c

Ø
- .
 \
S332tOiI 3 I H 3 A S d
4

He who pronounces anything to be " impossible," outside

I
of the field of pure mathematics, i s wanting in prudence.
. FRANCOIS ARAGO.
l

A learned pedant wholaughs at the possible cornea very

nmr being an idiot. To purposely shun a fact, and turn
one's back upon it with a supercilious smi'le, i s to bankrupt
Truth.
VICTOB
Hnao.

Science is ù d e r bonds, by the eternal p'nciples of honor,

to bok fearlessly in the face every problem that is presented I

to her.
SIBWILLIAMTHOMPSOX.

I
 PREFACE
The subject treated in the following pages has made great
.progrees in the course d forty years. Now what we are con-
oerned with in psychical studies is always unknown forces,
and these forces must belong to the natural order, for nature
embraces the entire universe, and everything is therefore un-
der the sway of her sceptre.
t I do not conceal from myself,however, that the present
work will excite discussion and bring forth legimate ob-
jebtions, and will ody satisfy independent and unbiased in-
Veetigatok. But nothing is rarer upon our planet than an
independent and absolutely untrammelled mind, nor is any-.
thing rarer thana true scientific spirit of inquiry, freed from
all pereonalinterest. Most readers will say: “ What is
there in these studies, anyway 8 The lifting of tables, the
moving of various pieces of furniture, the displacement of
ewy-chaire, therising and falling of pianos, the blowing
About of curtains, mysterious rappings, responses to mental
qumtione, dictations of sentences in reverse order, apparitions
of hands, of heads, or of spectral %res,- these are pnly
ammon placa trivialities or cheap hoaxes, unworthy t o OC+
cupy the attention of a scientist or echolar. And what would
it all prove even if it were true 1 That kind of thing does
not intereat us.”
Well, there are peopleupon whose heads the sky might
tumble without causing them any unusual emotion.
But I reply: What ! is it nothing to know, to prove, to
we with one’s o m eyes, that there are unknown forces around
u130 Is it nothing to study our own pfoper nature and our
V
.vi MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES f I . PREFACE vii
own faculties ? Are notthe mysterious problems of our them. On the one sand, the sceptics cleave fast to their
being such as are worthy to be inscribed on the program of denials, convinced that they know all the forces of nature,
our investigation, and of having devoted to them laborious I that all mediums are humbugs, and all experimenters im-
nights and days 8 Of course, the independent seeker gets no beciles. On the other hand, there are the credulous Spirit-
thanksfrom anybody for his toil. But what of that? We ualists, who imagine they always have spirits at their beck
work for the pleasure of working, of fathoming .the secrets and call in a centre-table, who evoke, with the utmost sang-
of nature, and of instructing ourselves. When, in studying froid, the spirits of Plato, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, St. Augus-
the double stars at the Paris Observatory and cataloguing tine, Charlemagne,Shakespeare,Newton, or Napoleon, and
these celestial twins, I established for the first time a natural who set about stoning me for the tenth or twentieth time,
classification of those distant o h ; when I discoiered stellar . d r m i n g that I am sold to the Institute on account of a deep-
systems,composedof several stars, swept onward through taeated and obstinate ambition, and that I dare not declare
immensity by one common impulse ; when I studiedthe - \
myself in favor of the identity of the spirits for fear of an-
planet Mars and compared all the observations made during noying my illustrious friends. The individuals of this class
two hundred years in order to' obtain at once an analysis mfuae to be satisfied just as much as the first class.
and a synthesis of this next-door neighbor of ours among . So much the worse for them ! I insist on only saying what
the planets ;when, in examining the effect of solar radiations - I know; but I do say this.
I created the new branch of physics to which has been given And if what I know is displeasing, so much the worse for
''
the name radioculture " and caused variations of the most the prejudices, the general ignorance, and the good breeding
radical and sweeping nature in the dimensions, the forms, of these distinguished gentry, in whoseeyes the maximum
and the colors of certain plants ; when I discovered that a of happiness consists in an increase of their fortune, the
grasshopper, eviscerated and kept in straw did not die, and pursuit of lucrative places, sensual pleasures, automobile
that these insects can live for a fortnight after having had racing, a box at the Opéra, or fiveo'clock teas at a fashion-
their heads cut off; when I planted in a conservatory of the - able restaurant,and whose lives are frittered away along
Museum of Natural History, in Paris, one of the ordinary paths that never crossthose of the rapt idealist, and who
oaks of our woods ( p e r m s robur), thinking that, if with- never know the pure satisfaction of his mind and heart, or
drawnfromthe changesofseasons, it would always have the pleasures of thought and feeling.
green leaves (a thing which everybody can prove),- when As for me, a humble student of the prodigious prsblem
I was doing these things I was working for myown per- of the universe, I am only a seeker. What are we ? We
sonal pleasure ; but that is no reason why these studies have have scarcely shed a ray more of light on this point than at
not been useful in the developing work of science, and no the time when Socrates laid down, as a principle, the maxim,
reason for their not being admitted within the scope of the Know thyself,- notwithstanding we have measured the dis-
practical work of specialists. tances of the stars, analyzed the sun, and weighed the worlds
It is the same with these psychical studies of ours ; only of space. Does it stand to reason that the knowledge of our-
there ie a little more passiin and prejudice coniected with relves ahodd interest us lese than that of the macromm, the
 1 . .- .
. .

viii MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

external world ? It is not credible. Let us therefore study -
on, convinced that all sincere research will further the prog-
rees of humanity. \

I Juvisy Observatory, December, 1906.

\
.” CONTENTS
8
#

PAQn
.................. v
~TBODIJO~OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘xiii
[Link]
I. On Certain Unknown Natural Forces ...... 1
II. My First SBances In The Allen Kardec Group, And
With The Mediums Of That Epoch . . . . . 24
III. My ExperimentsWithEusapia Paladino. . . . . 63
. IV. Other 86anw8 With Eusapia Paladino . . . . . 195
V. Frauds, Trioks,Deceptions,Impostures,Feata Of
c
Legerdemain, Hystifications,Impediments . . 194
VI. The Experimenta Of Count De Gasparin . . . . 229
VII. The Reeearchee Of Professor Thury . . . . . . 266
VIII, The Experimenta Of The DialecticalSociety Of
London. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
I& T h e Experimenta Of Sir William Cmkee . . . . 306
X. Sundry Experiments And Observatione . . . . . 352
XI. My General Inquiry RespectingObservationr Of
Unexplained Phenomena . . . . . . . . 376
XII. Explanatory Hypotheses-Theories And Doctrine8
-Conclusions Of TheAuthor . . . . . . 406
I m E x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
I
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Plata I. CompleteLevitation of a Table in Profeeeor
Flammarion’~Salon throughMediumehip of Eusapia
Paladino ........... Facing page 8
Plate II. House of Zoroastre of Jupiter from Somnambu-
btic Drawing by Victorien Sardou . . .
After page 26
Plate m. Animals’ Quarters. House of Zoroaetre of
Jupiter from Somnambulietic
Drawing
by
Victorien
sudou ............. Aflerpage 26
mgum 1. The Inclination of the System of Uranus Page. 54
Flgare la. orbits of Satellitee of Uranus ae Seen from the
Earth ............... PagO 56
Pl8b IV. Plaster Caet of Imprint Made in Putty without
Contact by the Medium Eusapia Paladino .
Aft@page 76
-ta V. Eusapia Paladino, ShowingResemblance to the
Imprint in Putty .......... Aflerpage 76
Phte VI. Photographs Taken by M.G . de Fontenay of an
....
Experiment in Table Levitation Facing page 82
Plate VII. Plaster Caets of Impressione in Clay Roduoed
by an Unknown Force....... Fudng page 138
Plate VIU. Drawingfrom Photograph, ShowingMethod
of Control by ProfessorsLombroso and Richet of Eueapia.
Table CompletelyRaised . . . . . . Faìngpuge 154
Plate I& Photographe of Levitation of Table Accompany-
. . . . FacìngpcGge
ing Colonel DeRochas’ Report 174
ht
e X. Scales Used in ProfeeeorFlammarion’s Experi-
menta . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fmhgpuge 200
 .
n i LIST OP ILLUSTRATION8
\
Plate XI. Method Used by Eusapia to Surreptitiously Free 1

her Hand ............ Fucingpge 206

Plate XII. Cage of Copper Wire, Electrically Chaqpd,
Used by Profeesor Crookee in the HomeAccordion
Experiment ........... Fwingpge 808 INTRODUCTION
Figure 3. Board and Scale Experiment of Sir William
Crookes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 318 Aa long ago aa 1865 I published, under the title, Unknown
Figures 4 and 5. Instruments Used in Scde Experiment Natumt &'orces, a little monograph of a hundred and fifty
by Sir WilliamCrookes . . . . . . . . . page 5 p a p which is still occasionally found in the book-shops, but
Figure 6. Glass Veseel Ueed by Home .... Page S18 - hm not been mprhted. I reprint here (pp. xiii-xxiii), what I
at that time in this critical study " aproposof the
Figure 7. Automatically Registered Chart of Unknown
Force Generated by Mr. Home. . . . . . . Page 811 phenomena produced by the Davenport brothers and medi-
u m s in general." It was published by Didier & Co., book-
Figures 8, 9, 10. Charte from Sir William Cmkee Instru-
&m to the Academy, who had already issued my first two
ments Used in Experimenta with Mr. Home . . Page 321
Wmkq The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds and Imaginary
Figures 11 and 12. Third Instrument Devieed by Sir PmZh and Reat Worlds.
WilliamCrookes for Recording Automatically the Un-
known Force Generated by Home ....... Page 322 France has just beenengaged inan exciting debate,
where the sound of voices was drowned in a great uproar,
Figures 13. Charts Made by Third Instrument . Page 325
'mdout of which no conclusion has emerged. A disputation
Figuree 14 and 15. Charta Made by Third Inetrument Page 924 more noisy than intelligent has been raging around a whole
Plate XIXI. Inetantaneous Photograph Taken by M. de p u p of unexplained facts, and so completely muddled the
Fontenay of Table Levitation Produced by the Medium problem that, in place of illuminating it, the debate has only
Auguste Politi . .. .. o Faehaggage 868 -ed to shroud it in deeper darkness;
'' During the discussion a singular remark mas fre-
quently heard, to the effect that those who shouted the loud-
& in this court of assize were the very ones who were least
informed on the subject. It was an amusing spectacle to see
th- persons in a death-grapple with merephantoms.
Panurge himself would have laughed at it.
" The result of the matter is that less is known to-day up-
001 the eubject in dispute than at the opening of the debates.
" In the mean time, seated upon neighboring heights were
min excellent old fellows who observed the writs of arrest
*
3
xiii
xiv MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES [Link] Pt,
. I
issued against the more violent combatants, but who remained . jmt, but arestraying in it at random, wandering through
for the most part pave and silent, though they occasionally atrange region. They misunderstand the very terminol-
smiled, and withal did a deal of hard thinking. o%g,and imagine that facts long ago well authenticated are
" I am going to state what weight should be given to the ímpsible. By wayof contrast, thewriter of these lines
opinions of thoseof us who do not rashly affirm the impoesi- ! will state that for several years he has beenengaged in dis-
bility of the facts now put under theban and who do not add inesions and experiments upon the subject. (I am not
their voices to the dominant noteof 0ppmition.f- rpeoking of historical studies.)
'' I do not conceal from myself the consequences of auch ''Moreover, although the old saw wouldhave us believe
sincerity. It requires a good deal ofboldness to insist on that 'it is not always desirable to state the truth,'yet, to
affirming, in t h e n a m e of positive science, the PoaaIBILITY o2 p& frankly, I am so indignant at the overweening pre-
these phenomena (wrongly styled 'supernatural), and to con- nrmption of certain polemicalopponents, and at thegall
stitute one's self - the champion of a cause apparently ridicu- they have injected into the debate, that I do not hesitate to
lous, absurd, and dangerous, knowing, at the same time, that riw and pointouttothe deceived publicthat, without a '
the avowed adherents of said cause have little standing in h g l e exception, allthe arguments brought up bythese
science, and that even ita eminent partisans only venture to mitera, and upon which they have boldly planted their ban-
speak of their approval of it with bated [Link], ner of victory, prove absolutely nothing, NOTHING, against
since the matter has just been treated momentarily in the possible truth of the things which they, in the fury of
fugitive writings by a group of journalists whose exacting their denial,have so perverted. Such a snarl of opinions
labors wholly forbid a study of the psychic and physical must be analyzed. In brief, the true must be disentangled
forces ;and since, of all this multitude of writers, the greater from the false. Vedas, veiitas! "
part have only heaped error upon error, puerility upon ex- " I hasten to anticipate a criticism on the part of my read-
travagance ; and since it appears from every page they have m by apprising them, on the threshold of this plea, that I
written (I hope theywill pardon me) that not only are un not going to take the Davenport brothera as my subject,
they ignorant of the very u, b, c of the subject they have but only as the ostensible motive or pretext of the discus-
so fantastically treated, but their opinions upon this class rian,- aa they have been, for that matter, of the majority
of factsrest upon no basis whatever,- therefore I have of the discussions. I shall deal in these pages with the fucts
thought it would serve a purpose if I should leave, as a sou- brought to thesurface again by these two Americans,-
venir of the long wrangle, a pieceof writing better baaed facta inexplicable (which they have put on the stage at Herz
and buttressed than the lucubrations of the abovementioned Hall here in Paris, but which none the less existed before
gentlemen. As a lover of truth, I am willing to face a thou- this mise-en-scène, and which none the less will exist even
sand reproaches. Be it distinctly understood that I do not ihould the Davenport brothers' representations prove to be
for a momentdeemmy judgmentsuperiorto that of my * 'munterfeit),- things which others had already exhibited,
c o n f h s , some of whom are in other respects highly gifted. and still exhibit with as much facility and under much bete
The simple fact is that they are not familiar with this sub fer conditions ; occurrences, in short,which constitute the
J .
xvi MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INTRODUCTION svii
domain of the 'unknown forces to whichhavebeen given, . them unhnpp$ semblances of truth; and it is to abdicate
one after another, five or six names explaining nothing. o d a right of private judgment to make one% self but the
These forces, mind you, am as realastheattraction of &O of the vulgar herd who hiss and shout themselves hoarse
gravitatioa, and as invisible as that. It is about facts that before the curtain rises. No, I am not the advocate of the
I here concern myself. Let them be brought to the light by ' Wo brothers, nor of their personal claims. For me, indi-
Peter or by Paul, it concerne UB little ;let them be imitáted vidual men do not exist. That which I defend is the BU-
by Sosie * or parodied by Harlequin, still lese does it con- priority of nature to us: that which I fight against is the
cern us. The question ia, Do these facts exist, and do they oomoeited silliness of certain persons.
enter into the category of k n o w physical forces 8 '' YOUsatirical gentlemen will have t,he frankness, I hope,
'' It amazes me, every time I think of it, that the majority to confess with me that the different reasons pleaded by you
of men are so densely ignorant of the psychic phenomena in in explanation of these problems are not BO solid as they
question, considering the fact that they have been known, appear to b e. Since you have discovered nothing, let ua ad-
studied, valued, and recorded for a good long time now by mit, between ourselves, that your explanations explain noth-
all who have impartially followed the movement of thought h@
duringthelastfew lustrums. '
'I I do not doubt that, at the point in the discussion which
" I not only do not make common cause with the Daven-
we have actually reached, you would like to change rôles
port brothers, but I ought furthermore to add that I con- with me, and, stopping me here, constitute yourselves in turn
sider them as placed in a very compromising situation. I n my questioners.
laying to the account of the supernatural matters in occult " But I hasten to anticipate your proposal. As for me,
natural philosophy which have a tolerable resemblance to gentlemen, [Link] not sufficientlywell informed toexplain
feats of prestidigitation, theyappear to a curiouspublic theee mysteries. I pass my life in a retired garden belong-
to add imposture to insolence. In setting a financial value ing to one of the nine Muses, and my attachment to this fair
upon their talents, they seem to the moralist, who is investi- omature is such that I have scarcely ever quitted the ap-
gating still unexplained phenomena, to place themselves on proaches to her temple. It is only at interials, in moments
the level of mountebanks. Whatever way you look at them, of relaxation or curiosi@, that L have allowed my eyee to
theyare
to blame.
Accordingly, I condemn at once wander, from time to time, over the landscapes which SUP
both their, grave error in assuming to be superior to the m n d it. Therefore askme nothing. I am making a sin-
forces of which they are only the instruments and the venal œre confession. I know nothing of the cause of these
profit they ,draw from powers of which they are not master phenomena.
and which it is no merit of theirs to POBS~SS. In my opin- You see how modest I am. ,A11 I wanted in undertak-
ion, it is a piece of exaggeration to draw conclusions from & this examination was to have the opportunity of saying
'ab:
* Sosie is a character in PlautuaandMoliere. Hemes takes Roeie'e U You h o w nothing about it.
form, and,when the latter seee his double, he almostdoubts his own
identity. Bo the word came to mean a counterpart, a double, one~'a
utter ego.-Trans. -
'(l"either do I.
.-
-
I

-
xviii MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INTRODUCTION xix
I
" If you acknowledge this, we can shake hands. And, if the maximum of effectwas attained [Link] joined the
you are tractable, I will tell you a little secret. lumbar nerves and the ends of the feet of a frog by a metallic
" h the month of June, 1776 (few among us remember am of tin and copper. The frog's muscles then jerked con-
it), a young man twenty-five years old, named Jouffroy, was mleively. H e believed it was due to a nervousfluid, and
making a trial trip on the river Doubs of a new steamboat 10 loat the fruit of his investigations. It was reserved for
forty feet in length and six feet in breadth. For two years ,Volta to discover electricity.
he had been calling the attention of scientific authorities to " And to-day the globe is threaded with a network of trains

his invention ; for two years he had been stoutly asserting drawn flamebreathing dragons. Distances have disap-
that there is a powerful latent energy in steam,- at that peared, annihilated by improvements in the locomotive. The
time a neglectedasset. All ears were deaf to his words. genius of man has contracted the dimensions of the earth ;
His only reward was to be completely isolated and neglected. the longestvoyages are but excursions over definite lines
When he passed through the street,s of Baumeles-Dames, (the curved paths of the ' ocean lanes ') ; the most gigantic
his appearance was the signal for jests innumerable. He taeh are accomplished by the tireless and powerful hand
w a ~dubbed ' Jouffroy, theSteamMan ' (' Jou#roy-b of this unknown force. A telegraphic despatchflies in the
.
Pompe ') Ten years later, having built a pyroscaphe [lit- twinkling of an eye from one continent to another; a man
erally, fireboat] which had ascended the Saône from Lyons o m talk with a citizen of London or St. Petersburg without
to the island of Barbe, he presented a petition to Calonne, getting out of his arm-chair. And thesewonders attract
the comptrollergeneral of finance, and to the Academy of no epecialnotice. We little think through what struggles,
Sciences. They would not look at his invention l bitter disappointments and persecutions they came into be-
'' On August 9, 1803, Fulton went up the Seine in a new ing ! W e forget that the impossible of yesterday is the
steamboat at therate of about four miles an hour. The accomplished fact of to-day. So it comes to pass that we
members of the Academy of Sciences as well as government rtill h d menwhocome to us saying: ' Halt there, you
officials were present on the occasion. The next day they little fellows ! W e don't understand you, therefore .you
had forgotten all about it, and Fulton 'went to make the don't know what you're talking about.' . I

fortunes of Americans. '' Very well, gentlemen. Éowever narrow maybe your
'' In 1791 an Italian at Bologna, named Galvani, having opihionfl, there is no reason for thinking that your myopia
hung on the iron railing outside his windowsome skinned is to spread over the world. You are hereby informed that,
frogs which had been used in making a bouillon for his wife, h epíte of you and in spite of your obscurantism and o b
noted that they moved automatically, although theyhad otruction tactim, the car of human progress will roll on and
1
been killed since the evening before. Thething was in- contime ita triumphal march and conquest of new forces
&edible, so everybody to whom he told it opposed his etate- yadpowers. As in the case of Galvani's frog, the laughable
[Link] of sensewould have thought it beneath their &&mences that you refuse to believereveal the existence
dignity to take the trouble to verify the stoy, so convinced ai &W unknown forces. There is no effect without a cause.
were they of its impossibility. But Galvani had noted that g ,Man is the least known of all beings. We bave lgarned
q ..

