,,transcriber',s ,,note ,text in italics is shown in underscores4 ,footnotes have been moved to the end of the book4 ,a detailed list of changes made to the text can be found at the end4 ,,how ,,to ,,thought-,,read3 ,a ,,manual ,,of ,,instruction ,,in ,,the ,,strange ,,and ,,mystic ,,in ,,daily ,,life1 ,,psychic ,,phenomena1 ,,including ,hypnotic1 ,mesmeric1 and ,psychic ,states1 ,mind and ,muscle ,reading1 ,thought ,transference1 ,psychometry1 ,clairvoyance1 and ,phenomenal ,spiritualism4 ,,by ,,james ,,coates1 ,ph4,d41 ,f4,a4,s41 ,lecturer on ,mental ,science and ,hygiene1 ,author of 8,how to ,mesmerise10 8,how to ,read ,heads10 8,how to ,read ,faces10 8,the ,social ,problem10 8,the ,antiquity of ,man10 etc4 etc4 ,,price ,,one ,,shilling4 ,,london3 ,,hay ,,nisbet ,,co41 #afi1 ,,fleet ,,street4 ,,glasgow3 #be ,,jamaica ,,street4 #ahic4 ,,hay ,,nisbet ,,and ,,co41 #bf ,,jamaica ,,street1 ,,glasgow1 ,,and #afi1 ,,fleet ,,street1 ,,london4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,introduction1 #e ,chapter ,i4--,somnambulism and ,psychic ,phenomena1 #i ,the ,hypnotic1 ,mesmeric1 and the ,psychic ,states4 ,hypnotism a ,curative ,agent2 the ,sixth ,sense2 ,dreams1 ,premonitions2 ,double and ,psychic ,consciousness4 ,evidences of the ,soul within us4 ,chapter ,,ii4--,clairvoyance1 #bc ,psychoscopy1 or ,soul ,sight4 ,spiritual ,faculty1 exhibited by religious ecstatics1 not a common possession4 ,how ,cultivated4 ,the ,opinions and ,evidence of ,men of ,science4 ,second ,sight4 ,the ,utility of ,soul-,sight4 ,chapter ,,iii4--,clairvoyance ,illustrated1 #cc ,classified4 ,strange ,story of the ,chicago ,water ,supply4 ,lost ,goods ,restored4 ,an ,aid to the ,physician4 ,experiments in ,rothesay4 ,remarkable ,clairvoyants4 ,clairvoyance in ,mesmerism and in ,spiritualism4 ,chapter ,,iv4--,psychometry1 #ec ,soul-,measuring and ,soul-,measurers4 ,dr4 ,buchanan's ,discoveries4 ,professor ,denton's ,experiments4 ,detective's ,clues2 what ,psychometry can do4 ,testimony of ,mr4 ,stead and the ,rev4 ,minot ,j4 ,savage4 ,disease ,detected1 and ,character ,gauged by this ,faculty4 ,chapter ,v4--,thought-,transference and ,telepathy1 #fi ,explained and ,defined4 ,transference of ,taste in ,mesmerism4 ,thought-,transference1 in ,dreams1 from the ,dying to the ,living2 the ,dead to the ,living2 in ,prayer2 in ordinary ,experience4 ,incidents and ,experiences1 etc4 ,mark ,twain1 ,hudson ,tuttle1 and ,dr4 ,hilden4 ,chapter ,,vi4--,thought-,reading ,experiments1 #hh ,thought and ,muscle-,reading ,distinguished4 ,projecting ,mental ,pictures4 ,normal ,experiments1 without contact1 by ,professor ,lodge1 ,mr4 ,guthrie1 and ,professor ,barrett4 ,some ,practical ,suggestions4 ,muscle-,reading ,entertainments4 ,directions4 ,chapter ,,vii4--,spiritualism1 #ajb 8,how to ,thought-,read0 and ,phenomenal ,spiritualism4 ,the ,spirit within us4 ,the rejection of the ,psychic4 ,the ,fraudulent in ,spiritualism4 ,spiritualism without ,spirits4 ,thought-,reading by ,spirits and ,mediums4 ,chapter ,,viii4--,spiritualism4--,continued1 #aae ,automatic ,writing4 ,a ,test ,medium4 ,trance ,addresses4 ,a ,direct ,spirit-,painting4 ,reflections and ,speculations4 ,testimony of ,cromwell ,f4 ,varley1 ,f4,r4,s41 the ,electrician4 ,theosophy a ,revised ,version of ,hindoo ,metempsychosis1 etc4 etc4 ,,introduction4 ,the first book of this series1 8,how to ,mesmerise10 gave so much satisfaction to the reading public1 and having passed into several editions1 my publishers have asked me to write another work on similar lines4 ,this brochure is my response4 ,clairvoyance1 ,psychometry1 and ,thought ,transference--briefly referred to in the former--are more fully gone into in this4 ,consequently1 ,i have little doubt 8,how to ,thought-,read0 will meet with acceptance4 ,thought-reading is duly considered and explained4 ,a clear distinction is drawn between ,musculation1 or ,muscle and ,mind-,reading2 and although these pages are not confined to ,thought-,reading1 as generally understood by the public1 the subject itself1 and as an entertainment1 have been pretty fully dealt with4 ,during the past decade1 psychological subjects have1 in a remarkable way1 arrested public attention4 8,new ,mesmerism0 and 8,new ,spiritualism0 are popular subjects with editors and magazine writers4 ,whatever the real causes--a greater influx of the spiritual from 8the state of the dead10 or from a reaction in the minds of men against the purblind materialism of our scientific leaders--it is hard to say4 ,possibly these and other causes have been at work4 ,one thing is certain1 for good or ill1 the majority of thinking men and women of the age are not only interested in1 but are actually searching for evidence of 8embodied spirit40 ,hence we find men of science1 journalists1 and even professed materialists and secularists1 who1 a few years ago1 could scarcely speak of these subjects in the ordinary language of courtesy1 confess now not only their belief1 but are going to the other extreme of advocating1 what as yet1 they have failed to fully grasp4 ,a few years ago 8,the ,british ,parliament of ,science0 was nothing if not materialistic4 ,the leading savants of the day declared 8all was matter1 no matter what40 ,consequently1 man was the highest product of protoplasm1 and his only destiny the grave4 ,the change has been great indeed1 when one of its most brilliant members 7,professor ,oliver ,lodge1 ,d4,sc41 ,f4,r4,s41 ,british ,association at ,cardiff1 #ahia7 in his address said3 8,it is familiar that a thought may be excited on the brain of another person1 transferred thither from our brain by pulling a suitable trigger2 by liberating energy in the form of sound1 for instance1 or by the mechanical act of writing1 or in other ways4 ,a pre-arranged code1 called language1 and a material medium of communication1 are recognised methods4 ,may there not1 also1 be an immaterial 7perhaps an ethereal7 medium of communication8 ,is it possible that an idea can be transferred from one person to another by a process such as we have not yet grown accustomed to1 and know practically nothing about8 ,in this case ,i have evidence4 ,i assert ,i have seen it done1 and am perfectly convinced of the fact2 many others are satisfied of the truth1 too4 ,it is1 perhaps1 a natural consequence of the community of life or family relationship running through all living beings4 ,the transmission of life may be likened in some ways to the transmission of magnetism1 and all magnets are sympathetically connected1 so that1 if suitably suspended1 a vibration from one disturbs others1 even though they be distant #ib1jjj1jjj miles4 ,it is sometimes objected that1 granting thought-transference or telepathy to be a fact1 it belongs more especially to lower forms of life1 and that as the cerebral hemispheres develop we become independent of it2 that what we notice is the relic of a decaying faculty1 not the germ of a new and fruitful sense1 and that progress is not to be made by studying or alluding to it4 ,as well might the objection be urged against a study of embryology4 ,it may1 on the other hand1 be an indication of a higher mode of communication1 which shall survive our temporary connection with ordinary matter4 ,the whole region is unexplored territory1 and it is conceivable that matter may react on mind in a way we can at present only dimly imagine40 ,the italics are mine4 ,thought-,transference and ,telepathy may1 indeed1 be an indication of a higher mode of communication between human beings after we have severed our temporary connection with matter4 ,whether or not1 the hope should repay our study4 ,i have sought in the following pages to briefly define and illustrate what these phases of communication are4 ,double and ,psychic ,consciousness1 ,clairvoyance1 natural and induced2 ,psychometry1 its natural and leading features as a spiritual faculty2 ,thought-,transference1 visions1 dreams1 and their portents1 are in turn briefly dealt with1 in order to extract therefrom some evidence of soul4 ,modern ,spiritualism is referred to1 in so far as ,thought-,reading is likely to throw any light upon its psychological phases1 as well as on its physical phenomena4 ,while attempting to cover so much ground my difficulty was not what to write1 but what not to write1 the materials at my disposal being so abundant4 ,much has been cut down to get the whole within reasonable compass4 ,nevertheless1 ,i hope my readers will find 8,how to ,thought-,read0 a readable contribution to the science of soul4 ,,james ,,coates4 ,glenbeg1 ,ardbeg1 ,rothesay1 ,n4 ,b4 ,illustration3 ,,experiment ,,in ,,psychometry4--,see ,page #fj4 ,,mr4 and ,,mrs4 ,,coates4 ,,how ,,to ,,thought-,,read4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,somnambulism and ,psychic ,phenomena4 ,before entering upon the subject of 8,how to ,thought ,read0--or rather1 range of interesting subjects grouped under this title--it is proposed to deal briefly with the key to the whole1 which is to be found in the revelations of man's inner life1 soul-life and character1 presented by somnambulism and trance1 whether natural or induced4 ,the use of a few simple terms having a well-defined meaning will help the reader and prepare him for the more careful study of the psychic side of human life4 ,the somnambulistic and trance states may be divided1 for the convenience of examination1 into the ,hypnotic1 or state of hypnosis2 the ,mesmeric1 or somnambulistic2 and the ,psychic1 or lucid somnambulistic--or briefly1 the ,hypnotic1 ,mesmeric1 and ,psychic states4 ,the operator is the controlling agent1 hypnotist1 or mesmerist2 in spiritualism1 the guide or control4 ,the sensitive is the subject1 the percipient1 psychic1 patient1 or person who passes into the hypnotic1 mesmeric1 or trance states1 etc4 ,hypnosis is the term used for the hypnotic state artificially induced by the agent4 ,hypnosis is the lowest rung of the ladder2 the psychic or soul state the highest4 ,the intermediate phases1 as indicated in conscious or sub-conscious conditions of life1 are innumerable and not readily classified4 ,still1 the states mentioned will give a favourable insight to the whole4 ,in hypnosis1 physical rather than mental phenomena are evolved2 ansthesia1 or non-sensitiveness to pain1 is more or less present4 ,the senses of smell and hearing are partially exalted1 and the sensitive may be partially or wholly unconscious4 ,the mesmeric state is the term frequently used to denote ordinary artificial somnambulism4 ,it is actually the higher or more perfect form of hypnosis4 ,the senses in this state are more fully submerged1 and the mental faculties are more fully exalted1 than in hypnosis4 ,the psychic state1 as the mesmeric1 relates to the mental1 and hypnosis to the more physical1 so does the psychic state refer to that class of extraordinary somnambulism in which the mental and the spiritual gifts transcend in character and power those of the foregoing states4 ,in this state the higher phenomena of lucid somnambulism1 clairvoyance1 and thought-transference are manifested more perfectly than in any other4 ,the hypnotic1 the mesmeric1 and the psychic states indicated are frequently interlinked in manifestation4 ,the sensitive may pass from the first to the last without apparent gradation4 ,it is well to keep these divisions in thought1 so that in practice no one will be content with the lower where it is possible1 by wise and judicious observations and operations1 to induce the higher4 ,to make the matter still more clear1 in hypnosis and in the mesmeric state all phenomena may be said to be induced through and by the influence and the direction of the operator4 ,not that he produces the effects as they are exhibited by the sensitive1 but they are brought about through the agency of his suggestions or operations4 ,in the psychic state this is not always the case4 ,the influence of the operator may at times be almost nil4 ,the operator will find it best--when the sensitive is in a high lucid state--to become an observer and a learner1 and no longer continue the rle of director4 ,in the psychic state1 the soul-powers1 so often submerged in ordinary life1 transcend in a remarkable manner4 ,the senses are completely suspended and the mind exalted to such a degree1 a clearly defined super-sensuous condition is reached4 ,whether this stage or condition is induced by fasting1 prayer1 disease1 or by mesmeric agencies1 matters little4 ,in it we find the key to the seership1 and the clairvoyance1 and the prophetic utterance1 and the mystic powers attributed to and exercised by prophet1 and seer1 and sybil in the past4 ,by the investigation of the phenomena evolved by the psychic state we are enabled to understand something of man's soul or spiritual nature1 apart from the phenomena induced by pathological conditions of brain and body4 ,the foregoing view presented of mesmeric conditions may be very different from that which medical men may glean from hypnotic practice with hysterical and lobsided patients1 and certainly not the views which the general public are likely to gather from seeing a number of paid 8subjects0 knocked about a music hall stage by an ignorant showman4 ,from the roughest to the finest1 from matter to spirit1 from hypnosis to the psychic state1 we find enough to arrest attention and give a high degree of seriousness and earnestness to our investigation4 ,we stand on the threshold of soul1 and the place where we stand is holy ground4 ,we find1 as is the physical1 mental1 and spiritual characteristics of the operator1 plus those of the sensitive or sensitives1 so will be the nature of the phenomena evolved4 ,it will be observed some subjects never get beyond the first state1 or hypnosis2 others that of the second1 or mesmeric4 ,all sensitives1 in keeping with their temperamental and mental developments 7as revealed by phrenology and psychometry71 are better adapted for one class of phenomena than that of others4 ,it may be further observed that the foregoing states may be self-induced or1 directly and indirectly1 the product of 8spirit-control10 drugs1 or bodily disease4 ,hypnosis1 we must bear in mind1 although not unlike the mesmeric state1 has no more relation to that condition than sleep produced by an exhaustive walk or a dose of laudanum is like natural or healthy sleep4 ,indeed1 hypnosis is not properly a condition of sleep4 ,in the majority of cases the sensitive is never wholly unconscious4 ,it is rather a state in which there is a temporary perversion or subordination between brain impressions and consciousness4 ,the sensitive in hypnosis is often less intelligent than in the normal or waking state4 ,for various reasons the state of hypnosis may be recognised as that state in which the mind is subjected to certain abnormal conditions of the body1 notably of the brain1 spinal cord1 and indirectly of the circulation1 induced by certain means determined upon by the operator4 ,the mental condition in this state is one of almost pure automatism1 in which hallucination or sense illusions are more or less present4 ,great and serious are the responsibilities of those who bring about the state of hypnosis4 ,every thought and feeling1 of whatever kind1 infused in this state1 like seed1 will take root and germinate1 and finally bud into action in the daily or waking consciousness1 and determine unconsciously for the sensitive the character of his life4 ,hypnotism is neither for indiscriminate use1 nor is hypnosis to be induced as a plaything for the thoughtless--medical or lay4 ,at the same time1 in the hands of the thoughtful1 its educative value is most important1 for1 if the operator is well poised1 and feels that1 he can impart higher thoughts and strengthen the will,a of the sensitives by the twofold agencies of impressionability and suggestion4 ,this is something not to be despised4 ,it is surely no degradation to be saved from evils one cannot overcome or resist1 unless assisted by external aid1 even though that help can only come by submitting to hypnotism4 ,in hypnosis the outer brain of convoluted grey matter is most affected1 being more or less denuded of arterial and nervous stimuli4 ,the power of conscious1 intellectual1 and abstract thought is reduced to a minimum4 ,the organs of the central brain are differently influenced1 as in inverse ratio the stimulation is increased4 ,the eye is more susceptible to light1 or the pupils may become dilated and fixed4 ,the auditory sense is rendered more keen4 ,the olfactory powers are intensified1 and there is more or less insensibility of feeling4 ,the powers of co-ordination and locomotion are preserved up to a certain stage1 when these functions are disturbed1 all power of voluntary movement ceases1 lethargic and cataleptic symptoms supervene4 ,it was by observing1 more particularly1 hypnosis1 ,professor ,heidenhain was led to aver 8inhibition0 actually accounted for all phases of hypnotism4 ,this opinion has evidently been based on a limited number of cases4 8,no inhibition10 says ,dr4 ,drayton1 8however ingeniously applied1 will explain all the phenomena of magnetism4 ,if the personal consciousness1 the individuality1 of the subject has been lost1 and his state is that of automatism1 or rather that of an involuntary actor1 certainly his cerebral functions operate in a manner entirely distinct from that which is characteristic in his ordinary state4 ,the inhibition relates to his common order of conduct mentally1 while the super-sensitivity and extraordinary play of faculty that he may exhibit1 indicate a higher phase of sensory activity1 more free or harmonious co-ordination of the cerebral functions4 ,the brakes are off1 hence the phenomena that are frequently observed in the somnambulist1 and awaken wonder1 because so much out of keeping with what is known of his common life40 ,here we find doctors--experts in hypnotism or mesmerism--agree to differ4 ,they agree in this1 albeit not expressly stated1 they are alike positive and decided in their views1 and certainly without being positive1 there is no possible success as an operator4 ,the mistake they make evidently arises in confounding the two states 7hypnosis and the mesmeric71 one with the other4 ,there is no super-sensitivity1 or extraordinary play of faculty in hypnosis1 whatever there may be in the mesmeric state4 ,they are similar1 in that they may be both induced by the reduction of the activity of the cerebral cortex4 ,in hypnosis the mind slumbers and dreams4 ,the dream-life appears as substantial to the sensitive as the waking life4 ,the life creations1 thus dreamed of1 are acted upon1 whether they arise from suggestion or other causes4 ,in the mesmeric state the senses slumber1 and the mind awakens to a fuller enfranchisement of existence1 and to the exhibition of mental and spiritual powers not hitherto suspected4 ,in the lower stages the increased power of the senses is to be found in the intense concentration of effort1 brought about from the fact that the subject's attention is1 and his whole energies are1 directed in one line of action or thought1 to the exclusion of mind or brain activity in other directions4 ,hence all efforts are centred in the direction suggested by the operator1 or self-induced1 as suggested by the 8dominant idea40 ,the sensitive exhibits powers of mind and ability of thought which were not noticeable in the ordinary waking condition4 ,not because he really possesses greater powers of mind or body1 but because of the lack of concentration in the waking state4 ,by this concentration of direction1 so called abnormal feats of strength are performed1 rigidity of structure brought about1 and other characteristics not peculiar to common life4 ,in a higher sense1 we see the sensitive passing from this condition of concentration of one-idea-ism to a spiritual state1 in which the phenomena exhibited are no longer the product of self-dethronement and of suggestion4 ,higher still1 we see the soul reign supreme4 ,the sensitive possesses a clear consciousness of what is transpiring at home and abroad1 according to the direction of his psychic powers4 ,in the psychic state--the more perfect trance state or control--the whole mind becomes illumined2 past1 present1 and future become presentable to the mind of the lucid somnambulist as one great whole4 ,this higher stage may be reached through the simple processes of manipulation1 and passes as suggested in my little work1 8,how to ,mesmerise40 ,in the mesmeric state the sensitive passes from the mere automatism of the earlier stages of hypnosis to the distinct individuality indicated above1 although still more or less influenced or directed by his controller or operator into the line of thought and train of actions most desired4 ,the difference between the hypnotic and mesmeric states should now be very clear4 ,in the former the sensitive has no identity1 in the latter his identity is preserved in a clearly individualised form throughout the whole series of abnormal acts4 ,whenever the sensitive enters this condition his personal consciousness is most apparent in the middle and higher stages4 ,in fact1 in the mesmeric state1 it is very stupid for some operators to ask the sensitive1 8,are you asleep80 ,it may be understood what is meant1 yet the question is absurd from the standpoint of an intelligent observer4 ,the sensitive is never more awake4 ,the higher the state the greater the wakefulness and lucidity of the inner or soul life4 ,,the ,,sixth ,,sense4 ,in the mesmeric state we see developed what ,lord ,kelvin 7,professor ,thomson1 of ,glasgow ,university71 ,drs4 ,baird1 ,hammond1 and ,drayton call the magnetic sense--or 8sixth sense40 ,it is a gift of super-sensitiveness4 ,to my mind it is something more1 the enfranchisement of the soul1 the human ego--in proportion as the dominance of the senses is arrested4 ,in blindness1 it has been noticed how keen the sense of touch becomes4 ,i have also noticed the keen sensitiveness of facial perception enjoyed by some of the blind1 by which they are enabled to perceive objects in the absence of physical sight4 ,in the mesmeric state we see a somewhat analogous mental condition4 ,as the peculiar sense of the blind is developed by extra concentration of the mind in the direction of facial perception1 so is 8the sixth sense0 developed by concentration of direction1 as well as by the condition of sensitiveness induced by the mesmeric state4 ,this newly recognised sense1 8the sixth sense10 not only answers the purpose of sight and hearing1 but transcends all senses in vividness and power4 ,materialists1 no longer able to ignore the phenomena of somnambulism and trance1 and compelled to admit man's avenues of knowledge in this life were not confined to the recognised five senses1 are good enough to give him a 8sixth sense10 even while they deny him a soul4 ,in the same way1 no longer able to deny the existence of mesmerism1 they now admit it to consideration--re-baptised as hypnotism4 ,the phenomena being admitted1 we will not quarrel over the names by which they are called4 ,,psychic-,,consciousness4 ,as we advance in our investigations we find in the higher conditions of these states a double or treble consciousness or memory4 ,the higher including and overlapping the lower4 ,thus the consciousness of the hypnotic state includes that of the waking state1 while the memory of the waking state possesses no conscious recollection of what has taken place in hypnosis1 and so on1 each stage has its own phases of consciousness4 ,the memory of the sensitive1 under influence1 overlapping and including the memory of ordinary or normal life4 ,strange as it may appear1 there are no phenomena which have been evolved in any of these abnormal conditions of life1 which have not been observed again and again in ordinary or normal life1 as well authenticated instances of dreams1 warnings1 and telepathy testify4 ,dr4 ,richardson notwithstanding1 8in dreams and visions of the night0 ,god has manifested himself to man in all ages4 ,in other words1 the soul 7in sleep and analogous states to somnambulism and trance7 comes more in touch with the sub-conscious or soul sphere of thought and existence4 ,at times there is an inrush from that sphere into our present conscious state1 by which we know of things which could not otherwise be known4 ,of dreams1 our space will not admit more than occasional reference1 we may mention as a case in point the dream of ,mrs4 ,donan1 wife of the livery stableman from whom ,dr4 ,cronin hired his horse in ,chicago4 ,a week before ,dr4 ,cronin was murdered this lady had a dream-vision1 and dreamt he was barbarously murdered1 and saw in a vision the whole terrible scene4 ,this dream was a means1 first1 of forewarning the doctor1 and second1 of leading to the detection of the miscreants4 ,of premonitions1 an incident reported in the ,register of ,adelaide1 will suffice3--8,constable ,j4 ,c4 ,h4 ,williams has reported to headquarters that he had an unpleasant experience at about midnight on ,monday4 ,he was on duty at the government offices in ,king ,william ,street1 and while standing at the main entrance he had a presentiment that he was in danger1 and walked away a few steps4 ,scarcely had he moved from the spot1 when a portion of the cornice work at the top of the building fell with a crash on the place where he had been standing4 ,the piece of plaster must have weighed fully a stone1 and had it struck ,williams the result would doubtless have been fatal4 ,a passer-by saw the constable a few minutes after1 and his scared looks and agitated manner clearly showed that his story was true40 ,concerning telepathy1 ,mrs4 ,andrew ,crosse1 the distinguished widow of the famous electrician1 relates in ,temple ,bar an anecdote about the late ,bishop ,wilberforce1 to the effect1 the ,bishop was writing a dry business letter one day1 when a feeling of acute mental agony overcame him and he felt that some evil had befallen his favourite son1 a midshipman in the navy4 ,the impression was correct4 ,on that very day the lad1 who was with his ship in the ,pacific1 had been wounded and nearly bled to death4 ,when this was told ,hallam1 the historian1 he replied that a very similar thing had happened to himself4 ,a few cases are noted further on4 ,some persons would repudiate all such incidents as accidents or coincidences2 while others would fly to the extreme1 and declare all such are the result of 8spirit control0--that is1 some disembodied but friendly spirit projected the dream1 conveyed the warning1 or telepathically despatched the news4 ,but we must never forget news has to be received as well as despatched4 ,consequently1 we1 as embodied spirits1 must possess psychic consciousness4 ,i believe that much of the phenomena1 directly and indirectly attributed to disincarnate spirit control1 are traceable to no other source than the powers of our own embodied spirits1 as revealed by the facts of somnambulism and trance1 and this is the opinion of all intelligent spiritualists4 8,because10 says ,mr4 ,g4 ,h4 ,stebbins1 a prominent investigator of modern spiritualism in the ,united ,states 8a person quotes from books he never saw1 or tells of what he never knew in any external way1 that is not final proof that he is under an external spirit control4 ,psychometry and clairvoyance may sometimes solve it all40 8,i hold10 says ,mr4 ,myers1 8that telepathy and clairvoyance do1 in fact1 exist--telepathy1 a communication between incarnate mind and incarnate mind1 and perhaps between incarnate minds and minds unembodied2 clairvoyance1 a knowledge of things terrene which over-passes the limits of ordinary perception1 and which1 perhaps1 achieves an insight with some other than terrene world40 ,these are the cautious admissions of eminent investigators in psychical research4 ,,double ,,or ,,sub-,,consciousness4 8,there are two sets10 says ,dr4 ,brown-,sequard1 8a double state of mental powers in the human organism1 essentially differing from each other4 ,the one may be designated