 ,and then one does not see why spirits1 if they exist around us1 should have need of mediums at all1 in order to manifest themselves4 ,they surely must form a part of nature1 of the universal nature which includes all things4 ,nevertheless1 it seems to me that the ,spiritualistic hypothesis should be preserved by the same right as those ,i have summed up in the immediately preceding pages1 for the discussions have not eliminated it4#id ,but why are there manifestations the result of the grouping of five or six persons around the table8 ,that this should be a sine qua non is not a very likely thing either4 ,it may be1 it is true1 that spirits exist around us1 and that it is normally impossible for them to make themselves visible1 audible1 or tangible1 not being able to reflect rays of light accessible to our retina1 or to produce sonorous waves1 or to effect touches4 ,therefore1 certain conditions present in mediums might be necessary for their manifestation4 ,nobody has the right to deny this4 ,but why so many puzzling incoherences and solecisms8 ,i have on a bookshelf before me several thousand communications dictated by spirits4 ,in the last analysis1 a dim obscurity remains hanging over the causes4 ,unknown psychic forces3 fugitive entities2 vanishing figures2 nothing solid to grasp1 even for the thought4 ,these things do not yield us the consistency of a definition of chemistry or of a theorem in geometry4 ,a molecule of hydrogen is a granite cliff in comparison4 ,the greater part of the phenomena observed1--noises1 movement of tables1 confusions1 disturbances1 raps1 replies to questions asked1--are really childish1 puerile1 vulgar1 often ridiculous1 and rather resemble the pranks of mischievous boys than serious bona-fide actions4 ,it is impossible not to notice this4 ,why should the souls of the dead amuse themselves in this way8 ,the supposition seems almost absurd4 ,we know that an ordinary man does not change his intellectual or moral value from day to day1 and1 if his spirit continues to exist after the death of his body1 we may expect to find it such as it was before4 ,but why so many oddities and incoherences8 ,however these things may be1 it behooves us not to have any preconceived idea1 and our bounden duty is to seek to prove the facts as they present themselves to us4 ,the unknown natural force brought into play for the lifting of a table is not the exclusive property of mediums4 ,in different degrees it forms a part of all organisms1 with different coefficients1 #ajj for organisms such as those of ,home1 or ,eusapia1 #hj for others1 #ej or #be for less favored individuals4 ,but ,i should hold it as certain that it never drops in any case to #j4 ,the best proof of this is that1 with patience1 perseverance1 and the exercise of the will1 almost all the groups of experimenters who have seriously occupied themselves with these researches have succeeded in obtaining1 not merely movements1 but also complete levitations1 raps1 and other phenomena4 ,the word medium scarcely has any longer a reason for being1 since the existence of an intermediary between the spirits and us is not yet proved4 ,but still the word may be preserved1 logic being the rarest of things in grammar and in everything else that is human4 ,the word electricity has had no connection for a long time with amber 7,greek3 elektron71 nor the word veneration with the genitive case of ,venus 7,veneris71 nor the 7at first astrological7 term disaster with aster 7star71 nor the word tragedy with goat-song 7,greek3 tragos ode74 ,but this does not hinder these words from being understood in their habitual sense4#ie ,as respects explanatory hypotheses1 ,i repeat1 the field is open to all4 ,it is to be noted that communications dictated are closely related to the condition of mind1 the ideas1 the opinions1 the beliefs1 the knowledge1 and even the literary culture1 of the experimenters4 ,they are like a reflection1 or counterpart1 of this ensemble of ideas and faculties4 ,compare the communications noted down in the house of ,victor ,hugo in ,jersey1 those of the ,phalansterian ,society of ,eugene ,nus1 those of astronomical meetings1 those of religious believers1--,catholics1 ,protestants1 etc4 ,if the hypothesis were not so bold as to seem unacceptable to us1 ,i should dare to think that the concentration of the thoughts of psychic experimenters creates a momentary intellectual being who replies to the questions asked and then vanishes4 ,reflection1 reflex action8 ,that is perhaps the true expression4 ,everybody has seen his image reflected in a mirror1 and nobody is astonished by it4 ,however1 analyse the thing4 ,the more you look at this optical being moving there behind the mirror1 the more remarkable the image appears to you4 ,now suppose looking-glasses had not been invented4 ,if we had not knowledge of those immense mirrors which reflect whole apartments and the visitors in them1 if we had never seen anything of the kind1 and if someone should tell us that images and reflections of living persons could thus manifest themselves and thus move1 we should not comprehend1 and should not believe it4 ,yes1 the ephemeral personification created in ,spiritualistic seances sometimes recalls the image that we see in a mirror1 which has nothing real in itself1 but which yet exists and reproduces the original4 ,the image fixed by the photograph is of the same kind1 only durable4 ,the potential image formed at the focus of the mirror of a telescope1 invisible in itself1 but which we can receive on a level mirror and study1 at the same time enlarging it by the microscope of the eye-piece1 perhaps approaches nearer to that which seems to be produced by the concentration of the psychical energy of a group of persons4 ,we create an imaginary being1 we speak to it1 and in its replies it almost always reflects the mentality of the experimenters4 ,and just as with the aid of mirrors we can concentrate light1 heat1 ether-waves1 electric waves1 in a focus1 so1 in the same way1 it seems sometimes as if the sitters added their psychic forces to those of the medium1 of the dynamogen1 condensing the waves1 and helping to produce a sort of fugitive being more or less material4 ,the sub-conscious nature1 the brain of the medium1 or his astral body1 the fluidic mind1 the unknown powers latent in sensitive organisms1 might we not consider these as the mirror which we have just imagined8 ,and might this mirror also not receive and reproduce impressions1 or influence1 from a soul at a distance8 ,but we must not generalize partial conclusions which we have already had much trouble in defining4 ,i do not say that spirits do not exist3 on the contrary1 ,i have reasons for admitting their existence4 ,even certain sensations expressed by the animals1--by dogs1 by cats1 by horses1--plead in favor of the unexpected and impressive presence of invisible beings or agents4 ,but1 as a faithful servant of the experimental method1 ,i think that we ought to exhaust all the simple1 natural hypotheses1 already known1 before having recourse to others4 ,unfortunately1 a large number of ,spiritualists prefer not to go to the bottom of things1 or analyse anything1 but to be the dupes of nervous impressions4 ,they resemble certain worthy women who tell their beads while believing that they have before them ,saint ,agnes or ,saint ,filomena4 ,there is no harm in that1 says some one4 ,but it is an illusion4 ,let us not be its dupes4 ,if the elementals1 the elementaires1 the spirits of the air1 the gnomes1 the spectres of which ,goethe speaks 7following ,paracelsus in this71 exist1 they are natural and not supernatural4 ,they are in nature1 for nature includes all things4 ,the supernatural does not exist4 ,it is then the duty of science to study this question as it studies all others4 ,as ,i have already remarked1 there are in these different phenomena several causes in action4 ,among these causes the ones that supposes the action to proceed from disembodied spirits1 the souls of the dead1 is a plausible hypothesis which ought not to be rejected without examination4 ,it seems sometimes to be the most logical2 but there are weighty objections to it1 and it is of the highest importance to be able to demonstrate it with certainty4 ,its partisans ought to be the first to approve the severity of the scientific methods which we apply in our studies of the phenomena1 for ,spiritualism will receive thereby so much the more solid a foundation and will have so much the more value4 ,the illusions and the artless faith of simple souls cannot give it any more solid and substantial basis4 ,the religion of the future will be the religion of science4 ,there is only one kind of truth4 ,sometimes authors are made to say that which they have never said4 ,for my part1 ,i have had frequent proof of this1 notably in the case of ,spiritualism4 ,i should not be surprised if certain interpretations of the pages which precede should come to light1 shaped into the opinion that ,i do not believe in the existence of spirits4 ,yet it will be impossible to find any affirmation of this kind in this work1 or in any other published by me4 ,what ,i say is that the physical phenomena studied in these pages do not prove the existence of spirits1 and may probably be explained without