: -
xx IEYSTERJOUS PSYCHIC
FORCES INTRODUCTION XXi

how to measure the sun, crosa the deeps of space, analyze the from all that we know, ,and which more than any other re-
light of the stars, and yet have not dropped a plummet into rembles intelligence.
our own sods. Man is dual,- homo dupiez; and ,this "A certainsavantwith whom I am acquainted, M.
double nature remains a mystery to him. . We think: what F h y , of the Institute, has recently presented to the Acad-
isthought?No one can say. We walk : what is that or- amy of Science, apropos of spontaneous generation, sub
ganic act? No one knows. My will is an immaterial force ; etances which he has called semi-organic. I believe I am
allthe faculties of my soul are immaterial. Nevertheless, not perpetrating a neologismbolder thanthis when I say
if I wz'11 to move my arm, my will moves matter. How that the force of which I am speaking has seemed to me
does it act ! .What is the mediator between mind and mua- to belong to the semi-intellectual plane.
cle ? A s yet no one can say. Tell me how the optic nerve " Some years ago I gave these forces the name psychic.

transmits to the thinking brain the perception of outward That name can be justified.
objects. Tell me how thought is born, where it resides, what " But words are nothing. They often resemble cuirasses,
is the nature of cerebral action. Tell me -but no, gentle- hiding the real impression that ideas should produce in
men: I could question you for ten years on a stretch, and pe. That is the reawn why it is perhaps better not to name
the most eminent of you could not answer the least of mg- thing that we are not yet able to define. If we did, we
interrogatories. rhould fmd ourselves so shackled afterwards as not to have
''We have here, as in the preceding cases, the unknown perfect freedom in our conclusions. It has often beenseen
element in a problem. I amfar from claiming thatthe in history that a premature hypothesis has arrested the prog-
force that comes into play in these phenomena can one day , rese of science, says Grove: ' When natural phenomena
be financially exploited, as in the case of electricity and are observed for thefirst time, a kndency immediately arises
eteam. Such an idea has not the slightest interest for me. to relate them to something already known. The newphe-
But, though differing essentially from these forces, the mys- , aomenon may be quite remote from the ideas with which
terious psychic force none the less exists. one would compare it. It may belong to a different order
'' In the course of the long and laborious studies to which: of analogies. But this dishction cannot be perceived, since
I have consecrated many a night, as a relief or by-play in the necessary data or co-ordinates are lacking.'Now the
more important work, I have always observed in these phe- theory originally announced is soon accepted by the public ;
nomena the action of a force the properties of which are to and when .it happens that subsequent facts, different from
us unknown. Sometimea it has seemed to me analogws to the preceding, fail to fit the mould, it is difficult to enlarge
that which puts to sleep the magnetized subject under the thie without breaking it, and people often prefer to abandon
will of the hypnotizer (a reality this, also slighted even by theory nowprovederroneous, and silently ignore the in-
men of science). Again, in other circumstances, it baa tractable facts. As to the special phenomena in question in
seemed to me analogous to the curious freake of the light- this little volume, I find them implicitly embodied in three
ning. Still, I believe I can affirm it to be a force diatinct words uttered nearly twenty centuries ago,- MENS AGITAT
MOLEM (mind acting on matter gives it lifeand mo-

i
I
5
i
i
*
c
xxii MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INTRODUCTIOX
tion j ; and I leave the phenomena embedded in these words, alpie of spiritual forces, we are just where chemistry was at
like fire in the flint, I will not strike with the steel, for the the time of Albert the Great: we don't know.
Bpark is still dangerous. c Periculosum est credereet no% " Can we not then keep the golden mean between negation,

credere ' (' It is dangerous to believe and not to believe '), which denia all, and credulity, whichaccepts all 8 Is it
says the ancient fabulist Phædrus. To deny facta a priori ' rationalto deny everything that we cannot understand, or,
is mere conceit and idiocy. To accept them without investi-
'
on the contrary, to believe all the follies that morbid imagi-
gation is weakness and folly. Why seek to press on so mations give birth to, one after another 8 Can we not poe-
eagerly and prematurelyinto regions to which our poor wsa at once the humility which becomes the weak and the
powers cannot yet attain 8 The way is full of snares and dignity which becomes the strong?
bottomless pits. The phenomena we aretreating in these ''I end this plea, as I began it, by declaring that it is not
pages do not perhaps throw new light upon the solution of for the sake of the brothers Davenport, nor of any sect, nor
the great problem of immortality, but they invite us to re- of any group, nor, in short, of any personwhatever, that
member that there are in man elements to study, to deter- I have entered the lists of controversy, but solely for the
mine, to analyze,- elements still unexplained, and which d e of facts the reality of which I ascertained several yeare
belong to the psychic realm. ago, without having discovered their [Link], I
There has been much talk about Spiritualism in connec- have no reason to fear that those who do not h o w me will
tionwith [Link] of its defenders have take a fancy to misrepresent my thought; and I think that
thought to strengthen it by supporting it on so weak a basis &om who are acquainted with me know that I am not accus-
as that. The scoffershave thought they could positively tomed to swing a censer in any one'shonor. I repeat for
ruin the creed of the psychics, and, hurling it from its base, the last time: I 'am notconcqrned with individuals. My
bury it under a fallen wardrobe (l'éboulernent d'une mind seeks thetruth,and recognizes it wherever it finde
emnoire).* Now the first-named have rather compromised it. t Gallus escam quœrena margaritam reperit." *
than assisted the cause: the others have not overturned it A certain number of my readers have been for some time
after all. Evenif it should be proved thatSpiritualism kindly expressing a wish for a new edition of thisearly
consists only of tricks of legerdemain, the belief in the ex- book. But strictly speaking I could not do this without
istence of soula separate from the body would not be affeded muiderably enlarging my original plan and composing an
in the slightest [Link], the deceptions of mediums ontirely newwork. Thedailyroutine of my astronomical
do not prove that they are always tricky. They only put labore has constantly hindered me from devoting myself to
us on our guard, and induce us to keep a stern watch upon that task. The starry heaven is a vast and absorbing field of
them. work, and it is difficult to turn aside (even for a relaxation in
" As to the psychological question of the soul and the an- i b l f scientific) from the exacting claims of a science which
p on developing unceasingly at a most prodigious rate.
* This seemu to be a reference to the wardrobeueed by the early i Btill, the present work may be considered as, in a sense,
Bpiritualists as a cabinet in their demonstrations in public belle.--Trans.
l
f The cock scratching for grain flnds a pearl.
l
I

xxiv MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

an enlargededition of theearlierone. The foregoing cita-
tion of a little book written for the purpose of proving tho
existenceof unknown forces in nature has seemed to me
necessaryhere ; useful in thisnewvolume,broughtout
for the same purpoee after more than forty years of study,
since it mayserve to show the continuits and. consistent ,.
development of my thought on the subject.

MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
CHAPTER I
OB a R T A I N UNKNOWN NATURAL 80BCE8

I purpose to show in this book what truth there i s in the

*mena of table-turnings, table-movinp, and tablerap
pine, in the communications received therefrom, in levita-
h e &at contradict the laws of gravity, in the moving of
objm without contact, in unexplained noises, in the stories
bld of haunted house8,- all to be considered from the phys-
brl and mechanical point of view. Under all the just men-
tioned heads we cán group material factsproduced by causes
&own to science, and it is with these physical phe-
amena that we shall specially occupy ourselves here ;for the
ant point is to debitely prove, by sufficient observations,
beir real [Link],theories,doctrines, will
mm later.
In the country of Rabelais, of Montaigne, o f Voltaire, we
uo inalined to smile at everything that relates to the mar
~dlous,to tales of enchantment, the extravagances of occult-
h,the mysteries of magic. This arises from a reasonable
prudence. But it does not go far enough. To deny and
prejudge a phenomenon has neverproved anything. The
tmth of almost every fact which constitutes the sum of the
paritive sciences of our dayhas [Link],we
mt to do ie to admit no unverified statement, to apply
i
W subject of study, no matter what, the experimental
nwthod, without any preconceived idea whatever, either for
ob against. .
1 .
2 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES [Link] NATURAL FORCES 3
We are dealing here with a great problem, which touches Let me add that this medium came to Paris during the
on that of the survival of human consciousness. We may first months of the year, 1906, at the invitation of the
study it, in spite of smiles. Psychological Institute, several members of which have been
When we consecrate our lives toan idea, useful, noble, recently engaged in researches begun long ago. Among
exalted, we should not hesitate for a moment to sacrifice these savants I will mention the name of the lamented Pierre
personalities; above all, our own self, dur interest, our self- Curie, the eminent chemist, with whom I had a conversa-
esteem, our natural vanity. This sacrifice isacriterion by tion a few days before his unfortunate and terrible death.
which I have estimated a good many characters. How many My mediumistic experiences with Mme. Paladino formed
men, how many women, puttheir miserable little person- for him a new chapter in the great bookof nature, and he
ality above everything else ! alsowasconvinced thatthereexist hidden forces to the
If the forces of which we are to treat are real, they can- investigation ofwhich it is not unscientific to consecrate
not but be nat.ura1 [Link] ought to admit, as an abso-. one's self. His subtle and penetrating genius would per-
lute principle, that everything is in nature, evenGod him- haps have quickly determined the character of these forces.
self, as I haveshown in another work. Before any attempt Those who have given some little attention to these psycho-
at theory, the first thing to do is to scientifically establish logical studies are acquainted with the powers of Mme. Pala-
the real existence of these forces. dino. The published works of Count de Rochas, of Professor
Mediumistic experiences might form (and doubtless soon Richet, of Dr. Dariex, of M. G. de Fontenay, and nota-
will form) a chapter in physics. Only it is a kind of tran- bly the Annates des sciences psychiques, have pointed them
scendental physicswhichtouches on life and thought, and out and described them in such detail that it would be su-
the forces in play are pre-eminently living forces, psychic perfluous to recur to them at this point. Farther on we
forces. shall find a place for discussing them.
I shall relate in the following chapter the experiments I Running underneath all the observations of the above-men-
made between the years 1861 and 1865, previous tothe tioned writers, one dominant idea can be read as if in palimp-
penning of the protest, reprinted in the long citation above sest; namely, the imperious necessity the experimenters are
given (in theIntroduction). But, siqce in certain respects ' constantly under of suspecting tricks in this medium (Mme.
they 'are summed up in those I have just had, in 1906, I Paladino). But all mediums, men and women, have to be
will begin by describing the latter in this first chapter. watched. During a period of more than forty years I be-
I n fact, I have recently renewed these investigations with lieve that I have received at my home nearly all of them,
a' celebrated medium,- Mme. Eusapia Paladino, of Naples, men and women of divers nationalities and from every quar-
who has been several times in Paris ; namely, in 1898, 1905, ter of the globe. One may lay it down as a principle that
and, very recently, in 1906. The things I am going to all professional mediums cheat. But they do not always
speak of happened in the salon of my home in Paris,- the cheat; and they possess real, undeniable psychic powers.
last ones in full light without any preparation, very simply, Their case is nearly that of the hysterical folk under o b
as if during after-dinner talks. eervation at the Salpêtrière or elsewhere. I haveseen some
 4 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 5
of them outwitwiththeir profound craft not only Dr. his initial stroke alone impels ;but he guides its course by his
Charcot, but especially Dr. Luys, and all the physicians who thought and his gesture.
were making a study of their case. But, because hysteriacs It may not be superfluous to caution the reader that the
deceive and simulate, it would be a gross error to conclude word " medium " is employed in thesepages without any
that hysteria does not exist,. And, because mediums fre- preconceived idea, and not in the etymological sense in which
quently descend to the most brazen-faced imposture, it would it took its rise at the time of the first Spiritualistic theories,
not be less absurd t.o conclude that mediumship has no ex- whichaffirmed that the man or the womanendowed with
istence. Disreputable somnambulists do not forbidthe ex- psychic powers is an intermediary between spirits and those
istence of magnetism, hypnotism, and genuine somnambu- who are experimenting. The person who has the power
lism. of causing objects to move contrary to the laws of gravity
This necessity of being constantly on our guard has dis- (even sometimes without touching them), of causing sounds
couraged more than one investigator, as the illustrious as- to be heard at a distance and without any exertion of mus-
tronomer Schiaparelli, director of the Observatory of Milan, oular force, and of bringing before the eyes various appari-
' ,
specially wrote me, in a letter which will appear farther on. tions, has not necessarily, on that account, any bond of mion
l i Still, we have got to éndure this evil. with disembodied minds or souls. We shall keep this word
The words " fraud " (supercherie) and " trickery " (tri- medium," however, now so long in use. We are concerned
,
l ' cherie) have in this connection a sense a little different from pere only with facts. I hope to convince the reader that
!
their ordinary meaning. [Link] the mediums deceive pur- these things really exist, and are neither illusions nor farces,
posely, knowing well what they are doing, and enjoying the nor feats of prestidigitation. My object is to prove their
fun. But oftener they unconsciously deceive, impelled by the reality with abaolute certainty, to do for them what (in

l:
desire to produce the phenomena that people are expecting. my volume The Unknown and the Psychic Problems) I
They help on the success of the experiment when that SUC have done for telepathy, the apparitions of the dying, pre-
cess is slow in its appearance. Mediums who deal with objec- monitorydreams, and clairvoyance.
tive phenomena are gifted with the power of causi% objects 1 shall begin, I repeat, with experiments which I have
at a distance to move, of lifting tables,etc. But they USU- recently renewed; namely, duringfour séances on March
ally appear to apply this power at the ends of their %ers, 89, April 5, May 30, and June 7, of 1906.
and the objecta to be moved have to be within reach of their 1. Take the case of the [Link] of a round table. I
hands or feet, a very regrettable thing, and one which have so often ~ e e na rather heavy table lifted to a height
furnishes fine rsport for the prejudiced [Link] of eight, twelve, sixteen inclles from the floor, and I have
the mediums act like. the billiard player, who continues for taken such undeniably authentic photographs of these ; I
aninstantthe gesture of hand and arm, holding his cue bave so often proved to myself that the suspension of this
pointed at the rolling ivory ball, and leaning forward f ~ 9if article of f u r d u r e by the imposition upon it of the hands
by his will he could push it to a carom. H e knows very well '
of four or fivepersonsproduces the effect of a floating
that he has no further power over t,he fate of the ball, which in a tub full of water or other elastic fluid, that, for me,
 1
F. -.

6 MYSTERIOUSPSYCHICFORCES .. UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 7

the levitation of objects is no more doubtful than that of a . 'I.
- Conclusion :we have here an unknown force of the paychic
pair of scissors lifted by theaid of a magnet. But one - alma, a living force, the life of a moment only.
evening when I was almost alone with Eusapia, March 29, .-' May it not be possible that, in exerting ourselves, we give
1906 (there were four of us altogether), being desirous of .dee to a detachment of forces which acts exteriorly to our
examining at leisure how the thing was done, I asked her body ? Butthis is notthe place, in these first pages, to
to placwher hands with mine upon the table, the other per- make hypotheses.
sons remaining at a distance. The table very soon r o s ~ The experiment of which I have just spoken was repeated
to a height of fifteen or twenty inches while we were both &ree times running, in the full light of a gas chandelier,
standing. At the momentof the production of the ph* md under the same conditions of complete proof in each
nomenon the medium placedone of her hands on one of M. A round table weighing about fourteen pounds is
mine, which she pressed energetically, our two other hands liftsd by this unknown force. A table of twenty-five or
resting side by [Link], on herpart, as on mine, Bty pounds or more requires a greater number of persons.
there was an act of 'will expressed in words of command ad- But they will get no result if one at least among them is
dressed to " the spirit " : '' Come now 1 Lift the table ! Mt gifted with the mediumistic power.
Take courage I Come I Try now ! " etc. And let me add, on the Dther hand, that there is in such:
We ascertained at once thatthere weretwo elements or m experiment so great an expenditure of nervous and mus-
constituents present. On the one hand, the experimenters d a r energy that such an extraordinary medium as Eusapia, ,

address an invisible entity. On the other hand, the medium for inetance, can obtain scarcely any results six hours, twelve
experiences a nervous and muscular fatigue, and her weight' hours, even twenty-four hours, after a séance in which she
increases in proportion to that of the object lifted (but not bu lavishly expended her psychic energy.
80.

J-; in exact proportion). I will add that quite often the table continues to rise even
We are obliged to act as if there really were a being pres- ribr the experimenters haveceased to touch it. This is
ent who is listening. This being appears to come into ex- movement Without contact.
istence, and then become non-existent as soon as the experf This phenomenon of levitation is, to me, absolutely proved,
ment is ended. It seems to be created by the medium. Is althoughwe cannot explain it. It is like what would hap-
it an auto-suggestion of hers or of the dynamic ensemble p if one had his hands gloved with loadstone, and, placing
of the experimenters that creat,es a special force O Is it a them on a table of iron, should lift it from the ground. But
doubling of her personality! Is it the condensation of 8; &e action is not so simple as that: it is a case of psychic
psychic milieu in the midst of which we live 8 If weseek rdioity exterior to ourselves, momentarily in operation.*
to obtain proofs of actual and permanent individuality, and In order that I may at once place before the eyes of my readers
above all of the identity of a particular soul called up in our bdllmentary. evidence of these experimente, I reproducehere (Pl. I)
o p p h taken at my apartments November in
memory,we never obtain any satisfaction. There lieg the frl:h othetAny
y distance between thefeet
of
on the 12th
the table
and
of
one can perceive by the borizontality of the arms,
as well
the floor, that the
mystery. -tion ie from sixtoeight inches. The precise distance is marked
m the figure itself,- a measurement taken the next day by propping
Q the table, with the aid of books, inthe same position as it wae.

1 -..___
4
-- .
--:
-
1 -.A*-

i 3:
-I
 I
UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 9
known to Spiritualists,hare been frequentlyattributed
to Home kind of trickery or another, to a cracking
muscle or to various actions of the medium. After
the comparative study I have made of theso special
occurrences I believe I am right in affirming that this fact
also is not less certain than the first. Rappings, as is well
known, are obtained in all kinds of rhythms, and responses
to all questions are obtained through simple conventions,
bywhich it is agreed, for instance, that threetapsshall
mean “yes ” and two mean “no,” and that, while the let-
ters of the alphabet are being read, words can be dictated by
taps made as each letter is named.
3. Duringour experiments, while we four persons are
seated around a table asking for a communicationwhich
does not arrive, an arm-chair, placed about twenty-four
inches from the medium’s foot (upon which I haveplaced
my foot to make sure that she cannot use hers),- an arm-
chair, I say, begins to move, and comes sliding up to us.
I push it back ; it returns. It isa stuffed affair ( p o u f ) ,
very heavy, but easily capable of gliding orer the floor.
This thing happened on the 29th of last March, and again
on April 5th.
It could have been done by drawing the chair with a st,ring
or by the medium p u t h g her foot sufficiently far out.
But it happened over and over again (five or six times),
automatically moving, and that so violently that the chair
jumped about the floor in a topsy-turvy fashion and ended
by falling bottom side up without anybody having touched
it.
4. Here is a fourth case re-observed this year, after hav-
i n g been several times verified by me, notably in 1898.
Curtains near the medium, but which it is impossible for
her to touch, either with the hand or the foot, swell ont their
whole length, as if inflated by a gusty wind. I have several
I