as ordinary conscious intelligence2 the other1 a superior power1 which controls our better nature40 ,j4 ,balfour ,brown1 in his 8,medical ,jurisprudence10 says3--8,in no case of pure somnambulism1 waking consciousness of the individual knows anything of the sleeping consciousness4 ,it is as if there were two distinct memories40 ,this double-consciousness1 memory1 or sub-state of mental powers1 is another but lower phase of psychic-consciousness1 and is sometimes exhibited by accidents1 and also by disease4 ,dr4 ,abercromby relates the case of a boy1 four years old who was trepanned for a fracture of the skull4 ,he was in a complete stupor during the operation1 and was not conscious of what took place4 ,at fifteen he became seriously ill of fever4 ,in the delirium occasioned by the fever1 he gave a correct description of the operation1 and of all the persons present1 their dress1 manners1 and actions1 to the minutest particulars4 ,the 8superior power0 must have obtained this knowledge in some other way than through the ordinary channels of the outward senses4 ,in cases of apparent drowning1 where the person has been saved from death by active1 external help1 we have been informed that the human mind has worked with a rapidity of action not thought possible in the waking state1 the intensity of menial action being increased in adverse ratio to the inaction of the external senses and consciousness4 ,in this state the career of a lifetime has been reviewed1 conversations1 actions1 persons seen and places visited1 all vividly brought to mind--in possibly less time than it takes to pen this paragraph4 ,these phenomena suggest the reflection that the daily waking life--sensuous and worldly-minded--is possibly1 to many1 the least real and effective4 ,how much our external life is influenced by our unconscious 7to us in the waking state7 sub-life1 is an interesting problem4 ,dr4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes says3--8,the more we examine the mechanism of thought1 the more we shall see that the automatic and unconscious action of the mind enters largely into all its processes4 ,we all have a double who is wiser and better than we1 who puts thoughts into our heads and words into our mouths40 ,a commercial gentleman of my acquaintance1 who was rather sceptical on the subject of double-consciousness--although1 8notwithstanding10 he said1 8,mr4 ,stead1 in the ,review of ,reviews1 had turned an honest penny out of ghosts1 double-consciousness1 and that sort of rubbish0--admitted to me1 he had a maid1 who had an awkward habit of rising in her sleep1 carefully setting the fires1 cleaning and dusting out the rooms1 setting the breakfast table1 and doing many other things which appeared important to the servant-mind4 ,her movements were watched4 ,she slipped about with eyes closed1 avoiding obstacles1 and doing her work systematically and neatly1 and without fuss1 when done1 she would go to bed4 ,in the morning she had no recollection of what she had said or done4 ,it was a curious thing1 he had to admit4 ,the girl was honest enough4 ,he was certain this habit had not been simulated4 ,threats of discharge1 and possible loss of wages1 did not cure her of this habit4 ,there was a certain form of 8double consciousness0 in this case4 8,the subliminal consciousness0 of ,mr4 ,myers1 by which he accounts for the phenomena of genius1 is but another way of expressing the concept of an 8identity underlying all consciousness10 the psyche1 the real 8,i1 me10 8the superior power which directs and controls our better nature10 the 8double who is wiser and better than we10 the reality of which is so much hidden from our ordinary experience1 because our soul-life is so much buried out of sight by the dbris of the 8things of this life10 which1 fortunately or otherwise1 pre-occupy so much of our attention4 ,it is this 8subliminal consciousness0 we see manifested in the psychic state1 and natural somnambulism4 ,clairvoyance1 psychometry1 thought transference1 etc41 are as so many spectrum rays of the one soul light4 ,call them 8subliminal0 if you will4 ,these rays flow out from the soul1 and are many-hued1 distinct or blurred1 according to the degree of pureness or super-sensitivity of the external corporeal prism through which they are projected4 ,persons have lived for years1 we are credibly informed1 who have spent half their lives entranced1 in the alternation of two distinct individualities or two distinct states of consciousness1 in one of which they forget all they had learned or did in the other4 ,professor ,huxley described 7,british ,association of ,science1 ,belfast1 #ahgd7 a case in which two separate lives1 a normal1 and abnormal one1 seemed to be lived at intervals by the same individual during the greater portion of her life4 ,the conclusion to the whole matter is--the psychic1 or soul-powers in some persons are less entrammelled by the senses than in others2 that a high degree of organic sensitiveness always accompanies those who are recognised as psychics or sensitives2 that this state of sensitiveness is natural to some1 and in others may be developed by accident1 disease1 or induced by somnambulism and trance4 ,i will endeavour to show these psychic characteristics1 or soul gifts1 underlie1 and enter into the varied phenomena--clairvoyance1 psychometry1 thought transference1 thought-reading1 and what not1 which are collated under the title of1 8,,how ,,to ,,thought-,,read40 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,clairvoyance4 ,what is clairvoyance8 8,the term1 clairvoyance10 says ,dr4 ,george ,wyld1 in a paper read before the ,psychical ,research ,society1 ,london1 8is ,french1 and means clear-seeing1 but it appears to me to be an inadequate term1 because it might signify clear optical vision1 or clear mental vision4 ,what is signified by the term is the power which certain individuals possess of seeing external objects under circumstances which render the sight of these objects impossible to physical optics4 ,in short1 by clairvoyance1 we mean the power which the mind has of seeing or knowing thoughts and psychical conditions1 and objects hidden from or beyond the reach of the physical senses2 and if the existence of this faculty can be established1 we arrive at a demonstration that man has a power within his body as yet unrecognised by physical science--a power which is called soul1 or mind-seeing1 and for the description of such a power the term might be auto-nocticy 771 or psychoscopy40 ,psychoscopy1 or soul sight1 would1 perhaps1 be the better term4 ,i propose to use the old term--clairvoyance--as it signifies1 in popular usage1 the power of seeing beyond the range of physical vision1 as we know it4 ,that certain persons are endowed with this faculty of clear seeing--in some of its various phases--is a matter settled beyond dispute4 ,what special name to call this faculty1 or what are the true causes of its existence2 why it should be possessed by some persons and not by others2 why it should be so frail and fugitive in the presence of some people1 and strong and vivid before others2 why some persons are never clairvoyant until they have been through the mesmeric and psychic states2 why some become possessed of the faculty through disease2 while1 with others1 the gift of clairvoyance appears to be a spontaneous possession2 and why some operators are successful in inducing clairvoyance1 and others not1 etc41 are interesting questions to which the student of psychology may1 with advantage1 direct his attention4 ,clairvoyance is soul-sight--the power of the soul to see4 ,it is the state of refined psychic perception4 ,this state increases in lucidity--clearness and power of penetration--in proportion as the activity of the physical senses are reduced below normal action4 ,it is observed to be most effective in the trance state--natural or induced--as in the mesmeric and psychic states4 ,i conclude1 then1 clairvoyance depends upon the unfolding of the spirit's perception1 and is increased in power as the ascendency of the spirit arises above the activities of the spirit's corporeal envelope--the body4 ,in proportion to the spirit's ascendency over the organs and senses of the body1 is this psychic gift perfect or imperfect4 ,the large brain or cerebrum is the physical organ of the soul1 as the cerebellum is of the physiological brain functions4 ,mental functions are manifested by the former1 and physical functions by the latter4 ,clairvoyance1 as a spiritual faculty1 will doubtless have its appropriate organ in the brain4 ,i do not profess to locate that organ4 ,at the same time ,i have noticed the best clairvoyants are wide and full between the eyes1 showing there is a particular fulness of the frontal cerebral lobes1 at their juncture at the root of the nose4 ,this may be something more than a mere physiognomic sign4 ,when this sign is accompanied by refinement of organisation1 and a fine type of brain1 ,i always look for the possible manifestation of clairvoyance in mesmeric subjects4 ,some writers are of the opinion clairvoyance is actually soul-sight1 more or less retarded in lucidity by the action or activity of the bodily senses4 ,others believe it to be a state arising from a peculiar highly-strained nervous condition1 which induces the state of super-sensitivity or impressionability of the organisation4 ,the first may be termed the spiritual1 and the latter the physiological hypothesis4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 both conditions are noted4 ,the latter may account for much1 and possibly is sufficient to explain much that is called thought-reading--so often mistaken for clairvoyance4 ,it does appear to me that certain peculiar physiological conditions1 varying from semi-consciousness to profound trance1 are necessary for the manifestation of clairvoyance1 even when it takes place in apparently normal life of the possessor4 ,it is more than likely that the ornate and mystic ceremonies indulged in by ,hindoo mystics1 ,egyptian1 ,grecian1 and ,roman priests1 had the one grand end in view--viz41 to induce the requisite state of super-sensitivity1 and thus prepare the consecrated youths1 sybils1 and vestal virgins for the influx of spiritual vision1 prophecy1 and what not4 ,when this subtle influx came--by whatever name called--the phenomena manifested were pretty much the same as we know them1 only varied in degree4 ,the gods spoke per oracle1 ,pythean1 or ,delphic4 ,the man of ,god either coronated a king or foretold the end of a dynasty4 ,st4 ,stephen saw ,christ1 ,st4 ,john beheld visions1 ,joan of ,arc was directed1 ,swedenborg illumined1 and religious ecstatics in ancient and modern times partook more or less of the sacred fire--the inner sight4 ,this 7stripped of the fantastic surroundings1 priestly mummeries1 and dominant belief of the times7 simply indicated the evolution and exercise of clairvoyance and other psychic gifts4 ,coming nearer home1 we hear of the mysterious visions at the ,knock1 and at ,lourdes4 ,miraculous appearances of the ,virgin and winged angels1 to cheer the hearts of the faithful1 and to cause the heads of the scornful to rejoice in sceptical derision4 ,then we have all the vagaries produced by the high nervous tension of modern revivalism1 in which the visions seen are but a transformation of church and chapel dogmas into objective realities4 ,these illusionary visions--mistaken for clairvoyance--possess less reality than the delusive fancies of the sensitive in the state of hypnosis4 ,clairvoyance will be governed by its own spiritual laws1 just as sight is affected or retarded by physical conditions4 ,what these spiritual laws are we can only surmise1 but this we may safely conjecture--viz41 that soul-sight is not trammelled or limited by the natural laws which govern physical optics4 ,clairvoyance and physical vision are absolutely distinct1 and possess little in common4 ,to illustrate a new subject1 it is permissible to draw upon the old and the well-known4 ,so ,i venture to illustrate clairvoyance by certain facts in connection with ordinary human vision4 ,although some children see better than others1 the power to see1 with the ability to understand the relative positions and uses of the things seen1 is a matter of development4 ,in psychic vision1 we also see growth or development1 with increasing power to use and understand the faculty4 ,some children are blind from birth1 and others1 seeing1 lose the power of sight4 ,many are blind1 although they have physical sight1 they see not with the educated eye4 ,many1 again1 have greater powers of sight than they are aware of4 ,as so it is with psychic vision4 ,what is true of the physical is also true of the psychic4 ,from the first glimmerings1 to the possession of well-defined sight1 a period of growth and time elapses4 ,from the first incoherent cry of infancy to well defined and intelligent speech of manhood1 we notice the same agencies at work4 ,not only is clairvoyant vision generally imperfect at first1 but the psychic's powers of description are also at fault4 ,st4 ,paul could not give utterance to what he saw1 when caught up to the third heavens4 ,his knowledge of things and powers of speech failed him to describe the startling1 the new1 and the unutterable4 ,he had a sudden revelation of the state of things in a sphere which had no counterparts in his previous experience1 in this--his known--world4 ,hence1 although he knew of his change of state1 he could give no lawful or intelligible expression to his thoughts4 ,between the first incongruous utterances1 and apparent fantastic blunderings1 and the more mature period in which 8things spiritual0 can be suitably described in our language1 to our right sense of things1 or comprehension1 a period of development and education must elapse4 ,it is true some clairvoyants develop much more readily than others4 ,in the entrancement of the mesmeric and psychic states1 there is a lack of external consciousness4 ,the soul is so far liberated from the body as to act independently of the ordinary sensuous conditions of the body1 and sees by the perception and light of the inner or spiritual world1 as distinct from the perception and light of this external or physical world4 ,elevated1 or rather1 liberated into this new condition1 the clairvoyant loses connection with the thrums and threads of the physical organism1 and is unable1 or forgets for a time1 how to speak of things as they are1 or as they would appear to the physical vision of another4 ,it is not surprising that in the earlier stages of clairvoyant development1 and consequent transfer of ordinary consciousness and sensuous perception to that of spiritual consciousness and perception1 the language of the clairvoyant should appear peculiar1 incongruous1 and 8wanting10 according to our ideas of clearness and precision4 ,one important lesson may be learned from this--viz41 the operator should never force results1 or strive to develop psychic perception by short cuts4 ,time must be allowed to the sensitive1 for training and experience1 and the development of self-confidence and expression4 ,clairvoyance is not a common possession4 ,nevertheless1 ,i believe there are many persons who possess the faculty unknown to themselves4 ,by following out patiently1 for a time1 the requisite directions1 the possession of this invaluable psychic gift might be discovered by many who now appear totally devoid of any clairvoyant indications4 ,its cultivation is possible and1 in many ways1 desirable4 8,the higher attainment10 says ,dr4 ,john ,hamlin ,davey1 8of occult knowledge and power1 the development of intuition1 the psychometric sense1 clairvoyant vision1 inner hearing1 etc41 etc41 thus reached1 so open the avenues to a higher education1 and enlarge the boundaries of human consciousness and activity1 as to fairly dwarf into insignificance the achievements of external science40 ,clairvoyance is as old as mankind1 but the exhibition of clairvoyance1 induced by mesmeric processes1 was first announced by ,puysegeur1 a favourite pupil of ,mesmer1 in #aghd4 ,since that time to the present not only have remarkable cases of clairvoyance cropped up1 but there have been few mesmerists of any experience who have not had numerous cases under observation4 ,clairvoyance converted ,dr4 ,john ,elliotson1 ,f4,r4,s41 one of the most scientific of ,british physicians1 from extreme materialistic views to that of belief in soul and immortality4 ,the same may be said of the late ,dr4 ,ashburner1 who was one of the ,queen's physicians4 ,dr4 ,georget1 author of 8,physiology of the ,nervous ,system10--who was at one time opposed to a belief in the existence of a transcendental state in man1--found upon examination of the facts and incidents of artificial somnambulism1 that his materialism must go4 ,in his last will and testament1 referring to the above-mentioned work1 he says3--8,this work had scarcely appeared1 when renewed meditations on a very extraordinary phenomenon1 somnambulism1 no longer permitted me to entertain doubts of the existence within us1 and external to us1 of an intelligent principle1 altogether different from material existences2 in a word1 of the soul and ,god4 ,with respect to this ,i have a profound conviction1 founded upon facts which ,i believe to be incontestable40 ,dr4 ,georget directed this change of opinion should have full publicity after his death4 ,space would not suffice me to mention the names of all the highly educated and refined minds1 in the medical1 literary1 philosophic1 and scientific walks of life1 who have studied these phenomena1 and who1 like ,dr4 ,georget1 have no more doubts of their reality than they have of their own physical existence1 status1 or reputation4 ,among medical men--some of whom ,i have known and corresponded with--might be mentioned ,sir ,james ,simpson1 ,drs4 ,elliotson1 ,ashburner1 ,esdaile1 ,buss1 ,garth ,wilkinson1 ,hands1 ,wyld1 ,hitchman1 ,eadon1 and ,davey4 ,among others on the roll of fame1 might be noticed ,archbishop ,whately2 ,earls ,ducie1 ,stanhope1 ,macclesfield1 ,charleville2 the present ,duke of ,argyle2 ,lord ,r4 ,cavendish1 ,lord ,lindsay2 ,burton1 the traveller2 and the late ,sergeant ,cox4 ,among literary men1 ,mr4 ,gladstone1 ,britain's foremost statesman and scholar2 ,mr4 ,balfour1 his able and talented opponent2 ,bulwer ,lytton1 ,marryat1 ,neal1 ,robert ,chambers1 ,dickens1 and ,stevenson1 of 8,dr4 ,jekyll and ,mr4 ,hyde0 fame4 ,mr4 ,george ,combe1 the distinguished ,scottish metaphysician1 philosopher1 author1 phrenologist1 etc41 was profoundly interested in the phenomena4 ,among well-known men of science might be mentioned ,camille ,flammarion1 the ,french astronomer2 ,fichte1 the ,german philosopher2 ,professors ,tornebom and ,edland1 ,swedish physicists2 ,professor ,oliver ,lodge1 ,d4,sc41 ,f4,r4,s42 ,alfred ,russell ,wallace1 ,d4,c4,l41 ,,ll4,d42 ,william ,crookes1 ,f4,r4,s42 ,cromwell ,f4 ,varley1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,notwithstanding this somewhat formidable array of investigators of clairvoyance1 many good people will not hesitate to deny the value of such evidence1 and yet will believe anything in its favour which may be found in the ,bible1 as to its existence in the past4 ,it is a strange perversion of judgment--not at all surprising--when the majority take 7second-hand7 for their religious787 views whatever is recognised as 8sound0 in each particular district and ,church4 ,it is not a question of belief1 it is 8a question of evidence10 as ,mr4 ,gladstone avers4 ,the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,m,kinnon1 late pastor of ,chalmers' ,free ,church1 ,glasgow1 told me a short time ago1 8,clairvoyance was nothing more than a high nervous concentrated form of mental vision10 to which ,i replied1 8,admitting the hypothesis--which1 however1 explained nothing--it matters little what clairvoyance is esteemed to be or called1 if the facts connected with it are acknowledged40 ,even this friend admitted he knew a man in ,mull1 who lived on the half croft1 next to his father's croft4 ,this man had great repute in that district as 8having the ,second ,sight40 ,whatever this man foretold always came to pass4 ,one instance will suffice4 ,he 7,mr4 ,m,kinnon7 remembered that one day1 while this crofter 7who was a tailor by trade7 was working1 he suddenly stopped1 and looked out into vacancy--as he always did when the 8,second ,sight was on him0--and described a funeral coming over the hill1 the mourners1 who they were1 and numbers1 the way the procession took1 and the name of the 8man whose face was covered10 and finally1 when the procession would appear4 ,mr4 ,m,kinnon's parents noted the time1 and being simple ,highland folk1 accustomed to the accuracy of this man's visions1 they believed what he said1 and kept his saying in their hearts till the time of fulfilment came about4 ,mr4 ,m,kinnon assured me 8the funeral took place to the day and hour1 twelve months subsequently to the vision1 as predicted40 ,all ,i can say is1 if 8a high nervous concentrated form of mental vision0 is capable of pointing out all this1 it is worthy of investigation4 ,it is evident this tailor at least had a power of vision--prevoyance--not of the ordinary1 everyday kind of vision4 ,second sight1 as exhibited in this case1 is what may be termed spontaneous clairvoyance4 ,epes ,sargent1 in his work1 8,the ,scientific ,basis of ,spiritualism10 referring to clairvoyance1 says3 8,as far as ,i have admitted it as part of a scientific basis 7demonstrating man's spiritual nature71 it is the exercise of the supersensual faculty of penetrating opaque and dense matter as if by the faculty of sight4 ,but it does more4 ,it detects our unuttered1 undeveloped thoughts2 it goes back along the past1 and describes what is hidden2 nay1 the proofs are overwhelming that it may pierce the future1 and predict coming events from the shadows they cast before4 8,what is it that sees without the physical eyes1 and without the assistance of light8 ,what is normal sight8 ,it is not the vibrating ether--it is not the external eye--that sees4 ,it is the soul using the eye as an instrument1 and light as a condition4 ,prove once that sight can exist without the use of light1 sensation1 or any physical organ of vision1 and you prove an abnormal1 supersensual1 spiritual faculty--a proof which puts an end to the theory of materialism1 and which1 through its affinity with analogous or corresponding facts1 justifies its introduction as part of a scientific basis for the spiritual theory40 ,j4 ,f4 ,deleuze was profoundly convinced of the existence of this faculty4 ,he claimed that the power of seeing at a distance1 prevision1 and the transference of thought without the aid of external signs1 were in themselves sufficient proofs of the existence of spirituality of soul4 ,except in a very few instances1 little or no pains are taken to cultivate the spiritual nature of man4 ,civilised man of to-day is but rising out of the age of brute force of yesterday1 and he is still circumscribed by love of earthly power and position4 ,he is an acquisitive rather than a spiritual being4 ,being dominated by the senses1 he will naturally seek and appreciate that which gratifies his senses most4 ,he has little time or patience for anything which does not contribute pleasure to his sensuous nature4 ,he would give time to the investigation of the soul side of life if it brought gold1 the means of enjoyment1 and gratified his acquisitiveness and love of power4 ,probably the majority give the subject no attention at all4 ,if the spiritual side of our natures were as fully cultivated as those elements which bring us bread and butter and praise of men in the market-place1 there is no doubt1 no manner of doubt whatever1 but the most of us would occupy a nobler and more spiritually elevated plane in life2 and were adequate means taken1 ,i doubt not but this faculty of clairvoyance would become more generally known and cultivated4 ,even to the selfish1 worldly and non-spiritual man1 clairvoyance is not without its practical side and utility1 such1 for instance1 as supplying ,chicago with water4 ,to the spiritually minded1 clairvoyance and all psychic gifts are appreciated1 less for what they will bring1 than for the testimony they present of man's spiritual origin1 transcendental powers and probable continuity of life beyond this mortal vale4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,clairvoyance ,illustrated4 ,clairvoyance may be briefly classified as far and near1 direct and indirect1 objective and subjective4 ,i propose to give a few well-authenticated cases to illustrate these phases in this chapter4 ,,far ,,and ,,direct ,,clairvoyance is possibly the highest and purest combination4 ,the sensitive is able to state facts not within the range of the knowledge of those present4 ,thus when ,swedenborg described to the ,queen and her friends1 when at a distance of several hundred miles from the conflagration1 the burning of her palace at ,christiania1 no one present could possibly know of the fire or the incidents connected therewith4 ,hence no thought-reading1 brain-picking1 much less guess-work or coincidence1 could account for the exactness of details given by the seer4 ,clairvoyance in this case was not only far and direct1 but objective4 ,that is1 the matter recorded was connected with the physical or objective plane4 ,,clairvoyance ,,an ,,aid ,,to ,,science4 8,chicago1 as is well-known1 is one of the most go-ahead cities in the world4 ,like ,jonah's gourd it appeared to spring up in a night4 ,its population rapidly increased1 and water soon became a sine qua non1 both as regards use and luxury4 ,science was at fault2 for geologists had pronounced that there could be no water beneath such a strata4 ,top water was all that could be looked for1 and presently a water company was formed to supply this impure kind of liquid4 8,there happened to live at this time in ,chicago a person named ,abraham ,james1 a simple-minded man1 of ,quaker descent1 uneducated1 and in fact1 quite an ignorant person4 ,it was discovered by a ,mrs4 ,caroline ,jordon that ,james was a natural clairvoyant1 in fact a medium1 and that he had declared when put into the trance condition that both water and petroleum1 in large quantities1 would be found in a certain tract of land in the neighbourhood of the city4 ,for a long time no attention was paid to his statements4 ,at length two gentlemen from ,maine1 called ,whitehead and ,scott1 coming to ,chicago on business1 and hearing what had been said by ,abraham ,james1 had him taken to the land where he said water could be had in immense quantities by boring for4 ,being entranced1 ,james at once pointed out the very spot4 ,he told them that he not only saw the water1 but could trace its source from the ,rocky ,mountains1 #bjjj miles away1 to the spot on which they stood1 and could sketch out on maps the strata and caverns through which it ran4 ,negotiations were at once entered into for the purchase of the land1 and the work of boring was commenced4 ,this was in ,february1 #ahfd1 and the process went on daily till ,november1 when1 having reached a depth of #gaa feet1 water was struck1 and flowed up at once at the rate of #fjj1jjj gallons every #bd hours4 8,the borings showed the following kinds of strata passed through by the drill1 and this was spiritually seen and described by the clairvoyant as practical proofs to the senses of other people4 ,first the drill passed through alluvium soil1 #ajj feet2 limestone1 saturated with oil1 #ce feet1 which would burn as well as any coal2 ,joliet marble1 #ajj feet2 conglomerate strata of sand and flint1 mixed with iron pyrites and traces of copper1 #abe feet2 rock 7shale7 saturated with petroleum1 the sediment coming up like putty1 thick and greasy1 #aef feet2 galena limestone was next reached at a depth of #ecj feet2 a bed of limestone1 containing flint and sulphuret of iron was bored through1 the depth