them1--that is1 by unknown forces emanating from the experimenters1 and especially from mediums4 ,but these phenomena indicate1 at the same time1 the existence of a psychical atmosphere or environment4 ,what is this environment8 ,it is indeed very difficult to get a true idea of it1 since we are not able to apprehend it by any of our senses4 ,it is also very difficult not to admit it in view of the multitude of psychical phenomena4 ,if we admit the survival of individual souls1 what becomes of these souls8 ,where are they8 ,it may be replied that the conditions of space and of time in which our material senses exist do not represent the real nature of space and time1 that our estimates and our measures are essentially relative1 that the soul1 the spirit1 the thinking entity1 does not occupy space4 ,still1 we may consider also that pure spirit does not exist1 that it is attached to a substance occupying a certain point4 ,we may also consider that all souls are not equal2 that there is a superior and inferior class2 that certain human beings are scarcely conscious of their existence2 that superior souls1 being self-conscious1 as well after death as during life1 preserve their entire individuality1 have the power of continuing their evolution1 of voyaging from world to world and adding to their moral and intellectual growth by successive reincarnations4 ,but the others1 the unconscious souls1 are they more advanced the day after death than the day before8 ,why should death bestow upon them any perfection8 ,why should it make a genius out of an imbecile8 ,how could it make a good man out of a bad one8 ,why should it turn an ignoramus into a wise man8 ,how could it make a shining light out of an intellectual nobody8 ,these unconscious souls1--that is to say1 the multitude1--do they not disappear at death into the surrounding ether1 and do they not constitute a kind of psychic atmosphere1 in which a subtle analysis can discover spiritual as well as material elements8 ,if the psychic force performs an action in the existing order of things1 it is as worthy of consideration as the different forms of energy in operation in the ether4 ,without1 then1 admitting the existence of spirits to be demonstrated by the phenomena1 we feel that these do not all belong to a simply material order1--physiological1 organic1 cerebral1--but that there is something else involved1 something else inexplicable in the actual state of our knowledge4 ,but a something else of the psychical order4 ,perhaps we shall be able to go a little farther1 some day1 in our independent impartial researches1 guided by the experimental scientific method1 denying nothing in advance1 but admitting whatever is proved by sufficient observation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to sum up3 ,in the actual state of our knowledge it is impossible to give a complete1 total1 absolute1 final explanation of the observed phenomena4 ,the ,spiritualistic hypothesis ought not to be dismissed4 ,still1 we may admit the survival of the soul without necessarily admitting a physical communication between the dead and the living4 ,but then all the observed facts leading up to the affirmation of this communication are worthy of the most serious attention of the philosopher4 ,one of the chief difficulties in the way of these communications seems to be the condition itself of the soul freed from bodily senses4 ,it would have other ways of perceiving4 ,it would not see1 hear1 touch4 ,how then can it enter into relation with our senses8 ,there is a whole problem in that which is not to be neglected in the study of any psychical manifestations whatever4 ,we take our ideas to be realities4 ,this is a mistake4 ,for example1 to our senses the air is not a solid body2 we pass through it without effort1 while we cannot pass through an iron door4 ,the converse is true of electricity3 it passes through iron1 and finds the air to be a solid impassible body4 ,to the electrician1 a wire is a canal leading electricity across the solid rock of the air4 ,glass is opaque to electricity and transparent to magnetism4 ,the flesh is transparent to the ,x-rays1 while glass is opaque1 etc4 ,we feel the need of explaining everything1 and we are driven to admit only the phenomena of which we have had an explanation2 but that does not prove that our explanations are valid4 ,thus for example1 if some one had affirmed the possibility of instantaneous communication between ,paris and ,london1 before the invention of the telegraph1 people would have regarded the assertion as utopian4 ,later it would not have been admitted1 except on condition of the existence of a wire between the two stations1 and any communication without the medium of an electric wire would have been declared impossible4 ,now that we have wireless telegraphy we can apply this discovery to the explanation of the phenomena of telepathy4 ,but it is not yet proved that this explanation is the true one4 ,why do we wish to explain these phenomena at all hazards8 ,because we naively imagine that we are able to do so in the present state of our knowledge4 ,the physiologists who claim to see daylight in this matter are like ,ptolemy persisting in accounting for the movements of the heavenly bodies by holding to the idea of the immobility of the earth2 or ,galileo explaining the attraction of amber by the rarefaction of the surrounding air2 or ,lavoisier seeking 7with the common people7 the origin of aerolites in thunder storms or denying their existence2 or ,galvani1 who saw in his frogs a special organic electricity4 ,i put my physiologists in good company1 surely1 and they have nothing of which to complain4 ,but who does not feel that this natural propensity to explain everything is not justified1 that science progresses from age to age1 that what is not known to-day will be known later1 and that we ought sometimes to know how to wait8 ,the phenomena of which we are speaking are manifestations of the universal dynamism1 with which our five senses put us very imperfectly in relation4 ,we live in the midst of an unexplored world1 in which the psychical forces play a role still very insufficiently investigated4 ,these forces are of a class superior to the forces usually analyzed in mechanics1 in physics1 in chemistry3 they are of the psychical order1 have in them something vital and a kind of mentality4 ,they confirm what we know from other sources1--that the purely mechanical explanation of nature is insufficient and that there is in the universe something else than so-called matter4 ,it is not matter that rules the world3 it is a dynamic and psychic element4 ,what light will the study of these still unexplained forces shed upon the origin of the soul and upon the conditions of its survival8 ,that is something that the future has to teach us4 ,the truth that the soul is a spiritual entity distinct from the body is proved by other arguments4 ,these arguments are not made for the purpose of injuring this doctrine2 but while confirming it and while putting in clear light the application of psychic forces1 they still do not solve the great problem by the material proofs that we should like to have4 ,however1 if the study of these phenomena has not yet yielded all that is claimed for it1 nor all that it will in the future yield1 we still cannot help recognizing that it has considerably enlarged the sphere of psychology1 and that the knowledge of the nature of the soul and of its faculties has been once for all expanded under grander and deeper skies and wider horizons4 ,there is in nature1 especially in the domain of life1 in the manifestation of instinct in vegetables and animals1 in the general soul of things1 in humanity1 in the cosmic universe1 a psychic element which appears more and more in modern studies1 especially in researches in telepathy1 and in the observation of the unexplained phenomena which we have been studying in this book4 ,this element1 this principle1 is still unknown to contemporary science4 ,but1 as in so many other cases1 it was divined by the ancients4 ,besides the four elements fire1 water1 air and earth1 the ancients admitted a fifth1 belonging to the material order1 which they named animus1 the soul of the world1 the animating principle1 ether4 ,aristotle 7writes ,cicero1 ,tuscul4 ,quaest4 ,i4 #bb71 after having mentioned the four kinds of material elements1 believes that we ought to admit a fifth kind from which the soul proceeds2 for1 since the soul and the intellectual faculties cannot reside in any of the material elements1 we must admit a fifth kind1 which had not yet received a name and which he styles entelechy2 that is to say1 eternal and continued movement4 ,the four material elements of the ancients have been dissected by modern analysis4 ,the fifth is perhaps more fundamental4 ,citing the philosopher ,zeno1 the same orator adds that this wise man did not admit this fifth principle1 which might be compared to fire4 ,but1 from all the evidence1 fire and thought are two distinct things4 ,virgil has written in the ,a,eneid 7,book ,,vi7 these admirable verses which are known to everybody3 ,principio coelum ac terras camposque liquentes ,lucentemque globum ,lunae ,titaniaque astra ,spiritus intus alit1 totamque infusa per artus ,,mens ,,agitat ,,molem1 