l
I
IO [Link] PSYCHICFORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 11
times seen them envelop the heads of the spectators as if with conditions which happen to suit us. I t would be just as rea-
cowls of Capuchin monks. sonable to try to get a photographic negative without a dark
5; Here is a fifth instance, authenticated by me several room, or to draw electricity from a rotating machine in the
times, and always with the same care. midst of an atmosphere saturatedwith moisture. Light is
While I am holding one hand of Eusapia in mine, and one a natural agent capable of producing certain effects and of
of my astronomical friends, tutor at theEcole Polytechnique, opposing the production of others.
is holding the other, we are touched, first one and then the This aphorism calls to my mind an anecdote in the life
other, upon the side and on the shoulders, as if by an in- of Daguerre, related in the first edition of t,his book.
visible hand. One evening this illustrious natural philosopher meets an
The medium usually tries to get together her two hands, elegant and fashionable woman in the neighborhood of the
held separately by each of us, and by a skilful substitution to Opera House, of which he was at that time the decorator.
make us believe we hold both when she has succeeded in dis- Enthusiastic over his progress in natural philosophy, he hap-
engaging one. Thisfraud beingwellknownby us, we pens to speak of his photogenic studies. H e tells her of a
act the part of forewarned spectators, and are positive that marvellous discovery by which the features of the face can
we haveeachsucceeded in holding her hands apart. The be k e d upon a plate of silver. The lady, who is a person
touchings in this experiment seem to proceed from an in- of plain common sense, courteously laughs in his face. The
visible entityandarerather disagreeable. Those which savant goes on with his story, without being disconcerted.
take place in the immediate vicinity of the medium could be He even adds that it is possible for the phenomenon to take
due to fraud ; but to some of them this explanation is i n a p place instantaneously when the processesbecome perfected.
plicable. .But he has hispains for his trouble. His charming corn-
This is the place to remark that, unfortunately, the ex- panion is not credulous enough to acceptsuch an extrava-
traordinary character of the phenomena is in direct ratio with gance. Paint without colors and without a brush ! design
the absence of light, and we are continually asked by the me- without pen or crayon ! as if a portrait could get painted
dium to turn down the gas, almost to the vanishing point: all by itself, etc. But the inventor is not discouraged, and,
IC
Heno luce! meno luce ! (4‘Less light, less light ”). This,
JJ to convince her, offers to make her portrait by this process.
of course, is advantageous to all kinds of fraud. But it is a The lady is unwilling to be thought a dupe and refuses. But
condition no more obligatory than the others. There is in the skilful artist pleads his cause so well that he overcomes
it no implication of a threat. , her objections. The blond daughter of Eve consents to pose
We can get a large number of mediumistic phenomena before the object-glass. But she makesonecondition,-
with a light strong enough for us to distinguish things with only one.
cert,ainty. Still, it is a fact that light is unfavorable to the Her beauty is at its best in the evening, and she feels a
production of phenomena. [Link] faded in the garish light of day.
Thisis annoying. Yet we have no right to impose the “ If you could take me in the evening -”
oppositecondition. We have no right to demand of nature ‘‘ But, madame, it is impossible -”
 12 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 13
“ Why ? You say that your invention reproduce8 the A good many phenomena of nature only occur in ob-
face, feature by feature. I prefer my features of the even-
scurity. The germs of plants, animals, man, in forming a
ing over those of the morning.”
“ Madame, it is the light itself which pencils the image,
new being, work their miracle only in the dark.
and without it I can do nothing.” . Here, in a flask, is a mixture of hydrogen and chlorine in
“ We will light a chandelier, a lamp, do anything to please equal volumes. If youwish to preserve the mixture, yon
you.” must keep the flask in the dark, whether you want to or
‘‘No, madame, the light of day is imperative.” not. Such is the law. As long as it remains in the dark,
‘‘Will you please tell me why ? ” it will retain its properties. Bat suppose you take a school-
“ Because the light of the sun exhibits an intense activity,
sufficient to decompose the iodide of silver. So far, I have boy notion to expose thething to the action of light. In-
not been able to take a photograph except in full sunlight.,’ stantly a violent explosion is heard; the hydrogen and the
chlorine disappear, and you find in the flask a new substance,
Both remained obstinate, the lady maintaining that what
could be done at ten o’clock in the morning could also easily
- chloridic acid. Thereis no use in your finding fault:
darkness respects the twosubstances, while light explodes
be done at ten o’clock in the evening. The inventor affirmed them.
the contrary. If we should hear a malignant sceptic ofsome clique or
So, then, all you have to do, gentlemen, is to forbid the other say, “ I will onlybelieve in jack-o’-lanternswhen I
light to blacken iodine, or order it to blacken lime, and con- see them in the light of day,” what should we think of his
demn the photographer to develop hia negative in full light. sanity ? About what we should think if he should add that
Ask Electricity why it will pass instantaneously from one the stars are not certainties, since they are only seen at night.
end to the other of an iron wire a thousand miles long and In all the observations and experiments of physics there
why it refuses to traverse a thread of glass half an inch are conditions ta be observed. In those of whichwe are
long. Beg the night-blooming flowers to expand in the day, speaking a too strong light seems to imperil the success of
or those that only bloom in the light not to close at dusk. the experiment. But it goes without saying that precau-
Give me the explanation of the respiration of plants, diurnal tions againat deception ought to increase in direct ratio with
and nocturnal, and of the production of chlorophyll and how the decrease of visibility and other means of verification.
plants develop a green color in the light; why they breatho Let us return to our experiments.
in oxygen and exhale carbonic acid gas during the night, 6. Tapsare heard in the table, or it moves, rises, falls
and reverse the process during the day. Change the equiva-\ back, rapswithits leg. A kind of interior movement is
lents of simple substances in chemistry, and order combina- produced in the wood, violent enough,sometimes, to break
tions to be produced. Forbid azotic acid to boil at the freez- it. The round table I made use of (with others) in my
ing temperature, and command water to boil at zero. You home w u dislocated andrepaired more than once, and it
have only to ask these accommodations and nature will obey was by no means the pressure of the hands upon it that could
YOU, gentlemen, depend upon it. havecaused the dislocations. No, thereis something more
 14 MYSTERJOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 15
than that in it: there is in the actions of the table the Inter I ' . although hemay have the bestr will inthe world, the value
vention of mind, of which I have already spoken. of the results will be affected. I had a newproof of this
The table is questioned,bymeans of the conventional thing, SO often observed, a t my house, with Eusapia Pala-
,/-
,,. . signs described a few pagesback, and it responds. Phrases dino, on May 30, 1906. She had for more than a month
are rapped out, usually banal and without any literary, sci- been suffering from a rather painful affection of the eyes ;
entific, OP philosophical value. But, at any rate, words are and furthermore her legswere considerably swollen. We
rapped out, phrases are dictated. These phrases do not come were seven, of whomtwolookers-onweresceptics. The re-
of their own accord, nor is it the medium who taps them - sults were almost nil ; namely, the lifting; during scarcely
conscicusly -either with her foot or her hand, or by the aid two seconds of time, of a round table weighing about four
of a snapping muscle, for we obtain them in séances held
pounds ; the tipping up of one side of a fourlegged [Link] ;
without professional mediums and at scientific reunions
and a few rapping. Still, the medium seemed animated by
where the existence of trickery would be a thing of the
a real wish to obtain some result. She confessed to me, how-
greatest absurdity. The mind of the medium and that of
ever, that what had chiefly paralyzed her faculties was the
the experimenters most assuredly have something to do with
sceptical and sarcastic spirit of one of t,he two incredulous
the mystery. The replies obtained generally tallythe in-
persons. I knew of the absolute scepticism of thisman.
tellectual status of the company, as if the intellectual facul-
It had not been manifested in any way ; but Eusapia had
ties of the persona present were exterior to their brains and
at once divined it.
were acting in the table wholly unknown to the experimenters
The state of mind of the by-Standers, sympathetic or anti-
themselves. How can this thing be ? How can wecompose
and dictate phrasea without knowing it. Sometimes the pathetic, has an influence upon the production of the ph-
ideas broachedseem to come from a personality unknown nomena. This is an incontestable matter of observation. I
to the company, and the hypothesis of spirits quite naturally am not speaking here merely of a tricky medium rendered
presents itself. A word is begun ; some one thinks he can 1 powerless' to act by a too close critical inspection, but also
divine its ending; to save time, he writes it down ; the table i of a hostile force which may more or le= neutralize the .
parries, is agitated, impatient. It isthe wrongword ; an- 4 sincerest volition. IS it not the same, moreover, in assem-
other was being dictated. There is here,then, a psychic blies, large or small, in conferences, in salons, etc. 8 Do we
element which we are obliged to recognize, whatever ib na- not often see persons of baleful and ant,ipathetic spirit d e
ture may be when analyzed. feat a t their very beginning the accomplishment o f the
The success of experiments does not always depend on &e noble& purposm.
will of the medium. Of course that is the chief element in Here arethe results of another sitting of the same medium
it; but certain conditions independent ofhep are necessary. held a few days afterwards.
The psychical atmosphere created by the persons present has I On the 7th of June, 1906, I had been informed by my
an influence that cannot be neglected. So the s t a b of health friend Dr. Ostwalt, the skilled oculist, who was at that time
of the medium is not without its influence. I f he is fatigued, treating Eusapia, that she was to be at his house that even-
ing and that perhaps I would be able to try a new experi-
 16 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 17
ment. I accepted withallthe more readiness because the
The séance then continued in the dark. The two por-
mother-in-law of the doctor, Mme. Werner, to whom I had
tières of a great double-folding door, against which the me-
[Link] by a friendship of more thanthirty years,
dium was seated, her back tothe door, were blown about
had been dead a year, and had many a time promised me, for nearly an hour, sometimes so violently as to form some-
in the most formal manner, to appear after her death for thing like a monk’s hood on the head of the doctor and that
the purpose of giving completeness to my psychical re-
of his wife.
searches by a manifestation, if the thing was possible. We Thisgreat door was several times shaken violently, and
had so often conversed on these subjects, and she was so
tremendous blows were struck upou it.
deeply interested in them, that she had renewed her prom- We tried to obtain words by means of the alphabet, but
ise very emphatically a few days before her death. And without success. (I will remark in this connection that
at the same time she made a similar promise to her daughter Eusapia knows neither how to read nor to write.)
and to her son-in-law. Pierre Ostwalt was able to write a word with the pencil.
Eusapia, also, on her part, grateful for the care she had It seemed as if an invisible force was guiding his hand. The
received at the doctor’s handsand for thecuring of her word he pencilled down was the first name of Mme. Werner,
eye, wished to be agreeable to him in any way she could. well know?%to him.
The conditions, then, were in all respects excellent. I In spite of allour efforts,wewere unable to obtain a
agreed with the doctor that we had before us four possible single proof of identity. Yet it would have been very easy
hypotheses, and that we should eeek to fix on the most proba- for Mme. Werner to find one, as she had so solemnly prom-
ble one. ised us to do.
a. What would takeplace,might be due to fraud, con- In q i t e of the announcement by raps that an apparition
scious or unconscious. would appear which we would be permitted to see, we were
b. The phenomena might be produced by a physical form only able to perceive a dim white form, devoid of precise out-
emanating from the medium. line, even when we manipulatedthelight 90 as to get al-
c. Or by one or several invisible entities making um of mostcomplete darkness. From [Link] new sitting the follow-
this force. ing conclusions are deduced :
d. Or by Mme. Werner herself. a. Fraud cannot explainthe phenornena, especially the
We had on that evening some movements of the table asd levitation of the table, the violent blows and shakings given
a complete lift,ing of thefour feet to a height of about to the door, and the projection of the curtain into the room.
eight inches. Six of us sat around the table,- Eusapia, b. These phenomena arecertainly produced by a forca
Madame and Monsieur Ostwalt, their son Pierre, aixteen emanating from the medium, for they all occur in her imme-
years old, my wifeand myself. Our hands placed above diate neighborhood.
the table scarcely touched it, and were almost wholly de- c. This force is intelligent. But it is possible thatthis
tached at the moment it rose from the floor. , No fraud pos- intelligence which obeya our requests is only that of the
Bible. Full light medium.
 , .

18 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL FORCES 19

d. Nothing proves that the spirit evoked had any influ- ‘theyare in cont,radiction 1vit.h theactualstate ofscience.
ence. We should only admit what we can explain.”
These propositions, however, will be examined and de- They call that scientific reasoning !
veloped one by one in the pages that follow. Examples.- Frauenhofcr discovers thatthe solar spec-
All the experiments described in this first chapter reveal trum is crossed by dark lines. These dark lines could not
to us unknown forces in operation. It will be the same in be explained inhis time. Therefore we oughtnotto be-
the chapters that follow. lieve in them.
These phenomena are so unexplained, so inexplicable, so Newton discovers thatthestars move as if they were
incredible, that the simplest plan is to deny them, to attrib governed by an attractive force. Thisattraction could not
ute them alltofraudorto hallucination,andto believe be explained in bis time. Nor is it explained to-day. New-
that all the participators aresand-blind. ton himself takes the pains to declare that he does not wish
Unfortunately for our opponents, this hypothesis is inad- to explain it by an hypothesis. Hypotheses non fingo ”
missible. (“ I do not make hypotheses ”). So, after the reasoning of
Let me say here that there are very few men - and above our pseudo-logicians, we ought not to admit universal gravi-
all, women -whose spirit is completely free; that is, in a tation. Oxygen combined wit,h hydrogen forms mater.
condition capable of accepting, without any preconceived How? We don’t know. Hence we ought nottoadmitthe
idea, new or unexplained facts. In general, people are dis- fact.
posed to admit only those facts or things for which they are Stones sometimes fallfromthe sky. The Academy of
prepared by the ideastheyhave received, cherished, and Sciences of the eighteenth century, not being able to divine
maintained. Perhapsthere is not one human being in a wherethey came from,simplydenied the fact., which had
hundred who is capable of making a mental record of a new been oberved for thousands of years. They denied also that
impression, simply, freely, exactly, with the accuracy of a fish and toads can fall from the clouds, because it had not
photographic camera. Absolute independence of judgment then been observed that waterspouts draw them up by suction
is a rare thing among men. and transport them from one place t.0 another. A medium
A single fact accurately observed, even if it should con- places his hand upon a table and seems actually to transmit
tradict all science, is worth more than all the hypotheses. to it independentlife. It is inexplicable, therefore it is
But only theindependent minds, free fromthe classic false. Yet that is the predominant method of reasoning of
leading-strings which tie the dogma,tists totheir &airs, a great number of scholars. They are only willing to admit
daretostudy extra-scientific facts or consider them pos- what is known and [Link] that locomo-
sible. tives would not be able to move, or, if they did succeed, rail-
I am acquainted with‘ erudite men of genius, members ways would introduce no change in social relations; that the
of the Academy of Sciences, professors a t the university, transatlantic telegraph would never transmit a despatch ; that
masters in our great schools, who reason in the following vaccine would notrenderimmune;and at one tirne they
way : “ Suchandsuch phenomena are impossible because stoutly maintained (this was long ago) that the earth docs
 20 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN NATURAL [Link] 21
notrevolve. It seems that they evencondemnedGalileo. , ' bility, and amply sufficeto prove that unknown physical
Everything has been denied. forces exist outside of the ordinary and established domain
Apropos of facts somewhat similar to those we are here of natural philosophy. As a principle, moreover, this is an
studying,- I mean the stigmata of Louise Lateau,- a very unimpeachable tenet."
famous German scholar, Professor Virchow, closed his report I could adduce still other instances, for example the fol-
to the Berlin Academy with this dilemma: Fraud or lowing :
Miracte. This conclusion acquired a classic vogue. But it 7. During séance experiments, phantoms often appear,-
was an error, for it is now known that stigmata are due hands, arms, a head, a bust, an entire human figure. I was
neither to fraud nor miracle. a witness of [Link] thing, especially on July 27, 1897, at
Another rather common objection is presented by certain Montfort-l'Amaury (see Chapter III). M. de Fontenay
persons apparently scientific. Confounding experience with having declared that heperceived an image or spirit. over
observation, they imagine that a natural phenomenon, in the table, between himself and me (we were sitting face to
order to be real, ought to be able to be produced at will, as face, keeping watchover Eusapia, he holding one of her
in a laboratory. Afterthis manner oflooking at thine, hands, and I the other), and I seeing nothing at all, I asked
an eclipse of the sun would not be a real thing, nor a stroke him to changeplaces with me. And then I, too,perceived
of lightning which sets fire to a house, nor an aërolite that this spirit-shadow, the head of a bearded man, rather vaguely
falls from the sky. An earthquake, a volcanic eruption, are outlined, which was moving like a silhouette, advancing and
phenomenaofobservation, not of experiment. But they retiring,in front of a red lantern placed on a piece of fur-
none the less exist, often to the great damage of the human niture. I had not been able to see at first from where I sat,
race. Now, in the order of facts that we are studying here, became the lantern was then behind me, and the spectral ap-
we can almost never experiment, but only observe, and this pearance was formed between M. de Fontenay and me. As
reduces considerably the range of the field of study. And, this dark silhouette remained rather vague, I asked if I could
evenwhen we do experiment, the phenomena are not pro- not touch its beard. The medium replied, " Stretch out
duced at will:certain elements, several of which we have your hand." I then felt upon the back of my handthe
not yet been able to get hold of, intervene to cross, modify, ,brushing of a very soft beard.
and thwart them, so thatforthe most part we can only 1'. This case did not have for me the same absolute certainty
playthe rôle of observers. The difference is analogow to as the preceding. There are degrees in the feeling of se-
that which separates chemistry from astronomy. In &em- curity wehave in observations. In astronomy,even, there
istry we experiment: in astronomy weobserve. Butthis are stars at thelimit of visibility. And yet in the opin-
does not hinder astronomy from being the most exact of the ion of all the participators in the séance there was no trick.
sciences. Besides, on another occasion, at my own home, I saw an-
Mediumistic phenomena that come directly under the ob other figure, that of a young girl, as the reader will see in
servation, notablythose I have described somepagesback, the third chapter.
have for me the stamp of absolute certainty and incontesta.. * See L'Inconm, pp. 20-29.
 22 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES UNKNOWN PU'ATURAL FORCES 23
8. That same day,' at Montfort, in' the course of the con- ' will be useful to call attention at once to the fact that matter
versation, some one recalled the circumstance thatthe is not, in reality, what it appears to be to our vulgar senses,-
" spirits " have sometimes impressed on paraffin or putty
I
to our sense of touch, to our vision,- but that it is identical
or clay the print of their head or of their hands,- a thing with energy, and is only a manifestation of the movement of
that seems in the last degree absurd. Bat we bought some invisible and imponderable elements. The universe is a
putty at a glazie.r's and fixed up in a wooden box a perfectly dynamism. Matteris only an appearance. It will beuse-
soft cake. At the end of the séance there was the imprint ful for the reader to bear this truth in mind, as it will help
of a head, of a face, in this putty. In this case, no more him to comprehend the studies we are about, to make.
than in the other, a m I absolutelycertain there was no The mysterious forces we are here studying are themselves
trickery. We willspeak of it farther on. manifestations of theuniversaldynamismwith which OUI
Othermanifestationswillbe noted in subsequent pages five senses put LILI very imperfectly into relation.
ofthis book. Stoppingright here, forthe present, at the These things belong to [Link] psychical order as well as to the
specialpoint of view of [Link] proved existence of unknown physical. They prove that we are living in the midst of an
forces, I'will confine myself to the six preceding cases, re- unexplored world, in which the psychic forces playa rôle
garding them as incontestable, in the judgment of any man as yet very imperfectly studied.
of good faith or of any observer. I f I have considered these .We have here a situation analogous to that in which Chris-
particular cases so earlyin the work, it is in response to topher Columbus found himself on t,he evening of the day
readers of my works who have been begging me for a long when he perceived the first hints of land in the New World.
time to give my personal observations. We arepushingour prowthrough an absolutely unknown
The simplest of these manifestations -that of raps, for Bea.
example - is not a negligible asset. There is no doubt that
it is one or another of [Link] experimenters, or their dynamic
resultantj that raps in the tablewithout knowing how. So,
even if it should be a psychic entity unknown to the medi-
ums, it [Link] makes use of them, of their physiological
propmties. Such a fact is not without scientific interest.
The denials of scepticism provenothing,unless it be that
the deniers themselves have not observed the phenomena.
I have no other aim in this first chapter than to give a
preliminary summary of the observed facts.
I do not desire to put forth in these first pages any ex-
, planatory hypothesis. My readerswill themselves form an
opinion from the narratives that follow, and the last chapter '

of the volume will be devoted to theories. Yet I believe it

I- MY FIRST EXPERIMEXTS
.
.
._.

25
themselves. After this invocation acertainnumber of per-
sons, seated at a large table, were besought to abandon them-
selves totheirinspirationand to [Link] were callcd
CHAPTER II 44 writing mediums.” Their dissertations were afterwards
MY FIRST SEANCES IN TH= ALLAN KARDEC GROUP AND WITIE
read before anattentive audience. There were no physical
THE MEDIUMS O B THAT EPOCH
experiments of tableturning, or tables moving or speaking.
The president,AllanKardec,said lm attached no value to
One day in the month of November, 1861, under the Gale such things It secnled to him thatthe instructions com-
ries de l’Odéon,* I spied a book, the title of which struck municated by the spirits ought to form the basis of a new
me,- Le Livre des E s p * t s (“ The Book of Spirits ”), by doctrine, of a sort of religion.
Allan Kardec. I bought it and read it with avidity, several At the same period, but severalyearsearlier, my illus-
chapters seeming to me to agree with the scientific bases of trious friend Victorien Sardou, who had been an occasional
the book I was then writing, The Plurality of Inhabited frequenter of the Observatory, hadwritten, as amedium,
Worlds. I hunted up theauthor, who proposed that I some curious pages on the inhabitants of the planet Jupiter,
shouldenter, as a free associated member, theParisian and had produced picturesque and surprising designs, hav-
Society for SpiritualisticStudies, which he hadfounded, ing astheiraimtorepresent men andthingsastheyap-
and of which he was president. I accepted, and by chance peared in this giant of worlds. H e designed the dwellings
have just found the green ticket signed by him on the fif- of people [Link] of his sketches showed usthe
teenth day of November, 1861. This is the date of my début house of Mozart, others the houses of Zoroaster and of Ber-
in psychic studies. I was then nineteen, and for three years nard Palissy, who were country neighbors in one of the land-
had been an astronomical pupil at the Paris Observatory. scapes of this immense planet. The dwellings areethereal
At this time I was putting the last touches to the book I just and of an exquisit,e lightness. T h y may h judged of by the
mentioned, the firstedition of which was published some two figures here reproduced (Pl. II and III). The first
months afterwards by the printer-publisher of the Observa- represents a residence of Zoroaster, the second “ [Link] animals’
quarters ” belonging to the same. On the grounds are flow-
The membera came together every Friday evening in the em,hammocks, swings, flying creatures, and, below, intelli-
assembly room of the society, in the little passageway of gent animals playing a special kind of ninepins where the
Sainte Anne, which was placed under the protection of fun is not to knock down the pins, but to put a cap on them,
Saint Louis. The president opened the séance by an “ in- as in the cup and balltoy, etc.
vocation to the good spirits.” It was admitted, as aprin- Thesecuriousdrawings prove indubitably that the Sig-
ciple, that invisible spirits were present there and revealed nature “ BernardPalissy, of Jupiter,” is apocryphal and
thatthehand of VictorienSardou was notdirected by a
Certain book-shops in Paris.- Tmws. spirit from that planet. Nor was it thegiftedauthorhim-
24 self who planned these sketches and executed them in accord-
7

26 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

ance with a definite plan. They were, made while he *was
in the condition of mediumship. ‘ A person is not mag-
netized, nor hypnotized, nor put to sleep in any way while
i,n that state. Rut the brain is not ignorant of what is taking
place : its cells perform their functions, and act (doubtless
by a reflex movement): upon the‘motor nerves. At that time
we all thought Jupiter was inhabited by a superior race o f
beings. Thespiritistic communications were the reflex of
the general ideas in the air. . Teday, with our present knowl-
edge of the planets, we should not imagine anything of the
kind about that globe. And, moreover, spiritualistic séancea
have never taught us anything upon the subject of astronomy.
Such resulta as were attained fail utterly to prove the inter-
vention of spirits. Havethe writ,ing mediums given any
more convincing proofs. of it than these 8 This is what we
shall have to examine in as impartial a way as we can.
I myself tried to see if I, too, could not write. By col-
lecting and concentrating my powers and allowing my hand
to be passive and unresistant, I soon found that, after it had
traced certain dashes, and o’s, and sinuous lines more or
less interlaced, verg much as a four-year-old child learning
to write might do, it finally did actually write words and
phrases.
In these meetings of theParisian Society for Spiritual- I

istic Studies, I wrote for my part, somepages on astro-

nomical subjects signed “ Galileo.” The communications
remained in the possession of the society, and in 18-67Allrtn
Kardec published them under thehead General Uranography,
in his work entitled Genesis. (I have preserved one of the
#

f i a t copies, with his dedication.) These astronomical pages

taughtme nothing. So I was not slow in concluding that
they were only the echo of what I already knew, and that
Galileo had no hand in them. When I wrote the pages, l

i
 l

M Y FIRST EXPERJMENTS 27
I wm in a kind of waking dream. Besides, my hand-stopped
writing when I began to think of other subjects.
I I may quote here what I said on this subject in .my work,
The Worldi of Space (Les .Terres du Ciel), in the edition