being #fci feet1 and being very hard1 the work went on slowly4 ,at this point there appeared a constant commotion arising from the escape of gas1 the water suddenly falling from #cj to #fj feet1 and then as suddenly rising to the surface1 carrying with it chippings from the drill1 and other matters4 ,the work still went on2 when at the depth of #gaa feet the arch of the rock was penetrated1 and the water suddenly burst forth from a bore #d in4 at the bottom1 of a temperature of #eh ,f41 clear as crystal1 pure as diamond1 and perfectly free from every kind of animal and vegetable matter1 and which1 for drinking purposes and health1 is much better adapted than any water yet known1 and will turn out to be the poor man's friend for all time to come4 8,here1 then1 is a huge fact for the faithless3 the fact brought to light by dynamic or invisible agency1 and which no power of negation can gainsay4 ,natural science said1 ,no water could be found2 but psychology said--,false1 for ,i will point out the spot where it will flow in splendid streams as long as the earth spins on its axis4 ,since #ahfd the artesian well of ,chicago has poured forth water at the rate of a million and a half gallons daily2 and what is economic1 to say nothing of ,yankee shrewdness1 it is conveyed into ponds or reservoirs which in winter freeze1 producing #dj1jjj tons of ice for sale1 and which might be quadrupled at any time40,b ,this is a case of far and near1 direct and objective clairvoyance4 ,this historical incident proves the value and reality of psychic vision4 ,indirect clairvoyance is the power of discerning what may be more or less in the minds of those present1 including absent or forgotten thoughts and incidents4 ,thus1 when a clairvoyant describes a place with accuracy1 recognised by some one present to be correct1 and also gives details partly known and unknown1 but afterwards found to be correct1 this mixture of phases may be recognised as indirect4 ,,subjective ,,clairvoyance is that phase which enables the sensitive to perceive things and ideas on the spiritual or subjective plane4 ,the late ,rev4 ,stainton ,moses1 well known in literary circles as 8,m4,a41 ,oxon10 once asked the following pertinent questions3--8,is there conceivably a mass of life all round us of which most of us have no cognisance8 ,one gifted lady ,i know sees clairvoyantly the spirit-life of all organised things1 of a tree or plant for example4 ,i have heard her describe what her interior faculties perceive4 ,is it a fact that spirit1 underlying everything1 can be so perceived by the awakened faculties80 ,i should say yes4 ,if this lady's clairvoyance has been of a high order in other respects--why not in this8 ,this type of psychic vision is of the subjective order4 ,there are necessarily an infinite variety of phases1 pure and mixed1 which the investigator will meet in practice4 ,these phases may be called far1 such as seeing objects1 etc41 at a distance--prevoyance1 predicting events2 retrovoyance1 reading the past2 introvoyance1 seeing internally1 or examining bodies1 as in disease2 external introvoyance1 seeing into lockets1 packets1 letters1 safes1 and discovering hidden1 known or forgotten1 or lost objects4 ,lastly1 there is pseudo-clairvoyance4 ,for one case of direct there are hundreds of well authenticated cases of indirect clairvoyance1 and again for one of the latter there are thousands of pseudo-clairvoyance1 which are the outcome of states similar to hypnosis1 and are nothing more than an incongruous medley of suggested ideas and fancies4 ,thus a strong and positive willed person can impinge his ideas through the thought-atmosphere of the sensitive and distort or deflect the psychic vision1 and render abortive any attempts to get beyond the circle of the dominating influence4 ,again1 the sensitive may enter a realm of fancy--a veritable dreamland of coherent and incoherent ideation1 either the product of the sensitive's own condition1 or of suggestion--accidental1 spontaneous1 and determined--in the sensitive's surroundings4 ,of course any classification of the numerous phases of clairvoyance must be purely arbitrary4 ,,direct ,,and ,,objective ,,clairvoyance--,,lost ,,goods ,,restored4 ,this instance of far vision is taken from 8,a ,tangled ,yarn10 page #agc1 8,leaves from ,captain ,james ,payn's ,log10 which was published recently by ,c4 ,h4 ,kelly4 ,as ,i knew ,captain ,hudson1 of ,swansea1 personally1 and heard from his own lips the following incident1 ,i have much pleasure in introducing it here as a further illustration of the ,cui bono of clairvoyance3-- 8,the ,theodore got into ,liverpool the same day as the ,bland4 ,she was a larger ship than ours but had a similar cargo4 ,the day that ,i went to the owners to report #8all right1' ,i met with ,captain ,morton in a terrible stew because he was thirty bales of cotton short1 a loss equal to the whole of his own wages and the mate's into the bargain4 ,he was so fretted over it that his wife in desperation recommended him to get the advice of a ,captain ,hudson1 who had a young female friend clever as a clairvoyant4 ,we were both sceptical in the matter of clairvoyance4 ,at first ,morton didn't wish to meddle1 he said1 with #8a parcel of modern witchcraft1' and that sort of thing2 but he at last yielded to his wife's urgency and consented to go4 ,there was first of all a half-crown fee to ,captain ,hudson1 and then the way was clear for an interview with the young clairvoyant4 ,i was present to #8see fair4' ,when the girl had been put into the clairvoyant state ,morton was instructed to take her right hand in his right hand and ask her any questions he wished4 ,the replies were in substance as follows3--,she went back mentally to the port whence the ,theodore had sailed1 retracing with her hand as she in words also described the course of the ship from ,liverpool across the ,atlantic1 through the ,west ,indian group1 etc41 back to ,new ,orleans4 ,at length she said1 #8,yes1 this is the place where the cotton was lost2 it's put on board a big black ship with a red mark round it4' ,then she began to trace with her hand and describe the homeward course of the vessel1 but after re-crossing the ,atlantic1 instead of coming up the ,irish ,channel for ,liverpool1 she turned along the ,english ,channel as though bound for the coast of ,france2 and then stretching out her hand she exclaimed1 #8,oh1 here's the cotton2 but what funny people they are2 they don't talk ,english4' ,captain ,morton said at once1 #8,i see2 it's the ,brunswick1 ,captain ,thomas1' an ,american ship that lay alongside of him at ,new ,orleans and was taking in her cargo of cotton while the ,theodore was loading1 and was bound for ,havre de ,grace4 ,captain ,morton1 satisfied with his clairvoyant's information1 went home and wrote immediately to ,captain ,thomas1 inquiring for his lost cargo4 ,in due course he got an answer that the cotton was certainly there1 that it had been taken off the wharf in mistake1 and that it was about to be sold for whomsoever it might concern2 but that if he 7,captain ,morton7 would remit a certain amount to cover freight and expenses the bales should be forwarded to him at once4 ,he did so1 and in due time received the cotton1 subject only to the expenses of transit from ,havre to ,liverpool4 ,such are the facts2 ,i do not profess to offer any explanation40 ,,clairvoyance ,,an ,,aid ,,to ,,the ,,physician4 ,i am indebted to ,dr4 ,george ,wyld for this case1 which also exhibits the value of clairvoyance4 ,dr4 ,wyld had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of a ,mrs4 ,d----1 a lady in private life who was endowed with the gift of natural clairvoyance4 ,dr4 ,wyld told this lady of 8a friend who had for years suffered intense agony for hours every night in his back and chest1 and that latterly he had been obliged to sit up all night in a chair1 and his legs began to swell40 8,this gentleman had regularly for three years been under many of the leading physicians of ,london4 ,some said that there must be some obscure heart affection1 others said it was neuralgia1 one said it was gout1 and the last consulted said it was malignant caries of the spine40 ,dr4 ,wyld's friend called upon him by appointment1 and met ,mrs4 ,d----4 ,this lady merely looked at him4 ,when he had retired from the room ,mrs4 ,d---- made the following statement of his case to the doctor3--8,i have seen what the disease is2 ,i saw it as distinctly as if the body were transparent4 ,there is a tumour behind the heart1 about the size of a walnut2 it is of a dirty colour2 and it jumps and looks as if it would burst4 ,nothing can do him any good but entire rest40 8,i at once saw10 says ,dr4 ,wyld1 what she meant1 and sat down to write to my friend's medical attendant as follows3-- 8,i believe ,i have discovered the nature of ,mr4----'s disease4 ,he has an aneurism on the descending aorta1 about the size of a walnut4 ,it is this which causes the slight displacement which has been observed in the heart1 and the pressure of the tumour against the intercostal nerves is the cause of the agony in the back1 and the peripheral pains in the front of the chest4 ,you are going to-morrow to see ,sir ---- in consultation2 show him this diagnosis1 and let me know what he says40 8,next the patient had the consultation1 and ,mrs4 ,d----'s diagnosis was confirmed2 and the doctors agreed with ,mrs4 ,d---- the only thing to be done was to take entire rest4 ,the treatment was duly followed up1 with successful results40 ,dr4 ,wyld thoughtfully adds--8,it is true that the diagnosis cannot be absolutely confirmed during life1 but as the profession unanimously pronounce the disease to be aneurism1 the diagnosis may be accepted as correct4 ,this diagnosis has probably saved the gentleman's life1 as before ,mrs4 ,d---- saw him he was allowed to shoot over ,scotch moors1 and to ride1 drive1 and play billiards40 ,the use of clairvoyance in the diagnosis of disease is by no means as rare as the majority of physicians and the general public would naturally assume4 ,i have had many opportunities of witnessing the accuracy of diagnosis and the excellence of the methods of treatment advised by clairvoyants4 ,in my own personal experience ,i have had much evidence of correctness of clairvoyance in diagnosis1 and subsequent success in treatment4 ,it is a phase most desirable to cultivate if possible1 and all allied conditions connected therewith4 ,,travelling ,,clairvoyance4 ,as a public entertainer at one time1 giving demonstrations of mesmeric phenomena1 ,i have had naturally many opportunities of seeing different types of clairvoyance4 ,during a course of entertainments given by me in ,rothesay1 #ahha1 ,i was able to introduce clairvoyance to public notice by the most difficult method1 that of public experiments4 ,m4 ,c41 the clairvoyante1 was a native of ,newcastle-on-,tyne4 ,all her clairvoyant experiments were satisfactory4 ,her husband was also a clairvoyant1 but not so striking for public exhibition4 ,m4 ,c4 seemed to possess all phases4 ,one or two experiments out of many will be interesting not only as illustrative of clairvoyance1 but because what ,i relate can be easily ratified4 ,m4 ,c4 arrived in ,rothesay for the first time about four hours previously to taking her seat upon the platform1 in the ,new ,public ,halls4 ,it was neither possible nor probable she could have obtained the information she possessed by other than psychic means4 ,the clairvoyant was mesmerised and blindfolded before the audience4 ,after some experiments in objective clairvoyance were given1 such as describing a watch1 telling the time1 and the number1 by having the watch held silently over her forehead1 she gave several experiments in travelling clairvoyance4 ,many visitors in the hall--for ,rothesay is a well known and fashionable seaside resort--sent up requests to the platform1 and desired the clairvoyante should visit their homes in ,kent1 ,cornwall1 ,island of ,jersey1 in the ,isle of ,man1 ,glasgow1 and other places4 ,her visits and descriptions were in all instances extremely satisfactory4 ,how far thought-transference and objective clairvoyance commingled and entered into her descriptions it would be difficult to say1 but the results were simply marvellous4 ,test case1 by the late ,dr4 ,maddever1 ,m4,d41 ,m4,r4,c4,s41 and ,dr4 ,john ,maddever1 his son4 ,these medical gentlemen resided in ,rothesay1 and were present in the hall4 ,dr4 ,maddever desired me to send the clairvoyante into a certain room in his house and that she should describe it4 ,all the directions the clairvoyante obtained were1 8to go out of the hall1 down the front steps2 when out turn to the right and proceed onward till she came to an iron-railed gate1 on which was a small brass plate1 bearing the name of #8,dr4 ,maddever1' she was to open the gate1 go up to the hall-door1 enter1 pass the first door to the left1 and turn round a passage to the left and enter the first door to which she came1 and describe what she saw40 ,sitting still upon the platform in silence for a minute or two1 she suddenly exclaimed3--8,i am at the gate--at the door--now in the hall--,i have found the room1 and ,i am now inside1 and stand with my back to the door40 ,she then proceeded to describe the room1 the book-cases which surrounded it1 their peculiar structure2 the mantel-piece1 the form of the clock1 the time1 and the appearance of the ornaments4 ,the table in the centre of the room1 its form1 the colour and style of the cloth upon it1 books1 albums1 and papers thereon1 the flower vase support in the window1 and a number of other particulars4 ,at the conclusion ,dr4 ,maddever arose in the audience and said3--8,ladies and gentlemen1 ,professor ,coates is a stranger to me1 ,i only know of him by report4 ,the young lady on the platform ,i do not know4 ,i have not seen either till this evening1 and they have never been in my house4 ,the experiment we have had is most remarkable1 and should be of deep and profound interest to all4 ,the young lady has described the room1 as far as ,i can remember1 most correctly--in fact very much better than ,i could have done myself40 ,this statement was received with applause4 ,after one or two instances of travelling clairvoyance1 a young gentleman rose in the body of the hall and desired ,i should send the sensitive to a house or villa not far from the juncture of ,marine ,place and ,ardbeg ,road4 ,the directions given to the clairvoyante were briefly to the effect1 she was to leave the place1 on reaching the front street she was to turn to her left and keep on past the ,post ,office1 ,esplanade1 past the ,skeoch ,woods1 etc41 till she came to the house4 ,she nodded her head in compliance1 and presently announced she 8had found the house40 ,then she shivered and appeared to draw back1 and said 8,i won't go in40 ,some persons in the audience laughed1 and one 7,i think it was the young gentleman who asked that she might be sent7 said3 8,the whole thing is a swindle40 ,now1 considering there was not a single flaw in the experiments that night1 surprise after surprise being given1 and the audience had risen in enthusiasm1 this opinion was not favourably received4 ,i asked the gentleman 8to have patience40 ,i had no doubt but we would know soon enough the reasons4 8,whatever they were ,i would try and ascertain them40 ,with much hesitancy she declared that 8the house was not one any respectable female would enter1 and she would not40 ,when ,i repeated this statement to the audience1 there was what the newspapers call 8sensation40 ,the sensation was intensified when one of the ,rothesay ,magistrates1 ,bailie ,molloy1 the then senior ,bailie of the ,royal ,burgh1 declared 8the young woman was right1 perfectly right1 this was a house which had been inadvertently let to persons of ill-fame1 and he1 for one1 had recently had the facts of the case placed before him1 and he was most anxious that these people should be put out1 and they would be1 as soon as the proper steps could be taken40 ,the young gentleman retired somewhat discomfited1 and the excitement produced by these and other experiments brought crowded houses during my professional stay4 ,when my 8mesmeric exposition0 was concluded1 the two medical gentlemen referred to1 were good enough to introduce themselves1 and invited me to call next day to see the room4 ,i accepted the invitation during the following day and saw how truly correct and vivid her description had been4 ,in the first experiment the sensitive described the state of the doctor's library1 pointing out what had not been recollected by either of the medical men1 and ,i believe the other case comes under the heading of direct and objective clairvoyance4 ,dr4 ,maddever's house was about a quarter of a mile1 and the other house about a mile and a half from the hall4 ,the persistent and reliable clairvoyance evinced by this sensitive was induced4 ,she was a mesmeric subject1 and when such subjects are properly treated they make the very best clairvoyants4 ,,psychic ,,vision ,,possessed ,,by ,,the ,,physically ,,blind4 ,mrs4 ,croad resided at ,redland1 ,bristol4 ,my attention was called to her case about fifteen years ago by ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,davey1 of ,bristol4 ,unfortunately circumstances at the time prevented a personal visit and report4 ,her psychic gifts and wonderful supersensitivity have been amply testified to1 by most reliable witnesses1 such as ,dr4 ,davey1 ,hy4 ,g4 ,atkinson1 ,f4,g4,s41 and others4 ,clairvoyance in ,mrs4 ,croad's case was and is 7for ,i believe the lady is still living7 a singular admixture of subtle sense transference so well known to mesmerists of the old school1 and spontaneous psychic vision4 ,thought-transference and indirect clairvoyance1 more or less induced1 by intense voluntary concentration4 ,mrs4 ,croad is deaf1 dumb1 and paralysed1 and stone blind4 ,she can see and hear1 read with powers 8denied to ordinary mortals10 and discern pictures and writings in the dark4 ,she is aware of her daughter's thoughts when the latter touches her1 and becomes at once acquainted with what her daughter wishes to communicate4 ,she possesses supersensitivity of touch1 and discerns colour by their degrees of heat1 roughness or smoothness4 ,she can also identify photographs and pictures in the same way4 ,from time to time she has exhibited the highest phases of clairvoyance4 ,reports have been made in this case by medical experts in the ,journal of ,psychological ,medicine1 and other magazines and journals several years ago4 ,the most recent was contributed by the ,rev4 ,taliesin ,dans1 ,the ,cottage1 ,claptons1 to ,the ,review of ,reviews in ,january1 #ahia4 ,,the ,,spiritualistic ,,and ,,practical ,,character ,,of ,,clairvoyance might be further illustrated by the well known case of ,miss ,eliza ,hamilton1 who became paralysed in her limbs and right arm1 through severe injury to the spine4 ,she had been in hospital for four months1 on her return home frequently passed into the trance state1 and on awakening described various people and places she had visited1 and objects seen4 ,these descriptions have been invariably verified subsequently4 8,she also at times10 says her physician1 8speaks of having been in the company of persons with whom she was acquainted in this world1 but who have passed away2 and she tells her friends that they have become more beautiful1 and have cut off their infirmities with which they were afflicted while here4 ,she often describes events which are about to happen1 and these are always fulfilled exactly as she predicts40 8,her father10 says ,mr4 ,hudson ,tuttle1 8read in her presence a letter he had received from a friend in ,leeds1 speaking of the loss of his daughter1 about whose fate he was very unhappy1 as she had disappeared nearly a month before1 and left no trace4 ,eliza went into the trance state1 and cried out1 #8,rejoice6 ,i have found the lost girl6 ,she is happy in the angel world4' ,she said the girl had fallen into the dark water where dyers washed their cloths2 that her friends could not have found her had they sought her there1 but now the body had floated a few miles1 and would be found in the ,river ,aire4 ,the body was found as described4 8,now1 knowing that her eyes were closed1 that she could not hear1 that her bodily senses were in profound lethargy1 how are we to account for the intensity and keenness of sight8 ,her mental powers were exceedingly exalted1 and scarcely a question could be asked her but she correctly answered4 8,in this case the independence of the mind of the physical body are shown in every instance of clairvoyance1 is proven beyond cavil or doubt4 ,if it is demonstrated that the mind sees without the aid of eyes1 hears when the ears are deaf1 feels when the nerves of sensation are at rest1 it follows that it is independent of these outward avenues1 and has other channels of communication with the external world essentially its own40 ,,clairvoyance ,,from ,,disease4 ,miss ,mollie ,fancher1 of ,brooklyn ,heights1 fell off a tramway car when eighteen years of age1 experienced very severe injuries to head and spine1 her body being dragged a distance1 through her dress catching on the step of the car4 ,she became paralysed1 lost all her senses1 except touch4 ,she gradually recovered hearing1 taste1 and ability to talk in time4 ,she was also blind for nine years4 ,drs4 ,speir and ,ormiston were her physicians1 men of skill and marked probity4 ,these1 with a veritable host of medical men--ministers of the ,gospel1 educationists and specialists--have borne testimony to her remarkable endowments1 from which we take two extracts4 ,mr4 ,charles ,ewart1 ,principal of the ,brooklyn ,heights ,seminary1 where she was under special care1 writes3-- 8,for many days together she has been to all appearances dead4 ,the slightest pulse could not be detected2 there was no evidence of respiration4 ,her limbs were as cold as ice1 and had there not been some warmth about her heart1 she would have been buried4 ,when ,i first saw her she had but one sense--that of touch4 ,by running her fingers over the printed page1 she could read with equal facility in light or darkness4 ,the most delicate work is done by her in the night4444 ,her power of clairvoyance1 or second sight1 is marvellously developed4 ,distance imposes no barriers1 without the slightest error she dictates the contents of sealed letters which have never been in her hands4 ,she discriminates in darkness the most delicate shades of colour4 ,she writes with extraordinary rapidity40 ,mr4 ,henry ,m4 ,parkhurst1 the astronomer 7residing at #agc ,gates ,avenue1 ,brooklyn1 ,n4,y471 writes3-- 8,from the waste-basket of a ,new ,york gentleman acquaintance he fished an unimportant business letter1 without reading it1 tore it into ribbons1 and tore the ribbons into squares4 ,he shook the pieces well together1 put them into an envelope1 and sealed it4 ,this he subsequently handed to ,miss ,fancher4 ,the blind girl took the envelope in her hand1 and passed her hand over it several times1 called for paper and pencil1 and wrote it verbatim4 ,the seal of the letter had not been broken4 ,mr4 ,parkhurst himself opened it1 pasted the contents together1 and compared the two4 ,miss ,fancher's was a literal copy of the original40 ,,mesmeric ,,clairvoyance ,,and ,,spiritualism4 8,a few evenings ago ,i called upon ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,loomis1 #b ,vernon ,place1 ,bloomsbury1 and after we had chatted for a short time in the drawing-room with the door closed and nobody else present1 ,i asked if they would try a mesmeric experiment for me4 ,they willingly agreed1 and ,mr4 ,loomis1 by passes1 threw his wife into a mesmeric state1 as he often does1 and an intelligence1 which claimed to be the spirit of her mother1 spoke through her lips4 ,until this moment ,i had said nothing to any living soul about the nature of my contemplated experiment1 but ,i then asked the unseen intelligence if it could then and there go to the house of ,mrs4 ,macdougall ,gregory1 #ba ,green ,street1 ,grosvenor ,square1 ,london1 and move a heavy physical object in her presence4 ,the reply was1 ,i do not know1 ,i will try4 ,about three minutes afterwards1 at #h4dj p4m41 the intelligence said that ,mrs4 ,gregory was in her drawing-room with a friend1 and added1 #8,i have made ,mrs4 ,gregory feel a prickly sensation in her arm from the elbow down to the hand1 as if some person had squeezed the arm1 and she has spoken about it to her friend4' 8,i took a note in writing of this statement at the time it was made4 ,a few minutes later ,i left ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,loomis1 and without telling them my intention to do so1 went straight to the house of ,mrs4 ,gregory about a mile and a half off4 ,i had selected ,mrs4 ,gregory for this experiment because she is not afraid to publish her name in connection with psychic truths1 and her word carries weight1 especially in ,scotland1 where she and her family are well-known4 ,she is the widow of ,professor ,gregory1 of ,edinburgh ,university1 and is a lineal descendant of the ,lord of the ,isles4 ,i then for the first time told ,mrs4 ,gregory of the experiment4 ,she replied that between half-past eight and nine o'clock that evening she was playing the piano1 and suddenly turned round to her friend1 ,miss ,yauewicz1 of ,upper ,norwood1 saying1 #8,i don't know what is the matter with me1 ,i feel quite stupid1 and have such a pain in my right arm that ,i cannot go on playing4' ,miss ,yauewicz1 who was no believer in spiritualism or any of the marvels of psychology1 felt a lively interest when she was informed of the experiment4 ,she told me that she clearly remembered ,mrs4 ,gregory's statement that she could not go on playing because of the pain in her right arm40,c ,mrs4 ,loomis was a remarkable clairvoyante1 whom ,i accidently became acquainted with in ,liverpool many years ago1 shortly after her arrival from ,america4 ,i introduced the lady and her husband1 ,mr4 ,daniel ,loomis1 to ,mr4 ,harrison1 then editor of ,the ,spiritualist4 ,the ,guion steamer1 ,idaho1 in which they came from ,new ,york1 was wrecked off the ,irish ,coast1 and all they possessed in this world was lost with the vessel4 ,mrs4 ,loomis predicted the disaster1 where it was likely to take place2 that all hands would be saved1 but all they had lost4 ,upon the arrival of the officers of the vessel in ,liverpool1 they presented ,mrs4 ,loomis1 at the ,bee ,hotel1 ,john ,street1 ,liverpool1 with a basket of flowers1 purse1 and testimonial1 in recognition of her gift1 and heroic conduct during and after the disaster4 ,i may add ,i knew ,mr4 ,harrison as a most careful investigator and a man of scientific tastes and ability4 ,i select the following case of a mesmeric sensitive controlled by a disembodied spirit1 from the writings of ,mr4 ,epes ,sargent1 author of 8,planchette on the ,despair of ,science10 etc41 as appropriately illustrative of this form of clairvoyance3-- 8,one of the daughters of my valued correspondent1 the late ,william ,howett1 was a mesmeric sensitive4 ,howett told ,professor ,w4 ,d4 ,gunning1 whose words 7slightly abridged7 ,i here use1 that1 on one occasion his daughter1 being entranced1 wrote a communication signed with the name of her brother1 supposed to be in ,australia4 ,the import was1 that he had been drowned a few days before in a lake4 ,dates and details were given4 ,the parents could only wait1 as there was no trans-oceanic telegraph4 ,months passed1 and at last a letter came from a nephew in ,melbourne1 bearing the tidings that their son had been drowned on such a day1 in such a lake1 under such and such circumstances4 ,date1 place1 and all the essential details were the same as those given months before through the daughter4 ,mr4 ,howett believed that the freed spirit of his son influenced the sister to write2 and ,i know of no explanation more rational that this40 ,,clairvoyance ,,due ,,to ,,spiritual ,,control4 ,such cases as the above are the most difficult of all to prove4 ,what ,i contend for is1 if it is demonstrated we can control a fellow-being1 throw him or her into a trance state--in which the phenomena of the psychic state are evolved--and seeing such state is induced largely by the control of spirit over spirit in the body1 why may not a disembodied spirit control1 direct1 or influence a suitable sensitive or medium in the body8 ,if not1 why not8 ,there is abundant evidence of such controls4 ,seeing objects concealed in boxes and letters1 or reading books and mottoes1 etc41 appears to some clairvoyants to be more difficult than diagnosing disease1 or seeing objects at a distance4 ,the why and wherefore seems at first difficult to explain4 ,the deliberate concealment of objects for the purpose of testing clairvoyance is often the result of a spirit of virulent suspicion1 disbelief1 and what is worse1 an earnest desire for failure1 so that the parties may rejoice on the discomfiture of the clairvoyants4 ,with such people failure is a source of pleasure4 ,nevertheless1 seeming impossibilities have been triumphed over4 ,long lost wills have been found1 and places of the accidental or intentional hiding discovered4 ,in more than one case deliberate fraud has been exposed1 and the guilty parties brought to acknowledge the truth of the sensitive's revelations4 ,,the ,,fugitive ,,nature ,,of ,,clairvoyance4 8,the chief feature10 said ,alexis ,didier1 8of the somnambulistic lucidity is its variability4 ,while the conjurer or juggler1 at all moments in the day and before all spectators1 will invariably succeed1 the somnambulist1 endowed with the marvellous power of clairvoyance1 will not be lucid with all interviewers and at all moments of the day2 for the faculty of lucidity being a crisis painful and abnormal1 there may be atmospheric influences or invincible antipathies at work opposing its production1 and which seem to paralyse all supersensual manifestation4 ,intuition1 clairvoyance1 lucidity1 are faculties which the somnambulist gets from the nature of his temperament1 and which are rarely developed in force40 ,further1 he adds1 8the somnambulistic lucidity varies in a way to make one despair2 success is continually followed by failure2 in a word1 error succeeds a truth2 but when one analyses the causes of this no right-minded person will bring up the charge of ,charlatanism1 since the faculty is subject to influences independent of the will and the consciousness of the clairvoyant40 ,alexis ,didier1 like his brother ,adolphe1 was a natural clairvoyant1 and excelled in direct and objective clairvoyance1 phases of the most striking and convincing character4 ,clairvoyance can be cultivated by the aid of mesmerism and by the introspection process4 ,by the first1 the sensitive can be materially assisted by the experience and help of the operator4 ,by the second1 something like natural clairvoyance can be induced4 ,either processes are more or less suitable to subdue the activity of the senses1 and give greater range to the psychic powers4 ,general instructions are of little use4 ,personal advice is best4 ,the operator then knows with whom he has to do1 their special temperament and character1 what are the best processes to adopt to cultivate their gift1 and how far such sensitives and students are themselves likely to be suitable for clairvoyant experiments4 ,i have found the 8,mirror ,disc0 useful in inducing favourable conditions in the normal state for the development of clairvoyance1 and recommend its use4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,psychometry4 ,illustration3 ,j4 ,,rhodes ,,buchanan1 ,m4,d4 ,what is psychometry8 ,dr4 ,george ,wyld esteems psychometry a phase of clairvoyance--8the knowledge the psychic obtains by a clue1 such as a lock of the hair of some absent person1 or some portion of a distant object40 ,mr4 ,stead calls it 7,review of ,reviews1 p4 #bba1 ,september1 #ahib7 8the strange new science of psychometry40 ,in this he pardonably errs4 ,psychometry may be strange1 but it is not new4 ,we may not recognise the name as old1 but the class of phenomena it specialises is as old as clairvoyance and mind-reading4 8,the word psychometry10 says ,dr4 ,buchanan1 8coined in #ahdb1 to express the character of a new science and art1 is the most pregnant and important word that has been added to the ,english language4 ,coined from the ,greek 7psyche1 soul2 and metron1 measure71 it literally signifies soul-measuring40444 8,the psychometer measures the soul40 ,in the case of psychometry1 the measuring assumes a new character1 as the object measured and the measuring instrument are the same psychic element1 and its measuring power is not limited to the psychic1 as it was developed in the first experiments1 but has appeared by successive investigations to manifest a wider and wider area of power1 until it became apparent that this psychic capacity was really the measure of all things in the universe4 ,hence1 psychometry signifies not merely the measuring of souls and soul capacities1 or qualities by our own psychic capacities1 but the measurement and judgment of all things conceivable by the human mind2 and psychometry means practically measuring by the soul1 or grasping and estimating all things which are within the range of human intelligence4 ,psychometry1 therefore1 is not merely an instrumentality for measuring soul powers1 but a comprehensive agency like mathematics for the solution of many departments of science4 8,prophecy10 says ,buchanan1 8is the noblest aspect of psychometry1 and there is no reason why it should not become the guiding power to each individual life1 and the guiding power of the destiny of nations40 ,for instance1 while all ,europe feared for ,boulanger1 ,metz was getting stored with food2 ,lord ,wolseley declared war imminent1 and the ,french themselves prepared for revanche4 ,psychometers declared for peace in #ahhi1 and said there was no prospect of war for five years4 ,subsequent events have proved ,boulanger lacking in both generalship and statesmanship--a veritable ,bombastes ,furioso2 and peace up to the time of writing is as yet unbroken4 ,dr4 ,buchanan claims--8,in physiology1 pathology1 and hygiene1 psychometry is as wise and parental as in matters of character and ethics4 ,a competent psychometer appreciates the vital forces1 the temperament1 the peculiarities1 and every departure from the normal state1 realising the diseased condition with an accuracy in which external diagnosis often fails4 ,in fact1 the natural psychometer is born with a genius for the healing art1 and if the practice of medicine were limited to those who possess this power in an eminent degree1 its progress would be rapid1 and its disgraceful failures in diagnosis and blunders in treatment and prognosis would be less frequently heard of40 ,many happy tests in diagnosis and in the successful treatment of disease--out of the ordinary routine--are due1 in my opinion1 not so much to elaborate medical training as to the fact of the practitioner--perhaps unconscious to himself--being possessed of more or less of the psychometric faculty4 ,dr4 ,buchanan1,d in his 8,original ,sketch10 gives us the history and some details of his discovery1 based upon certain investigations of the nervous system4 ,already he was well versed in the phenomena of hypnotism1 which is at this late day becoming a fashionable study and recreation of medical men4 ,he had demonstrated the responsive action of cerebral organs to mesmeric touch and influence1 and he was already acquainted with the curious psychological phenomena of sense and thought transference1 of double consciousness1 and all the nervous and pathological phases peculiar to natural and artificial somnambulism4 ,his investigation for years of the nervous system had clearly shown him that its capacities were far more extensive1 varied1 and interesting than physiologists and philosophers either knew or were prepared to admit4 ,he found in the nervous system a vast aggregate of powers which constitute the vitality of man1 existing in intimate connection with the vast and wonderful powers of his mind4 ,was it possible or rational to suppose that this nerve-matter1 so intimately co-related with mind1 and upon which the mind depends for the manifestation of its powers1 could be entirely limited to the narrow materialistic sphere assigned by physiologists8 ,he thought not4 ,in a conversation with ,bishop ,polk 7who afterwards became the celebrated ,general ,polk of ,confederate fame71 ,dr4 ,buchanan ascertained that ,bishop ,polk's nervous sensibility was so acute that1 if by accident he touched a piece of brass in the night1 when he could not see what he had touched1 he immediately felt the influence through his system1 and recognised an offensive metallic taste4 ,the discovery of such sensitiveness in one of the most vigorous men1 in mind and body1 of his day1 led ,dr4 ,buchanan to believe it might be found in many others4 ,it is needless to say his conjecture was correct4 ,accordingly1 in the numerous neurological experiments which he afterwards commenced1 he was accustomed to place metals of different kinds in the hands of persons of acute sensibility1 for the purpose of ascertaining whether they could feel any peculiar influence1 recognise any peculiar taste1 or appreciate the difference of metals1 by any impression upon their own sensitive nerves4 ,it soon appeared that the power was quite common1 and there were a large number of persons who could determine by touching a piece of metal1 or by holding it in their hands1 what the metal was1 as they recognised a peculiar influence proceeding from it1 which in a few moments gave them a distinct taste in the mouth4 ,but this sensitiveness was not confined to metallic substances4 ,every substance possessing a decided taste--sugar1 salt1 nutmeg1 pepper1 acid1 etc4--appeared to be capable of transferring its influence4 ,the influence appeared to affect the hand1 and then travel upwards4 ,he afterwards demonstrated when a galvanic or electric current passed through a medicinal substance1 the influence of the substance was transmitted with the current1 detected and described by the person operated upon4 ,medicinal substances1 enclosed in paper1 were readily recognised and described by their effects4 ,in due time1 stranger still1 a geological specimen1 an article worn1 a letter written upon1 a photograph which had been handled1 a coin1 etc41 transmitted their influence1 and the psychometrist was enabled to read off the history concerning the particular object4 ,nearly fifty years have elapsed since the discovery of this 8strange new science0 and art4 8,to-day it is widely known1 has its respected and competent practitioners1 who are able to describe the mental and vital peculiarities of those who visit or write them1 and who create astonishment and delight by the fidelity and fulness of the descriptions which they send to persons unknown1 and at vast distances4 ,they give minute analysis of character and revelations of particulars known only to the one described1 pointing out with parental delicacy and tenderness the defects which need correction1 or in the perverse and depraved they explain what egotism would deny1 but what society1 family1 and friends recognise to be too true40 ,,psychometric ,,reflections4 ,professor ,j4 ,w4 ,draper says3--8,a shadow never falls upon a wall without leaving thereupon a permanent trace--a trace made visible by resorting to proper processes4 ,upon the walls of private apartments1 where we think the eye of intrusion is altogether shut out1 and our retirement can never be profaned1 there exists the vestiges of our acts1 silhouettes of whatever we have done4 ,it is a crushing thought to whoever has committed secret crime1 that the picture of his deed1 and the very echo of his words1 may be seen and heard countless years after he has gone the way of all flesh1 and left a reputation for #8respectability' to his children40 ,detectives have received impressions from a scene of crime1 a clue to the unravelment of the mystery and the detection of the criminal4 ,yet they could not trace the impressions to anything they saw or heard during their preliminary investigations4 ,no detective will throw aside such impressions4 ,indeed1 those most successful are those who1 while paying attention to all outward and so-called tangible clues1 do not neglect for one moment the impressions received1 and the thoughts felt1 when gathering information likely to lead to the detection of the law-breakers4 ,hugh ,miller was right when he said1 8,i suspect that there are provinces in the mind that physicians have not entered into40 ,thoughts are things--living1 real and tangible1 images1 visions1 deep and pungent sensations--which exist after their creation distinct and apart from ourselves--8,footprints on the sands of time10 in more senses than one4 ,we all leave our mark in a thousand subtle ways4 ,no material microscope or telescope can detect1 nevertheless our mark can be discovered by the powers of the human soul4 ,from our cradle to the grave--does it stop there8--every thought1 emotion1 movement1 and action have left their subtle traces1 so that our whole life can be traced out by the psychometric expert4 ,we verily give hostages to fortune all through life4 ,,psychometric ,,sensitives4 ,professor ,denton was very fortunate in having in his wife1 children1 and in his sister1 ,mrs4 ,cridge1 gifted psychometers4 ,his sister possessed this psychic1 intuitive faculty in a high degree4 ,dr4 ,buchanan was equally fortunate2 not only was his wife a first-class sensitive1 but he discovered the faculty in several university professors1 and in students innumerable4 ,denton in his travels over ,america1 ,europe1 and ,australia found several hundred good sensitives1 some of whom have since made a reputation both in ,europe and ,america for their powers4 ,one important fact we learn from these pioneers in psychometric research is that not one of these persons knew they were endowed with the psychometric gift prior to taking part in classes or experiments4 ,the possession of the faculty is not confined to any age1 or to the gentle sex2 and ,denton concludes1 as an average1 that one female in four and one man in ten are psychometric sensitives4 ,the possibility is all healthy1 sensitive1 refined1 intuitive1 and impressionable persons possess the soul-measuring faculty1 and this faculty1 like all other innate human powers1 can be cultivated and brought to a high stage of perfection4 ,the psychometer1 unlike the induced clairvoyant or entranced medium1 is in general1 or outwardly at least1 a mere spectator1 as one who beholds a drama or witnesses a panorama1 and tells in his own way to someone else what he sees and what he thinks about it4 ,the sensitive can dwell on what is seen1 examine it closely1 and record individual opinions of the impressions of the persons1 incidents1 and scenes of the long hidden thus brought to light4 ,the sensitive has merely to hold the object in hand--as ,mrs4 ,coates is represented doing in frontispiece--or hold it to the forehead 7temple71 when he or she is enabled to come in contact with the soul of the person or thing with which the object has been in relation4 ,there is no loss of external consciousness1 no 8up rush0 of the subliminal1 obliterating and overlapping that of common life4 ,the sensitive appears to be in a perfectly normal condition during the whole time of examination1 can lay the article down1 noticing what takes place1 and entering into conversation with those in the room1 or drawing subjects1 seen or not1 as they think best4 ,,what ,,psychometry ,,can ,,do4 ,we can do little more than give a few general illustrations4 ,professor ,denton1 having thoroughly satisfied himself of the reality of psychometry1 wondered if letters had photographed upon them the impressions of the life and the image of the writer4 ,why not fossils8 8,he gave his sister a specimen from the carboniferous formation2 closing her eyes1 she described those swamps and trees1 with their tufted heads and scaly trunks1 with the great frog-like animals that existed in that age4 ,to his inexpressible delight the key to the ages was in his hands4 ,he concluded that nature had been photographing from the very first4 ,the black islands that floated upon the fiery sea1 the gelatinous dots1 the first life on our planet1 up through everything that flew or swam1 had been photographed by ,nature1 and ten thousand experiments had confirmed the theory4 ,he got a specimen of the lava that flowed from ,kilava1 in ,hawaii1 in #ahdh4 ,his sister by its means described the boiling ocean1 the cataract of molten lava that almost equalled ,niagara in size4 ,a small fragment of a meteorite that fell in ,painesville1 ,o41 was given to his wife's mother1 a sensitive who did not then believe in psychometry4 ,this is what she said3 #8,i seem to be travelling away1 away1 through nothing1 right forward4 ,i see what look like stars and mist4 ,i seem to be taken right up2 the other specimens took me down4' ,his wife1 independently1 gave a similar description1 but saw it revolving1 and its tail of sparks4 ,he took steps to prove that this was not mind reading by wrapping the specimens in paper1 shaking them up in a hat1 and allowing the sensitive to pick out one and describe it1 without anyone knowing which it was4 ,among them were a fragment of brick from ancient ,rome1 antimony from ,borneo1 silver from ,mexico1 basalt from ,fingal's ,cave4 ,each place was described correctly by the sensitive in the most minute detail4 ,a fragment from the ,mount of ,olives brought a description of ,jerusalem2 and one from the ,great ,pyramid enabled a young man of ,melbourne to name and describe it4 ,there was a practical side to the question4 ,his wife had1 from a chip of wood1 described a suicide2 this was subsequently confirmed4 ,a number of experiments from a fragment of ,kent's ,cave1 fragments from ,pompeii and other places brought minute descriptions from the sensitive40 ,mr4 ,stead bears his testimony to psychometry4 ,he gave a shilling to two ladies1 at different periods1 and unknown to each other4 ,in fact1 they were perfect strangers4 ,this shilling1 in his mind1 had a special story connected with it4 ,the first lady lived in ,wimbledon1 and had the profession of being a clairvoyante4 ,to use ,mr4 ,stead's own words1 he states3--8,i took from my purse a shilling which ,i most prized of all the pieces of money in my possession4 ,i said nothing to her beyond that ,i had carried it in my pocket for several years4 ,she held the shilling in her hand for sometime1 and said3--#8,this carries me back to a time of confusion and much anxiety1 with a feeling that everything depended upon a successful result4 ,this shilling brings me a vision of a very low woman1 ignorant and drunken1 with whom you had much better have nothing to do4 ,there is a great deal of fever about4 ,i feel great pains1 as if ,i had rheumatic fever in my ankles and joints1 but especially in my ankles and my throat4 ,i suffer horribly in my throat2 it is an awful pain4 ,and now ,i feel a coarse1 bare hand pass over my brow as distinctly as if you had laid your hand there4 ,it must be her hand4 ,i feel the loss of a child4 ,this woman is brought to me by another4 ,she is about thirty-two years2 about five feet high1 with dark brown hair1 grey eyes1 small1 nicely-formed nose1 large mouth4'0 8,can you tell me her name80 asked ,mr4 ,stead4 8,not certain1 but ,i think it seems like ,annie40 8,that is all right10 said ,mr4 ,stead1 and he told her the story of that shilling4 ,about a month afterwards1 ,mr4 ,stead tried a ,swedish opera singer1 who had clairvoyant powers1 with the shilling4 ,she pressed it to her brow1 and then she told ,mr4 ,stead 8she saw a poor woman give him1 from her pocket-money1 the last shilling she possessed4 ,she has a great admiration for you1 she said4 ,she seems to think you have saved her1 but she is not une grande dame4 ,indeed1 she seems to be a girl of the town40 ,mr4 ,stead said3--8,i had not spoken a word1 or given her the least hint of the story of the shilling40 ,now1 what are the facts8 ,mr4 ,stead says that he 8was standing his trial at the ,old ,bailey1 a poor outcast girl of the streets1 who was dying of a loathsome disease in the hospital1 asked that the only shilling that she possessed in the world1 might be given to the fund which was being raised in his defence4 ,it was handed to him when he came out of jail1 with1 #8,from a dying girl in hospital1 who gives her last shilling1' written on the paper40 ,he 7,mr4 ,stead7 has carried it about him ever since1 never allowing it to be out of his possession for a single day4 ,the symptoms which the first clairvoyante1 or psychometrix1 described1 were very like those which this poor creature was suffering from in her dying hours4 ,it is too probable that the donor was a low1 drunken woman4 ,these two readings are actually more psychometric than clairvoyant1 because1 from the clue furnished1 they went back and described the conditions and surroundings of the woman who parted with this shilling4 ,they were not thought-readers1 because they did not describe what was passing in ,mr4 ,stead's mind4 ,mr4 ,stead's experiences fairly illustrate the exercise1 in the earlier stages of employment1 of the psychometric faculty4 ,while engaged writing the 8,real ,ghost ,stories10 ,mr4 ,stead says3--8,my attention was called to a young lady1 ,miss ,catherine ,ross1 of #da ,high ,street1 ,smethwick1 ,birmingham1 who1 being left with an invalid sister to provide for1 and without other available profession or industry1 bethought herself of a curious gift of reading character1 with which she seems to have been born1 and had subsequently succeeded in earning a more or less precarious income by writing out characters at the modest fee of #es4 ,you sent her any article you pleased that had been in contact with the object1 and she sent you by return a written analysis of the subject's character4 ,i sent her various articles from one person at different times1 not telling her they were from the same person4 ,at one time a tuft of hair from his beard1 at another time a fragment of a nail1 and a third time a scrap of handwriting4 ,each delineation of character differed in some points from the other two1 but all agreed1 and they were all remarkably correct4 ,when she sent the last she added1 #8,i don't know how it is1 but ,i feel ,i have described this person before4' ,i have tried her since then with locks of hair from persons of the most varied disposition1 and have found her wonderfully correct40 8,all these things are very wonderful1 but the cumulative value of the evidence is too great for any one to pooh-pooh it as antecedently impossible4 ,the chances against it being a mere coincidence are many millions to one40 ,i believe had this young lady1 or others thus endowed1 had the training1 such as ,buchanan1 ,denton1 or other experienced teachers give their pupils1 she would make a high class psychometer4 ,rev4 ,minot ,j4 ,savage had a paper in a recent number of ,the ,arena1 on ,psychical ,research1 etc41 in which he said--8,on a certain morning ,i visited a psychometrist4 ,several experiments were made4 ,i will relate only one1 as a good specimen of what has occurred in my presence more than once4 ,the lady was not entranced or1 so far as ,i could see1 in any other than her normal condition4 ,i handed her a letter which ,i had recently received4 ,she took it1 and held it in her right hand1 pressing it close1 so as to come into as vital contact with it as possible4 ,i had taken it out of its envelope1 so that she might touch it more effectively1 but it was not unfolded even so much as to give her an opportunity to see even the name4 ,it was written by a man whom she had never seen1 and of whom she had never heard4 ,after holding it a moment she said1 #8,this man is either a minister or a lawyer2 ,i cannot tell which4 ,he is a man of a good deal more than usual intellectual power4 ,and yet he has never met with any success in life as one would have expected1 considering his natural ability4 ,something has happened to thwart him and interfere with his success4 ,at the present time he is suffering with severe illness and mental depression4 ,he has pain here' 7putting her hand to the back of her head1 at the base of the brain74 8,she said much more1 describing the man as well as ,i could have done it myself4 ,but ,i will quote no more1 for ,i wish to let a few salient points stand in clear outline4 ,these points ,i will number1 for the sake of clearness3-- #a4 8,she tells me he is a man1 though she has not even glanced at the letter40 #b4 8,she says he is either a minister or a lawyer2 she cannot tell which4 ,no wonder1 for he was both2 that is1 he had preached for some years1 then he had left the pulpit1 studied law1 and at this time was not actively engaged in either profession40 #c4 8,she speaks of his great natural ability4 ,this was true in a most marked degree40 #d4 8,but he had not succeeded as one would have expected4 ,this again was strikingly true4 ,certain things had happened--which ,i do not feel at liberty to publish--which had broken off his career in the middle and made his short life seem abortive40 ,about eighteen years ago a lady in ,swansea sent me a lock of hair1 and asked me to send her my impressions4 ,i did so1 which ,i remember were not pleasant4 ,i informed her1 as near as my recollection now serves1 that the person to whom the hair belonged was seriously ill4 ,no earthly skill could do anything for him4 ,diagnosing the character of the insidious disease which was then undermining a once powerful and active organisation1 ,i felt constrained to add he would live six weeks4 ,i held the envelope1 with its contents1 in my left hand1 and wrote the impressions as they came with my right4 ,i remember hesitating about sending that letter1 but eventually sent it4 ,the accuracy of my diagnosis1 description of the patient1 and the fulfilment of the prophecy as to his death were substantiated in a ,swansea paper1 ,the ,bat4 ,the patient was no other than ,captain ,hudson1 the ,british master mariner who sailed the first ship on teetotal principles from a ,british port1 and who subsequently became one of the most powerful of ,british mesmerists4 ,the lady who sent the lock of hair was his wife1 and the lady who contributed the letter to the papers was his widow4 ,of similar experiences ,mrs4 ,coates and ,i have had many4 ,,how ,,to ,,cultivate ,,the ,,psychometric ,,faculty4 ,class ,experiments4--,the sensitives are not to be magnetised or unduly influenced by positive manner and suggestions1 but are to sit in their normal state 7and without mental effort or straining to find out what they have in their hands71 and simply give expression to their impressions--sensations1 tastes1 etc41 if any1 and no matter how strange to them these may be4 ,let the experimenter or operator place different metallic substances in their hands1 taking care that these substances are carefully covered with tissue paper or other light substance1 which will help to hide their character1 and at the same time not prevent their influence being imparted1 or try them with medical substances4 ,in those sufficiently sensitive1 an emetic will produce a feeling of nausea4 ,the substance must be put down before it causes vomiting4 ,geological specimens can be given--a shell1 a tooth1 or tusk4 ,let the experimenter record the utterances patiently1 and seek confirmation of the description from an examination of the specimen subsequently4 ,he should not know what special specimen it is previous to the psychometer's declared opinion4 ,good specimens are best4 ,thus a fragment of pottery1 a piece of scori1 or a bit of brick from1 say1 ,pompeii would present material from which the psychometrist could glean strong and vivid