et magno se corpore miscet4 ,martianus ,capella1 like all the authors of the first centuries of ,christianity1 mentions this directive force1 also calling it the fifth element1 and furthermore describes it under the name ether4 ,a ,roman emperor1 well known to the ,parisians1 since it was in their city 7in the palace built by his grandfather near the present ,thermes1 or old ,roman baths7 that he was proclaimed emperor in the year #cfj 7,i mean ,julian1 called the ,apostate71 celebrates this fifth principle in his discourse in honor of the ,the ,sun1 the ,monarch1#if styling it sometimes the solar principle1 sometimes the soul of the world1 or intellectual principle1 sometimes ether1 or the soul of the physical world4 ,this psychical element is not confounded by the philosophers with ,god and ,providence4 ,in their eyes1 it is something which forms part of nature4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one more word before closing4 ,human nature is endowed with faculties as yet little explored1 that the observations made with mediums1 or dynamogens1 bring to light--such as human magnetism1 hypnotism1 telepathy1 clairvoyance1 and premonition4 ,these unknown psychic forces are worthy of being embraced within the scope of scientific analysis4 ,at present they have been almost as little studied as in the time of ,ptolemy1 and have not yet found their ,kepler1 and their ,newton1 yet fairly obtrude themselves upon our notice1 and cry out to be examined4 ,many another unknown force will be revealed4 ,the earth and the planets were circling about the sun in their harmonious orbits while astronomical theories saw in them only a complicated whirl of seventy-nine crystalline shells4 ,magnetism was encircling the earth with its currents long before the invention of the mariner's compass which reveals them to us4 ,the waves of wireless telegraphy existed long before they were arrested in their flight4 ,the sea was moaning along its shores ages before the ear of any being had come to hear it4 ,the stars were darting their rays through the ether before any human eye had been raised to them4 ,the observations set forth in this work prove that the conscious will1 or desire1 on the one hand1 and the subliminal consciousness on the other hand1 exert an influence1 or perform work1 beyond the limits of our body4 ,the nature of the human soul is still a deep mystery to science and to philosophy4 ,it seems rather remarkable that the conclusions drawn from my labors here are the same as those of my work ,the ,unknown1 which were founded upon the examination of the phenomena of telepathy1 apparitions of the dying1 communications at a distance1 premonitory dreams1 etc4 ,indeed1 the following deductions were drawn at the close of that volume3 #a4 ,the soul exists as a real entity independent of the body4 #b4 ,it is endowed with faculties still unknown to science4 #c4 ,it is able to act at a distance1 without the intervention of the senses4 ,the conclusions of the present work concord with those of the former1 and yet the subjects studied in this are entirely different from the subject-matter of that4 ,i may sum up the whole matter with the single statement that there exists in nature1 in myriad activity1 a psychic element the essential nature of which is still hidden from us4 ,i shall be happy for my part1 if ,i have helped to establish by these two works the above important principle1 exclusively based upon the scientific verification of certain phenomena studied by the experimental method4 ,,index ,academy of ,sciences1 its scepticism xvi1 #ai1 investigates ,angelica ,cottin1 #bbd et seq4 ,acoustic ,mediumistic ,phenomena1--,cases of1 #ga1 #gc1 #hi1 #if1 #aab1 #aba1 #add1 #afc1 #afg1 #ahc1 #bgd1 #bib1 #bii1 #cfi1 #cgc1 #cgd1 #cgh1 #chj4 ,aksakof1 ,alexander1 #fc1 #aea1 #agh2 cited1 #ee1 #ff1 #ahh1 #dce2 his account of alleged spirit communication regarding satellites of ,uranus1 #ej-eb4 ,albert the ,great1 xxi4 ,alcofribaz ,nazier1 anagram signature of ,rabelais1 q4v4 ,alterations in weight of bodies in mediumistic phenomena 7including variations in scales without contact71 #hh1 #aec1 #agc1 #aii1 #ced1 #dac1 #dad4 ,animism vs4 ,spiritism1 #ahg et seq4 ,antoniadi1 ,m41 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #aji-aaa4 ,apparitions1 #dai4 ,see also1 ,materializations4 ,apports 7objects brought in from outside the seance room71 #ii1 #aab1 #ahf1 #ahg1 #bib1 #cgc1 #cgh1 #chj4 ,arago1 #agh2 investigates ,angelica ,cottin1 #bbc2 alleged spirit communication from1 #chi4 ,aristotle1 quoted1 #dej4 ,armelin ,g41 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #ajc-aji4 ,ascensi ,m41 #adc4 ,astral body1 #aff4 ,astronomical discoveries1 xvi4 ,automatic writing and drawing1 theories of1 #bf-cj1 #eh et seq42--methods of1 #bh2 by ,victorien ,sardou1 #be1 #df2--;by ,camille ,flammarion1 #bf1 #dg-di2 reflect the thoughts of the experimenter1 #di et seq42 by children1 #bgd2 other cases1 #chd-chg4 ,azam1 ,dr41 #ada2 ---- ,felida's case1 #ei4 ,babinet1 ,m41 #bff2 report on ,angelica ,cottin1 #bbd-bbg2 de ,gasparin's criticisms of1 #bfj-bfe4 ,bacle1 ,louis 7,louis ,elbe71 #cfh4 ,baschet1 ,rene1 #cd1 #ih1 #aja1 #ajc1 #abh2 arms partial materialization1 #aca4 ,basilewska1 ,m4 and ,mme41 #ih1 #aja4 ,bianchi1 ,m41 #adg4 ,binet1 ,alfred1 #ahh4 ,bisschofsheim1 ,mme41 #aja4 ,blech family1 hold sittings with ,e4 ,paladino1 #fc-hd1 #agc4 ,bloch1 ,andre1 #hd1 #ic1 #aja4 ,bois1 ,jules1 #hd1 #ajc1 #abh1 #bjc4 ,boisseaux1 ,mme41 #agc4 ,boissier1 ,edmond1 #bg4 ,bourrer1 ,m41 #ada4 ,boutigny1 ,m41 #aad4 ,bredif1 ,c41 medium1 #aif4 ,brisson1 ,adolphe1 #ie1 #ih1 #aja1 #ajc1 #aad1 #abh1 #bjj1 #bjc2 report on ,e4 ,paladino4 ,brisson1 ,mme4 ,a41 #ic1 #ie1 #aja1 #ajc1 #aad4 ,buffern1 ,prof41 #aea4 ,buguet1 medium1 #aif4 ,burot1 #ada4 ,cactoni1 ,m4 and ,mme41 #cfh4 ,calonne1 xvi4 ,castex-,degrange1 ,m41 #dcg2 reports of mediumistic phenomena1 #cha-cic4 ,charcot1 ,dr41 #d4 ,chardon1 ,dr4 ,beaumont1 notes on ,angelica ,cottin1 #bbc4 ,chevigny1 ,countess de1 #aja4 ,chevreul1 ,m41 #bff4 ,chiaia1 ,prof4 ,e41 first obtains impressions in clay through ,paladino1 #gh2 challenges ,lombroso to investigate ,paladino1 #acf4 ,cicero1 quoted1 #dej4 ,claretie1 ,jules1 #de1 #ih2 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #ih-aja4 ,coleman1 ,benjamin1 #ccd4 ,cook1 ,florence1 medium 7afterwards ,mrs4 ,elgie ,corner71 remarkable case of materialization1 #ccd2 investigated by ,crookes1 #cce-cdg4 ,cottin1 ,angelica1 the ,electric ,girl1 #bai2 ,dr4 ,tanchou's report of1 #bbj-bbb2 notes of ,m4 ,hebert1 #bbb2 ,dr4 ,beaumont ,chardon1 #bbc2 ,academy of ,sciences investigates1 #bbd-bbg4 ,coues1 ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,elliott2 report on mediumistic phenomena1 #dja-dje4 ,crookes1 ,sir ,william1 #fe1 #aba1 #aif1 #big1 #cje1 #ceh2 his experiments in psychical research1 #cjf-cdg2 his mechanical contrivances for testing such phenomena1 #cjh1 #cah1 #cai1 #cbb1 #cbc2 his views in #ahih1 #cdg-cea2 his theory regarding such phenomena1 #djh4 ,crystal vision1 #bib4 ,cumberlandism1 #aga4 ,curie1 ,pierre1 #cfj4 ,daguerre1 an anecdote of1 #aa4 ,dariex1 ,dr41 #fc1 #agc1 #bah1 #cfh2 cited1 #c1 #baj2 his opinion of fraud in mediums1 #bjc-bje4 ,d',arsouval1 ,prof41 #cfj4 ,darkness as a factor in psychical phenomena1 #aj-ac1 #fh1 #hi4 ,davenport ,brothers1 the1 xi1 xiii1 xiv1 xxi4 ,delanee1 ,g41 #hd1 #ih1 #aja1 #cge4 ,delfour1 ,abbe1 cited1 #cih4 ,delgaiz1 ,raphael1 ,husband of ,eusapia ,paladino1 #fg4 ,desbeaux1 ,emilie1 #agc4 ,dialectical ,society of ,london1 its organization1 #bhi2 its experiments in psychical research1 #bia-cjb2 ,huxley declines to join1 #bij2 ,flammarion's letter to1 #cjb-cjd4 ,divination of ,numbers1 #bdj1 #bdi et seq4 ,double ,personality1 an hypothesis for spiritistic communication1 #eh et seq42 ,dr4 ,pierre ,janet's studies in1 #fj4 ,drayson1 ,gen4 ,a4 ,w41 on solution of scientific problems by ,spirits1 #ej et seq42 errors of1 #ec1 #ee4 ,duclaux1 ,e41 #dch4 ,du ,prel1 ,dr4 ,charles1 #aea4 ,dusart1 ,dr41 #bhi4 ,dynamic theory of matter1 #dbg4 ,eglington1 medium1 #aif4 ,ephrussi1 ,m41 #aja4 ,ermacora1 ,dr41 #aea4 ,faith not a necessity in psychic phenomena1 #bgi4 ,faraday1 #ahh1 #bei1 #bfb1 #bff4 ,felida1 case of double personality1 #ei4 ,finzi1 ,m41 #aea4 ,flammarion1 ,camille1 some scientific researches of1 vi2 early writings on ,unknown ,natural ,forces1 xi2 experiments with ,eusapia ,paladino1 #e-bc1 #fc-acd2 acquaintance with ,allan ,kardec1 #bd et seq42 automatic writing by1 #bf2 delivers funeral oration of ,kardec1 #cj2 experiments with ,mme4 ,huet1 #cf et seq42 letter to ,london ,dialectical ,society1 #cjb-cjd2 his ,general ,inquiry concerning unexplained phenomena1 #cgf2 some specimen cases1 #cgg-dje4 ,fluidic action1 theories of1 #aff1 #agi1 #bec1 #beh1 #bhb1 #dbb1 #dbg4 ,fluidic projection of limbs1 etc4 ,see ,materializations4 ,fontenay1 ,guillaume de1 #c1 #ba1 #hd1 #ie1 #cfh2 participates in ,paladino sittings1 #fi-hc1 #abc2 his dynamic theory of matter1 #dbg-dca4 ,foucault1 ,m41 #bfd4 ,fourth dimension1 #dbj4 ,fourton1 ,mme41 #ic1 #ie1 #ih1 #aja1 #ajc1 #aad1 #abh1 #bjb4 ,fox sisters1 case of the1 #cd4 ,fox1 ,miss1 automatic communication by1 #dcg4 ,fraud in mediums1 #aid1 et seq4 ,frauenhofer1 cited1 #ai4 ,fremy1 ,m41 cited1 xix4 ,fresnel1 #aij4 ,fulton's invention