I of 1884, p. 181: -

The writing ~nedi~zm is not put to sleep, nor is hemag-

1
!
netized or hypnotized in any way. Oneis simply received
into a circle of determinate ideas. The brain acts (by
the mediation of the nervous system) littlea differently
I from what it does in its normal state. The difference is not
80 great as one might suppose. The chief difference may be
l
described as follows :
I In the normal state we think of what we are going to write
l
before the act of writing begins. Thereisa direct action
of the will in causing the pen, the hand, and the fore-arm to
I
move over the paper. In the abnormal state, on the other
hand, we do not think before writing; we do not move, the
hand, but let it remain inert, passive, free ; we place it upon
t,he paper, takingcare merely that it shall meet with the
least possible resistance; we think of a word, a figure, a
stroke of the pen, and the hand of its own volition begins
I to write. But the writing medium must think of what he
is doing, not beforehand, butcontinuously; otherwise the
hand stops. For example, try towritethe word " ocean,"
not ,voZuntariZy (the ordinary way), but by simply taking a
lead-pencil, and letting the hand rest lightly and freely upon
the paper, while you think of your word and observe care
fully whether the hand will write.. Very good; it does be
gin to'move over the paper, writing first an o, then a c, and
the rest. At least that was my experience when I was study-
ing the new problems of spiritualism and magnetism.
I have always thought that the circle of science is not a
closedone, and that there are many thingsfor us still to
learn. In the mediumistic writing experiments it is very
easy to deceive ourselvesand to believe that the hand is under
the influence of anot&er mind thanour own. The most
probable conclusion regarding these experiences has been that
the theory of the action of foreign spirits is not necessary
 \

28 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 29

;E.
Y

for the explanation of such phenomena. But this is not the , -*.
- there are certain [Link] to be made in the general state-
place to enter into details upon a subject which, up to the ment above.
present time, has been only slightly examined by scientific
criticism, having more often been exploited by speculators When writing in the exalted and abnormal state of mind
than studied by scientists. of the medium, we do not, as I have just said, form our
phrases as in the normal condition ; rather we wait for them
So I wrote in 1884 ; and I will indorse every word I then
to be produced. Butall the same our own mind mingles
wrote, just as it stands.
in the process. The subject treated follows the lines of our
I n these first experiences withSpiritualists, of which I
own customary thoughts ; the language employed is our na-
have just been speaking, I soon had the entrée of the chief tive tongue, and, if we are uncertain about the epelling of
Parisian circles devoted to these matters, and for a couple certain words, errors will appear. Furthermore, so inti-
of years I even took the position of honorary secretary of one mately are our own mental processes mingled with what is
of them. A natural or necessary result of this was that I did being written that, if weallow our thoughts to wander to
not miss a single séance. another topic, the hand either stops writing or produces in-
Three different methods were employed to receive com- coherent words and scrawls. This is the mental state of the
munications : (1) writing with the hand ; (2) the use of the writing medium,- at least that which I haveobserved in
planchette to which a lead-pencil was attached, and on which myself. It is a kind ofauto-suggestion. I hasten to add,
the hands were placed ; and (3) tablarapping (or tablemov- however, that this opinion only binds me to the extent of
ing), operated by the alphabetic code, these raps or the move- my own personal experiences. I am assured that thereare
ments of the table marking the desired let,ter as the alphabet, mediums who act in an absolutely mechanical way, knowing
was read aloud by one of those present. nothing of the nature of what they are writing (see further
The first of these methods wasthe only one employed at the on, pp. 58, 59), who treat subjects of which they are ignorant,
Society for Spiritualistic Studies, of which Allan Kardec Wal and also even write in foreign languages. Such cases would
president. It was the one which permitted the margin for be different from that of which I have just been speaking,
the mostdoubt. In fact, at the end oftwo years of in- and would indicate either a special cerebral state or great
vestigations of this kind, which I had varied as much as keenness of intellect, or a source of ideas exterior to the
possible, and which I had entered upon without any precon- medium ; i.e., if it were once proved that our mind cannot
ceived idea for or against, and with the most ardent-desire divine that of which it is ignorant. But now the transfer
to arrive atthe truth, I came tothe positive conclusion ence of thought from one brain to another, from one mind
that not only are the signatura of these papers not authentic, to another, is a fact proved by telepathy. We could con-
but that the intervention of anot,her mind from the spirit ceive, then, that a medium might write under the influence
world is not proved at all, the fact being that we ourselves of some one near by -or men at a distance. Several me-
are the more or less conscious authors of the communica- diums have also composed (in successive séances) genuine ro-
tions bysome cerebral process which yet remains to be in- mances, such as T h e HistoTy of Joan of Arc, Written by
vestigated. The explanation is not so simple as it seems, and 'Berself, or certain voyages to other planets,- seeming ta
 ,ax:
~- ~

..
30 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 31
. .
indicate that there is a kind of doubling of the personality of . . truth 'much more than do the irrat,ional negations of those
the subject, a secondary personality. But there is no au- who. will not take the trouble to look at the facts.
thentication of this. There is also a psychic milieu, of which It is high time now that this complex subject of study
I shall speak farther on. At present I must concern myself should enter upon its scientific period. Enough stress has
only with the subject of this chapter, and say with Newton, not been laid upon the physical side of the subject, yhich
should be critically studied ; for without rigid scientific ex-
*' Hypotheses non fingo?
periment no proof is valid. This objective a priori method
Allan Kardec died on the 30th of March, 1869, and, when of investigation, to which we owe the glory of modern prog-
the Society of Spiritualists came to ask me to deliver a ress and the marvels of electricity and stcam,should taker
funeral oration at his tomb, I took occasion, during this dis- up thestill unexplained and mysterious phenomena with
course, todirecttheattention of theSpiritualista to the which we are acquainted, to dissect them, measure them, and
scientific character of investigations of this class and to the to define them.
manifest danger of allowing ourselves to be drawn into For, gentlemen, spì,ritualisrn is not a religion, but a sci-
ence, a science of which we as yet scarcely know the a, b, c.
mysticism. The age of dogma is past. Nature includes the Oniverse ;
I will reproduce at this point a few paragraphs taken from' and God himself, whowas in old times conceived of as a
this address : being of similar shape and form as man, cannot be considered
by modern met,[Link] other than Mind i n Nature.
I wish I could impress upon you who hear me, as well as The supernatural does not exist. The manifestations ob-
'upon the millions of mea throughout Europeand in the tained by the agency of mediums, such as those of magnetism
New World who are studying the still mysterious problem of and somnambulism, belong to the order of nature and ought
spiritualism, what a deep scientific interestand what a to be inexorably submitted to the test of experiment. There
philosophic future there is in the study of these phenomena, are no more miracles. We are witnessing the dawning of a
t o which, a8 you know, many of our most eminent living new science. Who is there so bold as to predict whither the
scholars have given their time and attention. I wish I could scientific study of the new psychology will lead, and what the
present to your imagination andtheirsthe new and vast results will be ?
horizons we shall see opening up before us in proportion as The limitations of human vision are such thatthe eye
we broaden our scientific knowledge of the forces of nature only sees things between narrow bounds, and beyond these
st work around. us ; and I would that I couldshow both limits, on this side and on that, it seesnothing. The body
you and them that such conquests of the mind arethe may be compared to a harp of two chords,- the optic nerve
mostefficacious antidote to the leprosy of atheism which and the auditory nerve. One kind of vibrations excites the
seems to be particularly the malignant degenerative element first and another kind the second. That is the whole story
in this our epoch of transition. of human sensation, which is even inferior to that of many
What a salutary thing it would be could I but prove here, i of the lower animals ; certain insects, for example, in whom
before this eloquent tomb, that the methodical examination 1 the nerves of vision and of hearing are more delicate than
of the phenomena erroneously called supernatural, far from in man.
calling back thespirit of superstition, and weakening the
I Now there are in nature, not two, but ten, a hundred, a
energy of the reason, serves, on the contrary, to banish the thousand kinds ofmovement or vibration. We learn, then,
errors and illusions of ignorance, and assista the progress of from physical science, that we are living in the midst of a
a
 *.
--
e
, .
82 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 33
world invisible to us, and that it is not impossible that thew , . ’ had just beenlowered differs not atall from the purely
may be living upon the earth a class of beings, also invisible scientific program of the present work.
to us,endowed with a wholly different kind of senses, so I have just said that there were three methods employed
that there is no way bywhich they can makethemselves
known to us, unless [Link] can manifest themselves in acts in our spiritistic experiments. I have given my opinion of
and ways that can come within the range of our own order the first (writing mediums), basing it on my personal obser-
of sensations. vations, and without desiring to weaken other proofs, if there
I n the presence of such truths as these, which have as yet are any. As to the second (planchette), I became familiar
only been barely announced, how absurd and worthless seems . with it more especially by the séances of [Link] Girardin,
mere blind denial ! When wt eompare the little that we know at the, home of Victor Hugo in the Isle of Jersey. It works
and the narrow limits of our range of perception with the
vast extent of the field of knowledge, we can scarcely refrain more independently than the first method ; but it is still only
from the conclusion that weknow nothing and that every- a prolongation, as it were, of the hand and the brain. The
thingyet remains to be known. With what right do we -
third method table-rapping, or typtology ; I mean taps in
pronounce the word “ impossible ” in the presence of facts the table -seems to me still more emphatically an extension
which we prove to be genuine without yet being able to dis- of the hand and brain, and some forty-five years ago I often
cover their causes ?
made use of this form of experiment.
It is by the scientific study of effects that we arrive at
the determination of causes. In the class of investigations , Rappings made on the floor by one foot of the table, as
which we groupunder the general head “ Spiritualism,’’ letters are spelled out, have no special value. The least
FACTS EXIBT. But no one understands the method of their‘ pressure can produce these seesaw movements. The chief
production. Their existence,nevertheless, is just as true as experimenter himself makes the responses, sometimes with-
the phenomena of electricity. out suspecting it.
But, aa for understanding them -why, gentlemen, no-
body understands biology,physiology,psychology. Whatis Sevcral persons group themselves about a table, place their
the human body ? What is the brain 8 What is the absolute hands upon it,andwait for something to happen. At the
action of the soul or mind ? We do not [Link], neither end of five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, the time depending
do we know anything whatever of the essence of electricity on the psychic atmosphere and the faculties of the experi-
or the essence of light. I t is prudent, then, to observe with menters, rapsareheard inthe table, or thesitters help
unbiased judgment all such matters as these, and to try to in the movements of the table, which seems possessed. W h y
determine their causes, which are perhaps of different kinds
and more numerous than has ever been supposed up to the choose a table ? Because it is the only article of furniture
present time.* around which folks usually sit. Sometimes the table is lifted
on one or more of its feet and is gently rocked to and fro.
I t will be seen that what I publicly uttered as I stood on Sometimes it comes up as if glued to the hands placed on it,
the hillock above the grave into which Allan Kardec’s coffin remaining suspended in the air two, three, five, ten, twenty
* Orationdelivered at the grave of Allan Kardec, by Camille Mam= * The authormeans, of course, by this phrase (milieu ambiant),
marion, Paris, Didier, 1869, pp. 4, 17, 22. the totality of psycnlc force present, the psychologicalatmosphere, the
total mind-energyradiated by the several more or less sensitive or
fmediumistic members of the company.- Trans.
 84 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES ---
- .
i r
MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 35
- .
seconds. Again, it is nailed to the floor with such force that - 7 nothing, and couldhavebeen made unconsciously by the Fox
*.
it seems to have double or triple its usual weight. At other -e
- sisters themselves,whomwe can not consider to havebeen
times, and usually on demand, it gives forth the sound of playing a little comedy since the raps produced by them in
a saw, of a hatchet, of a lead-pencil writing, etc. We the walls astounded and overwhelmedt,hemmore,indee,d,
have here material results coming under direct observation, ,, than they didany oneelse. The hypothesis of jugglery and
andthey prove irrefragably the existence of an unknom mystification, dear to certain critics, has not the least appli-
force. ...
3s cation to this case, although I admit that rappings and move-
This force is a materialforce in the psychicclass. If ments are often prodúced as practical jokes by waggish per-
-
we confined our attention to blind senseless movements of one sons.
kind or another, in relation only with the volitions of the There is, of course, an unseen cause that originates these
experimenters, and not capable of being explained by the rappings. Is it within us or outside of us 8 Is it possible
mere imposition of their hands, we might see proof of the ex- that we might be capable of doubling our personality in
istence of a new unknown force, explicable as a transforma- someway without knowing it, of acting by mental sugges-
tion of nervous force, of organic electricity ; and that would tion, of answering our own questions without suspecting it,
be much in itself. But the raps made in the table, or by the of producing material results without being conscious of it?
feet of it, are made in reply to questions asked. Since we Or does there exist, around and about us, an intelligent me-
know the table is only a piece of wood, when we ask it ques- dium or atmosphere, a kind of spiritual cosmos ? Or, again,
tions, we are really addressing some mental agent who hears is it possible that we are surrounded by invisible non-human
and replies. It was in this class of phenomena that modern beings,- gnomes, spirits, and hobgoblins (there maybe an
Spiritualism took its rise ; namely, in the United States, in unknown world about us) ? Or, finally, is it possible that the
1848, when the Fox sisters heard sounds in their chamber,- spirits of the dead may survive, and wander to and fro, and
raps in the walls and in the [Link]. Their father, after hold communication with us ? All these hypotheses present
several months of vexatious investigation, finally had recourse themselves to our minds, nor have we the scientific absolute
I

to thetraditional theory ofghosts, and, addressing his right to reject any one of them.
questions to the wall, demanded some kind of an explana- The lifting of a table, the displacement of an object, may
tion from the invisible' thing therein. This thing responded be attributed to an unknown force developed by our nervous
by conventional taps to the questions asked, and declared , system or otherwise. At least these movements do not prove
that it was thespirit of theformerproprietor once as- the existence of a mind extraneous to that of the subject.
1
sassinated inthishis very home. Thespirit asked for But when some one is naming the letterg of the alphabet or
prayers and the burial of its body. (From this time on the pointing them out on a sheet of pasteboard, and the table,
replies were so arranged that one rap inresponse to B question either by raps in the wood or by levitations, puts together
signified yes, two meant no, while three meant an emphatic an intelligible sentence,we are forced to attribute this in-
Yes-1 telligent effect to an intelligent cause.. This cause may be
I hasten to remark at once that the tapped replies prove the medium himself; and the simplest way is, evidently, to
 .-?a I

1’

36 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY FIR-ST EXPERIMENTS 37

suppose thathe himself raps out the letters. But experi- may be imagined that she would quite often give the raps
ments can be arranged in such a way that he cannot possibly herself by hitting the tablelegs with her feet. But quite
do this, evenunconsciously. Our first duty is, in reality, often we also obtained noises of sawing, of planing, of drum-
to make fraud impossible. beating, and torrents of rain, which it would have been im-
Those who have sufficiently studied the subject know that possible for her to imitate. Neither could the holding fast
fraud does not explain what they have observed. To be sure, of the table to the floor be the work of fraud. As tothc
i n fashionable Spiritualistic soirées people sometimes amuse -
.S levitations of the table, I said awhile ago that, when one of us
thernselve8. Especially when the séances take place inthe showed an inclination to resist with hishandthe upward
dark, and the alternation of the sexes is provided for so as movement, he received an impression as if the table were
to “ reinforce the fluids,” it is not altogether an unheard of floating on a fluid. Now it is hard to see how the medium
thing for the gentlemen t~ profit by the temptation to tern- could produce this result. Everything tookplace in broa,d
porarily forget the object of the meeting and break the es- daylight.
tablished chain of bands in order to begin another on their The communications received at the very many séances
ownaccount. The ladies andthe young girls like these (several hundred) at which I have been present, both at that
changes in the program, and scarcely a complaint is heard. time and since, have always shown me that the results were
O n the other hand, apart from fashionable soirées, to which in direct ratio with the cultivation of mind of the partici-
everybody is invited for their amusement, the more serious pants. I naturally asked a great many questions on as-
reunions are frequently no safer; for the medium,whois, tronomy. The replies never taught us anything new what-
in oneway or another, an interested person, is anxious to ever; and, to be perfect-ly loyal to thetruth, I must say
give the most he can - and something to boot. thatif,in these experiments, therearespirits, or beings
Upon the leaf of an old note-book of mine which has j u s t independent of us in action, they know no more than we do
turned up, I classed Spiritualistic soirées in the following about the other worlds.
order, which is doubtless a slightly original one: - A distinguished poet, P. F. Mathieu, was usually present
1. Amorouscaresses. (A similar reproach was made at the reunions a t the Mont-Thabor salon, and hence we some-
against the ancient Christian love-feasts or agapes.) times obtained very pretty bits of verse,which I am sure
2. Charlatanry of mediums, abusing the credulity of the he did not himself consciously -produce; for, like all of ua,
sitters. hewas there to learn. M. Joubert, vice-president of the
3. Some serious inquirers. civil tribunal of Carcassonne, has published a work, entitled
At the time of which I was just now speaking (1861- Various Fables and Poems, by a Spirit-rapper, which bears
63) I took part, as secretary, in experiments conducted regu- on its face evidence that it is but the reflex of his customary
larly once a week, in the salon of a well-known medium,- thoughts. We had Christian philosophers with us at our re-
Mlle. Huet, of Mont-Thabor Street. Mediumship was, in a uniom. Accordingly, the table dictated to us fine thoughts
way, her trade, and she had more than once been flagrandy signed “ Paecal,” “ Fénelon,” “ ,Vincent de Paul,” and
detected in somemost remarkable trickery. Accordingly, it
 *_
:.Y
;
..
--.- . -
88 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES -
MY FIRST
EXPERIMENTS 39
L

U Sainte Thérèse. One spirit, who signed himself (‘Bal- . gien, je vestiray non liripipion etjediray : Beuvezl’eaue
thasar Grimod de la Reynière,” dictated funny dissertations de la cave,poy plus, poy moins, serez content.
on the art of cooking. His specialty was to make the heavy “ ALCOFR-IBAZ NAZIER,”
table dance about in all kinds of contortions. Rabelais some- (“ I am a jollie blade who will astonie you by my speech.
times appeared, still loving the perfumes of savory viands I am not a vaine-babbling sperit. I will wear my graduate’s
as of old. Some of the spirits took pleasure in making tours hood and saie : Drinke ye water of ye cellar [wine] ,- no
de force in cryptology (secret writing). The following are more,noless. Be content.
specimens of these table-rapping communications. The first “ FRANCOIS *
RABE:LUS.”)
is from the vulgate version of the Bible, the Gospel of John
A rather lively discussion arose upon the subject of this
iii. 8:
unexpected visit,- and of the language, which some erudite
‘‘ Spiritus ubi vult spirat ; et vocem ejus audis, sed nescis persons present thought not to be pure Rabelaisian. Where-
unde veniat aut quo vadat. Sic est omnis qui natus est ex upon the table rapped:
spiritu.” (“ The wind blowethwhere it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, “ Bons enfants estes de vousesgousiller à ceste besterie.
and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Mieux vault que beuviez froid que parliez chaud.’’
Spirit.”) “ RABELAIS.”