impressions4 ,if a medical man is not satisfied as to the correct pathological conditions of his patient1 he might ask the psychometer to take some article of the patient in hand1 and get1 in the sensitive's own--and therefore very likely untechnical--language1 what he feels and sees regarding this particular patient's case4 ,unsuspected abscesses and tumours have been correctly pointed out in this way4 ,in the same way a correct diagnosis of character can be given in many instances more correctly1 more subtle1 and penetrating in detail1 than estimates built upon mere external and physical signs of temperament and cranial contours4 ,lay a coin on a polished surface of steel4 ,breathe upon it1 and all the surface will be affected save the portion on which the coin lay4 ,in a few minutes neither trace of breathing nor of the coin are likely to be seen on the surface of the polished steel4 ,breathe again1 and the hitherto unseen image of the coin is brought to light4 ,in like manner1 everything we touch records invisibly to us that action4 ,hand your sensitive a letter which has been written in love or joy1 grief or pungent sorrow1 and let them give expression to their sensations4 ,as the breath brought back the image on the steel1 so will the nervous and the psychic impressionability of the sensitive bring to light the various emotions which actuated the writers who penned the letters4 ,mr4 ,g4 ,h4 ,lewes says 8that he has brushed the surface of the polished plate with a camel's-hair brush1 yet on breathing upon it the image of the coin previously laid upon it was distinctly visible40 ,the mere casual handling of letters by intermediates will not obliterate the influence of the original writers2 they have permeated the paper with their influence1 so that1 if a score or more of psychometrists held the paper1 they would coincide1 perhaps not in their language1 but in their descriptions of the originals and the state of their minds while writing4 ,the experimenter may help1 by asking a few judicious but not leading questions1 to direct and guide the attention of the psychometrist4 ,the description will be a capital delineation of the individual who wrote the letter4 ,we have frequently tested the sincerity of correspondents1 real and other friends1 by this process4 ,if the results have sometimes been unpleasant revelations1 we have yet to find in any case that we have been mistaken4 ,how is the sensitive able to glean so much of the real character of the original8 one is inclined to ask4 ,while writing1 sincerity and earnestness leave a deeper impression than indifference1 pretence1 or ordinary come-to-tea politeness4 ,some letters are instinct with the writer's identity1 individuality1 masculinity1 earnestness1 and enthusiasm4 ,others are lacking in these things1 because the writers were devoid of these qualities1 while others vary at different times4 ,the writer writes as his soul moves him1 and the writing expresses his aims and hopes as they appear to his external consciousness4 ,while writing1 his soul draws his image on the paper1 and pictures out thereon his real thoughts2 and when the sensitive gets hold of the letter1 outstands the image of the writer and the imagery of his thoughts4 ,the psychic consciousness of the psychometer grasps the details and describes them4 8,the strange new science of psychometry0 is of profound interest to all4 ,psychometers are to be found in every household4 ,the whole subject is one about which a good deal more could be easily written1 but this must do4 ,those who desire to understand psychometry cannot do better than read up fully the literature of the subject1 and those who desire to practise psychometry may do much to ascertain whether they possess the faculty in any degree2 but all are warned to have nothing to do with persons who undertake to develop their powers1 a self-evident absurdity4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,thought-,transference and ,telepathy4 ,thought-,transference is evidently a phase of psychic perception4 ,in some respects it bears a greater relation to feeling than sight4 ,it is distinguished from pure clairvoyance by the result of experiment4 ,for instance1 suppose ,i had in the ,rothesay case designed ,m4 ,c41 the clairvoyante1 should see 8a maid in the room1 dressed in a black dress1 with neat white collar and cuffs1 wearing a nicely-trimmed white apron1 and a white tulle cap with bows and streamers1 or that a black-and-white spotted cat lay comfortably coiled up upon the hearth-rug1 or some other strongly-projected mental image40 ,now1 suppose while ,m4 ,c4 was examining the room1 she declared she saw the maid1 and described her1 or the cat1 or other objects projected from my mind1 and described these1 then this would be a case of thought-transference4 ,there is a distinction between thought-transference and thought-reading4 ,it is no mere fanciful distinction either4 ,thought-transference occurs when the ideas1 thoughts1 and emotions of one mind are projected by intense action and received by the sensitive and impressionable mind of another--awake or asleep is immaterial--so long as it occurs without pre-arrangement and contact4 ,telepathy is a more vivid form of sudden and unexpected thought-transference1 in which the intense thoughts and wishes of one person1 more or less in sympathy1 are suddenly transferred to the consciousness of another4 ,the thoughts transmitted are often so intense as to be accompanied by the vision of the person1 and by the sound of their voice4 ,telepathy bears about the same relation to thought-transference as 8second sight0 does to clairvoyance4 ,thought-transference and clairvoyance can be cultivated4 ,not so telepathy and second sight4 ,they are phenomena1 which belong to the unexpected1 portents of the unusual1 or sudden revelations of what is1 and what is about to happen4 ,doubtless1 there are conditions more favourable than others for inception of these4 ,one needs to be 8in spirit on the ,lord's day10 or any day1 before telepathic and second sight messages are secured4 ,hence it is noticed telepathic revelations mostly come in the quietude of the evening1 just before sleep1 between sleep and waking1 and under similar conditions favourable to passivity and receptivity in the sensitive or percipient4 ,in thought-reading both operator and sensitive are aware that something is to be done1 and indications1 intentional or otherwise1 are given to make the thought-reader find out what is required4 ,more or less sensitiveness is required in both phases4 ,in telepathy and thought-transference the psychic elements are in the ascendency2 in thought-reading they may be more or less present1 but intention1 sensitiveness1 and muscular contact are adequate enough1 ,i think1 to account for the phenomena1 as witnessed at public entertainments--so far1 at least1 as these entertainments are genuine4 ,how do we think8 what are thoughts8 and how are thoughts transferred8 are reasonable questions1 and merit more elaborate solution than is possible in an elementary work like this4 ,we think in pictures3 words are but vehicles of thought4 ,in thought-transference we can successfully project actions1 or a series of actions1 by forming in our minds a scene or picture of what is done and what is to be reproduced4 ,when1 however1 we think of a sentence consisting of few or many words1 there is nothing more difficult to convey4 ,words belong to our external life here1 and are but arbitrary expressions and signs for what in the internal or soul-life is flashed telepathically from mind to mind4 ,thoughts are things for good or ill1 veritable and living realities1 apart from our exterior selves1 independent of words4 ,the more words1 often the less thought4 ,try to teach a child by the slow1 dry-as-dust method of words1 and the road to knowledge is hard and wearisome4 ,convey the same thoughts by illustrations and experiments1 and the child's mind at once grasps the ideas we desire to convey4 ,thoughts are living entities 7how poor are words67 which our own souls have given birth to1 or created in the intensity of our love1 wisdom1 or passion4 ,one ,eastern adept has taught1 8,a good thought is perpetuated as an active1 beneficent power1 an evil one as a malignant demon4 ,the ,hindoo calls this karma4 ,the adept evolves these shapes consciously2 other men throw them off unconsciously40 ,how true in our experience6 ,the thoughts of some men blast1 while those of others bless4 ,there is wisdom in thinking deliberately1 intelligently1 and therefore conscientiously1 not passionately1 impulsively1 or carelessly4 ,in thought-transference the reproduction of exact words and dates seems to be most difficult4 ,indeed1 the transmission of arbitrary words and signs is apparently the most difficult4 ,the reason1 ,i conclude1 is1 ideas belong to our inner1 real1 and spiritual life1 and names1 words1 and dates to our exterior existence4 ,the ideas can be expressed in the language of the sensitive1 according to culture or the want of it4 ,if the true lineaments of the picture are given1 need we be too exacting as to the special frame surrounding the picture8 ,notwithstanding the difficulty in transference and the reading of the exact words1 this has also been frequently done4 ,a very high state of receptivity and sensitiveness1 however1 is necessary in the percipient4 ,an incident of exact word-reading is related by ,gerald ,massey1 the distinguished philosopher and poet4 ,mr4 ,massey met ,mr4 ,home at the ,london terminus just on his 7,mr4 ,massey's7 arrival from ,hertfordshire4 ,home and he entered into conversation1 during which ,home suddenly said 8he hoped ,mr4 ,massey would go on with his poem40 8,what did he mean80 asked ,mr4 ,massey4 8,the poem10 replied ,home1 8you composed four lines of just now in the train40 ,this was surprising to ,mr4 ,massey1 who had actually composed1 but had not written1 the four lines of a new poem on the journey4 ,mr4 ,massey challenged ,mr4 ,home to repeat the lines1 which ,home did word for word4 ,how are thoughts transferred8 ,no one can positively say4 ,there are theories enough--the theory of brain-waves and of a universal impalpable elastic ether1 of undulating motions1 or other more or less materialistic hypothesis4,e ,we know there are no psychic phenomena without their corresponding physical correlatives1 and1 in this life at least1 these are in thoughts evolved without producing corresponding molecular changes in the brain4 ,we notice the human brain is capable of being1 and is1 acted upon daily by much less subtle influences than mental impressions4 ,we can appreciate light impinged upon our cerebral centres at the rate of millions of undulations1 and sound as the result of #bj1jjj to #cj1jjj vibrations per second4 ,so sensitives1 when in the mesmeric or psychic states1 are readily acted upon1 and respond as in thought-transference to our thoughts and sensations1 and veritably read our minds1 because of the rapport or sympathy thus established4 ,whether they become percipients of the nerve-vibrations which escape from our own sensoriums or not1 what does it matter if they can1 as they frequently do1 read our minds8 8,professor ,wheaton10 says ,hudson ,tuttle1 8devised a means of illustrating sympathy4 ,if a sounding board is placed so as to resound to all instruments of the orchestra1 and connected by a metallic rod of considerable length with the sounding board of a harp or piano1 the instrument will accurately repeat the notes transmitted4 8,the nervous system1 in its two-fold relation to the physical and spiritual being1 is inconceivably more finely organised than the most perfect musical instrument1 and is possessed of finer sensitiveness4 8,it must not be inferred that all minds are equally receptive4 ,light falls on all substances alike1 but is very differently affected by each substance4 ,one class of bodies absorb all but the yellow rays1 another all but the blue1 another all but the red1 because these substances are so organised that they respond only to the waves of the colours reflected40 ,all persons do not hear alike4 ,they receive certain sounds and are deaf to all others1 although the sound-waves strike all tympanums alike4 ,all persons do not see alike4 ,some perceive colours1 others cannot distinguish between one colour and another1 or can only see the more striking colours--fineness of shade they do not perceive4 ,so there are individuals who cannot receive mental impressions1 unless1 indeed1 they are conveyed in the baldest and most esoteric manner4 ,in a word to convey and receive impressions they must be sent along the line of the least resistance1 that of true sympathy4 ,there must be one mind adequate to the projection1 and another mind sufficiently sensitive to receive and record the thoughts projected4 ,,transference ,,of ,,taste ,,in ,,the ,,mesmeric ,,state4 ,the operator will slowly eat or taste half-a-dozen lozenges or sweets of different flavours1 and the subject or sensitive most in sympathy with him will also in imagination eat of and describe the taste of the various sweets1 concerning which he has no other knowledge than the thoughts of eating and tasting1 which are transmitted to him from the brain of the operator4 ,the mere eating of the lozenges by the operator1 without his being fully aware of the fact1 will deepen the impression on the operator's mind1 and help to concentrate his energies for the transmission of his ideas or mental suggestions to his subject4 ,a step or two further and we find with greater sensitiveness the sensitives can read the thoughts of the operator1 whether the thoughts were transmitted intentionally or not4 8,we are compelled 7says ,dr4 ,hands7 to acknowledge that certain emanating undulations from the sensorium can generate different series of thoughts1 and that the trembling organisation1 or parts of it1 can1 by flinging or throwing off distinct or particular pulsatory waves1 inoculate or produce like vibrations in another person's brain1 making up in it identical thoughts1 followed by like feelings1 and often in this way1 perhaps1 capable of inciting1 through sympathy1 like enactments of deeds and pursuits40 ,,thought-,,transference ,,in ,,dreams4 ,the following interesting letter appeared in ,the ,phrenological ,magazine 7p4 #bfj1 ,april1 #ahij71 and as ,i know of the bona-fides of the writer1 ,i have much pleasure in reproducing it3-- 8,dear ,sir1--,this morning1 at a little before four o'clock1 ,i awoke as the outcome of great mental distress and grief through which ,i had just passed in a dream1 my body trembling and in a cold perspiration4 ,i had been walking with my little boy1 aged five and a half years1 and some friends4 ,a heavy rain overtaking us1 we stood up for shelter2 and venturing forth into a maze of streets1 ,i missed my two friends1 who1 threading among the people1 had turned into a side street without my noticing4 ,looking for them1 my boy slipped from me1 and was lost in the crowd4 ,i became bewildered by the strange labyrinth of streets and turnings1 and quickly taking one of them which gave an elevated position1 ,i looked down on the many windings1 but could nowhere see my boy4 ,it was to me an unknown locality1 and1 running down among the people1 ,i was soon sobbing aloud in my distress1 and calling out the name of the child1 when ,i awoke4 ,with wakefulness came a sense of relief and thankfulness4 ,gladly realising that the whole was only a dream1 and still scarcely awake1 ,i was startled by a cry of terror and pain from an adjoining bedroom--such a cry as could not be left unheeded4 ,it came from the same child1 and pierced me with a distinct sense of pain4 ,i was immediately by his side4 ,my voice calmed him4 #8,i thought ,i was lost' was all he could say1 and doubtless he was soon composed and asleep again4 ,to me the coincidence was too remarkable and without parallel in my own experience4 ,later on1 at breakfast1 the child gave further his dream that he had been out with me and was lost4 ,i am only familiar with such things in my reading4 ,mr4 ,coates's article in last month's ,phrenological ,magazine 7page #adc7 mentions that1 #8when the ,prince ,imperial died from assegai thrusts in ,zululand1 his mother in ,england felt the intensity of his thoughts at the time1 felt the savage lance pierce her own side1 and knew or felt at the time that she was childless4' ,but ,i am not of the spirituelle type1 with only a thin parchment separation between this life of realities and the great beyond1 of those who1 privileged to live in close touch with the future1 are the subjects of premonitions and warnings4 ,my spirituality #d to #e and reflectives #f point rather the other way1 but ,i shall1 nevertheless1 hold tight to the lad4 ,what is the underlying cause of the coincidence8 ,which of the two minds influenced the other1 if either8--,yours truly1 8,g4 ,cox4 8#af ,bramfield ,road1 ,wandsworth ,common1 ,april #bj1 #ahij40 ,in this case of thought-transference1 ,i am inclined to the opinion that the father's mind influenced that of the boy1 the son being the more sensitive of the two4 ,mr4 ,cox dreamt an ordinary but pretty vivid dream1 which aroused from its nature vivid and intense anxiety on his part4 ,a similar train of thought was awakened in the child4 ,if thought-transference occurs in waking life1 why not in sleep1 when1 as abundant telepathic instances testify1 the phenomenon is of most frequent occurrence4 ,,thought-,,transference ,,at ,,sea4 ,the percipient was ,captain ,g4 ,a4 ,johnson1 of the schooner 8,augusta ,h4 ,johnson40 ,he had sailed from ,quero for home4 ,on the voyage he encountered a terrible hurricane4 ,on the second day he saw a disabled brig1 and near by a barque4 ,he was anxious to reach home1 and1 thinking the barque would assist the brig1 continued on4 ,but the impression came that he must turn back and board the brig4 ,he could not shake it off1 and at last he1 with four men1 boarded the brig in a dory4 ,he found her deserted1 and made sail in her4 ,after a time they saw an object ahead1 appearing like a man on a cake of ice4 ,the dory was again manned1 and set to the rescue4 ,it proved to be the mate of the barque 8,leawood0 clinging to the bottom of an overturned boat1 which1 being white1 appeared in the distance as ice4 ,the captain's sensitiveness may have been aroused by the exhaustion of so much wakefulness and care during the length of the storm1 the sight of the derelict and deserted brig2 at the same time the premonitions were opposed to his own desire and anxiety to get home4 ,,thought-,,transference ,,from ,,the ,,dying ,,to ,,the ,,living ,,in ,,dream4 ,the following1 by ,e4 ,ede1 ,m4,d41 of ,guilford 7,j4,s4,p4,r41 ,july1 #ahhb73-- 8,lady ,g4 and her sister had been spending the evening with their mother1 who was in her usual health and spirits when they left her4 ,in the middle of the night the sister awoke in a fright1 and said to her husband1 #8,i must go to my mother at once2 do order the carriage4 ,i am sure she is ill4' ,the husband1 after trying in vain to convince his wife that it was only a fancy1 ordered the carriage4 ,as she was approaching the house1 where two roads met1 she saw lady ,g4's carriage4 ,when they met1 each asked the other why she was there4 ,the same reply was made by both--#8,i could not sleep1 feeling sure my mother was ill1 and so ,i came to see4' ,as they came in sight1 they saw their mother's confidential maid at the door1 who told them when they arrived that their mother had taken suddenly ill1 and was dying1 and had expressed an earnest wish to see her daughters40 ,the percipients having been so lately in company and sympathy with their mother possibly rendered them more susceptible to her influence4 ,,thought-,,transference ,,from ,,the ,,dead 787 ,,to ,,the ,,living ,,in ,,dream4 ,related by ,mr4 ,myers1 page #bjh1 ,proceedings ,s4,p4,r41 ,july1 #ahib3-- 8,about ,march1 #aheg1 ,mrs4 ,mennier1 in ,england1 dreamt that she saw her brother1 whose whereabouts she did not know1 standing headless at the foot of the bed with his head lying in a coffin by his side4 ,the dream was at once mentioned4 ,it afterwards appeared that at about the time the head of the brother seen1 ,mr4 ,wellington1 was actually cut off by the ,chinese at ,sarawak40 ,on this case1 ,mr4 ,gurney remarks--8,this dream1 if it is to be telepathically explained1 must apparently have been due to the last flash of thought in the brother's consciousness4 ,it may seem strange that a definite picture of his mode of death should present itself to a man in the instant of receiving an unexpected and fatal blow2 but1 as ,hobbes said1 #8,thought is quick4' ,the coffin1 at any rate1 may be taken as an item of death-imagery supplied by the dreamer's mind40 8,we have now1 however10 says ,mr4 ,myers1 8seen a letter from ,sir ,james ,brookes 7,rajah of ,sarawak71 and an extract from the ,straits ,times of ,march #bast1 #aheg1 in the 7,london7 ,times for ,april #bith1 #aheg1 which makes it1 ,i think1 quite conceivable that the dream was a reflection of knowledge acquired after death1 and the head on the coffin had a distinct meaning40 ,sir ,james ,brookes says3--8,poor ,wellington's remains were consumed by the ,chinese2 his head1 borne off in triumph1 alone attesting his previous murder40 ,the ,straits ,times says3--8,the head was given up on the following day4 ,the head1 therefore1 and the head alone1 must have been buried by ,mr4 ,wellington's friends2 and its appearance in the dream on the coffin1 with a headless body standing beside it1 is a coincidence even more significant than the facts which ,mr4 ,gurney had before him when he wrote40 ,the transmission of thought from a spirit discarnate to one incarnate1 whose body was asleep1 should not be esteemed impossible4 ,abundant instances1 equally well substantiated1 might be recorded did space permit4 ,,thought ,,transference ,,in ,,prayer4 ,this may be a common experience1 but only once in my life have ,i had conscious knowledge of anything so remarkable4 ,for some years before devoting my attention to these subjects1 ,i resided in ,liverpool1 and had been a member of the ,zion ,methodist ,church1 or ,chapel1 in ,everton1 and in time was duly placed on the local preachers' plan4 ,in this capacity ,i became acquainted with a worthy old man--a chapel-keeper1 who looked after the meeting house situated in ---- street4 ,he had been an old soldier1 and possessed something of the faith of the ,roman centurion4 ,poor in the things of this world1 he was rich in the sublimity of his love to ,god and the nobility and purity of his life4 ,i never think of 8,old ,daddy ,walker0 but his character and this incident comes to my mind1 viz43--,one morning ,i was hurrying down ,west ,derby ,road to business1 and1 indeed had got halfway down ,brunswick ,road1 when ,i commenced to think about old ,walker 7,i had not seen or thought of him for some months74 ,i attempted to throw aside my impressions1 as passing thoughts4 ,no use4 ,i became worried about him1 and was asking myself questions4 8,was he ill80 8,maybe1 he is in want80 8,i think ,i will hurry back and see80 ,i had not much time to spare4 ,it would consume fully twenty minutes to walk back4 ,after hesitating1 ,i went up ,brunswick ,road and up ,west ,derby ,road1 and to ---- ,street1 and tapped at the door of his house4 ,there was no response4 ,the street door was slightly ajar4 ,i went in1 and found the old pair on their knees in the kitchen4 ,he was engaged in earnest prayer4 ,after kindly salutations1 ,i apologised for intruding1 and told him1 as ,i went to business1 8,i had been bothered about him in my mind1 and did not feel satisfied until ,i had seen him1 and knew the truth40 ,he told me1 as near as ,i can recollect1 8,he was at his last extremity4 ,there was no food or fuel in the house1 he had no money1 and he had been putting the whole case before the ,lord40 ,i had half a sovereign about me1 which ,i had taken out of the house for an entirely different purpose4 ,this ,i gave to him4 ,the old man1 rubbing a tear from his eye1 looking at his wife1 said3 8,mary1 don't thee doubt the ,lord anymore4 ,i said ,he would help1 and ,he has given me what ,i asked for40 ,old ,walker went on to explain1 not only his bad fix1 but that he had no money to buy firewood with4 ,he meant that he bought up old wood and tar-barrels1 which he cut up into lengths and made into bundles1 and sold for firewood2 and that he had asked the ,lord for ten shillings1 as he wanted that sum to buy a certain lot which could be obtained for that amount4 ,the old man obtained what he asked for4 ,he believed the ,lord had answered his prayer4 ,,thought ,,transmission ,,in ,,prayer4 ,since writing the above1 the following came under my notice4 ,in the ,j4,s4,p4,r41 ,may1 #ahhe1 ,dr4 ,joseph ,smith1 ,warrington1 ,england1 says3-- 8,i was sitting one evening reading1 when a voice came to me1 saying3 #8,send a loaf to ,james ,grady's4' ,i continued reading1 and the voice continued with greater emphasis1 and this time it was accompanied with an irresistible impulse to get up4 ,i obeyed1 and went into the village and bought a loaf of bread1 and1 seeing a lad at the shop door1 ,i asked him if he knew ,james ,grady4 ,he said he did1 so ,i bade him carry it and say a gentleman sent it4 ,mrs4 ,grady was a member of my class1 and ,i went next morning to see what came of it1 when she told me a strange thing happened to her last night4 ,she said she wished to put the children to bed1 they began to cry for want of food1 and she had nothing to give them4 ,she then went to prayer1 to ask ,god to give them something4 ,soon after which the lad came to the door with the loaf4 ,i calculated1 on inquiry1 that the prayer and the voice ,i heard exactly coincided in point of time40 8,more things are wrought by prayer ,than this world dreams of40 ,those who know anything of ,methodism1 will know this4 ,the ,methodists have a profound faith in prayer1 and also there is a very close relationship between a class-leader and his members4 ,dr4 ,smith was1 therefore1 all the more likely to be the percipient of the woman's earnest and intense prayer to ,god to feed her hungry children4 ,the ,infinite must have an infinite variety of ways of fulfilling ,his own purposes4 ,is it unreasonable to suppose that prayer to ,him may not be answered indirectly 8through means08 and that thought-transference1 as in this instance1 may be one of the means8 ,if not1 why not8 ,charitable institutions are maintained2 orphans saved1 reared1 and educated2 missions of mercy organised1 and the necessary means found by the agency of prayer4 ,beside 8the angels10 in ,that ,sphere just beyond the ken of the physical1 may not our waves of thought1 projected by prayer1 be impinged upon1 and directly affect susceptible minds in this world1 by directing their attention to those works of faith and goodness8 ,prayer is the language of love1 and the outcome of true helplessness and need4 ,a praying man is an earnest man4 ,in prayer thoughts are things--bread upon the waters4 ,,thought ,,transference ,,in ,,distress4 ,i withhold the names for family reasons4 ,mr4 ---- had been in business in ,glasgow for nearly thirty years1 and1 from comparatively small beginnings1 had been very successful4 ,latterly1 he and his family resided in ----1 a suburb of ,glasgow4 ,both in the city and in this district ,mr4 ---- was very much respected1 being a church member and holding office in ---- ,free ,church4 ,for some time ,mr4 ---- had been ailing1 and his medical attendant advised him to take a sea voyage--a thorough change1 etc4 ,in compliance with this advice1 he took a trip up the ,mediterranean4 ,miss ----1 a distant relative of his1 had been visiting ,glasgow1 and1 being on terms of intimacy with the family1 knew of his departure from ,glasgow4 ,about two weeks after he left1 she also left ,glasgow for ,edinburgh4 ,while in the train for ,edinburgh1 she was overcome with great anxiety for ,mrs4 ----1 