of steamboat1 xvi4 ,gagneur1 ,mme41 #ih1 #aja4 ,galileo1 alleged spiritistic communication from1 #bf1 #dg-di2 his erroneous theory for frictional attraction1 #ahh1 #ahi4 ,galvani's experiments in electricity1 xvi4 ,gasparin1 ,count ,agenor de1 #cje2 experiments with moving tables1 #bbi-bec2 his hypotheses1 #bec-beh1 #djh2 his rejoinder to ,babinet's negations1 #beh-bfe2 ,prof4 ,thury's comments on1 #bfh1 #bgc1 #bgf1 #bgi1 #bhb et seq4 ,geley1 ,dr41 his hypothesis of subliminal consciousness1 #dcd4 ,gerosa1 ,prof41 #aea4 ,gigli1 ,m41 #adc4 ,girardin1 ,mme4 de1 #fa4 ,gramont1 ,count de1 #agc4 ,grasset1 ,dr41 his opinion on pyschical phenomena1 #dji4 ,grove1 quoted1 xix4 ,guerronnan1 ,a41 #agc4 ,gully1 ,dr41 #ccd4 ,hallucination1 collective1 does not satisfactorily account for phenomena1 #acj1 #agi4 ,harrison1 ,william1 #ccd4 ,hartman1 ,dr4 von1 #dce4 ,hebert1 ,m41 note on ,angelica ,cottin1 #cbb4 ,herschel1 ,william1 #ej4 ,herschel1 ,sir ,john1 cites1 #ej4 ,hodgson1 ,dr4 ,richard1 #cje4 ,home1 ,daniel ,dunglas1 #aie1 #dcg2 experiments with an accordion1 #aba2 ,crooke's investigation of1 #cjg-cbb2 #cbd-ccd2 declares ,miss ,cook an impostor1 #cdc4 ,huet1 ,mme41 mediumistic experiments with1 #cf et seq4 ,hugo1 ,leopoldine1 alleged spirit communication of1 #bab1 et seq4 ,hugo1 ,victor1 #fa1 #bab1 #ddc4 ,husson1 ,m41 #bfc4 ,huxley1 ,t4 ,h41 his letter declining to join in psychical research1 #bij4 ,hyslop1 ,prof4 ,james ,h41 #cje2 his opinion on phenomena1 #dji4 ,impressions in plastic substances1 #dbj2 photographs of1 #gf1 #ach2 cases of1 #bb1 #gd-gh1 #aeh1 #afc1 #ahd4 ,institute1 its disregard of papers on table-movements1 #bfc4 ,invisible hands1 action of1 #dah4 ,see also1 ,acoustic phenomena1 and ,materializations 7tactile74 ,intelligence manifested in mediumistic phenomena1 #dba4 ,james1 ,prof4 ,william1 #cje4 ,janet1 ,dr4 ,pierre1 #fj1 #ahh4 ,joncieres1 ,victorin1 #dcg2 reports mediumistic phenomena1 #cgh-cha4 ,joubert1 ,m41 #cg1 #db4 ,jouffroy's invention of the steamboat1 xvi4 ,julian the ,apostate1 cited1 #dea4 ,jupiter1 ,sardou's drawings of landscapes in1 #be1 #de4 ,kardec1 ,allan1 his society for spiritualistic study1 #bd2 death of1 #cj2 his funeral oration by ,flammarion1 #cj-cb4 ,kepler1 #ee4 ,king1 ,john1 alleged spirit control of ,e4 ,paladino1 #ga1 #gh1 #ada1 #afi2 a psychic double of ,paladino1 #aff4 ,king1 ,katie1 a materialized spirit1 #ada2 appears to ,florence ,cook and others1 #ccd2 investigated by ,crookes and other scientist1 #cce-cdf2 ,home's opinion of her1 #cdc4 ,labadye1 ,countess de1 #ajc4 ,lacroix1 medium1 #aif4 ,laplace1 #ea4 ,lateau1 ,louise1 stigmata of1 #bj4 ,laurent1 ,m41 #aja4 ,lebel1 ,m41 #bah4 ,le ,bocain1 ,m41 #aad2 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #aaf-aah4 ,le ,bou1 ,dr4 ,gustave1 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #aja-ajc4 ,lemerle1 ,m41 #cfh4 ,le,verrier1 #bac4 ,leymarie1 ,paul1 #bah4 ,levitations1 #e-h1 #cc1 #gi1 #hj1 #aah1 #dad-daf2 photographs of1 #f1 #hc1 #aef1 #cfh2 denied by one sitter1 #acb2 the flour test of #a4 without contact1 #bdg1 #bdh2 cases of1 #f1 #ag1 #gj1 #gc1 #gd1 #hc1 #hh1 #ia1 #ic1 #id1 #if1 #ii1 #ajd1 #aje1 #aaa1 #aac1 #aad1 #add-adg1 #aed-aef1 #afj1 #afd1 #afg1 #agd1 #ahj1 #ahc-hg1 #bjd1 #bbi1 #bcb1 #bcf1 #bch1 #bci1 #bdj-bdh1 #bib1 #ced1 #ceg1 #cfd1 #cfh-cgj1 #cgc1 #cgi1 #chj1 #djc4 ,levy1 ,arthur1 #bjj2 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #hf-ib4 ,levy1 ,mme4 ,a41 #bjj4 ,levy1 ,j4 ,h41 #bhi4 ,lewes1 ,george ,henry1 #bij4 ,lifting of weights1 etc41 #dac4 ,see also1 ,levitation4 ,lamoncelli1 ,m41 #adg4 ,lodge1 ,sir ,oliver1 #fc1 #fe1 #cje2 his opinion of ,paladino's phenomena1 #afg4 ,lomatsch1 ,j41 #cgb4 ,lombroso1 ,cesare1 #fc1 #aea1 #agh1 #ahh2 ,prof4 ,chiaia invites examination of ,paladino1 #acf2 investigates ,paladino1 #adc-aej2 his theories regarding the phenomena1 #aej1 #dji4 ,louis ,,xiv1 a fable of1 #dc4 ,lubbock1 ,sir ,john1 #bhi4 ,luminous mediumistic phenomena1 cases of1 #gd1 #ig1 #aje1 #ajh1 #abe1 #adh1 #ahf1 #aih1 #cga4 ,luxmore1 ,mr41 #ccd1 #cce4 ,luys1 ,dr41 #d4 ,mairet1 ,m41 #ih4 ,mangin1 ,marcel1 #afb1 #agc1 #bah2 his opinion on psychical phenomena1 #daj4 ,marcianus ,capella1 cited1 #dea4 ,marks produced at a distance1 #afg4 ,mars1 discovery of satellites of1 #ee4 ,martelet1 ,adele1 relates an incident of ,alfred de ,musset1 #cih4 ,materializations1 theory of fluidic projection of limbs1 etc41 #aba et seq41 #aff1 #aih1 #bjh4 ,cases of3 7a7 ,,tactile3--of hands or arms1 #ga1 #gb1 #hi1 #ig1 #ih1 #aja1 #ajf-ajh1 #aaa1 #aac1 #aaf-aah1 #abd1 #adf1 #adh1 #afj1 #afg1 #agd1 #aha1 #ahf1 #bib1 #cga1 #cgd2 of heads1 #gc1 #hi1 #aae1 #afa1 #agg1 #ahg1 #cga4 7b7 ,,visible3--of hands and arms1 #aj1 #gc1 #aaf1 #aei1 #age1 #ahe1 #bib2 of heads and busts1 #ba1 #gb1 #aae1 #abh1 #agg1 #ahe1 #cff2 of complete figure1 ,katie ,king1 #ccd-cdf4 ,mathieu1 ,georges1 #ic1 #aja1 #bjj2 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #aaa-aad4 ,p4 ,f41 #cg4 ,matter passing through matter1 see ,solid4 ,maxwell1 ,dr4 ,joseph1 #fc1 #agb1 #agc4 ,extracts from his investigations1 #cfj-cfh2 his opinions1 #daj4 ,mediums1 cheating of professional1 #c1 #bjg2 their conscious and unconscious deception1 #d2 use of the word1 #e2 their will and health as factors1 #ad2 pecuniary temptations of1 #aeg4 ,see also1 ,bredif1 ,florence ,cook1 ,angelica ,cottin1 ,davenport brothers1 ,eglington1 ,fox sisters1 ,daniel ,d4 ,home1 ,mme4 ,huet1 ,allan ,kardee1 ,a4 ,politi1 ,e4 ,paladino1 ,anna ,rothe1 ,sambor1 ,slade1 ,mrs4 ,williams1 ,mme4 ,x4 ,mediumistic ,phenomena1 a chapter in physics1 #b2 effects of antipathy of by slanders1 #ae2 genuineness of1 #ba1 #ahd2 reflections upon those of ,paladino1 #aah et seq42 experiments with an accordion1 #aba et seq42 confirmatory of magnetism rather than hypnotism1 #aff2 always of psycho-physical nature1 #aff2 hypothesis of fluidic double 7astral body71 #aff1 #agi2 fraud in1 #aid et seq42 agency is in the person1 not in the object1 #bed2 mechanical tests of1 by ,prof4 ,thury1 #bfi et seq42 by ,sir ,william ,crookes1 #cjf et seq42 unconscious muscular action considered1 #bhj2 no indications of electricity in1 #bha2 experiments of ,london ,dialectical ,society1 #bia-cjc2 ,sir ,william ,crookes' experiments1 #cjf-cdg2 his opinions of1 #cdg-cea2 investigations of ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 #cec-cei2 of ,dr4 ,j4 ,maxwell1 #cei-cfh2 of other scientists1 #cfh-cge2 popular ignorance of1 #djf et seq42 recapitulation of scientist's theories regarding1 #djh2 recapitulation of phenomena with ,flammarion's comments1 #daa-dbc et seq42 subliminal consciousness as a factor in1 #dcc et seq42 ,dr4 von ,hartmann's hypothesis1 #dce2 ,aksakof's reply1 #dce2 of mixed character1 #dch4 ,see also1 ,acoustic phenomena1 ,alteration in weight1 ,apparitions1 ,apports1 ,automatic writing1 ,fluidic ,action1 ,impressions1 ,invisible hands1 ,levitations1 ,luminous phenomena1 ,materializations1 ,movement of objects1 ,ordeals1 ,predictions1 ,raps1 ,solid passing through solid1 ,spirit communications1 ,spiritualism1 ,thermal radiations1 ,typtology1 ,touchings1 ,writing produced at a distance4 ,mery1 ,gaston1 #hd1 #ie1 #cge4 ,miller1 ,american medium1 #cge4 ,milesi1 ,prof41 #cfh4 ,mind1 action of1 upon matter1 #bhc et seq41 #cfe4 ,moliere1 xiv41 quoted1 #bfd1 #bfe4 ,montaigne1 #a4 ,morgan1 ,prof41 #big-cei2 accepts ,spiritistic theory1 #dji4 ,morselli1 ,prof4 ,enrico1 #ahh2 investigates ,e4 ,paladino1 #agg-aib4 ,mouchez1 ,admiral1 #aig1 #bac4 ,mouzay1 ,countess de1 #baa4 ,movements of natural objects1 in mediumistic phenomena1 #daa-daf2 cases of1 #i1 #ag1 #gj-gd1 #hh1 #ij1 #ia1 #ic1 #ie-ii1 #aje1 #ajf1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aaa-aad1 #abe1 #abf1 #add1 #adg1 #adh1 #aef1 #aeg1 #afc1 #afe1 #afg1 #age1 #agf1 #aha-ahc1 #ahe1 #ahg1 #bcd1 #bcg1 #bga1 #bgd1 #bge1 #bic1 #bie1 #big1 #bii-cja1 #cec1 #ced1 #ceh1 #cei1 #cfi1 #cgj1 #cga1 #cgc1 #cgh1 #chb1 #chc1 #cih1 #cii1 #djc4 ,musset1 ,alfred de1 #cih4 ,myers1 ,f4 ,w4 ,h41 #fc1 #afb1 #cje1 #cej2 on ,subliminal ,consciousness1 #dcc1 #dcd4 ,newton1 cited1 #ai4 ,nus1 ,eugene1 #fa1 #ddc4 ,ochorowicz1 ,dr4 ,julien1 #fc1 #afb1 #ahh2 his studies of ,eusapia ,paladino1 #gf-gh2 his conclusions1 #aff1 #dji2 condemns the rejection of ,paladino by ,english scientists1 #afh2 his explanation of her substitution of hands1 #agj4 ,ordeals1 #bib4 ,ostwald1 ,dr41 arranges seance with ,e4 ,paladino1 #ae4 ,paladino1 ,eusapia 7,mme4 ,raphael ,delgaiz71 #b1 #c2 her exhaustion after phenomena1 #g2 her fraud 7conscious and unconscious71 #aj2 influence of her health on experiments1 #ae2 darkness demanded for best results1 #aj1 #fh1 #hi2 her personality and history1 #fg1 #hf1 #hg1 #adj2 ,flammarion's estimate of the comparative authenticity of her phenomena1 #gj2 unknown natural forces evidenced1 #hj1 #aeb2 investigated by ,flammarion1 #e-bc1 #fc-acd2 by ,lombroso1 #adc-aej2 by ,enrico ,morselli1 and ,francois ,porro1 #agg-aib2 by other scientists1 at ,milan1 #aea et seq42 at other places1 #afb et seq42 ,m4 ,antoniadi considers her phenomena fraudulent1 #aji-aaa2 unsuccessful attempt to photograph fluidic hand1 #abc2 ,m4 ,l---- denies levitations1 #acb2 ,professor ,chiaia challenges ,lombroso to investigate1 #acf2 photographs of facial imprints1 #gf1 #acf2 her spiritualistic education1 #ada2 her symptoms during