“ Dear little sister, I am here, and see that you are as good (“ Ye’re regular babies to bawle yourselves hoarse overthis
as ever. You are a medium. I will go to you with great selynesse. It isbettaire to drinke cauld thanto speak
happiness. Tell my mother her dear daughter loves her from warme.)
this world.* LOUISA.”
“ Liesse et Noël ! Monsieur Satan est défun, et de mâle
Some one asked one of the spirits if he could indicate by mort. Bienmarrys sont les mopes, moynillons,bigotz et
tapsthe words engraved inside of her ring. The response cagotz, carmes chaulx etdhhaulx, papelards et frocards,
was : mitrez et encapuchonnez: les vécy sans couraige, les Esperictz
les ont destrosnez. Plus ne serez roustiz et eschaubouillez
‘(I love that one should love me a8 I love when I love.” e2 marmites monachales et roustissoires diaboliques; foin de
ces billevesées papales et cléricquales. Dieu est bon, iuste et
A member of the company suspected that the table around plein de misérichorde ; il dict à ses [Link] enfancts: aimez-
which we were sitting might conceal a piece of mechanism vous les ungs les autres et il pardoint à la repentance. La
for producing the raps. Accordingly,one of the sentences grand dyable d’enfer est mort; vive Dieu ! ”
was dictated by raps made in the air.
(“ Hurrah for a merry life ! Maister Satan is dead, dead
Here is another series: as a door-nail. The monks and the poor-devil friarsare
married,- bigots and fanatics, Carmelites shod and unshod,
(‘J e suis ung ioyeux compaignon qui vom esmarveilleray + Almfribaz Nazier is wellknown as Rabelais’anagram, formed
avecques mes discours, je ne suis pas ung Esperict matéolo- from his own name. It was the signature underwhich he publiehed
Thie communication ie given in English by the author.- T * W m hír PaatagrueZ.-Trams.
 40 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES M S FIRST EXPERJMENTS 41
the hypocrites andthe cowledfellows, the mitres and the
hoods. There they stand trembling in their tracks ; the Never let the spirit of discord reign among you.”
“
Spirits have dethroned [Link] are the roasting and Follow goodcounsel.
“ Do not torment your mind in
soup-makings in the Devil’s Dutch ovens and in monastic attempting to fathom questions that it is not yet permitted
kettles. A plague of these trashy tales of pope and priest! &
.z you to comprehend : several of these will always be a mystery
God is good, just, and full of pity. He says to hislittle chil- ?;L.
to you.”)
dren, ‘ Love one another ’; and he pardons the repentant.
great devil in hell is dead. Hurrah for God ! ”1
The =-
-L

1.
Here is another of a different kind:
l -
Here is still another series: “ Acmaiqvnoouussevtoeussbaoinmsoentsfbiideenlteosuss.
(C Suov ruop e r è t a p nu sruojuot bores emêm srueisulp ;
“ Sloeysepzruintissaeinndtieetuesnudrrvaosuessmaairlises.”
erdnerpmoc ed simrep erocne sap tse suov en li uq snoitseuq I asked the meaning of this bizarre and portentous con-
sed ridnoforppa ruop tirpse’l sap retnemruot suov en. Lies- glomeration of letters. The reply was :
noc nob nu zevius.”
“ Suov imrap engèr en edrocsid ed tirpse’l aiamaj euq.” “ To conquer your doubts, read by skipping every other
“ hevèlé suov ueid te serèrf sov imrapsreinred sel letter.”
zeyos ; évelé area essiaba’s iuq iulec ‘éasiaba ares evèl6’s iuq
iulec.” This arrangement using the skipped letters in their turn
for the second andfourth lines gives thefour following
These sentences must be read backwards, beginning at the verses :
end. Someoneasked, “ Why have you dictated thus 0 ”
“ Amis, nous vous aimons bien tous,
The reply was: Car vous êtea bons et fidèles.
. Soyez unis en Dieu : aur vous
“ In order to give you newand unexpected proofs.” L’Esprit-Saint étendra se8 ailes.”

Read backwards, these Russian-like sentences are aa fol- (“ Friends, we love you. all,
For you are good and faithful.
lows : Be united in God : over you
“ Celui qui s’élève sera abaissé, celui qui s’abaisse sera
The Holy Spirit will spread his wings.” j
élevé ; soyez les derniersparmi voa firares et Dieu vous Thisis innocent enough, surely and without any great
élèvera.” poetic pretensions. But it must be admitted that this method
“ Que jamais l’esprit de discorde ne règne parmi voua.”
“ Suivez un bon conseil. Ne vous tourmenter pas l’esprit, of dictating is rather difiult.” ,

pour approfondir dea questiona qu’il ne vous est pas encore A pieceof typtological dictation of the same kind has been re-
permis de comprendre ; plusieurs même seront toujours un I cently sent to me. Here it is:
mystère pour vous.” IuTPTuoLoEB
EIBElEuEBd
(“ Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that 860AQPB8TI
humbleth himself shall be exalted ! Be the least among Read succeseively, from top t o bottom, one letter of each line, begin-
your brethren, and God will exalt you.’’ ning OD the left, and the sense will appear as follows: “ Je suis trop
fatigue pour les obtenir.” (“ I am too tired to obtain them.”)
 MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 43
42 MYSTERIOUSPSYCHIC
FORCES
Some one spoke of human plans. The table dictated as THE KI^ AND THE PEASANT
follows :*
i&> ‘B king who had profaned the public liberties, who for
‘‘ When theshining sun scatters the stars, know ye, O .-L
..
twenty years had slaked his thirst in the blood of heretics;
mortal men, whether ye will see the evening of that day? .. 1 . awaiting the quiet peaceof the hangman inhis declining
And, when the sombre curtains of night are let fall from the days ; decrepit, surfeited with adulterous amours ; this king,
sky, can you tell whether you will see the d a m of another -.
- this haughty monster ofwhom they had made a great man,-
morn ? ” Louis the Fourteenth, in short, if I must name him,- was
3 one day airing under the leafy arches of his vast gardens his
Another person asked, “ What is faith ? ” Scarron, hisinfamyandhis troubles. The noble band of
“ Faith ? ’Tis a blessed field that breeds a superb harvest,
court flunkeys camealong. Each one at once lost at least
and every laborer may therein reap and garner to his heart’s six inches of his height. Pages, counts, marquises, dukes,
content, and carry home his sheaves.” princes, marshals, ministers, bowedlow before insulting
rivals, thecreatures of the king. Grave magistrates made
Here are three prose dictations : their deep reverences, each humbler than a suitor asking for
audience.’Twas pleasant to seehow the ribbons,crosses
‘‘ Science is a forest where some arelayingout roads, and decorations on their embroidered coats went ever back-
where many lose their way, and where all see the bounds [Link] and always that ignoblebowing and scrap-
of the forest recede as fast as they go forward.” ing and cringing. I should like to wake up some morning
‘‘ God does not illuminate t,he worldwith the lightning and b an emperor, that I mightstingwithmy whip the backbone
the meteors. H e guides peacefully in their courses the stars of a flatterer. But see ! alone, ,confrontingthe despot, yet
of the night, which fill the sky with their light. So the ’ without abasing his head, forging along with slow steps on
divine revelations succeed one another in order, reason, and, his own way,modest, clad in coarse homespun garments,
harmony.” comes one who seems a peasant, perhaps a philosopher, and
“ Religion and Friendship are twin companions, who aid passes by the groups of insolent courtiers. “ Oh,” cries the
us to traveme the painful path of life.” king, in great surprise, “ why do you alone confront me with-
out bending the knee ? ” “ Sire,” said the unknown, “ must
I cannot forego the pleasure of inserting here, at the close I be frank ? It is because I alone here expect nothing from
of this chapter, a fable, dictated likethe others by table you.”
rappings, and sent to me by M. Joubert, vice-president of the
civil tribunal of Carcassonne.+ The sentiment of it may be
If we stop to think how these sentences and phrases
queried by some ; but is not the central principle applicable and different bits of literature were produced, letter by let-
ter, rap by rap, following the alphabet as it was read out, we
to all epochs and to all governments : Do notthe am.-,
IC
ehall appreciate the difficulty of the thing. The rappings are
vistes belong toall times 8
made either in the interior of the woodof the table (the
This and the next dictation are rhymedverse in the original vibrations of which are perceptible) or in some other piece
#French.- Trans.
t In rhymed verse8 in the original.- Trans. of furniture, or even in the air. The table, as I have already
$ A word of recent origin, meaning ambitious or pretentious people
who want “to arrive,” the coodd-be’s. Theword forms the title of a maid, is alive, pregnant with a kind of momentary vitality.
recentFrench novel, L’Awiviste, and (translated) of an English one Melodies of well-known airs, sounds of sawing and of the
called T h Climber.- Tram

.. .
 4d MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC FORCES ddp FIRST EXPERIMENTS 45
workshop, and the report of fusillades can be drawn from to M. Jules Claretie, and published by the latter in Le Temps
it. Sometimes it becomes so light that it floats for a m&
, &
G a t the date when' that l e a i e d Academician was putting on the
ment in the air, then so heavy that two men can scarcely L
-- boards hisdrama 1Spiritisme. Theletterishere appended:
lift it from the floor or budge it in any way. You múst zj
have a distinct picture in your mind of all these manifesta- -2L . As to Spiritualism, I could better tell youver-
tions,- often puerile, no doubt, sometimes vulgar and g r& -7:;'
A & bally in three words what I think of it than I could write
tesque, yet striking in their method of operation,- if you .', here in three pages. You are half right and half wrong.
I. Pardon my freedom of speech. Thereare two things in
would accurately understand the phenomena, and realize that Spiritualism,-( 1) curious facts, inexplicable in the present
you are in the presence of an unknown element which jug- etate of our knowledge, and yet authenticated ; and (2) the
glery and [Link] cannot explain. folks who explain them.
Some folks can move their toes separately and crack the Thefactsare real. Those who explain them belong to
joints. I f we should grant that the dictations, by combina- three categories: there are, first, Spiritualists who are im-
tions of letters (quoted above),were arranged in advance, becile, ignorant, or mad, the chaps who call up Epaminondaa
and whom you justly make fun of, or whobelieve in the
learned by heart, and thus rapped, the matter would be simple intervention of the devil ; those, in short, who end in the
enough. But thisparticularfaculty is very rare, and it lunatic asylum in Charenton.
does not explain the noises in the table, the vibrations of Becundo, there are
the charlatans, commencing with
which arefelt by the hands. Again, onecould fancythe D. ; impostors of all sorts, prophets, consulting mediums,
medium tapping the. table-legs with his foot, and thus con- euch as A. K., . V d tutti quanti.
Finally, there are the scholars and scientists, who think
structing such sentences as he pleases. But it would require they can explain everything by juggleries, hallucination, and
a wonderful memory in themedium to enable him to remem- unconsciousmovements, men like Chevreul and Faraday,
ber the precise arrangement of letters (for he has no memo- who, while they are right about some of the phenomena de-
randum before him), and, further, these curious dictations scribed to them, and which really are jugglery or hallucma-
havebeensecured just the same in select companies where tion, are yet wrong about the whole series of original facts,
no one would cheat. which they will not take the trouble to look at, though they
are highly important. These men are much to blame ; for,
As to the theory that the spirits of eminent men are in by their,plea-in-baragainstearnest investigators (suchas
communication with the experimenters the mere statement &spann, for example) and by their insufficient explana-
of the hypothesis shows its absurdity. Imagine a table-rap- tions, they have left Spiritualism to be exploited by charla-
per calling up from the vasty deep the spirits of Paul or tans of all kinds, and a t the same time authorized serious
Saint Augustine, Archimedes or Newton, Pythagoras or amateurs to no longer waete their time over these studies.
Last, of all, there are observers like myself (there are not
Copernicus,Leonardo da Vinci or William Herschel, and
many of us) who are incredulous by nature, but who have
receiving their dictations from the interior of a table ! been obliged to admit, in the long run, that Spiritualism con-
W e were speaking, a few pages back, of the séance draw- cerns itself with facts which defy any present scientific ex-
ings and descriptions of Jupiter made by Victorien Sardou. plication, but who do not despair of eeeing them explained
This i s the proper place to insex$ a letter written by him Borne day, and who therefore apply themselves to the study
of the facts, and are trying to reduce them to some kind of
I
46 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES 47
MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS
classification which may later prove to be law. W e of this
persuasion holdourselvesaloof from every coterie, from them that leads us to admit their actual resemblance to real
every clique, from all the prophets, and, satisfied with the things in other worlds. On the contrary, everything proves
convictions to which we have already attained, are content that they are the products of imagination, essentially terres-
to see in Spiritualism the dawn of a truth, as yet very o b trial, both in look and shape, not even tallying what we
scure, which will some day h d ita Ampère, as did the mag- know to be the vital possibilities of those worlds. The de-
netic currents, and who grieve to see this truth choked out of
signers of them are the dupes of illusion. These plants and
existence by a dual foe,-excess of credulous ignorance
which believes everything and excesa of incredulous science animalare metamorphoses(sometimes elegantly conceived
which believes nothing. and drawn) of terrestrial organisms. Perhaps the most curi-
We find in our conviction and our conscience the where- ous thing of all is that they have a family resemblance in the
withalto brave the petty martyrdom of ridicule inflicted manner of their execution, and have stamped on them, in
upon us for the faith we profess, a faith exaggerated and eome way or other, the mediumistic hall-mark.
caricatured by the mass of follies people never fail to attrib-
ute to us, nor do we deem that the myth in which they dress To return to my own experiences. When I took the rôle
us up merits even the honor of a refutation. of writing-medium, I generally produced astronomical or
Similarly, I have never had any desire to prove to any- philosophical dissertations signed “ Galileo.” I will quote
body whatever that the influence of either Molière or Beau- but one of them as a sample. It istakenfrom mynote-
marchais cannot be detected in my plays. It seems to me books of 1862.
that that is more than evident. SCIEINCE,
Respecting the dwellings of the planet Jupiter, I must
ask the good folks who suppose that I am convinced of the The human intellect holds in ita powerful grasp the in-
real existence of these things whether they are well per- hite universe of space and time; it has penetrated the inac-
suaded that Gtulliver believed in “ Lilliput,” * Campanella cessible domain of thePast, sounded the mystery of the
in the ‘‘ City of the Sun,” and Sir Thomas More in hie unfathomable heavens, and believes that it has explained the
“ Utopia.”
riddle of the universe. The objective world has unrolled
What is true, however, is that the design of whichyou before the eyes of science ita splendid panorama and ita mag-
speak [Pl. III.J was made in less than ten hours. As to ita nificent wealth of forms. The studies of man have led him
origin, I would not give a penny to know about that; but the to a knowledge of truth ; he has explored the universe, dis-
fact of its production is another matter covered the inexorable reign of law, and the application of
the forces that sutain all things. I f it has not been per-
v. SARDOU. mitted to him to see the First Cause face to f ace, at least
Scarcely a year passes that mediums do not bring me draw- he hasattained a true mathematical idea of the series of
ings of plantsand animals in the Moon, in Mars,Venus, eecondary causes.
In this latest century, above all, the experimental a priori
Jupiter, or certain of the stars. These designs are more or method, the only really scientific one, has been put into prac-
less pretty, and more or less curious. But there is nothing in tice in the natural sciences, and by its aid man has freed
* So in the original. Possibly M. Sardou was under the mistaken himself from the prejudices of the old school of thought, one
impresslon that Gulliver was a nom-de-plume for Dean Swift.- Trun8. by one, and from subjective or speculative theories, and con-
fined himself to a careful and intelligent study of the field
of observation.
 \

4s MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES M Y . FIRST EXPERIMENTS 49

Yes, human science is firmly based andpregnant with where it was born, would presume (because forsooth it has
possibility, worthy of our homage for its difiicult and long- taken a few steps upon this leaf shaken in the wind) to have
proved past, worthy of our sympathy for its future, big with the right to speak of the immense tree to which it belongs, of
the promise of useful and profitable discoveries. For na- the forest of which thistreeforms a part, and to sagely
ture ishenceforth to be a book accessible to the bibliographical descant upon the nature of the vegetation developed thereon,
researches of the studious, a world open to the investigation$ of the beings that inhabit it, of the distant sun whose rays
of the thinker, a fertile region which the human mind has bringto it movement and life 8 In very truth,manis
already visited, and in which we must needs advance boldly,
holding in our hand experience asour compass. .. . strangely presumptuous to desire to measure i n h i t e great-
ness by the foot-rule of his infinite littleness.
An old friend of my terrestrial life recently spoke to " Therefore be this truth well impressed on hie mind,-
me as follows. One of our wanderings had brought us back if the arid labors of past ages have acquired for him an ele-
to the Earth, and we were making a new moral study of this mentary knowledge of things, if the progress of thought has
world. My companion remarked that man is teday familiar placed him at the vestibule of knowledge, still he has not
with the most abstract laws of mechanics,physics,chemis-
try, ... that the applications of knowledge to industry
are not less remarkable than the deductions of pure science, '
yet spelled out more than the first page of the Book, and,
like a child, liable to be deceived by every word, far from
claiming the right to authoritatively interpret the work, he
. and that it seems as if the entire universe, wisely studied ought to content himself with humbly studying it, p a p by
by man, was to be his royal appanage. As we pursued our page, line by line. Happy, however, those who are able to
journey beyond the boundsof this world, I answered him do this !"
in the following terns: GALILEO.
" A feeble atom, lost to sight in an imperceptible point
of the inhite, man has believed he could embrace in the These were my customary thoughts. They arethe
sweep of hie vision the whole expanse of the universe, where-
as he can scarcely passbeyond the region he inhabits; he thoughts of a student of nineteen or twenty who has acquired
has thought he could study the laws of all nature, and his the habit of thinking. There can be no doubt that they were
investigations have scarcely reached the forces in action wholly the product of my own intellect, and that the illus-
about him ; he has thought he could determine the grandeur trious Florentine astronomer hadnothing whatever to do
of the starry heaven, and he exhausted his powers in the with them. 'Besides, this would have been a collaboration to
study of a grain ofdust. The field of his researches is SÓ
small that, once lost to view, the mind seeks in vain to re- the last degree improbable.
cover it; the human heaven andearthare so small that It has been the same with all the communications of the
scarcely has the soul in its flight had time to spread itsw i n e astronomical class: they have not led the science forward a
before it has reached the last regions accessible to the obser- single step. Nor has any obscure, mysterious, or illusive
vation of man ; for the immeasurable Universe surrounds us point in history been cleared up by the spirits. We only
on all sides, unfolding beyond the limits of our heavens its write that which we know, and evenchance has given ua
unknown riches, putting ita inconceivable forces into play,
and reaching forwardinto immensity in the splendor of ita nothing. St.il1, certain unexplained thought-transferences
life. are to be discussed. But they belong to the psychological or
'' And the mere flesh-worm, the miserable mite, blind and human sphere.
wingless,whosewretched existence is passed upon the leaf In order to reply at once to objections that certain Spirit-
 50 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 51
ualists have sent to me apropos of this result of my observa-
"
'' ' The orbits of these satellites present peculiarities alto-
tions, I will takeas an example the caseof the satellites gether unexpected and exceptional, contrary to the general
of Uranus, since it is the chief one always brought forward laws which govern the other bodies of the solar system. The
as a proof of scientific discoveries imparted by spirits. Fur- planes of their orbits are almost perpendicular to the ecliptic,
thermore, I received several years ago from divers murces making an angle of 70" B',* and they travel with a retro-
grade movement; that is to say, their revolution about the
a pressing [Link] to examine an article by General Dray- centre of their planet takes place from east to west in place
son, published in the journal named Light, in 1884, under of following the inverse course.'
the title of The Solution of Scientific Problems by Spirits, '' When Laplace broached his theory that the sun and all
the planets were formed at the expense of a nebulous matter,
in which it is asserted that the spirits made known the true
orbital movement of the satellites of Uranus. Pressing en- these satellites were an e n i p a to him.
" Admiral Smyth mentions in his CeZestiuZ Cycle that the
gagements had always hindered me from making this exami- movement of these satellites, to the stupefaction of all as-
nation ; but the case having been recently promulgated in tronomers, is retrograde, contrary to that of all the other
several Spiritualistic works as decisive, and I being so per bodies observed up to that time.
sistently importuned to discuss it, I believe it will prove of I " All the astronomical works published before 1860 con-

some use if I now examine the case. tain the same reasoning on the subject of the satellites of
To my great regret there is an error in their communica- Uranus. For my part, I didnot find any explanation for
this peculiarity: to me it was a mystery as much as for the
tion, and the spirits have taught UB nothing. Here is one writers whom I have cited.
instance, wronglyselected as a demonstration. The Russian " I n 1858 I had as a guest in my house a lady who was a
writer Aksakof sets it forth in thefollowing terms ( A n i r n k medium, and we arranged daily séances. One evening she
and Spiritualism, p. 341) : said to me that she saw at my side a spirit who claimed to
have been an astronomer during his life on earth.
The case of which we are about to give an account seems to " I asked this person if he was wiser at present than when
beof such a nature as to settle all objections. It was mm- he lived on theearth. ' Much wiser,' he said. I hadthe
municated by Major-Qeheral A. W. Drayson and published idea of asking this so-called spirit a question the object of
under thetitle The 8olution of 8cientàficProblema by whichwas totest his knowledge. ' Can you tell me,' I
Spirits. I append a translation: askedhim, ' why the satellites of Uranus make their revo-
'' Having received from M. Georges Stock a letter asking lutionfromeastto west andnotfrom west to east Z I
me if I could mention, were it only as an instance, that, d u r received at once the following reply :
ing the holding of a séance, a spirit had solved one of those " ' The satellites of Uranus do not move in their orbits
scientific problems which have always embarrassed scientists, from east to west: they circle about their planet from west to
I have the honor to communicate to you the following cir- east, in the same way that the moon moves around the earth.
cumstance, which I witnessed with my own eyes: The error comes from the fact that the south pole of Uranus
" In 1'781 William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus was turned toward the earth at the moment of the discovery
and its satellites. H e observed that these satellites, contrary of this planet. In the same way that the sun, seen from our
to all the other satellites of the solar system, traversed their eouthern hemisphere, seems to run its daily course from right
orbitsfrom east to west. Sir John Herschel says in his !L'hie inclination is really 82", reckoning from the south, or 98"
Outlines of Astronomy: (90 + 8 O ) , counting from the north (see Fig. A).
- ___
I !----

ii
/j 52 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC FORCES --;is ,
MY FIRST EXPBTtIMENTS 53
9