his wife4 ,unable to shake the feeling off1 instead of going to ,edinburgh1 she actually got out of the train halfway1 at ,falkirk1 and took the next train back to ,glasgow1 and went to her friend's house1 whom she found in great distress4 ,mrs4 ---- had1 about the time ,miss ---- became distressed in the train1 received word that her husband was found dead 7having committed suicide7 in his berth on the steamer at ,constantinople4 ,the state of mind of the newly-made widow re-acted on that of ,miss ----4 ,as ,miss ---- was not only a dear friend1 but was noted for her earnest piety1 the widow at once earnestly desired to see her4 ,when last these two friends saw each other1 everything seemed to contribute to happiness and comfort4 ,mrs4 ---- was looking forward hopefully for the return of her husband1 restored in health1 to herself and children4 ,,thought ,,transference ,,in ,,ordinary ,,experience4 ,whether thought-transference is a 8relic of a decaying faculty10 or the 8germ of a new and fruitful sense10 daily experience in the lives of most furnish abundant evidence of the existence of such a power4 ,my own life has supplied me with abundant evidence of the fact4 ,it is a common occurrence with us for either my wife or ,i to utter or give expression to the thoughts which1 for the time being1 occupied the conscious plane in the other4 ,it is possible there may have been1 as there has been in some instances1 some half phrase uttered or manner shown1 which in the one have aroused the thoughts expressed by the other4 ,it has been our habit for several years to stay at ,rothesay during the summer season4 ,as an instance of thought-transference quite common in our experience2--,on ,saturday1 #ast ,october1 #ahib1 ,i went to the ,revision ,court at the ,town ,hall to hear registration disputes settled between ,tory and ,gladstonian lawyers4 ,finding nothing to interest me1 ,i entered into conversation with ,mr4 ,thompson1 jeweller and hardware merchant1 whom ,i met in the ,court1 and went with him to his shop in ,montague ,street1 ,rothesay4 ,standing at his door a short time1 ,i noticed a solitary pair of shamrock earrings1 composed of crystal brilliants and gold1 lying on a tray1 with a number of other earrings1 in one of the windows4 ,i inquired the price1 as ,i felt sure ,mrs4 ,coates would be pleased with them4 ,they were packed up in a neat box1 and ,i took them home4 ,at dinner1 ,i gave the box to my wife1 who said1 8,what is this1 papa80 8,open and see10 ,i replied4 ,animated with a little curiosity1 she did1 and1 as soon as she saw the earrings1 said1 8,thompson's6 ,well1 papa1 that is funny4 ,james 7my little son7 and ,i stood at ,thompson's window last night1 and ,i admired these earrings4 ,i thought them so neat1 and that they would match my brooch4 ,i thought ,i would like to have them1 and then ,i thought to myself1 no2 ,i will not spend the money4 ,i pointed them out to ,james1 and said to him1 ,i am sure if papa saw them1 he would buy them--and here you have brought them home4 ,i cannot tell you how much ,i prize them40 ,my little boy said1 8,thought-reading again1 papa60 and1 with a good laugh1 we proceeded to discuss our dinner4 ,mrs4 ,coates had not been in the habit of seeing this particular window1 and ,i am not in the habit of buying jewellery4 ,i record this trifle here1 as one of our common experiences1 and ,i am satisfied similar experiences are common to all4 ,another experience is the anticipation of letters and their contents4 ,this is most frequent in the morning1 just before rising4 ,i frequently see the letters and the shape of the envelope and style of address before ,i actually see the letters on my consulting table4 ,the most common experience of all is recognised by the adage1 8,think of the ,devil1 and he will appear40 ,i have noted this in particular4 ,sitting at the table1 there is 8popped0 into my mind a thought of someone4 ,i will remark1 8,i think ,mr4 or ,mrs4 ---- will be here to-day10 and they come4 ,certainly1 all who have come in this way have been relatives or friends2 and although they appear subsequent to the thought of them1 the evidence in favour of thought-transference may not be esteemed conclusive4 ,i say it is a common experience4 ,i don't think we should despise any experience1 because it is common4 ,to be common1 indicates there is a basis1 amounting to a psychic law1 to account for its existence4 ,another common experience is the crossing of letters4 ,one person suddenly recollects 8,so-and-so20 and writes them a letter excusing delay in writing1 retailing news1 and in all probability writing on some subject more particularly than on others4 ,strange to say1 the person you have written to1 has also been engaged writing to you about the same time and on similar subjects4 ,both have possibly posted their letters at such a time that the delivery has been crossed4 ,i do not say this proves anything2 yet ,i cannot help thinking the experience is too frequent to be accounted for by the usual explanation of accident or coincidence4 ,mark ,twain's article on 8,mental ,telegraphy0 is fresh in the minds of most magazine readers4 ,whether that article had a basis in the writer's actual experience or not1 it is a pretty common experience with most literary men4 8,distance10 says ,mr4 ,tuttle1 8has inappreciable influence on the transference of thought4 ,it may take place in the same room1 or where the two persons are thousands of miles apart4 ,as a personal experience1 ,i will relate one of many similar incidents which have awakened my attention to this wonderful phenomenon4 ,sitting by my desk one evening1 suddenly as a flash of light1 the thought came to write an article for the ,harbinger of ,light1 published at ,melbourne1 ,australia4 ,i had1 by correspondence1 become acquainted with the editor1 ,w4 ,h4 ,terry1 but there had been no letters passed for many a year4 ,i had not thought of him or his journal for ,i do not know how long a time1 and ,i was amused at first with the idea of writing on the subject suggested4 ,but the impression was so strong that ,i prepared and forwarded an article4 ,nearly two months passed before ,i received a letter from ,mr4 ,terry1 requesting me to write an article on the subject on which ,i have written2 and1 making due allowance for time1 the date of our letters were the same4 ,in our experience1 this crossing of letters answering each other has twice occurred--the second by ,mr4 ,terry answering a request of mine40 ,dr4 ,charles ,w4 ,hidden1 of ,newburyport1 ,mass41 ,u4,s4,a41 reports a somewhat similar experience to that of ,mark ,twain and the above1 which was reported in a recent number of the ,religio-,philosophical ,journal3 ,a very peculiar plot impressed itself upon his mind1 and he immediately based a story upon the plot4 ,he read the story to his family1 and was about to send it to a publication to which his wife had recently become a subscriber4 ,when the next number arrived he opened it to learn how to forward his manuscript1 and great was his surprise to find on the first page a story bearing the title of his own1 and a plot almost identical with that which he had written4 ,parts of the published article appeared word for word4 ,it is needless to add that ,dr4 ,hidden tossed his manuscript into his desk1 and it is there yet4 ,his explanation is1 that he caught the title and the plot from another1 just as ,mark ,twain caught the plot of the 8,big ,bonanza0 from his friend ,simmons4 ,it would be nigh impossible to illustrate the various phases of thought-transference1 ranging1 as they do1 from the association of ideas which may be aroused by a hint1 a half-uttered word1 or a gesture1 to the unmistakable facts of pure mental transference1 and1 higher still1 to the region of pure psychism1 where spirit influences inspire and direct spirit1 and thought-bodies are no longer recognised as mere subjective spirits but living and tangible objective personalities1 albeit discarnate4 ,we can say truly with ,voltaire1 8,there is a power that acts within us1 without consulting us40 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,thought-,reading ,experiments4 ,having satisfactory evidence of the reality of thought-transference1 it would be interesting to know if this power or faculty can be cultivated1 and if so1 how8 ,i propose in this chapter to show how this can be done1 and how to give thought-reading entertainments4 ,experimental mind-reading may be distinguished1 for the sake of study1 as the abnormal1 the normal1 and the spurious4 ,the abnormal1 that which takes place in trance1 dream1 vision1 or which may be the product of artificial somnambulism or of some super-sensitive condition of the nervous system1 through disease4 ,we observe thought-transference in these conditions1 rather than attempt to cultivate it4 ,the normal1 where the phenomena takes place in the ordinary waking state1 without muscular contact4 ,the spurious mind-reading1 so-called1 as the result of musculation or contact1 but which is1 in fact1 only muscle-reading4 ,in both the abnormal and normal1 direct transference of thought from mind to mind can only take place when there is the necessary development of psychic activity in the agent or operator1 and the equally necessary sensitiveness in the sensitive or percipient4 ,classed under muscle-reading are those performances and games in which the sensitive reads not the mind1 but some special desire 7of those with whom he or she may be placed in contact71 by a 8careful study of the indications unconsciously given by the agent or operator to the percipient or reader40 ,in both abnormal and normal thought-reading1 then1 are presented innumerable instances of the possession of psychic faculties2 in the muscle-reading phase there may be1 and it is possible all successful 8readers0 have1 more or less sensitiveness1 to take impressions4 ,to cultivate mind-reading in a sensitive1 the operator should first cultivate in himself the habit of projecting mental pictures1 and think of things as seen by the eye1 rather than as described by words4 ,this is best done by calling to mind a landscape or domestic scene1 by conceiving and mentally building up the same1 and1 by degrees1 getting each feature or detail well stamped in his mind4 ,it is well in the beginning of these experiments to make the scene as simple1 and yet as natural and as complete in detail1 as possible4 ,for instance1 let the operator think of such a picture as this3--,a bright little landscape1 having a well-defined cottage on the left1 just on the margin of a small lake2 boat with two figures in the foreground2 rising bank upon the right2 and a little higher up a defined windmill1 well thrown out by the perspective of blue-ridged and undulating mountains1 and sky in the background4 ,the agent1 having satisfied himself of his sensitive's whole or partial powers of psychic perception1 might ask3--8,do you see anything now80 and quickly and deliberately go to work1 meanwhile formulating definitely such a picture as the above2 even allowing himself to get into ecstacies over the scene--peopling the cottage and the mill1 and introducing imaginary conversation between the individual dwellers therein1 and so on4 ,the sensitive will describe the whole as the same is felt or perceived4 ,this experiment may appear to some to be impossible1 but the word impossible belongs to the limitations of sense1 and not to the range of the things possible to the human spirit4 ,some sensitives and mediums take impressions from their surroundings--their clairvoyant revelations are often nothing more than so much ,mind-reading4 ,nothing more2 but this nothing more is a great deal4 ,certainly1 it may not prove the existence of spirit1 apart from the sensitive's own powers2 but it does prove that man has other avenues of knowledge than those with which he is usually credited4 ,the development of mind-reading in the psychic states may be encouraged by a little judicious assistance or direction4 ,invite the sensitive to pay attention to ,so-and-so2 to visit places1 to examine rooms1 or describe people whom the sensitive has never seen4 ,but the places1 the rooms1 and the persons must be distinctly in the minds of those persons1 or agents1 with whom he or she is placed in rapport4 ,during these experiments the sensitive will say1 8,i see this10 or describe that other1 as if he actually saw4 ,hence the infinitely close relationship of mind-reading to clairvoyance4 ,thought-reading in spiritualism will be referred to in the next chapter4 ,once possessing a good sensitive1 the development of the power1 as a matter of fact1 lies particularly in the operator's ability to concentrate and focus his thoughts--to think clearly1 calmly1 vividly1 and distinctly himself--and to deliberately and conscientiously project the same4 ,,the ,,normal ,,experiments ,,without ,,contact4 ,a pleasant hour or so can be profitably filled up on a long winter's evening with experiments in mind reading1 without resorting to mesmerism4 ,it will be found that there are mind-readers in every family--some boy1 girl1 or young woman more sensitive than the rest to impressions4 ,sometimes it has been found1 when two or more persons think of the same object1 as in the 8willing game10 the impression becomes more vivid1 and the sensitive finds1 or describes1 the article1 or thing1 more easily4 ,it has been left to the versatility of ,professor ,lodge1 of the ,university ,college1 ,liverpool1 to project two distinct images at the same time to a sensitive4 ,he requested two friends to look at a paper that he had given to each4 ,on one paper a square was drawn1 and on the other an oblique cross4 ,neither person knew what the other was looking at1 and after they had looked intently at these diagrams for a short time1 the sensitive1 who was in a normal condition1 but blindfold1 said3--8,i see two figures--first ,i see one1 and then1 below that1 another4 ,i do not know which ,i am to draw4 ,i cannot see either plainly40 ,having been requested to draw what she saw1 she drew a square1 with an oblique cross inside of it4 ,on being questioned1 she replied that she did not know why she placed the cross in the square4 ,the two images projected by distinct minds1 intermingled1 and were produced1 as narrated by ,professor ,lodge4 ,we can readily see that confusion will arise where a number of persons are thinking of different subjects1 or when some positive-minded individual declares mind-reading to be an impossibility4 ,something after the above experiments of ,professor ,lodge are those which were conducted by ,mr4 ,guthrie1 a ,london barrister1 and reported by him to the ,society of ,psychical ,research4 ,a number of diagrams1 roughly drawn off-hand at the time1 were shown to the agent or precipitant1 ,mr4 ,g41 the subject1 or percipient1 a lady1 being blind-fold4 ,during the process of transference1 the agent looked steadily and in silence at the drawing1 the subject meanwhile sitting opposite to him1 and behind the stand on which the drawing lay1 so that it was entirely out of her range of vision had her eyes not been blind-folded4 ,the agent stopped looking at the drawing when the subject professed herself ready to make the attempt to reproduce it4 ,the time occupied thus was from half a minute to two or three minutes4 ,then the handkerchief was removed1 and she drew with a pencil what had occurred to her mind4 ,illustration3 ,,results ,,of ,,experiments ,,in ,,thought-,,transference4 ,illustration3 ,,results ,,of ,,experiments ,,in ,,thought-,,transference4 ,the reproductions were made generally without the agent following or watching the process4 ,we reproduce several of the attempts here1 giving both the successes and the failures4 ,even the failures show the effect ,mr4 ,g4 produced upon the reader's mind4 ,the experiments conducted so successfully in the family of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,creery1 of ,boston1 and made public by ,professor ,barrett in ,the ,journal of ,psychical ,research1 show to what extent thought-reading may be successfully carried on in the quietude and confidence of a well-regulated family4 ,the mode of procedure adopted by ,professor ,barrett to test the faculty as possessed by the children was as follows3--8,one of the children10 says ,professor ,barrett1 8was sent into an adjoining room1 the door of which ,i saw was closed4 ,on returning to the sitting-room1 and closing the door also1 ,i thought upon some object in the house1 fixed upon at random4 ,writing the name down1 ,i showed it to the family present1 the strictest silence being preserved throughout4 ,we then all silently thought of the name of the thing selected4 ,in a few seconds the door of the adjoining room was heard to open1 and after a short interval the child would enter the sitting-room1 generally speaking1 with the object selected4 ,no one was allowed to leave the sitting-room after the object had been fixed upon1 and no communication with the child was conceivable1 as her place was often changed4 ,further1 the only instructions given to the child were to fetch some objects in the house that ,i would think upon and1 together with the family1 silently keep in mind1 to the exclusion as far as possible of all other ideas40 ,now1 if ,professor ,barrett had told the children to select a word1 and upon coming into the room were to spell or state what the word was1 ,i question if the experiments would have been so successful4 ,the articles thought of1 whether a hair brush1 an orange1 wine glass1 apple1 or a playing card1 were of such a nature that a definite picture or image of the thing thought of could be formed in the mind4 ,the father1 mother1 and even ,professor ,barrett1 seem to have been especially in rapport with the little sensitives1 and thus all the more readily were they able to transmit the mental picture of the articles selected4 ,trick or collusion in this case is absolutely out of the question4 ,it would be interesting to know if these young sensitives1 who were so bright in #ahha1 still retain1 or have increased or lost1 their powers4 ,there were #cab trials made during ,professor ,barrett's stay of six days1 who adds--8,one most striking piece of success1 when the things selected were divulged to none of the family1 was five cards running named correctly on the first trial--the odds against this happening once in our series1 being considerably over one million to one4 ,we had altogether a good many similar batches1 the two longest runs being eight consecutive successes1 once with cards and once with names1 when the adverse odds in the former case were over one hundred and forty-two millions to one1 and on the latter1 something incalculably greater4 ,walls and closed doors made no difference40 ,the italics are mine4--,j4,c4 ,something after the foregoing style are drawing-room entertainments given4 ,if failure result1 no one is blamed1 and ridiculous mistakes only lend pleasure to the company1 where all are known one to the other4 ,the usual method is to select someone for thought-reader4 ,lady or gentleman1 matters little4 ,he or she is sent out of the room4 ,some one in the room generally takes the lead1 who may suggest the article to be selected and hidden1 which the thought-reader is to find4 ,the article selected is thought of by the entire company4 ,the reader is to go to the place where it is1 lift it1 put it down1 or give it to some one else2 or to find a certain book and remove it from its place on table or elsewhere1 and put it somewhere else2 to come in and sit on a certain chair or to lead someone else to it1 or perform whatever other test that is decided upon4 ,the reader is admitted into the room1 and1 if at all receptive1 will do or say something like what is desired--often going direct to the spot1 lifting the article1 or doing the things which the company have decided upon4 ,a good plan is to get the assistance of one or two friends1 use a bag of counters1 upon which numbers #aj to #ajj are placed2 also a smaller bag with numbers #a to #i4 ,let the sensitive sit at a table in such a position1 so as1 if not blindfolded1 he or she could not see what the agent has in his hand4 ,use the small bag to begin with4 ,let one friend hold the bag1 another select a number4 ,when both have carefully looked at it1 let it be handed to the agent1 who shall fix his eyes steadily upon the figure1 and picture the said figure on his mind4 ,the sensitive will in one or two minutes either say or write down what the figure is4 ,if these experiments become satisfactory1 the larger bag can be used4 ,the experiments with numbers must not be continued too long1 and so weary the faculty4 ,in the same way a number of simple outline designs can be used--these presented one by one to the agent or operator--a fish1 a boy and barrow1 a fireman with escape1 a negro and banjo1 a lecturer on platform1 an orange1 a book1 etc41 such as are found in children's school books2 repeating the same processes as above4 ,no one must speak but the agent and the percipient1 nor is the agent to know what the numbers or designs are before the experiments are commenced4 ,should failure occur1 select another medium4 ,in a company of twenty to thirty persons it will be very strange if a good thought-reading sensitive is not found4 ,in which case1 more serious experiments may be attempted subsequently1 and attain scientific value4 ,the thought-reader should be blindfolded1 and resign himself to the influence of the agent or operator4 ,although he understands that something is expected of him1 he is not to be anxious about what1 but simply act as he feels himself prompted4 ,in proportion as the sensitive is able to give up anxiety and desire1 so will he be able to become a good reader4 ,the operator1 or agent1 must concentrate his mind upon what is required1 and will the sensitive to do it4 ,when two or more persons1 or all in the room1 are concentrating their minds upon the thing1 object1 or word1 the sensitive may all the sooner be influenced2 but ,i prefer that one person should be chosen as the operator1 and all intended experiments be submitted to him4 ,the process is analogous to that of mesmerism4 ,we see traces here of the influence of mind over mind4 ,we see the operator determines and the subject performs1 although it may not be very clear how thought is actually projected1 or in what way it is received1 other than already suggested4 ,practice makes perfect in this as in other things4 ,success is proportionate to success4 ,a reader showing a degree of susceptibility at first attempts will generally improve by subsequent efforts4 ,in a similar way1 operators will make headway with practice4 ,some operators and sensitives will be successful at first trial2 others again have failed after repeated attempts4 ,plenty of time should be taken for all first attempts4 ,let the operator1 for instance1 keep his mind thoroughly fixed on the object4 ,should the reader be going away from it1 let the agent strongly wish him to go back1 touch it1 lift it1 etc41 as previously decided upon by the company4 ,all sensitive persons are likely to make good thought-readers2 the less sensitive1 muscle-readers4 ,,muscle-,,reading ,,entertainments4 ,thought-transference1 like clairvoyance1 is unequal in power and manifestation1 even with good percipients1 and cannot be turned on like1 and with1 the evening gas1 to enlighten and entertain4 ,hence those enterprising entertainers1 like ,bishop and ,cumberland1 depended on 8muscle-reading10 and 8backed-up their show0 with tricks1 some of them so puerile and barefaced that a third-rate conjuror would be ashamed of them4 ,the general public1 however1 enjoyed these entertainments4 ,they were something new1 and1 like 8angel's visits10 were few and far between4 ,not only so1 but that wonderful combination1 the general public1 saw that these entertainments were patronised by men of science1 such as ,carpenter1 ,beard1 ,hammond1 ,baron ,kelvin1 and others deeply in love with strictly materialistic hypothesis4 ,they were also patronised by 8society40 ,these entertainers undertook to read thoughts and expose spiritualism2 and as the dear public loves mystery1 it went4 ,but the dear public don't like to be 8taken in10 hence these performances are generally repeated--in the next town4 ,the following1 reported from ,st4 ,john's1 ,n4,b41 ,january #ag1 #ahhg1 in the ,herald1 is a good illustration of the psychic and muscular indications involved in an experiment of this kind3--8,in a #8mind-reading' performance on ,saturday night1 after several examples indoors1 the #8reader1' a young man who belongs to this city1 asked for an outdoor test4 ,the party separated1 one remaining with the reader1 and hid a pin in the side of a little house used by the switchman of the ,new ,brunswick ,railway at ,mill ,street4 ,in their travels they went over the new railway trestle1 a most difficult journey4 ,the reader was blindfolded1 and one took his wrist1 but at the trestle hesitated1 fearing to venture1 and was told by the reader to let go his wrist and place his hand on his head4 ,the subject did so1 and the reader went upon the trestle4 ,some of the party suggested that the bandage should be removed1 but he told them not to mind1 and1 the subject again taking the wrist1 he went over the ice and snow-covered sleepers4 ,with a firm step he crossed to the long wharf1 went over as far as the mill gates1 then quickly turned1 retraced his steps1 and went back to the corner of ,mill ,street4 ,here he rested a minute1 then again took the subject's hand1 and in less than five minutes afterwards found the pin4 ,at the conclusion of the test1 the reader inquired what the matter had been when they first reached the trestle4 ,it was easily explained4 ,the storm had covered the sleepers with snow1 and it was thought dangerous1 even for a man not blindfolded to cross them4 ,the subject felt anxious for the reader's safety1 and hesitated about going across4 ,the tests were most satisfactory40 ,thought or mind-reading applied to these experiments is a misnomer4 ,if this young gentleman could 8read thoughts0 by musculation1 or contact1 he would have known what the matter had been when they first reached the trestle4 ,muscle-reading is not thought-reading4 ,hence it is classified as spurious4 ,any number of illustrations could be given of such entertainments4 ,the foregoing is sufficiently adequate to give an idea of how these muscle 7not thought7 reading entertainments are given4 ,for drawing-room entertainments1 first blindfold the reader1 who is conducted out of the room while the experiments are decided upon4 ,the blindfolding helps to mystify friends1 who think the work is rendered more difficult4 ,as a matter of fact1 the reader's work is rendered much more easy4 ,it helps to isolate him1 and leaves his mind much less entrammelled by sights and impressions which would otherwise prevent him receiving the impressions which it is desirable he should receive4 ,suppose the reader is to locate the seat of an imaginary pain1 the assistant or operator pro tem4 will grasp,f with his left hand the sensitive's right wrist and hold it firmly4 ,while the reader is endeavouring to locate the pain1 the operator must give up his will1 and think intently on the situation of the pain4 ,the reader will then locate it4 ,there is less secret in this than appears at first sight4 ,the sensitive1 or reader1 is simply guided or led by the operator1 and the reader's hand either stops partially over or is pressed upon the seat of the pain4 ,he then declares he has found the seat of the pain1 and points it out accordingly4 ,a somewhat similar method is adopted in finding the pin1 or the hole in which a pin had been4 ,the racing and flying about of public thought-readers are only so much 8theatrical side10 thrown in to give dramatic effect to their performances4 ,in reading the numbers on bank-notes1 or spelling out certain words1 a board with the numerals and the alphabet 