the production of phenomena1 #adb2 her sensations1 #adc2 ,ochorowicz's apparatus to control feet1 #afd2 results of sympathetic trance of a sitter1 #afe2 detected in fraud at ,cambridge1 #afh2 an incident at ,ochorowicz's home1 #afh et seq42 her deceptions1 their reasons and their relevance to phenomena1 #aid-baa2 ,dr4 ,dariex's opinion of them1 #bjf2 her sensitiveness to suggestion1 #bjg4 ,reports on her phenomena by ,dr4 ,julien ,ochorowicz1 #gf-gh1 #aff2 by ,prof4 ,chiaia1 #gh1 #acf-adj2 by ,arthur ,levy1 #hf-ib2 ,adolph ,brisson1 #ic1 #id2 ,victorien ,sardou1 #ie-ih2 ,jules ,claretie1 #ih-aja2 ,gustave ,le ,bon1 #aja-ajc2 ,g4 ,armelin1 #ajc-aji2 ,m4 ,antoniadi1 #aji-aaa2 ,m4 ,mathieu1 #aaa-aad2 ,m4 ,palotti1 #aad-aaf2 ,m4 ,le ,bocain1 #aaf-aah2 ,a4 de ,rochas1 #adj-adc1 #agd-agf2 ,m4 ,ciolfi's account of ,lombroso's seances1 #adc-aej2 the ,milan scientists1 #aea-afa2 ,m4 de ,siemradski1 #afc1 #afd2 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 #afg2 ,sully-,prudhomme1 #agf2 ,francois ,porro's reports of seances with ,morselli1 #agg-aib4 ,recorded cases of her phenomena4 7a7 ,raps 7including typtological communications71 #h1 #ac1 #ag1 #gj1 #ge1 #hj1 #aje1 #aad1 #add1 #ade1 #adg1 #age1 #bjc4 7b7 ,movements of natural objects 7see also 7d7 apports71 #i1 #ag1 #gj-gd1 #hh1 #ij1 #ia1 #ic1 #ie-ii1 #aje1 #ajf1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aaa-aad1 #abe1 #abf1 #add1 #adg1 #adh1 #aef1 #aeg1 #afc1 #afg1 #age1 #agf1 #aha-ahc1 #ahe1 #ahg-bjc1 #bji1 #baj4 7c7 ,levitations1 #f1 #af1 #gj1 #gc1 #gd1 #hc1 #hh1 #ia1 #ic1 #id1 #if1 #ii1 #ajd1 #aje1 #aaa1 #aac1 #aad1 #add-adg1 #aed-aef1 #afj1 #afd1 #afg1 #agd1 #ahj1 #ahc-ahg1 #bjd1 #cfd4 7d7 ,apports 7objects brought in from outside the room71 #ii1 #aab1 #ahf1 #ahg4 7e7 ,alteration in weight of bodies and variation in weighing apparatus without contact1 #hh1 #aec1 #agc1 #aia4 7f7 ,thermal radiations1 #aae1 #aag1 #abe1 #ahf4 7g7 acoustic phenomena 7sounds other than raps q4v471 #ga1 #gc1 #hi1 #if1 #aab1 #add1 #afc1 #afg1 #ahc1 #bji1 #baj4 7h7 writing and marks produced at a distance1 #afg4 7i7 impressions in plastic substances1 #bb1 #gd-gh1 #aeh1 #afc1 #ahd2 photographs of1 #gf4 7j7 luminous phenomena1 #gd1 #ig1 #aje1 #ajh1 #abe1 #adh1 #ahf1 #aii4 7k7 trance speaking1 #ga1 #afj4 7l7 ,materializations4 7,i7 ,tactile1--of hands and arms1 #ga1 #gb1 #hi1 #ig1 #ih1 #aja1 #ajf-ajh1 #aaa1 #aac1 #aaf-aah1 #abd1 #adf1 #adh1 #afj1 #afg1 #agd1 #aha1 #ahf2 of heads1 #gc1 #hi1 #aae1 #afa1 #agg1 #ahg4 7,,ii7 visible1--of hands of arms1 #aj1 #gc1 #aaf1 #aei1 #age1 #ahe2 of heads and busts1 #ba1 #gb1 #aae1 #abh1 #agg1 #ahe1 #cff4 7m7 a solid passing through a solid substance1 #ajg1 #abh4 7n7 cases apparently produced by fraud1 #bjj4 ,palotti1 ,m41 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #aad-aaf4 ,palotti1 ,mme41 #aad4 ,pelletier1 ,m41 #bbj4 ,penta1 ,dr41 #adg4 ,phaedrus1 quoted1 xx4 ,phalansterians1 the1 #fa1 #ddc4 ,phantoms1 #dai1 see also ,materializations4 ,plautus1 xiv4 ,politi1 ,auguste1 mediums1 his phenomena1 #cfh-cga4 ,poggenpohl1 ,m4 de1 #cgc1 #cgd4 ,porro1 ,francois1 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #agg-aib2 his theories1 #dji4 ,predictions1 #bic1 #chd1 #che4 ,psychical research1 utility of1 v1 viii1 #b1 #cj-cb2 the sceptic's attitude toward1 vii2 ignorance of critics of1 xii1 xv2 scientists unwilling to recognize phenomena1 #ah-bj2 value of cumulative testimony in1 #aia2 necessity of eliminating fraud in1 #aid2 society for1 #cje4 ,psychological ,institute invites ,e4 ,paladino to ,paris1 #c4 ,rabelais1 #a2 alleged spirit communications from1 #ch-dj4 ,radioculture1 vi4 ,raps 7see also1 ,typtology71 their connection with sitters1 #bb2 hypotheses for1 #ce2 ,dr4 ,j4 ,maxwell's ,studies of1 #cfj-cfd2 recapitulation of1 #daf-dah2 cases of1 #h1 #ac1 #ag1 #ge1 #aje1 #add1 #ade1 #adg1 #age1 #bcb1 #bdd1 #bib1 #big-cja1 #cec1 #ceg4 ,ravachol1 alleged spirit communication from1 #bac4 ,regnard1 quoted1 #aja4 ,ribero1 ,m41 #bah4 ,richet1 ,dr4 ,charles1 #c1 #fc1 #fe1 #hd1 #ic1 #ie1 #aea1 #afb1 #agh1 #bjb1 #cje2 his experiments in ,algiers1 #cge2 his theory1 #dji4 ,rochas1 ,count ,albert de1 #fc1 #hd1 #ie1 #afb1 #bjc1 #bhi1 #cfh2 cited1 #c1 #ace1 #agi1 #ahh1 #aih2 his theories1 #dji4 ,rodiere1 ,mme41 medium1 #aif4 ,rothe1 ,anna1 medium1 #bag4 ,rothschild1 ,ed4 de1 #aja4 ,roure1 ,lucien1 cited1 #cih4 ,sabatier1 ,a41 #fc1 #agc4 ,sambor1 ,russian medium1 his phenomena1 #cga-cgd4 ,sardou1 ,victorien1 #agh1 #bjc1 #bjh2 early mediumistic experiences of1 #be2 letter to ,jules ,claretie1 #de2 report on ,e4 ,paladino1 #ie-ih2 participates in ,paladino sittings1 #abc1 #abd4 ,sayn-,wittgenstein1 ,prince1 #ccd4 ,schiaparelli1 #d1 #fc1 #hb1 #aea1 #agh1 #aid2 letter regarding ,e4 ,paladino1 #fd4 ,secondary personality1 see ,double ,personality4 ,sergines1 ,m4 de1 #aja4 ,sexton1 ,dr41 #ccd4 ,sidgwick1 ,prof4 ,henry1 #cje4 ,siemiradski1 ,m4 de1 #afb2 quoted1 #afc4 ,simmons1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,franklin1 #cfh4 ,sivel the aeronaut1 alleged spirit communication from1 #bac4 ,slade1 ,henry1 medium1 #ff1 #dbj2 his fraud1 #aif4 ,socrates1 vii4 ,solid passing through a solid1 cases of1 #ajg1 #abh1 #cgb2--;a natural parallel1 #acj4 ,solovovo1 ,petrovo1 describes ,sambor's phenomena1 #cga-cgd4 ,soul1 the1 xx1 #hb1 #agh1 #ahh1 #dci1 #deb4 ,spirit communications1 #chd-chi2 erroneous1 #ea1 #eb1 #eg2 see also1 ,automatic writing1 ,raps1 ,trance-speaking4 ,spiritualism 7spiritism71 #aid2 its immateriality in psychical research1 xx1 #hj2 has never taught anything new1 #bf1 #dcf2 not proven by ,paladino phenomena1 #aff2 dilemma between animism and1 #ahh1 #dce2 ,porro's opinion of its relation to ,paladino1 #aij et seq42 de ,gasparin's arguments against1 #bhe2 ,thury's comments on1 #bhe et seq42 spiritistic hypothesis accepted by ,cromwell ,varley1 #cje1 #dji1 by ,wallace1 #dji1 by ,prof4 ,morgan1 #dji2 spirits not necessarily souls of dead1 #dca2 still a working hypothesis1 #dci1 #ddg2 arguments against its probability1 #dci et seq4 ,squanquarillo1 ,joseph1 #cfh4 ,stewart1 ,prof4 ,balfour1 #cje4 ,stock1 ,georges1 #ej4 ,subliminal consciousness1 ,myers on1 #dcc1 #dcd2 ,dr4 ,geeley's hypothesis1 #dcd2 does not depend upon organism1 #dce4 ,sully-,prudhomme1 #agc4 ,syamour1 ,mme41 #aja4 ,table movements1 #daa-dac4 ,see also1 ,levitation and ,movements of ,natural ,objects4 ,taine1 quoted1 #eh4 ,tamburini1 ,m41 #add4 ,tanchou1 ,dr41 report on ,angelica ,cottin1 #bai-bbb4 ,tapp1 ,mr41 #cde4 ,taton1 ,m41 #cfh4 ,telekinesis1 #fa4 ,thermal radiations 7sensations of heat or cold in mediumistic phenomena71 #aae1 #aag1 #abe1 #ahf4 ,thury1 ,marc1 his researches into physical phenomena1 #bff-bhg2 his experiments1 #bfi-bgf2 his theories1 #bgf-bhg1 #djh4 ,touchings in mediumistic phenomena1 #dah4 ,see also1 ,materializations 7tactile74 ,trance speaking1 cases of1 #ga1 #afj1 #bic4 ,typtology 7intelligible communications by raps71 code for1 #h2 results generally tally1 knowledge of the experimenters1 #ad1 #cg1 #eg2 apparently an extension of hand and brain1 #cc2 received through ,mme4 ,huet1 #cg et seq42 answers to unknown questions evidently guess-work1 #bdj2 specimens of1 #ch-dc1 #gj1 #hj1 #aad1 #adg1 #bjc1 #bab1 #bcg1 #bib1 #bic1 #big-cja1 #cee1 #cef1 #chj1 #djc1 #dcg4 ,see also1 ,raps4 ,unknown natural forces1 v1 xvii1 #a-bc1 #b1 #ah2 extracts from ,flammarion's monograph on1 xi-xxi2 evinced in ,e4 ,paladino's phenomena1 #hj1 #aib2 hypotheses regarding1 #ha1 #djf et seq42 danger of too great scepticism against recognition of1 #ahh et seq42 not the exclusive property of mediums1 #ddb4 ,uranus1 the satellites of1 spiritistic communications regarding1 #ej-eg4 ,vacquerie1 ,charles1 #bac4 ,varennes1 ,m4 and ,mlle4 de1 #ie4 ,varley1 ,cromwell ,f41 #bia1 #big1 #cei2 accepts spiritistic hypothesis1 #cje1 #dji4 ,vignon1 ,louis1 #ih1 #aja4 ,virchow1 cited1 #bj4 ,virgil1 quoted1 #dea4 ,vizioli1 ,m41 #adc4 ,voltaire1 #a4 ,wagner1 ,prof41 #afb4 ,wallace ,alfred ,russel1 #fe1 #bij1 #big1 #dcg2 accepts spiritistic theory1 #dji4 ,watteville1 ,baron de1 #fc1 #agc1 #bah2--;his investigations of mediumistic phenomena1 #cec-cei4 ,weber1 ,a41 #cgb4 ,wellemberg1 ,m41 #bah4 ,will1 the1 its influence upon phenomena1 #bgc et seq41 #cfe4 ,williams1 ,mrs41 medium1 #bah1 #bai4 ,wolf1 ,m41 #bah4 ,writing and marks produced at a distance1 #afg1 #cef1 #cga1 #cgc1 #cgi4 ,x41 ,mme41 mediumistic seance with1 #baa-baf4 ,zeno1 cited1 #dej4 ,zoellner1 ,prof41 #ff1 #agh1 #aif1 #dbj4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,sosie is a character in ,plautus and ,moliere4 ,hermes takes ,sosie's form1 and1 when the latter sees his double1 he almost doubts his own identity4 ,so the word came to mean a counterpart1 a double1 one's alter ego4--,trans4 #b ,this seems to be a reference to the wardrobe used by the early ,spiritualists as a cabinet in their demonstrations in public halls4--,trans4 #c ,the cock scratching for grain finds a pearl4 #d ,in order that ,i may at once place before the eyes of my readers documentary evidence of these experiments1 ,i reproduce here 7,pl4 ,i7 a photograph taken at my apartments on the #abth of ,november in #ahih4 ,any one can perceive by the horizontality of the arms1 as well as by the distance between the feet of the table and the floor1 that the elevation is from six to eight inches4 ,the