S<.
3q-:
to left and not from left to right, so the satellites of Uranus , right to left, that is to say from west to east ” ; he indorses
Were moving at that time from leftto right, though this does
not mean they weremoving in theirorbitfrom east to west.’ , , !iI. the communication of thespirittothe effect thatthe 88-
“ In reply to another question which I asked, my inter-
tronomers are in error and that the satellites of Uranus
locutor added : ‘As long as
I

the south pole of Uran- ’ really revolve around their planet from west to
east, in
the
turned toward the earth, in relationtoaterrestrial observer,gameway - , thatthe moon revolves around the earth.
the satellites seemed to move from left to right, and it was In order to give ourselves an exact account of the position
erroneously concluded from this
that
they were going from and of the method of the movements of this system, let
eastto west: this state of things lasted for about forty-two construct a special geometrical figure, clear and precise. Let
years= When the north pole of Uranus is turned toward the
u8 represent upon a planethe appearance of theorbit of
earth, his satellites run their course from right to left+ but,
in either case, always from the westthe to MS~,,’
1 Uranus and of its satellites seen from the
northern hemis-
“ I thereupon asked him how it happened that the error phere of the celestial sphere (Fig. A). The part of the
had not been detected forty-two years after William Herschel's orbit of the satellites above the plane of the orbit of Uranus
discovery of Uranus. He replied, ‘ It is becausepeople hasbeen drawnwith heavy linesand hatching, the lower
repeat that which the authorities whohavepreceded them I part in dotted lines only.
have said. Dazzled by the resulta [Link] by their prede
cessors, they do not take the trouble to think.’ ” It is easily seen by the direction of the arrows that the
revolution of the satellites, projected upon the plane of the
Such the
is “ revelation ” of a spirit on .the system of orbit, is entirely retrograde. All dogmatic affirmations to
Uranus, published by Drayson and presented by Aksakof and the contrary are absolutely erroneous.
other authors as an undeniable proof of the intervention of a . These satellites turn like the hands of a watch,- from
spirit in the solution of this problem. left toright, looking at the upper partof the circles.
The following is the result of an impartial discussion of The error of General Drayson’s medium comes from the
this very interesting subject. The reasoning of the (‘spirit 9’ fact that she maintained [Link] the south pole of Uranus was
is false. The system of Uranus is almost perpendicular to turned toward us atthedate of its discovery. NOW,in
the plane of its orbit. It is the direct opposite of that of the 1781, the S p t t x U of Uranus occupied relatively to U8 a h o a t
satellites of Jupiter, which turn almost in the plane of their the s r n e situation as in 1862, since the time of its revoh-
orbit. The inclination of the plane of the satellites to the tion is eighty-four years. It is evident fromthe fiwre
ecliptic is 98O, and the planet ascendsalmost in the plane that, at that moment, the planet presented to US the pole
of the ecliptic. This is a fundamental consideration in the most elevated above the ecliptic ; that is, its north pole.
picture which we ought to make to ourselves of the aspect General Drayson allowed himself to be led into error when
. of this system seen from the earth. he adopted without verification these paradoxical premises.
Let US, however, adopt for the method of movement of A g a matter of fact, if Uranus had presented to US its south
these satellites around their planet the project,ion upon the bole in 1781, the movement of the satellites would have been
plane of the ecliptic, as has always been the custom. The direct. But the observations of the angle of position of the
authormaintainsthat, “ when the
north pole of Uranus i8 orbits at the time of their passage of the nodes gives
turned toward the earth, his satellites run their course from
 Fr- ,
M Y FIRST EXPERIMENTS 55
54 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES 1
I- ,

P ’
abundant evidence that it was really the north pole which . .
-.,- - watch in 1781 and 1862, the opposite in 1818 and 1902.
was at that moment turned toward the sun and the earth,- \ At these .datestheapparent orbits of the satellites are al-
a fact which renders direct movementimpossible, r e t r e most circles, while during the passage of the nodes, in 1798,
grade movement certain. 1840,and 1882, they are reduced to straight lines.
Figure l a completesthese data by presenting the aspect
l of the orbits and the method of revolution for all the posi-
tions of the planet, even down to our own epoch.
I have desired to completely elucidate this question,
which is a little tech-nical. To my great regret, the spirits
have taught us nothing, and this example, to which so much
importance is att,ached, is seen to be an error.+
Aksakofcites, inthis same chapter (p. 343), the dis-
covery of the two satellites of Mars, also made by Drayson
through a medium, in 1859 ; that is to say, 18 years before
their discovery, in 1877. This discovery, not having been
published at the time, remains doubtful. Furthermore,
after Kepler had pointed out its probability, this subject of
the two satellitea of Mars was several times discussed, nota-
bly by Swift and Voltaire (see my Popular Astronomy, p.
501). This is not, then, to be set down as an undeniable in-
stance of a discovery made by the spirits. I

The immediately foregoing instances arefacts actually

observed at Spiritualistic séances. I will not treat them
under a generalization foreign totheir proper setting.
They do not prove that, in certain circumstances, thinkers,
poets, dreamers, investigators, may not be inspired by in-
fluencee emanating from others, from loved ones, from de-
Fig. 1.- The inclination of the ayatem of Uranus. ibpecta m e e m * I have juet found in my library a book which was sent to me in
from the earth at the four extremepositione. 1888 by the author, Mhjor-General Drayson, the title ofwhich is
T W g Thousand Years of th6 Earth’s Past Hiatory, Read by Aid of the
Discoaery of the B e c o d Rotation of the Earth. This second rotation
For greater clearness, I have placed outside of the orbit, would take place about an axis the pole of which would be 29’ 25’ 47”
in Fig l, the aspect of the system of Uranus seen from from the pole of the daily rotation,about 270 right ascension,and
would be accomplished in 32,682 yeam. Theauthorseeks to explain
the earth at the four principal epochs of the revolution of it by the glacial periodsand variations of climate. But his work ie
full of confusionsmost strange andevenunpardonable in a man
this distant planet. It is evident that the apparent method. versed in astronomical studies. The truth is that this General D r a p n
of the revolution was analogous to that of the hands of a (who died several years ago) was not an astronomer.

S- -- - - .
56 . MPSTERIOu8 PSYCHIC FORCES , ---- M Y FIRST EXPERIMENTS 57
g$.
. 7’ parted friends. That is another question, a topic quite
..
. . apart from experiments which we are giving an account of
Ir , in
this book.
.The same author, otherwise generally very judicious, cites
several examples of foreign tongues spoken by mediums.
I havenotbeen able toverify them, and I amasked not
to say here anythingbut what I am absolutely sure of.

a781
/ According to my personal observations, these experiments
bring US constantly into the presence of ourselves, our own
t840
and 1866 minds. I could cite a thousand examples of this.
One day I received an ‘‘ aërolite ” discovered in a forest
inthe environs of Etrepagny (Eure). &he. J. L., who

i
kindly sent it to me, added that she consulted a spirit about
ita origin and that he replied to her that it came from a star
named Golda. Now in the first place there is no star of this
name ; and, secondly, this is not an aërolite at all, but a
piece of slag froman oldforge. (See Section 6G2 of my
Inquiry of 1899. The first of these sections, relatingto
telepathy, have been published in my work The Unknown.)
cm9 A lady reader of mine wrote me from Montpellier:
(and 1798)
Your conclusions would perhaps diminish the prestige of
Spiritualism in the eyes of certain persons. But, as prestige
may produce superstition, it is well to clear up matters.
For my part, that which you have observed agrees with what
I havemyselfobserved. This is the methodwhich I have
employed, aided by a friend:
1 I took a book and, opening it, retained in my mind the
number of the right-hand page. Suppose it was 132. I
said to the table, which had been put in movement by the
t’s83 x896
little manœuvre ordinarily used, “ Does a spirit desire
x999 to communicate ? ”
(and 1806) (and 1812) and (1818)
Reply -“ Yes.”
Fig. la.-Orbite of the eatellites of Uranus as eeen from the earth a t Question “ dan you see the book which I have just been
different dates since the time of their discovery (1781). looking at 8 ”
Reply -iï Pes.”
 58 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES -. MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 59
“How many numbers are there on the page that I have planes, of which only one ie not subliminal. Nothing is
been looking at !” more worthy of study than this plurality of the me. I have
“ Thrèe.”
wen a person who, while speaking or singing, writes, without
“ Indicate the number of hundreds.”
regard to the paper, consecutivesentences and even entire
(‘One.” pages, without any knowledge of what she is writing. I n
‘‘Indicate the value of the tens.” my eyes her sinoerity is perfect. Now she declares that at
‘‘ Three.” the end of a page she has no idea of what ehe has written on
“ Indicate the value of the units.”
the paper. When she reads it, she is astonished, sometimes
“ Two.”
alarmed. The handwriting is different fromherordinary
The amounts indicated in these statements are of course handwriting. The movement of the fingers and of the pencil
132. I t was enchanting. is stiff and wem8 automatic. The writing always ends with
Then, takingthe closedbook and, without opening it, a signature, that of a deceased person, and bears the mark
sliding the paper-knife between the pages, I resumed the of intimate thoughts, of a secret and inner reserve of ideaa
conversation, and the result with this last method was always which the author would not like to divulge. Certainly there
inexact. is proof here of a doubling of the me, the coexistence of two
I frequently repeated thislittle experience (curious at parallel and independent trains of thought, of two centres of
any rate) ; and, every time, I had exact replies when I knew action, or, if you wish, of two moral persons existing in thé
them, inexact when I was ignorant of them. (Section 657 I e r n e brain, each onedoing his work, and each one a different
-

of my Inquiry.) work, the one upon the stage and the other behind the scenes,
the second as complete as the first, since, alone and unwit-
These examples might be multiplied ad infinitum. ting of the other, it constructs consecutive ideas and fashions
Everything leads us tothinkthat it is wewho are the connected sentences in which the other has no part.
actors in these experimenta. But it is not so simple as one
might suppose, and there is something else in it as well as This hypothesis is admissible, in thelight of numerous
ourselves. Certain unexplained things take place. observations of double consciousness.*
I n his remarkable work, Intelligence, Taine explains It is applicable to g. great number of cases, but not in all.
Spiritualistic communications by a sort of unconscious dupli- . I t explains automatic writing. But, as it stands, it is
cation of our mind, as I said above. necessary to [Link] considerably to make it explain the rap-
pings (for who raps a), and it does not explain at all the
The more singular a fact is [he mitee *l the more in- levitations of the table, nor the displacement of objects of
structive it is. In this respect, Spiritualistic manifestations which I have spoken in the first chapter, and I do not very
themselves point the waytodiscoveriesbyshowing us the well see how it can even explain phrases rapped out back-
coexistence at the same moment in the same individual of wards or by the strange combinations described above. This
two thoughts,twowills,two distinct actions, the one con-
scious, the other unconscious ; the latter he attributes to in- Alt those who occupy themmlvea with theeequestionaare &c-

visible beings. The brain is, then, a theatre on the stage of nainted,amongother cases, with that of;Felid8 (studied by Dr.
L m ) In the doxy of thie young girl she ie shown &B endowed with
which several pieces are being played at once, ùpon several two dikinct personalitiea to such an extent that, in the eecond state,
InteZZigence, Vol. I., preface, p. 16, edition of 1897. !Che flrst edi-
she becomeeamorous ... andenceinte, without knowing anything
about it in her normal condition. These states of doublepersonalitiea
tion wata publiehed in 1868. have been methodically obeervedfor thirty peare.
6U MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY FIRST EXPERIMENTS 61
hypothesis is admitted and developed in a more unqualified the toes, to the snapping of the muscl- of the fibular tendon,
way by Dr. Pierre Janet in his work Psychological Autom to ventriloquism andthe deceptionsofunconsciousaccom-
atism. This authoris one of those who have created a plices.* This is not a sufficient explanation.
narrow circle of observation and study, and who not only As a matter of fact, we do not understand how our thought,
never emerge from it, but imagine that they havegot the or that of another, can cause raps in a table, by which sen-
whole universe in their circle: I n going over this kind of tences are formed. But we are obliged to admit it. Let
'

reasoning, one thinksinvoluntarily of that old quarrel of us call it, if you please, " telekinetsis " ; but does that get us
the' two round eyes who saw everything round and of *the any fartheralong 0
two square eymwhosaw everything square, and of the Therehas been talkfor some years about unconscious
history of the Bigendians and of the Little-endiam of Gu& facts, about subconsciousness, subliminal consciousness, etc.
liver's Travels. An hypothesis is worthy of attention when I fear that in these things also we are putting ourselves off
i t explains something. Ita value does not increase by the with words which do not explain things very much.
attempt to generalize it and make it explain everything : I intend some day, if the time is given me, towrite a
this is to overpass all reasonable limits. special book on Spiritualism,studiedfromthe theoretic
We may admit that the sub-conscious acts of an abnormal and doctrinal point of view, which will form a second volume
personality, temporarily grafted upon our normal person- of my work The Unknown and Psychic Problems, and which
ality, explain the greater part of mediumistic writing com- has been in preparation since the publicat,ion of that work
munications. We can see in these also the evident effects in 1899. Mediumistic communications, dictations received
ofauto-suggestion. But thesepsycho-physiologicalhypothe- (notably by Victor Hugo, Mme. de Girardin, Eugène Nus,
88s do not explain all observations. There is something else. and the Phalansterians), will be the subject of special chap-
We all have a tendency to want to explain everything by ters in this volume,- as well as the problem, otherwise im-
the actualstate of our knowledge. In the face of certain portant, of the plurality of existences.
circumstances, we say to-day : " It is suggestion, it is It is not my intention to enlarge in this place upon the
hypnotism, it is this, it is that." Half a century ago we aspects of the general question. That which I restrict my-
would not have talked in this way, these theories not having self to establishing in this book isthat thereare in us,
yet been invented. People will no longer talk in the same about us, unknown forces capable of puttingmatter in
way half a century, a century, hence, for newwords will motion, just as our will does. I ought, therefore, to limit
have been invented. But let us not be put off with words ; myself tomaterial phenomena. The range of that class of
let us not be in such a hurry. investigations isalready immense, and the " communica-
We must know how to explain in what way our thoughts tions " of which I have just spoken are really outside the
- conscious, unconscious, sub-conscious -can strike blows limits of this range. But, as this subject and that of psycho-
in a table,move it, lift it. As this question is rather em- logical experiments are continually overlapping, it was
barrassing, Dr. Pierre Janet treats it as " secondary person- necessary to give a summary of it inthis place. Let us
ality," and is obliged to have recourse to the movements of Ps~chologicalAutomatism, p. 401-402.
r- -

69 aMYSTERIOUSPSYCHIC FORCES
return for the present to the material phenomena produced
by mediums and to that which I have myself ascertained in
my experiences with Eusapia Paladino, who unites them
nearly [Link] her own personality and experiences. ._

CHAPTER III
M Y EXPERJMENTB WITH EUSAPIA PALADINO.

In the earlier pages of this volume some of my later ex-

periments with the Neapolitan medium, Eusapia Paladino,
havebeendescribed. We shall now revert to theearlier
ones.
My first experimental séance with this remarkable medium
took place on the 27th of July, 1897. In response to the
invitation of an excellent and honorable family,- that of
Blech,- the name of which has for a long time been hap-
pily associated with modern researches in theosophy, occult-
ism, and psychological studies, I betook .myself to Montfort-
l’Amaury, to make the personal acquaintance of this
medium,whosecase had already been studied in several
particulars by MM. Lombroso, Charles Richet, Ochorowicz,
Aksakof, Schiaparelli, Myers, Lodge, A. De Rochas, Dariex,
J. Maxwell, Sabatier, De Watteville, and 8 great number
of other scholars and scientists of high standing. Mme.
Paladino’s gifta had even been made the subject of a work
by Count de Rochas upon The Externalization of Motivity,
as well aa of innumerable articles in the special reviews.
The impression that results from the reading of all the
official reports is not altogether satisfactory, and besides
leaves ua with our curiosity entirely ungratified. On the
other hand, I can say, as I have already had occasion to
remark, that, duringthelastforty‘ years,almost allthe
celebratedmediums have been present at one time or an-
other in my salon in the avenue l’observatoire in Paris, and
‘63

l
 64 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHICFORCES MY EXPERJMENTS WITH EDSAPIA 65
that I have detected them nearly all in trickery. Not 'that t - nomena were no longerproduced or lost their intensity and
they always deceive: those who aflirm this are wrong. But, l their marvellous nature. Nothing is more offensive than
consciously or unconsciously, they bring with them an ele- thesegames of hide-and-seek to which we are obliged to
submit.
ment of trouble against which .one is obliged to be coi- All that kind of thing excites [Link] passed
stantly on guard, and whichplaces the experimenter in all my life in the study of nature, which is always sincere
conditions diametrically .opposed to thoseof scientific o b I in its manifestations and logical in its processes, it is re-
pugnant to me to [Link] my thoughts to the investigation of a
servation.
Apropos of Eusapia I had received from my illustrious i class of truths, which it seems as if a malevolent and disloyal
power was hiding from us with an obstinacy the motive of
colleague, M. Schiaparelli, director of the observatory at
which we cannot comprehend. In such researches it is not
Milan, to whomscience is indebted for so many important sufficient to employ the ordinary methods of natural philoso-
discoveries, a long letterfrom which I will quote a few phy,which are infallible, but very limited in their action.
passages : We must have recourse to that other critical method, more
0 subject to error, but more audacious and more powerful, of
1
During the autumn of 1802 I was invited by M. Aksakof whhh policeofficers .and examining magistrates make use
to be present at a certain number of Spiritualistic séances when they are trying to bring out a truth in the midst of
held under his direction and care, for the purpose of meeting disagreeing witnczzzs, a part at least of whom have an inter-
the medium Eusapia Paladino, of Naples. I saw a numbcr est in hiding that trut.h.
of very surprising things, a part of which, to tell the truth, In accordance with these reflections, I cannot say that I
could be explained by very ordinary means. But there are am convinced of the reality of the things which are comprised
others. the production of which I should not know how to under the ill-chosen name of Spiritualism. But neither do
explain by the known principles of natural philosophy. I I believe in our right to deny everything ; for, in order to
add, without any hesitation, that, if it liad been possible have a good basis for denial, it is notsufficient to suspect
to entirely exclude all suspicion of deceit, one wouldhave fraud, it is necessary to prove àt. These experiments, which
had to recognize in these facts the beginning of a new sci- I have found very unsatisfactory, other experimenters of
ence pregnant with consequences of the highest importance. great confidence and of established reputation have been able
But it must be admitted that these experiments have been to make in more favorable circumstances. I have not enough
made in a manner little calculated to convince impartial presumption to oppose a dogmatic and unwarranted denial
judges of their sincerity. Conditions were always imposed to proofs in which scientists of greatcritical ability, such
that hindered the right comprehension of what was really as MM. Crookes, Wallace, Richet, Oliver Lodge, have found
taking place. When me proposedmodifications in the pro- a solid basis of fact and one. worthy their examination, to
gram suited to give to the experiments the stamp of clear- euch an extent that they have given to it years of study.
ness and to furnish evidence that was lacking, the medium And we should deceiveourselves if ma believed that men
invariably declared that,if we did so, the successof the convinced of the truth of Spiritualism are all fanatics. Dur-
séancewould thereby be made impossible. In fine, we did ing the experiments of 1892 I had the pleasure of knowing
not experiment in the truesense of the word: we were obliged some of these men. I was obliged to admire their sincere de-
to be content with observing that which occurred under the sire to h o w the truth ; and I found, in the case of several
unfavorable circumstances imposedby the medium. Even of them, philosophic ideas very sensible and very profound,
when mere observation was pushed a little too far, the phe- joined to a moral character altogether worthy of esteem.
 .

i I"

MY EXPEWMENTS WITH EUSAPIX '67

66 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES . , .
I --

i That is the reason why it is impossible for me to declare

l

rived at Monfort-l'Amaury (with all the more interest be-

I that Spiritualism is a ridiculous absurdity. I ought, then, to cause Slade was one of the mediums of whom I was just now
abstain from pronouncing any opinion whatever: my mental speaking).
state on this subject may be definedby the word " ags? Eusapia Paladino was introduced to me. She is a woman
ticism." i of very ordinary appearance, a brunette, her figure a little
I have readwith much attention all that the late Pro-
fessor Zillner has written on this subject. His explanation
has a purely material basis,- that is to say, 'it is the hy-
pothesis of the objective existence of a fourth dimension of
space, an existence which cannot be comprised withinthe
l under the medium height. She was forty-three years old, not
at all neurotic, rather stout. She was born on January 21,
1854, in a village of La Poui€le;her mother died while giv-
ingbirth to the child ; herfather was assassinated eight
scope of our intuition, but the possibility of which cannot be
denied on that ground alone. Once grant the reality of the
experiments whichhedescribes, and it is evident that his
I years afterward, in 1862, by, brigands of southern Italy.
EusapiaPaladinoishermaiden name. She was married
theory of these things is the most ingenious and probable
that can be imagined. According to this theory, mediumistio
phenomena would lose their mystic or mystifying character
l at Raplee to a merchant of modest means named Raphael
Delgaiz, a citizen of Naples. She manages thepetty busi-
ness of the shop, is illiterate, does not know how to either
and would pass into the domain of ordinary physics and of read or write, understands only a little French. I con-
physiology. They would lead to a very considerable exten-
sion of the sciences, an extension such that their author would versed with her, and soon perceived that she has no theories
deserve to be placed side by side with Galileo and Newton. and does not burden herself byiftrying to explain the phe-
Unfortunately, these experiences of Zöllner were made with nomena produced by her.
a medium of poor reputation. It is not only the sceptics The salon in which we are going to conduct our experi-
who doubt the good faith of M. Slade: it is the Spiritualists ments is a room on the ground floor, rectangular, measuring
themselves. M. Aksakof,whose authority is very great in i twenty feet in length by nineteen in breadth ; therearefour
similar matters, told me himself that he had detected him I

in trickery. You seeby this that these theories of Ziillner windows, an outside entrance door and another in the vesti-
I
bule.
lose anysupport they might have derived from the exact
demonstration of experiment, at the same time that they re-
i 'Before the sitting, I make sure that the large doors and
main very beautiful, very ingenious, and quite possible. windows are closely shut by window-blinds with hooks and
Yes, quite possible in spite of everything; in spite of the bywooden blinds on the inside. The door of the vestibule
lack ofsuccess that I hadwhen I tried to reproduce them
with Eusapia. On theday when we shall be enabled to is simply locked with a key.
make, with absolute sincerity, a &ngZe one of these experi- In an angle of the salon, at the left of the large entrance
ments, the matter will have made great progress ; from the door, two curtains of a light color have been stretched on
hands of charlatans it will have passed into those of physi- a rod, joining inthe middle and forming thus a little cabinet.
cists and physiologists. In this cabinet there is a sofa, and leaning against this a
Such is the communication made to me by M. Schiapa- guitar; on one side is a chair, on whichhavebeenplaced
relli. I foundhis reasoning to be without defect, and it a musiobox and a bell. In the recess of the window which
was in a state of mind entirely analogous to his that I ar- is included in the cabinet there is a music-rack, upon which