7see front cover7 is placed in sight of the audience4 ,the reader takes the wrist of the operator1 and1 commencing at the left side of the board1 proceeds from figure to figure till he detects the right one4 ,the operator thinks only of one figure or letter at a time4 ,this is the whole secret of 8musculation40 ,even when the operators are sincere1 and are careful to give no conscious indications to the reader1 yet it is almost certain1 if they keep their mind fixed on the desired figure or letter1 object or place1 they will unconsciously indicate to the reader the right number or letter4 ,to find an article1 number1 or do a certain act1 it is necessary for the reader to give prompt obedience to the indications given him4 ,the concentration of attention necessary can only come with practice4 ,no end of surprises and amusement will follow if the operator honestly concentrates his mind upon the things to be done1 and a good muscle-reader is found to take up the indications4 ,apparently1 the most difficult feats are sometimes accomplished4 ,during the experiments1 the reader will have curious sensations1 such as heaviness of feeling1 dread and uncertainty1 and then blankness of mind1 followed by an impulse to do something4 ,if the reader can keep his mind passive enough1 he may receive impressions1 as in thought-transference2 anyway1 it is advisable to wait for the impulse to move and to do4 ,the highest percentages of success always follow4 ,general directions for the cultivation of experimental thought-transference and mind-reading given in these pages are sufficiently specific1 to be found thoroughly practical by those who have put them into practice2 and certainly no harm1 either mental or physical1 can come to those who are willing to give them a fair trial4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,spiritualism4 ,any reference to ,spiritualism here must be very brief1 and1 ,i am afraid1 very incomplete4 ,i will deal with the subject in the light of the preceding chapters4 ,it has been established on the clearest evidence that thought-transference and reception between two nearly harmonised or sympathetic human beings1 or embodied human spirits1 are possible1 and this without intermediate sense or physical agencies4 ,if1 then1 between mind and mind on earth1 distance or space being no obstacle1 matter no hindrance1 why not between mind disincarnate--if we can conceive of mind apart from the human brain and organism--and mind incarnate8 ,if not1 why not8 ,it seems to me very difficult1 if we accept the first1 to reject the latter conclusion4 ,if we accept the latter1 we are committed in the main to belief in ,spiritualism1 ancient and modern4 ,if we admit that it is possible for a disembodied spirit to communicate with us in dream1 vision1 or1 as in the case of ,miss ,howett1 have our hands influenced to write1 or that we see and converse with spirits1 as in the case of ,mary ,reynolds1 we then admit1 and accept in the main1 the essential features of what is known as ,spiritualism4 ,the subject is not only interesting1 but of vital importance2 therefore1 ,i think1 the fear of being called a 8,spiritualist10 or any other name1 should not prevent us sounding to the depths1 the psychic possibilities of our human nature4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,within ,,us4 ,there is ,spiritualism and ,spiritualism4 ,that which ,i am most interested in is not so much a hankering after spirits1 8spirit controls10 and the phenomena1 generally recognised as the right thing in certain circles1 as that other ,spiritualism which leads to an honest endeavour on our parts to ascertain if we are spirits1 here and now1 albeit clothed for the time being in an organic envelope1 relating us to our present estate4 ,if we are embodied spirits1 it will be possible for the spirit-man 7the essential self--ego1 ,i am71 in each human being to communicate at times1 and under certain fitting conditions1 with other fellow-beings1 under such circumstances1 and in such a way1 as to make it clear3-- 7a47 ,that the communications could not have been transmitted and received by the ordinary channels1 or physical sense organs1 which in ordinary circumstances appear essential to our exchange of thought4 7b47 ,that the exchange of thought1 in independence of the ordinary sense channels1 will demonstrate that man must possess other1 extraordinary or psychic1 organs for the transmission and the reception of thought4 ,both positions ,i have endeavoured to sustain on the foregoing pages2 and1 lastly1 concerning spiritualism1 ,i have arrived at the profound conclusion that spirit-communion--that is1 thought transmission from the disembodied to the embodied--is a solemn fact4 ,after carefully eliminating all the possibilities of self-deception--auto-trance1 discreet degrees of consciousness1 of natural and acquired clairvoyance1 of thought-transference and mind-reading1 and lastly1 the puerile performances of conjurors and the simulated phenomena of tricksters--there remains evidence of disembodied or disincarnate spirit1 and of such control influencing and directing the actions of men1 just as one man in this life influences and directs the actions of another4 ,what ,i esteem1 however1 as satisfactory evidence might not be evidence to another2 and ,i for one do not think it necessary to open up the life chambers of my psychic experiences to the indifferent1 the thoughtless1 or the sceptic1 to furnish the desired evidence4 ,others must travel by the way ,i have come to understand something of that way4 ,all men cannot believe alike1 hence it will not be surprising that some will accept as sufficient evidence of spirit what others would deem insufficient4 ,it is not my intention meantime to advocate spiritualism4 ,i only refer to it1 in so far as it is related to 8,how to ,thought-,read40 ,however1 phenomenal spiritualism is not a matter of belief so much as of evidence1 and many eminent thinkers have been compelled by the force of the evidence to accept spiritualism now1 who1 a quarter of a century ago1 would have hesitated1 principally through fear of ridicule1 to speak of the subject in language of ordinary civility4 ,while ,i am convinced that such communications between the so-called dead and the living are possible1 ,i do know and feel satisfied that much which is accepted as evidence of the existence and influence of spirits by the majority of the unthinking and excitable crowd who rush after novelties1 and perchance call themselves 8spiritualists10 is traceable to no other or higher source than our own innate1 but little understood1 human or psychic powers4 ,i have arrived at this conclusion also1 as the result of carefully investigating spiritualism1 and it is therefore not an a priori hypothesis conveniently elaborated from my own or borrowed from the brains of others who are opponents to spiritualism4 ,it is probable1 had ,i not devoted the greater part of my life to spiritualism1 as one of the factors in human character1 ,i should have known but little of that sympathetic transference of thought from one mind to another1 or of the light which that fact throws upon our dual or compound existence4 ,in this 8sympathetic transference of thought0 we find a solution to the problem of spiritualism1 whether old or new4 ,i conclude1 with ,buffon1 8,the true springs of our organisation are not these muscles1 these veins1 these arteries1 which are described with so much exactness and care4 ,there exist in organised bodies internal forces which do not follow the gross mechanical laws we imagine1 and to which we would reduce everything40 ,or1 as ,laplace puts it more strongly--8,beyond the limits of this visible anatomy commences another anatomy1 whose phenomena we cannot perceive2 beyond the limits of this external physiology of forces1 of action1 and of motion1 exists another invisible physiology1 whose principles1 effects1 and laws are of the greatest importance to know40 ,it may be esteemed reprehensible to 8seek communion with the dead20 but to know ourselves1 to fathom this invisible physiology1 whose principles1 effects1 and laws are of such importance to understand1 ,i hold to be not only legitimate but perfectly laudable4 ,how can we serve ,god1 whom we have not seen1 if we do not understand ourselves1 whom we think we have seen1 or the laws which govern our being1 as created by him8 ,to know ourselves as we should1 we ought not to neglect the search for 8the spirit within us40 ,,the ,,rejection ,,of ,,the ,,psychic4 ,many persons--scientific1 theological1 learned1 and illiterate--reject the psychic1 and refrain from investigating1 either from constitutional bias or from crass ignorance2 and such have played the part of learned ,sadducees or low fellows of the baser sort before anything having the remotest flavour of spirit4 ,the man of science is rendered purblind by 8my hypothesis10 the theologian by 8my belief10 the man of the world by 8my business0 or 8my position40 ,the respectable church-goer--who vaccinates his children1 as he has them baptised1 because it is the proper thing to do--has neither head nor heart1 apparently1 to understand anything beyond the common ideas of the hour4 ,he would crucify all new thought1 or new spiritualism for that matter1 as the ,jews did ,jesus1 because the new doctrines promulgated and the new wonders performed tend to subvert the present respectable order of things4 ,the worship of ,diana is not confined to ancient ,ephesus4 ,the great ,diana of old was the type of that 8,respectable ,custom0 which the majority of mankind worship and obey to-day1 because1 as of yore1 it conserves their vested interests1 official connections1 and brings them 8much gain40 ,as for the man in the street--the multitude having no shepherd--he is always more or less hypnotised by the well-clad and well-fed1 smug-faced worshippers of the aforesaid 8,respectable ,custom20 hence he is ever ready to shout 8,crucify10 or 8,hurrah10 or aught else he is influenced to do1 especially if such exercises give him pleasure and excitement for the time being4 ,he accepts or rejects as he sees 8his betters0 think best1 and so1 unfortunately1 is unfitted to a large degree1 for the intelligent investigation of his own nature4 ,these form the largest group of rejectors of the phenomenal evidences of soul4 ,the psychic1 however1 has suffered less from such rejectors than from those who claim to be recognised and known as converts and exponents of the same1 who at best have only shown themselves to be 8seekers after a sign40 ,they may have run into the wilderness and have had a bit of miraculous bread1 and yet not be a pennyworth the better of it in either soul or body--i4e41 life or conduct4 ,these1 by their foolishness1 have prevented many well-meaning and otherwise able persons investigating the psychic1 for the latter saw nothing in the lives of professed spiritualists to make them desire to have anything to do with spiritualism4 ,moreover1 coming in contact with the iconoclastic in spiritualism1 they have become disgusted with the crude and the coarse therein1 as they have with the revelations1 inspirations1 and fads1 advocated by certain mediums1 and hence have rejected the wheat because of the apparent great quantity of tares4 ,,the ,,fraudulent ,,in ,,spiritualism4 ,i am afraid the trend of modern civilisation1 which leads men from the beauties and quietude of hill and dale1 of valley and river side1 into crowded city life1 has tended to make men exoteric4 ,they run after signs and wonders without1 and too little to the spirit within4 ,the broader view of being1 and that self-culture and purity which arises from the exercise of man's innate powers1 and makes for true regeneration and spiritual progress1 here and hereafter1 have been more or less sacrificed to the external and the phenomenal4 ,the love of the phenomenal1 in and out of ,spiritualism1 has created a crowd of harpies1 impostors1 or fraudulent mediums--male and female--who trade on human credulity1 some to earn a pittance1 and others to gratify vanity4 ,men and women have been known to risk reputation for both4 ,in this way ,spiritualism has its quota of deceivers and deceived4 ,there are some people who must have phenomena1 just as there are other people who will have sermons4 ,if they don't get exactly what they want1 they withdraw 8their patronage0--the finances4 ,so1 if the patronage is to be retained1 phenomena and sermons have to be supplied--if the first are fraudulent or the latter stolen4 ,seeing how fugitive real psychological phenomena are--natural or induced--one must necessarily hesitate to accept 8trance addresses10 8inspirational orations10 8medical controls10 clairvoyant1 and second-sight exhibitions1 which are supplied to order1 to gratify patrons1 at so much per hour4 ,it is human to err1 but the manufacturer of spurious phenomena1 the impostor who trades on the ties1 and the dearest of human affections1 is a devil4 ,there is no iniquity too low--earthly or devilish--to which he will not as readily descend to gratify his vampirish nature4 ,i am not disposed to accept the infallibility of spirits for that of ,popes--large or small--or professional media1 in place of professional priests and ministers1 and there is by far too much of this in ,spiritualism4 ,in the foregoing connection1 ,i must refer to another source of error--this time1 however1 more related to physical rather than psychic phenomena--viz41 the credulity of those who are disposed to believe that certain conjurors are aided in their performances by spirit agency4 ,personally1 ,i would sooner believe that mediums for 8,physical ,phenomena0 resorted to conjuring to aid 8spirits10 than believe that 8spirits0 resorted to 8hanky-panky0 to aid conjurors4 ,no wonder 8frauds0 smile4 ,years ago ,i had to protest against this absurdity1 when people--who ought to know better--talked this kind of nonsense about conjurors1 as they do about certain fraudulent mediums now--viz41 8they are aided by spirits40 ,owing to this lack of discrimination and want of trained discernment in ,spiritualists and the general public1 mediumistic frauds have fooled1 to their utmost bent1 fresh groups of dupes at home and abroad4 ,i am none the less disposed to accept the genuine1 because we recognise sources of error connected therewith1 and are determined to set our faces against palpable frauds4 ,,spiritualism ,,without ,,spirits4 ,we may now turn from the wretched arena of imposture1 duplicity1 and credulity1 to genuine1 but little understood1 phenomena in ,spiritualism4 ,we have seen that much which has been attributed to the agency of disembodied spirits is due1 in many instances1 to the action of man's own psychic states1 8the double1 who is wiser than we10 and to the fact that1 as often as not1 trance states1 automatic and planchette writing1 are self-induced conditions4 ,equally so1 clairvoyance1 thought-transference1 and psychometry do not require the 8agency of spirit0 to account for their existence as 8gifts10 qualities or powers4 ,it will be time enough to admit such agency--that of disembodied spirit--when the evidence in each particular case is reasonably conclusive4 ,i think this is the only wise and safe course to pursue4 ,clairvoyance may be native or induced1 self-cultivated or cultivated by aid of a mesmerist4 ,as it has been exercised naturally1 and without any such aid1 the exhibition of clairvoyance--in itself--is no evidence of disembodied spirit-presence or control4 ,equally1 the seeing of1 and the describing of1 spirits by a clairvoyant--even if the descriptions are apparently accurate--may present no evidence of the real presence of such spirits4 ,i do not deny that clairvoyants can see spirits1 but the mere fact of being able to see and describe spirits1 is not sufficient evidence--the seer is controlled by spirit-power to see1 or that the spirits described are actually bona-fide spirits4 ,frequently1 so-called spirits have no other existence than the image of them possessed by some positive-minded individual4 ,a clairvoyant1 perceiving these images1 might naturally enough conclude she was actually seeing the spirits which she described4 ,if ,mr4 ,stead1 for instance1 is convinced that 8,sister ,dora10 8,cardinal ,manning10 or 8,lord ,tennyson10 are at his side1 in his rooms1 influencing and directing his mind1 or at other times actually controlling his arm and hand to write1 a clairvoyant in sympathy with him may describe this or that other spirit he is thinking about4 ,but that does not prove the spirit or spirits are actually present4 ,a lady 7,mrs4 ,davis71 whose name has come prominently before the public as ,mr4 ,stead's clairvoyante1 being questioned as to ,mr4 ,stead's automatic writing and her own gift1 said3--8,i know probably more about that than anyone4 ,i was in his office some time in the beginning of ,december last regarding the forthcoming publication of a book of mine concerning spiritualism4 ,the conversation turned upon spiritualistic automatic handwriting4 ,i did not know the deceased lady who was writing through him1 but ,i saw her behind his chair as distinctly as if she had been in the flesh4 ,i described her position as she stood and her appearance4 ,she at once wrote through ,mr4 ,stead's hand confirming all ,i had stated concerning her in my description4 ,mr4 ,stead's hand continued to write4 ,i knew afterwards it wrote out a message stating that another spirit was in the room4 ,mr4 ,stead asked me if ,i could describe that spirit4 ,i had to wait some little time before ,i detected it1 and there ,i recognised as in the flesh a very famous personage recently dead1 whose loss was mourned all the world over in prose and verse4 ,i carefully described the spirit as he appeared to me1 and then ,mr4 ,stead said ,i was right4 ,but1 ,i answered1 ,i see another male spirit4 ,ask the deceased lady who is writing through you to write the name of the last spirit4 ,mr4 ,stead's hand automatically moved1 and he wrote the name of a son of the famous personage already alluded to40 ,mrs4 ,davis says she has been strongly impressed with the fact that ,mr4 ,stead has been selected by the spirits as their champion from the peculiar and unique position he occupies in the journalistic world1 and he will be the agent who will break through the solid walls of bigotry and prejudice4 ,mr4 ,stead may or may not have written under spirit influence1 and this lady may or may not have seen spirits as described4 ,we must not conclude in the latter case that ,mr4 ,stead and his 8trustworthy clairvoyante0 are stating anything they do not believe to be true4 ,i believe she saw1 as described or thought of by ,mr4 ,stead1 a 8deceased lady20 and that she also saw1 as equally thought by him1 8a very famous personage recently dead20 also 8another male spirit10 whose name she did not know until ,mr4 ,stead wrote the name4 ,this narrative1 however interesting as to automatic writing and spirit agency in the opinions of those concerned1 conveys no tangible evidence of either the one or the other4 ,to us it is interesting in the fact that ,mrs4 ,davis saw the spirits thought of by ,mr4 ,stead4 ,we must think twice before we can accept this as evidence of spirits and spirit-presence4 ,although it is possible those concerned have evidence1 we have not4 ,we have1 however1 evidence here of thought-transmission and psychic impressionability4 ,when we read of persons who have been raised up1 as mediums of ,st4 ,peter1 ,st4 ,paul1 or ,st4 ,john1 or a publishing company being run by ,shakespeare through a special medium1 and worked by a syndicate of ,spiritualists1 ,i think we are entitled to doubt these claims1 even though a dozen clairvoyants vouched for the existence and presence of the aforesaid spirits4 ,psychometry furnishes evidence that many so-called spirits are not spirits 8at all1 at all0--only visions of the originals2 and the fact that such and such an individual has been accurately described--actions and manners carefully indicated--and this has been and is accurately done in health and disease daily--is no evidence1 in itself1 that psychometers have seen spirits4 ,thus1 when a psychometer places a geological specimen to his forehead1 and describes an 8antediluvian monster10 roaring and walking about1 no one but a very shallow individual would imagine for a second the psychometer was actually seeing the original4 ,so many of the spirits and spectres seen do not proceed from our own brains1 but from objects1 relics1 and old houses1 which had been in times past impinged by the living presence and magnetism of the originals4 ,then we must take into consideration those spectres which proceed from our own brains1 such as the realistic images which are sometimes projected from the background of consciousness to our eyes and ears4 ,many so-called spirits are simply the product of diseased neurological conditions1 in short1 hallucinations1 which arise from some derangement of the optic and auditory centres4 ,the spectres seen by ,nicolai gradually disappeared as he lost blood1 as the prescribed leeches tranquilised his system4 ,we have no reason to believe the spectres he saw1 visions and what not1 were actually either spirits or produced by spirits4 ,,mind-,,reading ,,in ,,spiritualism is the commonest of most common experiences4 ,i have known mediums to graphically describe scenes1 persons1 and incidents with such vividness as to impress one they must be controlled by spirits intimately acquainted with the whole circumstances which were revealed4 ,closer examination indicates that all the information so given by these mediums was based on the thought-read phase4 ,that is1 the information was culled from the minds of spirits in the flesh1 and did not come from disembodied sources4 ,some years ago ,i attended a series of seances in ,liverpool4 ,nearly all the family were mediums of some sort4 ,i was at this time very enthusiastic in my investigations4 ,consequently1 the following incident was not lost upon me4 ,one evening the circle met1 with the usual members4 ,shortly after the circle was formed1 the daughter of the house went into the trance state4 ,there were several controls1 one of whom professed to be a man who1 the day before1 had been injured on board one of ,lambert ,holt's steamers1 which lay in the ,bramley ,moore ,dock4 ,the 8spirit0 described the accident1 how he was injured1 and that he was carried to the hospital1 and had 8passed away40 ,owing to the suddenness of his death1 he wished us to communicate with his family1 and desired the circle to pray for him1 etc4 ,as near as ,i can recollect1 when asked for further particulars1 name1 family1 there was no definite reply4 ,the medium quivered1 and a new control had taken possession of her4 ,i1 however1 neither doubted the bona-fides of the spirit nor the medium4 ,i was especially interested in this control4 ,i thought this time ,i had obtained a test of spirit identity4 ,but alas for the imperfection of human hopes1 ,i was doomed to disappointment4 ,i clung to the idea the spirit would come back again1 and when he got 8more power10 we would get the particulars he wanted to give us4 ,he did not come back--and no wonder4 ,four months subsequently1 ,i met the real ,simon ,pure in the flesh4 ,to explain more fully3 ,on the day previous to the seance mentioned1 ,i was on board the newly-arrived steamer in question4 ,the lumpers were getting out the cargo4 ,this man had been working on the top of the cargo in the main hold 8hooking on40 ,i paid no particular attention at the time to him1 but an hour after ,i heard a great outcry1 and saw a rush of men to the main hold4 ,when ,i turned back and got there1 ,i found this man senseless and bleeding4 ,the hooks had slipped off a bale while easing out some cargo4 ,one of them had caught the poor fellow in the mouth1 and had torn up his cheek almost to the right ear4 ,he was to all appearance dying4 ,i temporarily dressed his face1 and the stevedore had him put on a stretcher and sent to the hospital4 ,i did not know his name or the hospital to which he was removed4 ,that day and the next the whole scene was vividly impressed on my mind4 ,hence that night the circumstances at the seance seem to me to be quite natural4 ,everything advanced was wonderfully apposite and convincing4 ,it was not till ,i saw the man1 and conversed with him1 that my so-called test of spirit identity resolved itself into so much thought or mind reading1 so that1 even presuming the medium or sensitive was controlled by 8a spirit10 there can be no doubt the source of the spirit's information was purely mundane4 ,,automatic ,,and ,,planchette ,,writing1 upon which so much reliance is placed1 as furnishing evidence of 8disembodied spirit control10 presents similar difficulties4 ,the recording of forgotten incidents1 and predicting possibilities in the future1 are not beyond the powers of the innate human spirit--wholly and utterly unaided by spirit agency4 ,therefore automatic writing--when genuine--does not necessarily furnish evidence of spirit control1 not even when the person who writes believes1 and honestly believes too1 he is so controlled to write4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,spiritualism4--,continued4 ,automatic writing is a phase of phenomenal ,spiritualism most difficult to prove4 ,in the majority of cases we are reduced to the awkward position of accepting or rejecting the assertions of the persons who declare that the writing done by them is automatic--that is1 written without thought and volition on their part4 ,a close examination of this claim may lead to the conclusion that automatic writing is not impossible4 ,whether the controlling agent is 8the spirit within us10 or a disembodied spirit1 or both1 is not a matter of much importance1 if it is established1 the writing is automatic4 ,when messages are written without volition1 in the handwriting of deceased persons1 signed by their names1 such messages must be treated on their merits4 ,i have seen messages written in this way4 ,i have seen messages written1 not only automatically1 but direct4 ,some were written the reverse way1 and could only be read by holding up to the light or to a mirror4 ,the direct writing was done in an exceedingly short time1 two or three hundred words in less time than an expert phonographer could write the same by the most expeditious efforts4 ,the evidence in favour of telepathic writing is not very strong1 but of direct writing there appears to be abundant proof4 ,dr4 ,nichols1 in his fascinating work1 8,forty ,years of ,american ,life10 writes3--8,i knew a ,methodist sailor in ,new ,york1 a simple1 illiterate1 earnest man1 who became what is called a test medium4 ,he came to see me in ,cincinnati1 and one evening we had also as visitors two distinguished lawyers3 one of them a brother of ,major ,anderson1 8the hero of ,fort ,sumter20 the other1 a gentleman from ,michigan1 and one of the ablest lawyers practising in the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 ,i had brought into the drawing-room a heavy walnut table1 and placed it in the centre of the room4 ,the medium sat down on one side of it1 and the sharp ,michigan lawyer1 who was a stranger to us and the medium1 on the other4 ,the medium placed his fingers lightly upon the table4 ,it tilted up under them1 the two legs nearest him rising several inches4 ,the lawyer examined the table1 and tried to give it a similar movement1 but without success4 ,there was a force and a consequent movement he could not account for4 ,there was no other person near the table1 there was no perceptible muscular movement1 and in no way in which it could be applied to produce the effect4 8,when there was no doubt on this point1 the lawyer1 at the suggestion of the medium1 wrote with careful secrecy on five bits of paper--rolling each up like a pea as he wrote--the names of five deceased persons whom he had known4 ,then he rolled them about until he felt sure that no