precise distance is marked on the figure itself1--a measurement taken the next day by propping up the table1 with the aid of books1 in the same position as it was4 ,the medium has her two feet wholly under my right foot1 while at the same time her knees are under my right hand4 ,her hands are upon the table grasped by my left hand and by that of the other critical observer or control 7controleur71 who has just placed a cushion before her to shield her very sensitive eyes from the flash of the magnesium light1 and thus save her from a disagreeable nervous attack4 ,these photographs1 taken rapidly by magnesium light1 are not perfect1 but they are records4 #e ,see ,l',inconnu1 pp4 #bj-bi4 #f ,certain book-shops in ,paris4--,trans4 #g ,oration delivered at the grave of ,allan ,kardec1 by ,camille ,flammarion1 ,paris1 ,didier1 #ahfi1 pp4 #d1 #ag1 #bb4 #h ,the author means1 of course1 by this phrase 7milieu ambiant71 the totality of psychic force present1 the psychological atmosphere1 the total mind-energy radiated by the several more or less sensitive or mediumistic members of the company4--,trans4 #i ,this communication is given in ,english by the author4--,trans4 #aj ,alcofribaz ,nazier is well known as ,rabelais' anagram1 formed from his own name4 ,it was the signature under which he published his ,pantagruel4--,trans4 #aa ,a piece of typtological dictation of the same kind has been recently sent to me4 ,here it is3 ,,iutptuoloer ,,eirfieuebn ,,ssoagprsti ,read successively1 from top to bottom1 one letter of each line1 beginning on the left1 and the sense will appear as follows3 ,je suis trop fatigue pour les obtenir4 7,i am too tired to obtain them47 #ab ,this and the next dictation are rhymed verse in the original ,french4--,trans4 #ac ,in rhymed verses in the original4--,trans4 #ad ,a word of recent origin1 meaning ambitious or pretentious people who want to arrive1 the would-be's4 ,the word forms the title of a recent ,french novel1 ,l',arriviste1 and 7translated7 of an ,english one called ,the ,climber4--,trans4 #ae ,so in the original4 ,possibly ,m4 ,sardou was under the mistaken impression that ,gulliver was a nom-de-plume for ,dean ,swift4--,trans4 #af ,this inclination is really #hb deg41 reckoning from the south1 or #ih deg4 7#ij #h deg471 counting from the north 7see ,fig4 ,a74 #ag ,i have just found in my library a book which was sent to me in #ahhh by the author1 ,major-,general ,drayson1 the title of which is ,thirty ,thousand ,years of the ,earth's ,past ,history1 ,read by ,aid of the ,discovery of the ,second ,rotation of the ,earth4 ,this second rotation would take place about an axis the pole of which would be #bi deg4 #be' #dg from the pole of the daily rotation1 about #bgj right ascension1 and would be accomplished in #cb1fhb years4 ,the author seeks to explain it by the glacial periods and variations of climate4 ,but his work is full of confusions most strange and even unpardonable in a man versed in astronomical studies4 ,the truth is that this ,general ,drayson 7who died several years ago7 was not an astronomer4 #ah ,intelligence1 ,vol4 ,i41 preface1 p4 #af1 edition of #ahig4 ,the first edition was published in #ahfh4 #ai ,all those who occupy themselves with these questions are acquainted1 among other cases1 with that of ,felida 7studied by ,dr4 ,azam74 ,in the story of this young girl she is shown as endowed with two distinct personalities to such an extent that1 in the second state1 she becomes amorous 444 and enceinte1 without knowing anything about it in her normal condition4 ,these states of double personalities have been methodically observed for thirty years4 #bj ,psychological ,automatism1 p4 #dja-djb4 #ba ,see ,pl4 ,,iv4 and ,v4 ,i preserve with care a plaster cast of this imprint4 #bb ,a4 de ,rochas1 ,the ,externalization of ,motivity1 fourth edition1 #aijf1 p4 #djf4 #bc ,the reports of the sittings at ,montfort-l',amaury form the subject of a remarkable work by ,m4 ,guillaume de ,fontenay1 ,apropos of ,eusapia ,paladino1 one vol41 #hvo4 illustrated1 ,paris1 #ahih4 #bd ,the respective places of the persons were not always those of the photographs4 ,thus1 at the time of the production of the imprint1 ,m4 ,g4 de ,fontenay was at the right of ,eusapia1 and ,m4 ,blech at the same end of the table4 #be ,in the following sitting1 of ,november #ab1 ,m4 ,antoniadi writes 7with an excellent corroborative sketch73 ,phenomenon observed with absolute certainty2 the violin was thrown upon the table1 twenty inches above the head of ,eusapia4 #bf ,this is absolutely true1 says my son1 who is reading over these lines4 #bg ,during the correction of the proofs of these sheets 7,oct41 #aijf71 ,i received from ,dr4 ,gustave ,le ,bon the following note3 ,at the time of her last sojourn in ,paris 7#aijf71 ,i was able to obtain from ,eusapia three seances at my house4 ,i besought one of the keenest observers that ,i know1 ,m4 ,dastre1--a member of the ,academy of ,science and professor of physiology at the ,sorbonne1--to be kind enough to be present at our experiments4 ,there were present also my assistant1 ,m4 ,michaux1 and the lady to whose kind offices ,i owe the presence of ,eusapia4 ,besides the levitation of the table1 we several times1 and almost in full light1 saw a hand appear4 ,at first it was about two inches and a half above ,eusapia's head1 then at the side of the curtain which partly covered her1 about twenty inches from her shoulder4 ,we then organized1 for the second seance1 our methods of control4 ,they were altogether decisive4 ,thanks to the possibility of producing behind ,eusapia an illumination which she did not suspect1 we were able to see one of her arms1 very skilfully withdrawn from our control1 move along horizontally behind the curtain and touch the arm of ,m4 ,dastre1 and another time give me a slap on the hand4 ,we concluded from our observations that the phenomena observed had nothing supernatural about them4 ,as to the levitation of the table1--an extremely light one1 placed before ,eusapia1 and which her hands scarcely left1--we have not been able to formulate any decisive explanation4 ,i will only observe that ,eusapia admitted that it was impossible for her to displace the slightest one of the very light objects placed upon that table4 ,after writing this note1 ,m4 ,g4 ,le ,bon said to me verbally that1 in his opinion1 everything in these experiments is fraud4 #bh ,to these eight seances ,i might add a ninth1 which took place on the succeeding ,december #e1 in the study of ,prof4 ,richet4 ,nothing remarkable occurred1 unless it was the inflation1 in full light1 of a window curtain1 which was about twenty-four inches from ,eusapia's foot1 my foot and leg being between it and her4 ,the observation was absolutely accurate4 #bi ,to what cause may we attribute the levitation of the table8 ,we have undoubtedly not yet discovered the secret4 ,the action of gravity may be counterbalanced by movement4 ,you can amuse yourself1 while at breakfast or dinner1 by toying with a knife4 ,if you hold it vertically in your tightly closed hand1 its weight is counterbalanced by the pressure of the hand and it does not fall4 ,open your hand1 still holding the knife grasped by the thumb and index finger1 and it will slide as if it were in a too large tube4 ,but move the hand by a rapid see-saw movement1 from left to right1 from right to left3 you will thus create a centrifugal force which holds the object in vertical suspension1 and which may even toss it above your hand and project it into the air1 if the movement is rapid enough4 ,what1 then1 sustains the knife1 annihilates its weight8 ,force4 ,might it not be that the influence of the experimenters seated around the table puts in special movement the molecules of the wood8 ,they are already set in vibration by variations of temperature4 ,these molecules are particles infinitely small which do not touch each other4 ,might not a molecular movement counterbalance the effect of gravity8 ,i do not present this as an explanation1 but as an illustrative suggestion 7comme une image74 #cj ,m4 ,chiaia has sent me photographs of these prints4 ,i reproduce some of them here 7,pl4 ,,vii74 #ca ,the word trance has been given to the peculiar state into which mediums fall when they lose the consciousness of their environment4 ,it is a kind of somnambulistic sleep4 #cb ,annales des sciences psychiques1 #aha1 p4 #cbf4 #cc ,however1 some doubt may remain4 ,in my photographs1 also 7,pl4 ,i4 and ,,vi471 the foot of the table at the left of the medium is concealed4 ,as ,i myself was at this very place1 ,i am sure that the medium was unable to lift the table with her foot1 for this foot was held under mine1 not by a rod or by any support whatever2 for ,i had a hand upon her legs1 which did not move4 ,the objection is moreover refuted by the experiment which ,i made on the #bith of ,march1 #aijf 7see p4 #f71 of a levitation1 with ,eusapia standing1--an experiment which had been made before on the #bgth of ,july1 #ahig1 at ,monfort-l',amaury 7see p4 #hb71 the feet1 very naturally1 being visible4 ,hence there can be no doubt whatever about the complete levitation of the table floating in space4 ,aksakof obtained a levitation1 in the seances at ,milan1 after having tied ,eusapia's feet with two strings1 the ends