'I
 68 MYSTERJODS PSYCRIC FORCIM l MY EXPERIMENTS WITE EUSAPIA 69
I

has beenplaced a plate containing a well-smoothedcake of row corner of the room before which the curtain was
i glazier’s putty, and under which, on the floor, is a huge tray Rtretched, and I found nothing except the objects mentioned
I containing a large smoothedcake
of the same. We have above. Nowhere in the room was there any sign whatever
1l prepared these plaques of putty because the annals of Spir- of concealed mechanism, no electric wires or batteries or any-
r’ itualism have often shown the imprint of hands and ‘of thing of the kind, either on the floor or in the walls. More-
over, the perfect sincerity of M. and Mme. Blech is bey0p.d
! heads produced by the unknown beings whom it is our busi-
I all suspicion.
l ness in this work to investigate. The large tray weighs
about nine pounds. Before the séance, Eusapia was undressed and dressed
i W h y this dark cabinet ? The medium declares it is neces- before [Link]. Nothing suspicious was found.
sary to the production .of the phenomena ‘‘ that relate t o . the I Thesitting wasbegun infull light, and I constantly laid
’ _ stress upon obtaining the largest number of phenomena we
condensation of fluids.”
i
I ahould prefer that there should be nothing of the kiqd. could in the full light of day. It was only gradually, ac-
i cording asthe “ spirit ” begged for it, that the light was
But the conditions must be accepted, though we must have
an exact understslnding about them. Behind the curtain turned down. But I obtained the concession that the dark-
I i ness should never be
absolute. At
the
last
limit, when the
II the stillness of the
aërial waves is its
at maximum, the i lighthadto be entirely extinguished, it was replaced by one
l light its
at minimum. It is curious, strange, infinitely re- i
!
grettable that light prohibits certain effects. Undoubtedly, of the red lanterns used by photographers.
it would not be either philosophic or scientific to oppose this The medium sits before the curtain, turningher back
condition. It is possible thatthe radiations, the forces, to it. A table is placed before her,- a kitchen table, made
which act may bethe raysof the invisible end of the spectrum, of spruce, weighing about fifteen pounds. I examined this
I have already had occasion to remark, in the first chapter, table and found nothing in it suspicious. It could be moved
that he who would seek to make photographs without a dark about in every direction.
chamber wouldcloudover his plate and obtain nothing. I sit at first on the left of Eusapia,then at her right
The man whowould deny the existence of electricity be- Bide. I make sure as far as -possibleof her hands, her legs,
cause he had been unable to obtain a spark in a damp‘atmos- and her feet, by personal control. Thus, for example, to
phere would be in error. H e who would not believe in the bcgin with, in order to be sure that she should not lift the
existence of stars because we only see them at night would table either by her hands or her legs, or her feet, I take
not be very wise. Modern progress innatural philosophy her left hand in my left hand, I place my right open hand
has taught us that the radiations that impinge on the retina upon her knees, and I place my right foot upon herleft
represent only the smallest fraction of the totality. W e foot. Facing me, M. Guillaume de Fontenay, no more dis-
can then admit the existence of forces which do not act. in posed than I to be duped, takes charge of her right hand and
thefull light of day. But, in accepting theseconditione, her right foot.
the essential point is not to be their dupe. There is full light,- big kerosene lamp with a wide
Hence, before the séance, I examined carefully the nar- burner and a light yellow .shade, besides two lighted candles.

i
 -.
70 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA 71
At the end of three minutes the table begins to move, I lean upon it in order to keep it down, but I experience an
balancing itself, and rising sometimes to the right, some- elaetic resistance and am unable to do so. The free edge of
times to the left. A minute afterwards it is lifted entirely the round table ,places itself on the edge of the rectangular
from the floor, to a height of about nine inches, and remains table, but, hindered by its triangular foot, it doesnotsuc-
there two seconds. oeed in clearing itself sufficiently to climb upon it. Since
In a second trial, I take the two hands of Eusapia in I am holding the medium, I ascertain that shemakes no
mine. A notable levitation is produced, nearlyunderthe effort of the kind that would be needed for this style of per-
aame conditions. formance.
We repeat the same experiments thrice, in auch a way that The curtain swells out and approaches myface. I t is at
five levitations of the table take place in a quarter of an this moment that the medium falls into a trance. She ut-
hour, and for several seconds the four feet are completely ters sighs and lamentations and only speaks now inthe
liftedfromthe floor, tothe height of about nine inches. third person, saying that she is John King, a psychic per-
During oneof the levitations the experimenters did not eonality who claims to have been her father in another exist-
touch the table at all, but formed the chain above it and in ence and who calls her '' my daughter '' (mia figlia). This is
the- air ; and Eusapia acted in the same way. an auto-suggestion proving nothing as to the identity of the
So then it seems that an object can be lifted, in opposi- force.
tion to the law of gravity, without the contact of the hands Five new taps ask for still less light, and the lampis
which have just been acting upon ih (Proof already given almost completely turned down, butnot extinguished. The
above, pp. 5-8, 16.) eyes, growing accustomed to the clare-obscure, stilldistin-
A round centre table placed at my right comes forward guish pretty well what is taking place.
without contact towards the table, always in full light, be it The curtain swells out again, and I feel that I am touched
understood, asif it would liketo climb up on it, and on the shoulder, through the stuff of the curtain, as if by a
falls [Link] has moved aside or approached the closed fist. The chair in the cabinet, upon which are placed
curtain, and no explanation of this movement can be given. the music-box and the bell, is violently shaken, and the ob-
The medium has not yet entered into a trance and continues jects fall tothe floor. The medium asks again for less
to take part in theconversation. Zight, and a red photographic lanternis placedupon the
Fiveraps in the table indicate, according to a conven- piano, the light of the lamp being extinguished. The con-
tion arranged by the medium, that the unknown cause asks trol is rigorously kept up, the medium agreeing to it with
for less light. This is always annoying: I have already said the greatest docility.
what I think of this. The candles are blown out, the lamp For about a minute the music-box plays intermittent airs
turned down, but the light is strong enough for us to see behind [Link] curtain, as if it was turned by some hand.
very distinctly everything that takes place in the salon. The curtain moves forward again toward me, and a rather
The round table, which I had liftedand set aside,ap- etrong hand seizes my arm. I immediately reach forward
proaches the table and tries several times to climb up on it. to seize the hand, but I grasp only the empty air. I
 .
-
a.
...
._ ...
. .

72 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA '73

then press the two legs of the medium between mine and I fact, while lifting my hand, I feel a rather soft beard
take her left hand in my right. On the other side, her right brushing against it.
hand is firmly held in the left hand of M. de Fontenay. A blockof paper is put on the table with a lead-pencil,
Then Eusapia b r i n e the hand of the last named toward my with the hope of getting writing. This pencil is flipped
cheek, and imitates upon the cheek, with the finger of M. clear across the room. I then take the blockof paper and
de Fontenay, the movement of a little revolving crank or hold it in the air: it is snatched violently from me, in spite
handle. The music-box,which has one of thesehandles, of all my efforts toretainit. At this moment, M. de
plays at thesame time behindthe curtain àn perfect syn- Fontenay, withhis back turned to the light, sees a hand
chronism. The instant
that Eusapia's hand stops, the , ( a white handandnot a shadow), thearm showing as far
music stops: all the movementscorrespond, just as inthe ' as the é h W , holding the blockof paper; but all the others
Morse telegraphic [Link] all amusedourselves with declare that they only see the paper shaking in the air.
this. Thething was tried several times in succession, and I did not see the hand snatch the packet of paper from
I every time the movement of the finger tallied the playing of me ; but only a hand could have been able to seize it with
the music. such violence, and this did not appear to be the hand of the
I feel several touches in the back and on the side. M. de medium, for I held her right hand in my left, and the paper
Fontenay receives a 'hard slap on the back that everybody with arm extended in my right hand, and M. de Fontenax
hears. A hand passes through my [Link] of M. declared that he did not let go of her left hand.
de Fontenay is violently pulled, and a few moments after- I was struck several times in the side, touched on the
wards he cries, " I see the silhouette of a man passing be- head, and my ear was smartly pinched. I declare that a f b r
I

tween M, Flammarion and me, above the table, shutting out t several repetitions I had enough of this ear pinching; but
the red light !", during the whole séance, in spite of my protestations, some-
Thisthing is repeated several times. I do not myself l' body kept hitting me.
succeed in seeing this silhouette. I then propose to M. de The little round table,placed outside of the cabinet, at
Fontenay that I take his place, for, in that case, I should be the left of the medium, approaches the table,climbs clear
likely to see it also. I soon distinctly perceive a dim' sil- up on it andlies across it. Theguitarinthe cabinet is
houette passing before the red lantern, but I do not recog- heard moving about and giving out sounds. Thecurtain
nize any precise form. It is only an opaque shadow (the is puffed out, and theguitaris brought upon the table,
profile of a man) whichadvances as far as thelightand resting upon the shoulder of M. de Fontenay. It is then
l
retires. laid upon the table, the large end toward the medium. Then
In a moment, Eusapia says there is some one behind the it rises and movesover the heads of the company without
curtain. After a slight pause she adds: touching them. It gives forth several sounds. The p h e
" There is a man by my side, on the right : he has a great nomenon lasts about fifteen seconds. It canreadily be
soft forked beard." I ask if I may touch this beard. In seen that the guitar is floating in [Link] air, and the reflection
- . . v of the red lamp glides over its shining surface. A rather
I

4
 74 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES - MY EXPERIMENTS WITHEUSAPIA 75
bright gleam,pear-shaped, is seen on the ceiling in &e sapia cries that she sees before her a head and a bust, and
other corner of the room. says, ‘‘E fatto (“ It is done ”). We do not believeher,
”

The medium,who istired, asks for rest.. The candles because M. Blech has not felt any pressure on the dish.
are lighted. Mme. Blech returns the objecta to their places, Three violent blows as of a mallet are struck upon the table.
ascertains thatthe cakes of puttyare intact, placee the Thelight 1s turned on, and a human profile is found im-
smallest upon the little round table and the large one upon printed upon the putty.
thechair in t,he cabinet, behind the medium. Thesitting Mme. Z. Blechkieses Eusapia upon both cheeks, for the
is resumed by the, feeble glimmer of the red lantern. purpose of finding out whether her face has not some odor
The medium,whose hands and feetarecarefully con- (glazier’s putty having a very strong odor of linseed oil
trolled by M. deFontenayand myself, breathes heavily. which remains for some time upon the fingers). She dis-
Above her head the snapping of fbgers is heard. She still covers nothing abnormal.
pants, groans, and sinks her Sngera into my hand. Three This discovery of a ‘‘ spirit blead ” in the putty ie so
rapsare heard. She cries, “ It is done ” (“ E fatto ”). astonishing, so impossible toadmit without sufEcient veri-
M. de Fontenay brings the little dish beneath the light of fication, that it is really still more incredible than all the
the red lantern and discovers the impression of four fingers rest. It isnot the head of theman whose profile I per-
in the putty, in the position which they had taken when she ceived, and the beard I felt on my ’hand is not there. The
gripped my hand. imprint has a resemblance to Eusapia’s face. If we sup-
Seatsare taken, the medium asks for rest, and a little posed she produced it herself, that she was able to bury her
light is turned on. nose up to the cheeks and up to the eyes in that thick putty,
The sitting is soon resumed as before, by the extremely we should still have to explain how that large and heavy
feeble light of the red lantern. John is spoken of as if he tray was transported from the other end of the table and
existed, as if it was he whose head we perceived in silhouette; gently placed in the hands of M. Blech.
he is asked to continue his manifestations, and to show The resemblance of the imprint to Eusapia was undenia-
the impression of his head in the putty, as he has already ble I reproduce both the print and theportrait of the
several times done. Eusapia replies that it is a difficult medium.* Every one can assure himself of it. The sim-
thing and asks U B not to think of it for a moment, but to plest thing, evidently, is to suppose the Italian woman im-
go on speaking. These suggestions of hers are always dis- printed her face in the putty.
quieting, and we redouble our attention, though without But how?
speaking much. The medium panh, groans,writhes. The W e are in the dark as to this, or nearly so. I sit at the
chair in the cabinet on which the putty is placed is heard right hand of Eusapia, who TO& her head upon my left
to move. The chair comes forward and places itself by the &odder, and whose right hand I amholding. M. de Fon-
side of the medium, then it is lifted and placed upon the tenay is at her left, and has taken great care not to let go
head of Mme. Z. Blech, while the tray is lightly placed in * See Pl. [Link] V. I preserve witb cam a plaster cast of this im-
the hands. of M. Blech, at the other end of the table. Eu- print.
 78 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
of the other hand. Thetray of putty, weighing nine
pounds, has been placed upon a chair, twenty inches behind
the curtain, consequently behind Eusapia. She cannot
touch it without turning around, and we have her entirely in
our power, ourfeet on hers. Now thechair upon which
was the tray of putty has drawn aside the hangings, or por-
tières, and moved forward to a point above the head of the
medium, who remained seated and held down by us ; moved
itself also over our heads,- the chair to rest upon the head
of my neighbor, Mme. Blech, and the tray to rest softly in
the hands of M. Blech, who is sitting at the end of the table.
At this moment Eusapia rises, declaring that she sees upon
the table another table and a bust, and cries out, IC E fatto ”
(“ It is done ”). It -was not at this time, surely, that she
would have been able to place her face upon the cake, for it
was at the other end of the table. Nor was it before this,
for it would have been necessary to take the chair in one
hand and the cake with the other, and she did not stir from
her place. The explanation, as can be seen, is very difficult
indeed.
Let us admit, however, that the fact is so extraordinary
that a doubt remains in our mind, because the medium rose
from her chair almost at the critical moment. And yet her
face was immediately kissed by Mme. Blech, who perceived
no odor of the putty.
Dr. Ochorowicz writes as follows apropos of these prints
of faces and of the study which he made of them at Rome :*

The imprint of this face was obtained in darkness, yet at

a moment when I held the t,wo hands of Eusapia, while m y
arms were entirely around her. Or, rather, it wasshewho
clung to me in such a way that I had accurate howledge of
the position of all her limbs. Her head rested against mine,
* A. de Rochas, The Emterrcalization of Yotiwit#, fourth edition, 1906,
p. 408.

I
 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA T?
and even with violence. At the moment of the production
of the phenomenon a convulsive trembling shook her whole
body, and the pressure of her head on my temples was so
intense that it hurt me.
At the moment when the strongest convulsion took place,
she cried, " Ah, che dura! " (" Oh, how severe ! ") We at
once lighted a candle and found a print, rather poor in com-
parison with those which other experimenters have obtained,
-a thing due, perhaps, to the bad quality of the clay which
I used. This clay wasplaced about twenty inches tothe
right of the medium, while her head was inclined to the left.
Her face was not a t all soiled by the clay, which was yet so
moist asta leave traces upon the fingers whentouched.
Moreover, the contact of her head with mine made me suffer
eo much that I am absolutely sure it was not intermitted for
a single moment. Eusapia was very happy when she saw a
verification made under conditions in which it was impossi-
ble to suspect her good faith.
I thea took the tray of clay, and we passed into the dining-
room in order to better examine the imprint, which I placed
on a largetablencar a big kerosenelamp. Eusapia, who
had fallen into a trance, remained for some moments stand-
ing, her hands resting upon the table, motionless and as if
unconscious. I did not lose sight of her, andshe looked
at me without seeing anything. Then, with an uncertain
step, she moved backward toward the door and passed slowly
into the chamber which we had just left. W e followed her,
observing her all the while, and leaving the clay behind upon
the table. We had already got into the chamber when, lean-
ing against one of the halves of the double door, she fixed
her eyes upon the tray of clay which had been left upon the
table. The medium wa8 in a very good light: we were
separated from her by a distance of from six to tenfeet, and
we perceived distinctlyallthe details. All of a sudden
Eusapia stretched her hand out abruptly toward the 'clay,
thensank down uttering a groan. We rushed precipi-
tately towards the table and saw, sidq by side with the im-
print of the head, a new imprint, very marked, of a hand
which had been thus produced under the very light of the
lamp, and whichresembled the hand of Eusapia. I .have,
 --. .

78 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MX EXPERIMENTS W I T H EUSBPIA 79

myself, obtained head prints a dozen times, but always rather were not all produced under the same conditions of certainty.
poor,owing to the quality of the clay, andoften broken I should wish to class the facts in the following order of de-
while the experiment was going on. creasing certainty :
. l. Levitations of the table.
The Chevalier Chiaia, of Naples, who first obtained these 2. Movements of the round table without contact.
fantastic pictures through the agency of Eusapia, wrote as 3. Mallet blows.
follows, in this connection, to Count de Rochas: 4. Movemenb of the curtain.
l 5. Opaque,silhouette passing before the red lamp.
I have imprints in boxesof clay weighing anywhere be- ' 6. Sensation of a beard upon the back of the hand.
tween fifty-five and sixty-five pounds. I mention the weight T. Touchings.
in order to let you see the impossibility of lifting and trans- 8. Snatching of the block of paper.
porting with one hand alone .so heavy a tray, even upon the 9. Throwing of the lead-pencil.
supposition thatEusapia might, unknown to us, free one 10. Transference of the round table to the top of the other
of her hands. In almost every case, in fact, this tray, placed table.
upon a chair three feet behind the medium, was brought for- - II. Music from the little box.
ward and placed very gently upon the table about which we 12. Transfer of the guitar to a point above the head.
were seated. The transfer was made with such nicety that 13. Imprints of a hand and of a face.
the persons who formed the chain and held firmly the hands The first four events, having taken place in full light, are
of Eusapia did not hear the least noise, did not perceive the incontestable. I should put almost in the same rank Nos. \

least rustling. W e were forewarned of the arrival of the tray 6 and 6. No. '7 may perhaps be due very often to fraud.
upon the table by seven taps, which, according to our 'conven- The last in the list, having been produced toward the end of
tional arrangement, John struck in the wall to inform us that the séance, at a time when attention was necessarily relaxed,
we could turn on the light. I did so at once by turning the and being still more extraordinary than all the others, I con-
cock of the gas-fixture which was suspended above the table. fess that I cannot admit it with certainty, although I can
(We had never completely extinguished it.) We then found not understand how it couldhavebeen due to fraud. The
the tray upon the table, and, upon the clay, the imprint which four others seem genuine ; but I should like to observe them
we supposed must havebeenmade before its transfer, and anew; a man could wager ninety-nine to one hundred that
while it was behind Eusapia, in the cabinet where John usu- they are true. I was absolutely sure of them duringthe
ally materializes and manifests himself. Béance. Butthe vividness of the impressions growsweak,
and we have a tendency to listen only to the voice of plain
Thetotality of these observations (which are very nu- common sense,- the most reasonable and the most deceptive
merous) leads us to the thought that, in spite of the improb of our faculties.
ability of the thing, these imprints are produced at a dis- The first impression we get upon the reading of these re-
tance by the medium. ports is that these different manifestations are rather vulgar,
However,some days after the séance at Montfort-1'&n- altogether banal, and do not tell us anything about the other
aury I wrote as follows: world -or about other worlds. Surely it does not seem
These different manifestations are not to me equally au- probable that any spiritual being would take part in such
thentic. 1 amnot sure of all of them, for the phenomena performances. For thesephenomena are of an absolutely
material class
 ~~.~~ ~

..
_..