one could tell one pellet from the other4 ,then1 pointing to them successively1 the tipping table selected one1 which the gentleman1 without opening1 put in his waistcoat pocket1 and threw the rest into the fire4 8,the next step was to write the ages of these five persons at their death1 on as many bits of paper1 which were folded with the same care4 ,one of these was selected1 and again1 without being opened1 deposited in the lawyer's pocket1 which now contained a name and a number indicating age4 8,with the same precautions the lawyer then wrote1 in the same way1 on bits of paper1 the places where these persons died1 the diseases of which they died1 and the dates of their decease1 going through the same process with each4 ,he had then in his pocket five little balls of paper1 each selected by a movement of the table1 for which no one could account4 8,at this moment the hand of the medium seized a pencil1 and with singular rapidity dashed off a few lines1 addressed to the lawyer as from a near relative1 and signed with a name which the medium very certainly had never heard4 8,the lawyer1 very much astonished1 took from his pocket the five paper balls1 unrolled them1 spread them before him on the table1 and read the same name as the one on the written message1 with the person's age1 the place and time of death1 and the disease of which he died4 ,they all corresponded with each other and the message4 ,no person had approached the table1 and neither lawyer nor medium had moved4 ,it was in my own house1 under a full gas light1 and1 so far as ,i could see1 or can see now1 no deception was possible4 8,the written communication1 which purported to come from a deceased relative of the gentleman only expressed1 in affectionate terms1 happiness at being able to give him this evidence of immortality40 ,this incident is introduced here in illustration of one out of many phases of mediumship known to spiritualists4 ,we see here both psychic and physical powers-exercised1 not generally recognised as possible4 ,a massive table moved without physical leverage or exertion1 and 8thoughts read10 which formed the basis of the message4 ,trickery and collusion in this instance are absolutely out of the question4 ,the only questions which remain to answer are3 8,did this medium possess in himself the powers referred to8 or did he possess them in consequence of being controlled by a disembodied spirit1 as claimed by the message80 ,although the message in itself did not contain evidence of any other source of information than that emanating from the lawyer's own mind1 we are forced to the conclusion that either the medium or the spirit controlling the medium had power to read his mind1 and of exerting what ,professor ,crookes and ,sergeant ,cox would call ,psychic ,force to move the table1 and indicate what pellets to select4 ,we have here evidence of an intelligence capable of exercising an unknown force and of reading thoughts--that intelligence claimed to be a human spirit4 ,,trance ,,addresses4 ,trance and inspirational addresses1 however1 do not1 in my opinion1 furnish much evidence of the reality of spirit control4 ,we are interested in the phenomena--taking for granted that these trance and inspirational states are genuine--although the evidence of external spirit control presented is often nil4 ,the controls may or may not be veritable realities to their own mediums--professional or otherwise--but this is of little value1 as evidence1 to the public4 ,i have known mediumistic and otherwise sensitive persons to be controlled--i4e41 taken possession of by their reading4 ,one gentleman swallowed large doses of ,theodore ,parker4 ,in time he thought of ,parker1 talked of ,parker1 and finally believed he was 8inspired0 by ,theodore ,parker4 ,this gentleman had been a ,unitarian before being a ,spiritualist1 and doubtless his mind had been broadened and brightened by his course of ,theodore ,parker2 but beyond his own belief and the evident state of excitability he exhibited when speaking under this supposed control1 there was actually no evidence of 8spirit control0 worthy of notice4 ,mrs4 ,cora ,l4 ,v4 ,tappan-,richmond1 an inspirational medium1 from ,america1 delivered a series of remarkable addresses in this country about twenty years ago4 ,these were published by ,j4 ,burns1 of ,southampton ,row1 ,holborn1 ,w4,c4 ,a young gentleman from ,brighton heard and read the lectures1 and finally budded forth as 8an inspirational speaker40 ,for a long time the public got nothing but the ,tappan lectures diluted4 ,we had the same marvellous1 even flow1 similar processes of reasoning1 fertility of illustration1 and unbounded capacity for assertion4 ,no one dare say this person was not inspired by the spirits4 ,it might have been a way the spirits had of breaking in their instrument1 but ,i had a shrewd suspicion the young orator was controlled by his reading4 ,i don't know how many others have been influenced in this way4 ,i have noticed when a noted medium 8came to town10 delivered a number of addresses in public1 or gave seances in private1 immediately thereafter a number of imitators professed--correctly or otherwise--principally otherwise--to have been controlled by the guides1 who were supposed to control the medium aforesaid1 and that they would soon be able to give addresses and manifestations1 and what not4 ,on the other hand1 the noted mediums averred 8their guides never controlled any other than themselves10 etc4 ,the conscientious investigator is left to wonder how much imitation1 vanity1 and self-deception have to do with such statements4 ,some of the most perfect oratory1 and some of the ablest and most cogent lectures and addresses ,i have ever listened to have been given by trance and inspirational mediums4 ,it was stated1 as evidence of spirit control1 by those who professed to know1 8that these mediums could not reason and speak that way in their normal condition40 ,all of which is worthy of consideration4 ,at the same time ,i saw nothing inherently impossible--judging from a physiological or cerebral-physiognomic standpoint--to prevent these persons delivering1 unaided by spirit agency1 the addresses referred to4 ,that a person speaks with greater ability1 intelligence1 or fluency in the trance state compared with his known powers in the waking state1 cannot1 alone1 be accepted as proof of spirit control4 ,we have seen hypnotised subjects do the same4 ,but the reality1 or otherwise1 of spirit agency1 cannot be estimated by the superiority1 or otherwise1 of the addresses and messages given4 ,in all public meetings and in seances where a medium is expected to give trance and inspirational addresses the platform is 8supported0 or the chair surrounded by sympathisers1 whose presence is esteemed favourable to 8good conditions0--a 8nebulous term0 better understood by ,spiritualists than the public4 ,when the address is1 as is often the case1 a miserable jumble of things inconsequential1 old1 experienced ,spiritualists say it is owing 8to bad conditions10 i4e41 the influence of the audience on the speaker being conflicting and bad1 hence the inconclusive rambling of the spirit's oration4 ,whether this is the true explanation or not1 whether the medium was really controlled or not1 or the addresses successful or not1 the fact remains that ,spiritualists admit that the 8message0 is not only 8seriously modified10 according to the channel 7or medium7 through whom it is given1 but that it may be deflected and distorted by the influences of the audience to whom it is given4 ,whatever the real cause of the imperfect oratory1 what is this but admitting the thoughts transferred from the audience to the sensitive either make or mar the utterance8 ,if spirit utterance is thus influenced1 it becomes a difficult matter to decide how much of the original message has reached us as intended1 and how unwise it is for some to have their lives directed by such uncertain counsel4 ,there are many persons so organised1 that when they come in contact with ,spiritualism1 7not knowing anything about clairvoyance1 psychometry1 thought-transference1 thought-reading1 etc47 are so convinced by what they hear and see for the first time--so much out of the ordinary run of their experience--the only way they can account for the phenomena is1 8that they must be the work of spirits1 for no human being could tell what they knew1 or what they wanted1 save a spirit who could read their thoughts40 ,this is just where1 ,i think1 the error creeps in4 ,those very revelations which they in ignorance so readily attribute as only possible coming from disembodied spirits1 may be and are in some instances quite possible to man1 unaided by any such agency4 ,many years ago ,i sat with ,mr4 ,david ,duguid1 the ,glasgow painting medium4 ,i had a 8direct spirit painting0 done4 ,it was a correct--as far as ,i can recollect--painting of a small farm-house and stead1 in the ,north of ,ireland1 where ,i as a child had been sent for my health4 ,neither ,mr4 ,duguid nor the control claimed to possess any actual knowledge of me1 or of the circumstances of my childhood4 ,when ,i had an opportunity of attending the seance in question1 ,i wondered if such a scene could be painted1 and my wonder was greater when it was done4 ,here again1 we have evidence of thought-transference4 ,whether ,mr4 ,duguid1 by some occult power1 caused the direct painting to be done--his own spirit doing it while his body was in the trance state--or the painting was produced by one of his controls1 ,i am not prepared to state4 ,i am willing to state my belief that the painting was not done by ,duguid1 the medium1 or any other person present in the room4 ,one of the controls of the medium claimed to have painted the little sketch1 and1 truth to tell1 it is not more difficult to accept this hypothesis than 8the spirit of the medium did it40 ,in our ordinary experience of human nature1 we do not find it usual for men to give credit to others--men or spirits--for what they are capable of doing and saying themselves4 ,,reflections4 ,it is quite possible1 seeing that out of this life into the next1 through the portals of death1 pass all sorts and conditions of human beings1 that in the next stage of existence--most closely allied to that in which we now live--mankind are not essentially different in character from what we find now4 ,it is not1 therefore1 necessary to call in the agency of demons1 as distinct from human spirits1 to account for the phenomena of ,spiritualism4 ,if in artificial somnambulism and the phenomena of the psychic state the operating agent is an embodied human spirit1 it is possible the same human spirit1 albeit disembodied1 may still retain power to control or influence other human beings4 ,there is another and more serious matter for consideration1 concerning which our investigations of ,spiritualism have thrown little or no light--,spirit ,identity4 ,not only do our friends depart and never return1 and many have promised to do so4 ,how far are we certain when spirits have returned8 ,we may have been deceived by our own impulsiveness1 anxiety1 and desire to feel and to know that 8they are not lost but gone before40 ,again1 admitting the genuineness of physical phenomena1 and conceding that all the communications are really made by disembodied spirits or intelligent beings like unto ourselves1 what proof do we possess that they are really what they represent themselves to be1 or what they appear to be in spirit circles8 8,a bad or mischievous spirit10 says ,dr4 ,nichols1 8may1 for aught we know1 personate our friends1 penetrate our secrets1 and deceive us with false representations40 ,this is certainly worth thinking about4 ,my object in writing is not to turn my readers against ,spiritualism1 but to get them to bring into the investigation judgment1 not only to analyse evidence1 but the capacity to 8judge not according to appearance1 but judge righteous judgment40 ,it is no part of my purpose to deal with the history1 ethics1 or even the phenomena of ,spiritualism4 ,that has been well done by others4 ,i merely write to show that ,spiritualism 8has something in it10 and is of such importance that it is neither to be lightly rejected on the one hand1 nor are its phenomena at all times to be attributed to agency of disembodied spirits4 ,spiritualism is a many-sided subject1 and too vast in its proportions to be dealt with here1 and while ,i have no doubt that its public mediumistic exponents are no more perfect than the rest of humanity--much is laid at their door which may have a basis on fact--yet ,i do think they often suffer unjustly4 ,firstly1 from the cries of the ignorant--educated or otherwise1 matters little--who charge them with fraud1 simply because such people are ignorant of the psychic possibilities of man2 and1 secondly1 from the admiring and thoughtless many who are prepared to accept the commonest of psychic phases instanter as evidence of 8disembodied spirit0 presence and power4 ,i have no doubt many phenomena are quite explicable on natural grounds4 ,setting aside the possibilities of self-deception in untrained observers1 and of fraud in dishonest mediums1 and of genuine phenomena traceable to the powers of the 8spirit which is within each of us10 there remains1 to my mind1 abundant evidence of the existence of 8discarnate spirit10 possessing all the attributes of the human spirit1 as we know ourselves from the study of man as a psychological subject4 ,unfortunately1 the very best evidence in favour of both 8embodied0 and 8disembodied spirit0 is not of that kind which is available for publicity4 ,still1 ,i hold1 if there is evidence 7psychological and physical7 for disembodied spirit in ,spiritualism1 ,i am also satisfied there is abundant evidence for embodied spirit in the psychological experiences of life1 apart from what we know of ,spiritualism4 ,i may fitly close these reflections by quoting the testimony of that keen scientific observer anent phenomenal ,spiritualism--namely1 ,cromwell ,f4 ,varley1 ,esq41 ,f4,r4,s3--8,twenty-five years ago ,i was a hard-headed unbeliever4444 ,spiritual phenomena1 however1 suddenly and quite unexpectedly was soon after developed in my own family4444 ,this led me to inquire1 and to try numerous experiments in such a way as to preclude1 as much as circumstances would permit1 the possibility of trickery and self-deception40444 ,he then details various phases of the phenomena which had come within the range of his personal experience1 and continues3--8,other and curious phenomena had occurred1 proving the existence 7a7 of forces unknown to science2 7b7 the power of instantly reading my thoughts2 7c7 the presence of some intelligence or intelligences controlling those powers4444 ,that the phenomena occur there is overwhelming evidence1 and it is too late to deny their existence40 ,the ,bibliography of ,spiritualism is somewhat extensive4 ,what books are best to recommend to beginners is not an easy matter to decide4 8,the ,use of ,spiritualism10 by the late ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 ,f4,s4,a41,g however1 will repay perusal1 and from the intellectual fitness1 high moral tone1 and spotless reputation of the author1 this book may be safely recommended to all readers4 ,,theosophy4,h ,i have been frequently asked1 ,what is ,theosophy8 ,a question more easily asked than answered1 and in answering ,i may do even less justice to it than to ,spiritualism4 ,theosophy is an intellectual speculation1 having for its main object the supplanting of ,christianity1 by a ,revised ,version of ,hindoo ,metempsychosis4 ,an attempt to foist upon our western ideas and exoteric habits of thought1 the mysticisms and esoteric speculations of the mystics of ,india and ,japan4 ,modern ,spiritualism is not a religion4 ,theosophy not only claims to be a religion1 but to be 8the essential basis of all religions40 ,modern ,spiritualism may have its faults1 and be as imperfect as human souls are here or hereafter4 ,but we at least understand its faults and defects4 ,the triple-crowned spiritual monarch--sitting on the seven hills of ,rome--is not more infallible than the principles which underlie ,theosophy--with its demi-gods1 its ,mahatmas1 its adepts1 miracle workers and wonders4 ,to not understand and be able to accept these principles at once1 is to proclaim oneself an ignoramus4 ,theosophy is a strangely fascinating religion for intellectual sthetics4 ,spiritualism is at least susceptible of being observed and investigated1 and the hypothesis of ,spiritualism is naturally a reasonable deduction from the facts4 ,not so ,theosophy1 which is merely a theory1 an a priori assumption pleasing to those with more reflective and imaginative powers than capacity for practical observation4 ,spiritualism has given facts to be examined and tested1 ,theosophy nothing save gigantic and baseless assertions4 ,its astral shells and elementals are like its ,mahatmas1 flimsy phantasies1 less tangible than the ghost seen and described by ,dr4 ,jessop1 or visions of the shade of shades1 seen by psychometers4 ,for these latter we have at least a basis in psychic phenomena4 ,re-incarnation is the back bone of ,theosophy1 and ,karma its necessary adjunct4 ,the ,kismet of ,mahomet and the doctrines of election of ,calvinism are not more inexorable than the ,karma of ,theosophy4 ,karma is a combination of earthly experiences and expiations of the soul of man in time1 during its everlasting process of incarnating and re-incarnating in search of ,wisdom1 the ,eternal ,reality1 and the final extinction of all individuality in the ,nirvana4 ,devachan is the intermediate state of oblivion1 in which personality is blotted out1 and into which the spiritual soul1 etc41 enters between the periods of incarnation4 ,theosophy--the ,wisdom of ,god religion--attempts to explain all the inequalities of life1 the intellectual and moral differences in men1 of sin and suffering1 by its working theory1 ,re-incarnation1 which doubtless has many attractive features4 ,the phenomena ,theosophists place so much reliance upon are the property of mankind--somnambulism1 psychic consciousness1 clairvoyance1 psychometry1 thought-transference1 etc4 ,the 8,theosophic miracles of communication with persons in other parts of the world0 are explicable by thought-transference1 and in time may be no more inherently impossible than telegraphy without wires and poles4 ,the physical wonders of ,theosophy1 akin to those of ,spiritualism1 are attributed to shells1 the astral carcases of once embodied but now rapidly dissolving personality of man1 and elementals1 fragmentary spirit imps or sprites1 who up to the present have not been as yet incorporated in some incarnated human soul4 ,as to the ethics of ,theosophy1 brotherly kindness1 charity1 and self-sacrifice--most desirable virtues and divine attainments--are neither new nor the special property of ,theosophy4 ,such divine qualities and virtues are common to all religions and religious teaching1 and if they ever reached their climax in human form1 they did in the person of ,jesus1 the ,lord's ,christ4 ,he was the embodiment of these1 and a living example for all time1 long1 long before unthinkable and 8ungetatable0 ,mahatmas were announced by ,madame ,blavatsky1 or believed in by ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,theosophists recognise seven distinct parts in man1 i4e41 four transitory and three eternal4 ,the transitory elements are--the physical body1 the vital principle1 the astral body1 and the animal soul4 ,these four comprise man's personality1 and being transitory are perishable4 ,hence the personality of man is annihilated at death4 ,the three eternal elements are--the spirit1 the spiritual soul1 and the mind4 ,these being imperishable form man's individuality1 and constitute the immortal part of man4 ,this immortal part incarnates and re-incarnates throughout innumerable personalities on this globe1 and the rest of the planets1 beside having alternate periods of 8rosy slumber0 and of activity4 ,our individuality has no sex1 consequently we may be a little negro wench in one incarnation1 an ,egyptian monarch in another1 a ,nero in another1 a ,john ,knox in another1 and so on4 ,others may not progress1 but sink from incarnation to incarnation1 from a mother in ,israel1 to a ,deeming in ,australia1 and1 finally1 to utter annihilation4 ,those good souls who live the life1 and perfect their souls through much suffering1 will become as one with 8the ,eternal ,reality1 the ,rootless ,root of all that was1 or is1 or ever shall be40 ,the higher and ever advancing ,theosophist may1 however1 stop short before he reaches the ,nirvana1 and elect to become a ,mahatma1 or great soul1 and reside on this or some other planet to exercise power and precipitate wisdom1 by letters and otherwise1 to the world1 through chosen adepts4 ,the good ,theosophist in this world and the next is surrounded by 8thought-forms10 which influence him in his upward career4 ,the ,spiritualist has his departed friends for guides1 and the ,christian 7,spiritualist7 is comforted by 8messengers sent forth to minister to them that are heirs of salvation40 ,i don't know that 8thought-forms0 administering counsel to a spirit having no personality is an improvement on the old ideas4 ,it is impossible to do justice to this ,wisdom-,religion with its orders1 grades1 and bewildering phraseology4 ,it is a fancy religion for the intellectual1 without a personal ,god or a personal soul4 ,its circles are masonic lodges for the rich4 ,in no sense is it a religion to meet the wants of man as man1 like that founded on the life and death of ,jesus ,christ4 ,i do not pretend to explain ,theosophy1 for the task is beyond me4 ,it is a religion intended for those who realise they are divine sparks of the ,rootless ,root1 and not for the common people1 who are incapable of understanding a system of morals thus veiled in allegory1 and illustrated by signs and symbols4 ,amid the perplexities of many words1 we learn that ,theosophy teaches what ,st4 ,paul indicates as the divine order of morals by the words3 8,whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap40 ,to work out one's own salvation is as old as the race4 ,we may all be ,theosophists without knowing it1 as we don't know who we are1 what we were1 or who we are going to be1 such is ,karma4 ,spiritualism and ,theosophy are only referred to here seeing how largely the phenomena on which they are based1 is explained by 8,how to ,thought-,read40 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,in this way evil habits1 such as erotic mania1 opium eating1 dipsomania1 etc41 may be cured4 ,when the strength of the vice and the deterioration of the brain and body are such as to undermine the will of the patient1 hypnotism1 properly employed1 may be used and recognised as a powerful and legitimate curative agent4 ,b 8,phrenological ,annual10 #ahib4 ,extract from article by ,dr4 ,samuel ,eadon1 ,m4,d41 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 and ,ph4,d41 etc41 ,aberdeen and ,edinburgh ,universities4 ,c 8,spirits ,before our ,eyes10 page #bae4 ,by ,w4 ,h4 ,harrison1 #ahgi4 ,d ,dr4 ,joseph ,rhodes ,buchanan has been ,dean and ,professor in several ,american universities4 ,as far back as #ahcj he was ,professor of ,medicine in ,transylvania ,university4 ,in the year #ahda he made several important discoveries in cerebral psychology1 which he communicated to the ,american and to the ,edinburgh ,phrenological ,journals4 ,these discoveries are elaborated in his unique system of ,anthropology1 and are published in his works--8,therapeutic ,sarcognomy10 8,psychometry10 8,the ,dawn of a ,new ,civilisation10 8,system of ,anthropology10 and 8,the ,new ,education--which can be obtained through my publishers1 or direct from myself40 ,e ,thought 7says ,professor ,houston7 is accompanied by molecular vibrations in the grey matter of the brain1 and these brain molecules1 like everything else1 are immersed in and interpenetrated by ether2 this being so1 their vibrations must set up wave-motions in the ether1 and these must spread out from the brain in all directions4 ,further1 these brain-waves1 or thought waves1 being thus sent out into space1 will produce some phenomena1 and1 reasoning by analogy we may expect that--as in the case of sound-waves--sympathetic vibrations will be set up in bodies similar to that which generates the waves1 if those bodies are attuned to respond4 ,again1 reasoning by analogy1 we may expect--as in electric resonance--that such oscillations would be set up as are found when electric waves are sent out and1 meeting a circuit in consonance with them1 set up in that circuit oscillations like their own4 ,in view of these facts1 which are well ascertained1 he 7,professor ,houston7 considers that it does not seem improbable that a brain engaged in intense thought should act as a centre for thought-radiation1 nor that these radiations1 proceeding outwards in all directions1 should affect other brains on which they fall1 provided that these other brains are tuned to vibrate in unison with them4 ,light waves are etheric vibrations1 and it would seem that these brain-waves should 8partake of the nature of light40 ,if so1 why should it not be possible to obtain1 say1 by means of a lens1 a photographic impression of them8 ,such a thought-record suitably employed might be able to awaken at any subsequent time in the brain of a person submitting himself to its influence thoughts identical to those recorded4--,english ,mechanic4 ,f ,the contact is usually made by the agent taking the wrist1 or by placing his hand on the brow of the reader4 ,g 8,the ,use of ,spiritualism40 ,by ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 ,f4,s4,a41 late ,editor of the ,art ,journal1 author of 8,the ,retrospect of a ,long ,life10 etc4 ,price1 #as41 ,post ,free1 #as4 #a;d4 ,hay ,nisbet ,co41 ,london and ,glasgow4 ,h 8,what is ,theosophy80 ,by ,walter ,r4 ,old1 ,f4,t4,s4 ,price1 #as41 ,post ,free1 #as4 #b;d41 gives an excellent outline of this interesting subject4 ,hay ,nisbet ,co41 ,london and ,glasgow4 ,,transcriber',s ,,note ,most of the inconsistent hyphenation has been retained as in the original1 like #8mind reading' and #8mind-reading'1 #8supersensitivity' and #8super-sensitivity'1 etc4 ,obvious punctuation errors have been silently corrected4 ,original spelling and grammar have been preserved except for the following3 page #e3 8the ordinary lauguage0 changed to 8the ordinary language0 page #bc3 8render she sight0 changed to 8render the sight0 page #bi3 8,stanhope1 ,macclesfield1 ,charlville0 changed to 8,stanhope1 ,macclesfield1 ,charleville0 page #bi3 8,camillie ,flammarion0 changed to 8,camille ,flammarion0 page #bi3 8,dr4 ,jykell and ,mr4 ,hyde0 changed to 8,dr4 ,jekyll and ,mr4 ,hyde0 page #cj3 8and discribed a funeral0 changed to 8and described a funeral0 page #ca3 8s capable of0 changed to 8is capable of0 page #db3 8enter the first doo0 changed to 8enter the first door0 page #de3 8,she can also indentify0 changed to 8,she can also identify0 page #ed3 8why it hould not0 changed to 8why it should not0 page #gc3 8from our own sensorums0 changed to 8from our own sensoriums0 page #ge3 8following by like feelings0 changed to 8followed by like feelings0 page #gg3 8the brig in a dorry0 changed to 8the brig in a dory0 page #gg3 8the dorry was again0 changed to 8the dory was again0 page #gi3 8,the coffin1 at anyrate0 changed to 8,the coffin1 at any rate0 page #ha3 8happened her0 changed to 8happened to her0 page #hd3 8,i notice a solitary0 changed to 8,i noticed a solitary0 page #aah3 8,this gentlemen had0 changed to 8,this gentleman had0 page #abe3 8understand it faults0 changed to 8understand its faults0 page #abe3 8election of ,calvanism0 changed to 8election of ,calvinism0 page #abf3 8,devachian is the intermediate0 changed to 8,devachan is the intermediate0 ,footnote ,a3 8such as errotic mania0 changed to 8such as erotic mania0