of which were short and had been sealed to the floor very near each foot4 ,farther on the reader will be given proof of other undeniable instances1 among others1 at pp4 #afd1 #afe4 #cd ,i hear very often the following objection3 ,i shall only believe in mediums who are not remunerated2 all those who are paid are under suspicion4 ,eusapia belongs to these last4 ,being without fortune1 she never visits a city unless her travelling and hotel expenses are paid4 ,she also loses her time1 and is submitted to a not very agreeable inquisition4 ,for my part1 ,i do not admit the above objection at all4 ,the physical and intellectual faculties have nothing in common with money-getting4 ,it will be said that the medium is interested in deceiving and tricking3 it increases her fees4 ,but there are a good many other temptations in the world4 ,i have seen unpaid mediums1 men and women of society1 cheat without any scruple1 from pure vanity1 or for a purpose still less fit to be avowed1--for the mere pleasure of trapping some one4 ,the seances of ,spiritualism have been made to serve useful and agreeable ends in fashionable society--and more than one marriage has originated there4 ,we must be as sceptical about one class of mediums as about another4 #ce ,these reports were published in detail in the work of ,m4 de ,rochas on ,the ,externalization of ,motivity1 #dth edition1 #aijf1 p4 #agj4 #cf ,i will add1 for the benefit of those who wish to try some of these psychic experiments1 that the best conditions for success are to have a homogeneous1 impartial1 and sincere group1 free from every preconceived idea1 and not exceeding five or six persons in number4 ,it is absurd to object that1 in order to obtain the phenomena1 one must have faith4 ,but1 while positive belief is not necessary1 it is yet advisable not to exercise any hostile influence during a seance4 #cg ,a very curious experiment made with a letter-weigher took place at l',agnelas4 ,in response to an impromptu suggestion made by ,m4 de ,gramont1 ,eusapia consented to try whether1 by making vertical passes with her hands on each side of the tray of the letter-weigher 7going as high as fifty grams71 she could not lower it4 ,she succeeded in doing so several times in succession1 in the presence of five observers placed about her1 who testified that she did not have in her fingers either thread or hair to press upon the tray4 #ch ,published by ,c4 de ,vesme in his ,revue des ,etudes psychiques1 #aija4 #ci ,eusapia1 as has been said1 is unable either to read or write4 #dj ,arago1 in #ahdf1 with the electric girl2 ,flammarion1 in #ahfa1 with ,allan ,kardec1 then afterwards with different mediums2 ,zoellner1 in #ahhb1 with ,slade2 ,schiaparelli1 in #ahib with ,eusapia2 ,porro1 in #aija1 with the same medium 7,revue des ,etudes psychiques74 #da ,notably in ,uranie1 in ,stella1 in ,lumen1 in ,l',inconnu4 ,see also above1 p4 #cj in my ,oration at the ,grave of ,allen ,kardec4 #db ,slade was sentenced to three months of hard labor1 in ,london1 for swindling4 ,he died in a private hospital1 in the ,state of ,michigan1 in ,september1 #aije4 #dc ,annales des sciences psychiques1 #ahif1 p4 #ff4 #dd ,we have already noticed 7see p4 #adi7 the practical joke of ,professor ,bianchi in a meeting of the most serious investigators4 #de ,see ,annales1 #ahif4 ,the report is very rich in records4 ,the door of the wardrobe opened and closed of itself1 several times in succession1 in synchronism with the movements of the medium's hands1 which were at about a yard's distance4 ,a toy piano weighing about two pounds was moved about1 and played several airs all alone1 etc4 #df ,a ,parisian ,anarchist executed for dynamiting the houses of the ,judges ,benoit and ,bulot4 ,the popular chanson of the ,anarchists called ,la ,ravachole originated in this man's deeds and personality4 ,see ,alvan ,sanborn's ,paris and the ,social ,revolution1 ,boston1 #aije4--,trans4 #dg ,see also ,enquete sur l'authenticite des phenomenes electriques d',angelique ,cottin4 ,paris1 ,germer ,balliere1 #ahdf4 ,also ,l',exteriorisation de la motricite1 by ,albert de ,rochas4 #dh ,lafontaine1 who also studied ,angelica's case1 says that when she brought her left wrist near a lighted candle1 the flame bent over horizontally1 as if continually blown upon4 7,l'art de magnetiser1 p4 #bgc74 ,m4 ,pelletier observed the same thing in the case of some of his subjects1 when they brought the palm of the hand near a candle4 ,specialists call these points hypnogenic points1 from which fluidic streams radiate4 #di ,arago4--,trans4 #ej ,etudes et lectures sur les sciences d'observations1 vol4 ,,ii41 #ahef4 #ea ,des ,tables tournantes1 du ,surnaturel en general1 et des ,esprits1 par le comte ,agenor de ,gasparin1 ,paris1 ,dentu1 #ahed4 #eb ,the lady who soon after was styled the medium4 #ec ,this was the only table with casters that the operators made use of4 #ed ,the allusion is to ,faraday's explanation of ,arago's discovery in the magnetism of rotation4 ,faraday showed that a rotating disk of non-magnetic metal would draw after it in similar rotation a magnetic needle suspended over it1 and even a heavy magnet4 ,see ,professor ,tyndall's ,faraday as a ,discoverer1 pp4 #be1 #bf4--,trans4 #ee ,the long scene from which this is taken in ,moliere is so full of ,italian1 ,old ,french1 and dog ,latin1 that it has not been translated by ,van ,laun4 ,all but the last word 7juro7 of each stanza is spoken by the big-wigs in this mock examination of a baccalaureate medical student2 that word is his3 ,do you swear that in all consultations you will be of the ancient opinion1 whether it be good or bad8--,i swear it4--,to never make use of any remedies except those of the learned faculty of medicine1 even should the patient burst and die of his disease8--,i swear it4--,trans4 #ef ,les ,tables tournantes1 consideres au point de vue de la question de physique generale qui s'y rattache4 ,geneve1 #ahee4 #eg ,the dynamic force necessary to produce this uplift1 if we admit that it was developed and accumulated during the five or ten minutes of playing that preceded the phenomenon1 would not1 on the other hand1 be beyond the strength of the child2 it would remain even much beneath the limit of his powers4 ,in general1 the force expended1 in these phenomena of the tables1 if one may judge by the degree of fatigue experienced by the operators1 much surpasses what would be required to produce the same effects mechanically4 ,there is1 therefore1 in this respect1 no reason for admitting the intervention of a force foreign to the boy's own nature4--7,thury47 #eh ,in the first experiments of ,thury1 eight persons remained an hour and a half standing1 and then seated1 around a table1 without obtaining the least resulting movement4 ,two or three days after1 on their second trial1 the same persons1 at the end of ten minutes1 made a centre-table revolve4 ,finally1 on the #dth of ,may1 #ahec1 at the third or fourth trial1 the heaviest tables began to move almost immediately4 #ei ,in the case of difficult tests1 when they took place on cold days1 a warm spread was stretched over the table1 and removed at the moment of the experiment4 ,the operators themselves1 before acting1 held their hands open for a moment before a stove4 #fj ,report on ,spiritualism of the ,committee of the ,london ,dialectical ,society1 ,london3 #ahga4 #fa ,in one vol4 #hvo4 ,paris3 ,leymarie1 #aijj4 #fb ,see1 for example1 the ,january number1 #ahgf3 ,sidereal ,astronomy4 #fc ,especially at ,nice1 in #ahha and #ahhd4 ,home died in #ahhf4 ,he was born in #ahcc1 near ,edinburgh4 #fd ,sir ,william ,huggins1 an astronomer well known for his discoveries in spectrum analysis4 #fe ,edward ,william ,cox4 #ff ,experimental ,investigation on ,psychic ,force1 by ,william ,crookes1 ,f4 ,r4 ,l41 etc41 ,london1 ,henry ,gilman1 #ahga4 ,the brochure was translated into ,french by ,m4 ,alidel1 ,paris4 ,psychical ,science ,publishing ,house1 #ahig4 #fg ,the quotation occurs to me--,i never said it was possible1 ,i only said it was true4 #fh ,katie ,king1 ,the ,story of her ,appearances4 ,paris1 ,leymarie1 #ahii4 ,i thought ,i would not reproduce these photographs here1 because they did not seem to me to have come from ,mr4 ,crookes himself4 ,florence ,cook died in ,london on the #b;d of ,april1 #aijd4 #fi ,on ,miracles and ,modern ,spiritualism1 ,london1 #ahge1 ,french translation1 ,paris1 #ahhi 7the ,english word spiritualism is always used here in the sense of spiritism74 #gj ,les ,phenomenes psychiques4 ,one vol4 #hvo4 ,paris1 #aijc4 #ga ,as ,i said on a previous page1 psychic forces have as much reality as physical and mechanical ones4 #gb ,this is the same thing that ,i observed at ,monfort-l',amaury4 ,see p4 #gc4 #gc ,the ,italian journals reproduced a picturesque photograph of the table lifted almost to the height of the ceiling1 at the moment it had passed over the heads of the sitters and was turning over 7see ,a4 de ,rochas1 ,exteriorisation de la motricite1 #dth ed474 ,i do not reproduce it1 because it does not seem to me to be authentic4 ,besides1 the observers declared that they did not verify this phenomenon until after its pro #gd ,annales des ,sciences psychique1 #aijb4 #ge ,several observations published in that work are however1 connected in subject with the present one4 ,for instance3 a piano playing alone 7p4 #ajh71 a door opening of itself 7p4 #aab71 curtains shaken 7p4 #abe71 extravagant gambols of pieces of furniture 7p4 #acc71 raps 7p4 #adf71 bells ringing 7p4 #afh71 and numerous examples of unexplained disturbing noises coinciding with deaths4 #gf ,the word used here by ,m4 ,castex-,degrange is tete de ,turc1 a thing like the leather-covered bags in our gymnasiums1 and used in fairs in ,france1 to be pummelled by those wishing to try their strength4--,trans4 #gg ,i had considerable acquaintance with him at the ,nice ,observatory1 where1 in #ahhd and #ahhe1 ,i made with him spectroscopic observations on the rotation of the sun4--,c4 ,f4 #gh ,in the seances of which ,i spoke in the early part of this book 7second chapter71 when the word ,god was dictated the table beat a salute4--,c4 ,f4 #gi ,goupil1 ,pour et ,contre1 p4 #aac4 #hj ,it has been my desire to give in this place the result of the personal experience of a large number of men anxious to know the truth2 above all to reply to ignorant journalists who invite their readers to indulge in supercilious scorn of these researches and experimenters4 ,at the very moment when ,i was correcting the proofs of these last pages ,i received a journal1 ,le ,lyon republicain1 of the #beth of ,january1 #aijg1 which has for its leading article a quite preposterous diatribe against me signed ,robert ,estienne4 ,the performance shows that the author does not know what he is talking about nor the man of whom he is treating4 ,there is evidently no reason in the nature of things why the city of ,lyons should be more disposed to error than any other point on the globe4 ,but mark the coincidence3 ,i received1 at the same time1 a number of ,l',universite catholique1 of ,lyons1 in which a certain ,abbe ,delfour speaks of supernatural contemporary facts without understanding a word of the subject4 ,no1 the trouble is not with the city of ,lyons merely4 ,there are blind people everywhere4 ,you can read a dissertation ejusdem farinae1 signed by the ,jesuit ,lucien ,roure1 in ,les ,etudes religieuses1 published at ,paris1 with critical judgments worthy of a traveling salesman4 ,in this connection1 you can read in the ,nouveau ,catechisme du diocese de ,nancy3 ,q4 ,what must we think of the demonstrated facts of ,spiritualism1 somnambulism1 and magnetism8--,a4 ,we must attribute them to the devil1 and it would be a sin to take part in them in any way whatever4 #ha ,newton1 as is well known1 declares1 in his letter to ,bentley1 that he can only explain gravitation by supposing the existence of a medium which transmits it4 ,yet1 to our senses1 the ether would not be a material thing4 ,but1 however that may be1 celestial bodies do certainly act at a distance one upon another4 #hb ,the initiated know that according to this doctrine the terrestrial human being is composed of five entities3 the physical body2 the ethereal double1 a little less gross1 surviving the first for some time2 the astral body1 still more subtile2 the mental body1 or intelligence1 surviving the three preceding2 and finally the ,ego1 or indestructible soul4 #hc ,these observations may be compared with a little social diversion which is rather popular1 and is particularly described in one of the first works of ,sir ,david ,brewster 7,letters to ,walter ,scott upon ,natural ,magic7 in the following terms3 ,the heaviest person of the company lies down on two chairs1 the shoulders resting on one and the legs on the other4 ,four persons1 one at each shoulder and one at each foot1 try to lift him1 and at first find the thing difficult to do4 ,then the subject of the experiments gives two signals by clapping his hands twice4 ,at the first signal1 he and the four others inhale deeply4 ,when the five persons are full of air he gives the second signal1 which is for the lifting4 ,this takes place without the least difficulty1 as if the person lifted were as light as a feather4 ,i have frequently performed the same experiment upon a man in a sitting posture by placing two fingers under his legs and two under his arm-pits1 the operators inhaling all together uniformly4 ,this is undoubtedly a case of biological action4 ,but what is the essential nature of gravitation8 ,faraday regarded it as an electro-magnetic force4 ,weber explains the movement of the planets around the sun by electro-dynamism4 ,the tails of comets1 always turned away from the sun1 indicate a solar repulsion coincident with the attraction4 ,we know no more to-day than in the time of ,newton what gravitation really is4 #hd ,it is not indispensable1 even in certain cases in which it seems to be so4 ,let us take an example4 ,at a seance in ,genoa 7#aijf71 with ,eusapia1 ,m4 ,yourievich1 general secretary of the ,psychological ,institute of ,paris1 besought the spirit of his father1 who asserted that he was present before him in ghostly form1 to give him a proof of identity by producing in the clay an impression of his hand1 and above all of a finger the nail of which was long and pointed4 ,the request was made in ,russian1 which the medium did not understand4 ,now this impression was sure enough obtained several months after1 with the mark of the nail referred to4 ,does this fact prove that the soul of the father of the experimenter actually performed the act with his hand8 ,no4 ,the medium received the mental suggestion for producing the phenomenon1 and did in fact produce it4 ,the ,russian language did not make any difference4 ,the suggestion was received4 ,besides1 the hand was much smaller than that of the man whose spirit was evoked4 ,the experimenter next asks his deceased father to give him his blessing1 and he perceives a hand which makes the sign of the cross before him 7in the ,russian style1 the three fingers together7 upon the forehead1 the breast1 and the two sides4 ,the same explanation is applicable here4 ,it was a mistake to say that this ghost and his son conversed together in the ,russian tongue1 as the published account said4 ,m4 ,yourievich only heard some unintelligible sounds4 ,people always exaggerate1 and these exaggerations work the greatest possible harm to the truth4 ,why amplify8 ,is there not enough of the unknown in these mysterious phenomena8 #he ,in certain countries 7,canada1 ,colorado71 a gas-jet can be lighted by holding out the finger toward it4 #hf ,see what ,i formerly wrote on this subject in ,lumen1 in ,uranie1 in ,stella1 and in my ,discours sur l'unite de force et l'unite de substance1 published in l',annuaire du ,cosmos1 for #ahfe4 #hg ,the ,human ,personality1 p4 #aa4 #hh ,id41 p4 #bc4 #hi ,id41 p4 #fc4 #ij ,the ,human ,personality1 p4 #cac4 #ia ,the ,subconscious ,nature1 p4 #hb4 #ib ,see my remarks in ,the ,unknown1 pp4 #bij-bid4 #ic ,see ,bulletin of the ,psychological ,institute1 ,vol4 ,i4 pp4 #be-dj4 #id ,quite recently ,i saw an account of some phenomena which rather plead in its favor than otherwise 7,bulletin of the ,society for ,psychical ,studies of ,nancy1 ,nov4-,dec41 #aijf74 ,out of the eleven instances mentioned1 the first and the second may have been taken from a cyclopedia1 the third and the fourth from public journals2 but1 in the case of the seven others1 the admission of the identity of apparitions with the originals they purported to represent is surely the best explanatory hypothesis4 #ie ,as a forestalling of judgment on what is yet to be demonstrated1 the word medium is a wholly improper term4 ,it takes it for granted that the person endowed with these supra-normal psychic faculties is an intermediary between the spirits and the experimenters4 ,now while we may admit that this is sometimes the case1 it is certainly not always so4 ,the rotation of a table1 its tipping1 its levitation1 the displacement of a piece of furniture1 the inflation of a curtain1 noises heard--all are caused by a force emanating from this protagonist of the company1 or from their collective powers4 ,we cannot really suppose that there is always a spirit present ready to respond to our fancies4 ,and the hypothesis is so much the less necessary since the pretended spirits do not impart any new facts to us4 ,for the greater part of the time1 it is undoubtedly our own psychic force that is acting4 ,the chief personage and principal actor in these experiments would be more accurately called a dynamogen1 since he 7or she7 creates force4 ,it seems1 to me that this would be the best term to apply in this case4 ,it expresses that which is proved by all the observations4 ,i have known mediums very proud of their title1 and sometimes found them a bit jealous of their fellows4 ,they were convinced that they had been chosen by ,saint ,augustine1 ,saint ,paul1 and even ,jesus ,christ4 ,they believed in the grace of the ,most ,high and claimed 7not without reason too7 that1 coming from other hands1 these signatures were to be suspected4 ,there is no sense in these rivalries4 #if ,see the ,complete ,works of the ,emperor ,julian1 ,paris1 #ahba4 ,vol4 ,i4 p4 #cge4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,passages in italics are indicated by italics4 ,footnote #gc is incomplete in the original text4 ,the original text includes ,greek characters4 ,for this text version these letters have been replaced with transliterations4