80 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS

WITH EUSAPIL% 81
On the other hand, however, it is impossiblenot to r e e happen that this idea was necessary to the concentration of
ognize the existence of unknownforces. The simple fact, the forces present and hadapurely subjective value. Re-
for example, of the levitation of a table to a height of six ligious zealots whobelieve in the efficacyof prayer are the
and onehalf, eight, sixteen inches from the floor is not banal dupes of their own imagination ; and yet no one can doubt
at all. It seems to me, speaking for myselfalone,soex- that certain of these petitions appear to have been granted
traordinary that my opinion is very well expressed when I by a beneficent deity. TheItalianor Spanish girl who
say that I do not dare to admit it without having seen it goes to beg of the Virgin Mary thatshe will punish her lover
I

myself, with my own eyes: I mean that which is called for an infidelity may be sincere, and never suspects the I

seeing, in full light and under such conditions that it would strangeness of her request. I n dreams we all converse
be impossible to suspect. While we are very sure that we every night with imaginary beings. But there is something
have proved it, we are at the same time sure that in such more here: the medium really duplicates herself.
experiments there emanates from the human body a force I take thepoint of viewsolely of the physicist whose
that may be compared with the magnetism of the loadstone, business is to observe, and I say, whatever may be the
able to act upon wood, upon matter (somewhat as the load- explanatory hypothesis you may adopt, there exists an invis-
stone acts upon iron), and counterbalancing for somemo- l ible force derived fromthe organism of the medium, and hav-
ments the action of gravity. Fromthe scientific point of ing the power to emerge from him and to act outside of him.
view, that is a weighty fact in itself. I am absolutely cer- Thatis the fact: what is the best hypothesis to explain ,
iain :hat the medium didnot lift that weight of fifteen i t ? 1. I s i t the medium who herself acts, in an unconscious
pounds either by her hands or by her legs, or by her feet, manner, by means of an invisible force emanating from her 8
and, furthermore, no one of the company was able to do it.. 2. I s it an intelligent cause apart from her, a soul that has
The table was lifted by ib upper surface. We are, there- already lived upon this earth, who draws from the nedium
fore, certainly in the presence of an unknown force here a force which it needs in order to act 8 3. I s it another
which emanates from the persons present, and above all from kind of invisible beings ? Nothing authorizes us to affirm
the medium. that there may not exist, side by side with us, living, invis-
I

A rather curious observation ought to be made here. ible forces. There you have three very different hypotheses,
Several times during the course c f this séance, and during none of which seems to me, as far as my personal experience
the levitation of the table, I said, “ Thereis no spirit.” goes, to be as yet conclusively proved.
Every time I said this two violent blows of protestation were But there certainly emanates from the medium an invis-
struck in the table. I have already remarked that, gener- ible force ; andthe participants, by formingthe psychic
ally, we are supposed to admit the Spiritualistic hypothesis chain and by uniting their sympathetic wills, increase this
and to ask a spirit to exert himself in order that we may force. This force is not immaterial. It may be a sub
obtain the [Link] have here a psychological mat- stance, an agent emitting radiations of wavelengths which
ter not without importance. Still, it does not seem to me, make no impression on our retina, and which are neverthe-
for all that, to prove the real existence of spirits, for it might less very powerful. I n the absence of light rays it is able
 MY EXPERIMENTS
WITH EUSAPIA 83
light, the chain was formed standing, the hands lightly
placed upon the table. Thelatter began to oscillate, then
rose up to a height of nine inches from the floor, remained
there several seconds (alltheparticipatorsremaining on
their feet), and fell heavily back again."
M. G. de Fontenay succeeded in getting several photo-
graphs by the magnesium light. I reproduce two of them
here (Pl. VI.). There are five experimenters who are, from
left to right, M. Blech, Mme. 2. Blech, Eusapia, myself,
[Link]. I n the first photograph the table resta upon
the floor. I n the second it floats in air, coming up as high
as the arms, at a height of about ten inches on the left and
eight inches on the right. I hold my right foot resting upon
Eusapia's feet and myright hand upon her knees. With
my left hand I hold her left hand. The hands of allthe
others are upon the table. It is therefore altogether impos-
sible for herto employ any muscular action. This photo-
graphic record confirms that of Pl. I., and it seems to
me difficult not to recognize its undeniable documentary
value.+
Aftm this séance my most ardent desire was to see the
same experiments reproduced at my own house. In spite
of all the care I took with myobservations, several objec-
tions can be taken to the absolute certainty of the phenomena.
The most important arises from the existence of the little
dark cabinet. Personally, I was sure of the perfect probity
of the honorable Blech family, and I am unable to accept the
idea of any trickery whatever on the part of any of its mem-
bers. But the opinion of readers of the formal report may
The reports of the sittings at Montfort-l'Amaury form the subject
of remarkable work by M. Guillaume de Fontenay, Apropoe of Eu-
B
&@ Palaalino, one vol., 8vo. illustrated, Paris, 1898.
+The respectiveplaeee of the personawere not always thoseof the
[Link], at the time of theproduction of the imprint, M.
b. de Fontenay was at the right of Eusapia, and M. Blech at the same
end of the table.
 ?$Q-
*%<
.._ -
- -
~

., _I_
84 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EYPERIXEXTS WITH EUSAPIA 85
not be so well assured. It was not impossible that, even , Wemet in mysalon in the avenue de l'observatoire, in
unknown to the members of the family, some one, with the [Link] were no special arrangements, except the
connivance of the medium, glided into the room, favo&d by stretching of two curtains in one corner, before the angle of
thedim light, and produced the phenomena. An accom- twowalls,[Link] forming a kind of triangular cabinet, the
plice entirely clothed in black and walking barefoot would walls about which are there unbroken, without door or win-

i
have been able to hold the instrumenta up in the air, put dow. Thefront of the cabinet wasclosedbythesetwo
them in movement, make the touches, and cause the black curtains, reaching from the ceiling to the floor and meeting
mask to move at the end of a rod, etc. in the middle.
This objection could be verified or quashed by renewing It is before this kind of cabinet that the reader will please
the experiments at my house, in a room of my own, where l imagine the medium to be seated, with a white wooden table
I should be absolutely certain that no confederate could i1 (Isitch'en table) before her.
enter. I shouldmyself arrange the curtain, I shouldplace Behind the curtain, upon the plinth of the projection of
the chairs, I should be certainthatEusapia would come - a bookcase and upon a table, we placed a guitar, also a
alone to my apartments, she would be asked to undress and violin, a tambourine, an accordion, a music-box, cushion^,
dress in the presence of two lady examiners, and every sup and several small objects, which were to be shaken, seized,
position of fraud alien to her proper personality would thus thrown about by the unknown force.
be annihilated. The first result of these séances in Paris, at my house, wag
At [Link] (1898) I was preparing, for Z'AnnaZes absolutely to establish the fact that the hypothesis of a con-
poZitiques et Eitteraires, some articles uponpsychicphe- federate is inadmissible and ought to be entirely eliminated.
nomena,.which,revised and amplified, afterwards formed Eusapia acts alone.
my work, The Unknown. The eminentand sympathetic The fifth séance led me, moreover, to think that the phe-
editor of the reviewshowedhimself assiduous in exam- nomena take place (at least a certainnumber) when the
ining with me the bestmeans of realizing this scheme of hands of Eusapia are closely held by two controllers, that it
personal [Link] our invitation, Eusapia came isnot generally with her hands that she acts, in spite of
to Paris topass the month of November, 1898, and to devote certain possible trickeries ; for it would be necessary to admit
eight soirées especially to us -namely, the loth, 12th, 14th, (an abominable [Link] !) that a third hand could be formed
16th, Igth, 21st, 25th, and28th of November. We had in organic connection with her body !
invited several friends to be present. Each one of these Before every séance Eusapia was undressed and dressed
séances was the subject of a formal report by several of those l again in the presence of two ladies charged with seeing that
whowere present, notably by MM. Charles Richet, A. de ehe did not hide any tricking apparatus under her clothes.
Rochas, Victorien Sardou, Jules Claretie, Adolphe Brisson, It would be a little long to go thoroughly into the details of
Réne Baschet, Arthur Lévy, Gustave Le Bon, Jules Bois, these eight sittings, and it would be partly to go over what
Gaston Méry, G. Delanne, G. de Fontenay, G. Armelin, has already been described and commented upon in the first
André Bloch, etc. I
i chapter, aswell as in the preceding pages. But it will
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86 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS W I T H EUSAPIK ST

not be uninteresting to give here the estimate of several of ,incessantly tremblingunderperpetual tension, I find a
the sitters, by reproducing some of the reports. woman in the forties, rather plump, with a tranquil air, soft
I will begin with that of M. Arthur Lévy, because he hand, simple in her manners, and slightly shrinking. Alto-
gether, she has the air of an excellent woman of the people.
describes very fully the installation, the impression produced Yet two things arrest the attention when you look at her.
upon him by a medium, and the greater partof the facta First,her large eyes, filled with strange fire, sparkle in their
observed. orbits, or, again, seem filled withswift gleams of phos-
phorescentfire,sometimesbluish,sometimesgolden. If I
Report of M. Arthur L6vy did not fear that the metaphor was too easy when it con-
cerns a Neapolitan woman, I should say that her eyes appear
(Héance of November 1 6 ) like the glowing lava fires of Vesuvius, seen from a distance
in a dark night.
That which I am going to relate I saw yesterday at your The other peculiarity is a mouth with strange contours.
house. I saw it withdistrust, closelyobserving [Link] We do not know whether it expresses amusement, suffering,
might have resembled trickery; and, after I had seen it, I or scorn. These peculiarities impresa themselves on the
found it so far beyond the things that we are accustomed to mind almost simultaneously, without our knowing on which
conceive that I still ask myself if I really saw it. Yet I I one to fix the attention. Perhaps we should fmd in these
must confess that I have not been dreaming. features of her face an indication of forces which are acting
When I arrived at your salon, I .found the furniture and in her, and of which she is not altogether the mistress.
allthe other arrangements as usual. On entering, only a She takes a seat, enters into all the commonplaces of the
single change could be remarked at the left, where two thick conversation, speaking in a gentle, melodious voice, like many
curtains of grayand green rep concealed a little corner. womenof her country. She uses a language difficult for
Eusapia was t6 perform her wonders before this kind of herself and not less diBcult for others, for it is neither
alcove. This was the mysterious corner : I examined it verg French nor Italian. She makes painful efforts to make her-
minutely. It had in it a littleround uncovered table, a selfunderstood, and sometimesdoes this by mimicry (or
tambourine, a violin, an accordion, castanets, and one or two sign-language) and by willing to obtain that which she
cushions. After this precautionary visit-, I was certain that [Link], a persistent irritation of thethroat,like
in this place at least there was no preparation, and that no a pressure of blood returning at short intervals, forces her
communication with the outside was' poesible. to cough, to ask for water. I confess that these paroxysms,
I hasten to say that from this moment up to the end of in which her face became deeply flushed,causedme great
the experiments we did not leave the room for a single min- anxiety. Were we going to have the inevitable indisposi-
ute, and that, so to speak, we bad our eyes constantly fmed tion of the rare tenor, on the day when he was to be heard on
upon this corner, the curtaine of which,however,wereal- the stage ? Happily, nothing of thekind took place. It
way9 partly open. was rather a sign of the contrary, and seemed like a fore-
Some moments after my examination of the cabinet Eusa- runner of the extreme excitement which was going to take
pia arrives,- the famous Eusapia. As almost always hap- possession of her on that evening. In fact, it is very re-
markable that from themoment when she put herself -how
-
pens, she looks quite different from what I had anticipated.
Where I had expected to see I do not well know why, in-
deed -a tall thin woman with a fixed look, piercing eyes,
shall I say it 8 - in condition for work, the cough, the irri-
tation of the throat, completely disappeared.
with bony hands, and abrupt movements, agitated by nemes When her fmgers were placed on black wool,- to be frank,
L

a
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88 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES I

...
MY EXPERIMENTS W I T E EUSAPIa' SO
upon the trousers cloth of one of the company,- Eusapia l , Already excited, Eusapia asks in a supplicating voice
called our attention to the kind of diaphanous marks made and broken words that we lessen the lights. She can-
upon them (the fingers), a distorted, elongatedsecond con- not endure the dazzling glare in her eyes. She affirms.
tour. She tells us that that is a sign that she is going to be that she is tortured, wants us to hurry; " for," she
given great power to-day. adds, " you shall see fine things.'' After one of us has
While we are talking someone puts a letter-weigher on placed the lamp on the floor behind the piano, in the corner
the table. Putting her hands down on each side of the let- opposite the placewherewe are (at a distance of about
ter-weigher, and at a distance of four inches, she causes the twenty-three feet), Eusapia no longersees the light and is
needle to move to No. 35 engraved on the dial plate of the satisfied ; but we can distinguish faces and hands. Let it
weigher. Eusapia herselfasked us to convinceourselves, not be forgotten that M. Mathieu and I each have a foot of
by inspection, that she did not have a hair leading from one the medium on ours, and that we are holding her hande
hand to the other, andwith which she could fraudulently and knees, that we are pressing against her shoulders.
'press upon the tray of the letter-weigher. Thislittle by- The table is always shaking and makes sudden jolts. Eu-
play took place when all the lamps of the salon were fully sapia calls to us to [Link] her head appears a hand.
lighted. Then commenced themain series of experiments. It is a small hand, like that of a little girl of fifteen yeam,
We sit around a rectangular table of white wood, the com- the palm forward, the fingers joined, the thumb projecting.
mon kitchen table. There are six of us. Close to the cur- The color of this hand is livid ; its form is not rigid, nor 1s
tains, at one of the narrow ends of the table, sits Eusapia i it fluid ; one would say rather that it is the hand of a big
at her left, also near the curtains, is M. Georges Mathieu, doll stuffed with bran.
an agricultural engineer at the observatory in Juvisy ; next When the hand moves back from the brighter light, as it
comes my wife ; M. Flammarion is at the other end, facing disappears,- is it an optical illusion ?- it seems to lose its
Eusapia ; then Mme. Flammarion ; finally myself. I am shape, as if the fingers were being broken, beginning with
thus placed at the right hand of Eusapia, and also against the thumb.
the curtain. M. Mathieuand myselfeachhold a hand of M. Mathieuis violently pushedby a force actingfrom
the medium resting upon his knee, and, furthermore, Eu- behind the curtain. A strong hand presses against him, he
sapia placesone of herfeet upon [Link], no says. His chairis also pushed. Something pulls his hair.
movements of her legs or arms can escape our attention. While he is complaining of the violence used upon him, we
Note well, therefore, that this woman has the use only of hear the sound of the tambourine, which is then quickly
her head and of her bust, which latter is of course without thrown upon the table. Next the violin arrives in the same
the use of the arms, and is in absolute contact with our manner, and we hearitsstrings sound. I seize the tam-
shoulders. bourine and ask the Invisibleif he wishes totake it. I
We restourhands on the table. In a few moments it feel a hand graspingthe instrument. I am not willing to
begins to oscillate, stands on one foot, strikes the floor, rears let it go. A struggle nowensuesbetweenmyself and a
up, rises wholly intothe air,-sometimestwelveinches, force which I judge to beconsiderable. In the tussle a
sometimes eight inches, from the ground. Eusapia utters a violent effort pushes the tambourine into my hand, and the
sharp cry, resembling a cry of joy, of deliverance ; the cur- L cymbals penetratethe flesh. I feel a sharp pang, and a good
tain behind her swells out, and, all inflated as it is,comes deal ofbloodflows. I let goof the handle. I just now as-
forward upon the table. Other raps are heard in the table, certain, by the light, that I have a deep gash underthe
and simultaneously in the floor at a distance of about ten rightthumbnearly an inch long. The table continues to
feet f r o n us. A11 this in full light., shake, to strike the floor with redoubled strokes,. and the ac-
 --..-.
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90 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERTDENTS

WITH EUSAPIA 92
cordion is thrown upon the table. I seize it by its lower inch of thickness of tube, upon which it is necessary to press
half and ask the Invisible if he can pull it out by the other with the fingernail and give quite a push in order to start
end so as to make it play. The curtain comes forward, and up the alarm.) I n a moment the watch is taken by the
the bellows of the accordion is methodically moved back and “ spirit.” Wehear the stem-winder turning. The watch
forth, its keys are touched, and several different notes are comes back upon the table without having been sounded.
heard. Another request is made for the alarm to sound. . The
Eusapiautters repeated cries, a kind of rattling in the watch is again taken ; the case is heard to open and shut.
throat. She writhes nervously, and, asif she were calling (Now I cannot open this case with my hands : I have to pry
for help, cries, La catena! ka catena! ” (“ The chain ! the
“ it open with a tool like a lever.) The watchcomesback
chain !”). We thereupon form thechain by taking hold once more without having sounded.
ofhands. Then, just as if she was defying somemonster, I confess that I experienced a disenchantment. I felt
she turns, with inflamedlooks, toward an enormous divan, that I wasgoing to doubt the extent of the occultpower,
which thereupon marches up to us. She looks at it with a which had, nevertheless, manifested itself very clearly. Why
satanic smile. Finally she blows upon the divan,which could it not sound the alarm of this watch ? I n making my
goes immediately back to its place. request, had I overstepped the limits of ita powers 8 Was
Eusapia, faint and depressed, remains relatively calm. I going to be the cause of all the well-proved phenomena of
Yet she is dejected ;her breast heaves violently ; she lays her which we have had testimony losing the half of their value ?
head on my shoulder. I said aloud :
M. Mathieu, tired of the blows which he is constantly re- “ Am I to show how the alarm is operated ? ”
ceiving, asks to change places with someone. I agree to this. . ‘‘No, no !” Eusapia warmly replies, “it will do it.”
He changes with Mme. F., who then sita at theright of I will note here that at the moment when I proposed to
Eusapia, while I am at her left. Ifme. F. and I never point out the mechanism, there passed through my mind the
cease to hold the feet, hands, and knees of the medium. M. method of pressing upon thelittle tube. Immediately the
F. sets a water bottle and a glass in the middle of the table. watchwas brought back to the table; and, very distinctly,
The latter’s brisk, jolting movements overturn the water three separate times, we heard it sound a quarter to eleven.
bottle, and the water is spilled over its surface. The me- Eusapia was evidently very tired ; herburninghands
dium imperatively requires that theliquid be wiped up ; seehed to contract or shrivel ; she gasped aloud with heaving
the water upon the table blinds her, tortures, paralyzes her, breast, her foot kept quitting mine every moment, scraping
she says. M. F. asks the Invisibleif he can pour water the floor and tediously rubbing along. it back and forth.
intothe glass. After some moments thecurtain advances, She uttered hoarse panting cries, shrugging up her shoulders .
the carafe is grasped, and the glass seems to be half full. and sneering ; the sofa came forward when she looked at it,
That takes place several different times. then recoiled before her breath ; all the instruments were
Mme. F., being no longer able to endure the blows given thrown pell-mell upon the table ;the tambourine rose almost
her through the curtain, exchanges seats with her husband. to the height of the ceiling ; the cushions took part in the
I put my repeating watch upon the table. I ask the In- sport, overturning everything on the table; M. M. wa8
visible if he can sound the alarm. (The mechanism of the thrown from his chair. This chair -a heavy dining-room
alarm is very difficult to understand, delicate to operate, even chair of black walnut, with stuffed seat -rose into the air,
for me, doing it every day. It is formed by a little tube came up on the table with a great clatter, then was pushed
cut in two, one half of which glides smoothly over the other. Off.
h reality, there is only a projection of one-fiftieth of an Eusapia seems shrunken together andis verymuch af-
 -
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~ -~-_ .- - _ .-.. - .

..

__

9% MYSTERIOUS P8YCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS

WITH
EUSAPIA 93
hcted. .We pity her. We ask herto stop. “ No, no ! ” - , ones. I n spite some
of inevitable repetitions, they will
she cries. She rises, we with her; the table leaves the floor, eurely be read with extreme interest, especially when w e
rises to a height of twenty-four inches, then comes clattering take into consideration the high intellectual standing of the
down.
Eusapiasinks prostrated into a chair. We sit there observers.
troubled, amazed, in consternation, with a tsnse and con: Report of M. Adolphe Brisson.
strictedfeeling inthe head, as ifthe atmosphere were
charged with electricity. (Séance of November IO)
With many precautions, M. F. succeeds in calming the (There were present at this s6ance, besides the hoets of the occasion,
agitation of Eusapia. Aftm about a quarter of an hour she M. Prof. Richet, M. and Mme. Ad. Brisson, Mme. Fourton, JI. Andre
returns to herself. When the lamps are again lighted, she Bloch, M. Georges Mathieu.)
is seen to be very much changed, her eye dull, her face ap-
parently diminished to half its usual size. In her trembling The following are occurrences which I personally observed
hands she feels the pricking of needles which she asks u8 to with the greatest care. I did not onceceasetohold in my
pull out. Little by little she, completely recovers her senses. right hand the left hand of Eusapia or fail to feel that we
She appears to remember nothing, not to comprehend at all were in contact. The contact was only interrupted twice,-
our expressions of wonder. All that is m foreign to her as at the moment when Dr. Richet felt a pricking in his arm.
if she had not been present at the sitting. She isn’t inter Eusapia’s hand, making violent movements, escaped from my
ested in it. So far as she is concerned, it would seem as if grasp ; but I seized it again after two or three seconds.
we were speaking of things of which she had not the faintest 1. After this sitting had begun,- that is, at the end of
idea. about ten minutes,- the table was lifted up away from Eu-
What have we seen 8 mystery of mysteries ! sapia, two of its legs leaving the floor simultaneously.
We took every precaution notto be the dupes of com- 2. Five minutes later the curtain swelled out as if it had
plicity, of [Link] forces actingnear us, so been inflated by a strong breeze. My hand, never letting
near that we heard the very breathing of a living being,- go of that of Eusapia, pressed gentlyagainst the curtain,
if living being it were,- such are the things our eyes took and I experienced a remtance, just as if I had pressed
cognizance of for two mortal hours. against the sail of a ship bellied out by the wind.
And when, on looking back, doubts begin to creep into the 3. Not onlywas thecurtain puffed
mind, we must conclude that, given the conditions in which out, forming a big pocket, but the per-
we were, the chicanery necessary to produce such effecta pendicular edge of thecurtainthat
would be at least as phenomenal as the effectsthemselves. .
touched the windowmoved automatic
How shall we name the mystery 0 ally aside and drew back as if it were
pushed by an invisible curtain holder,
So much for thereport of M. Arthur Lévy. I have no making nearly this kind of a movement.
4. Thecurtain, inflated anew,took
commentary to make at present upon these reports of my fel-
the form of a nose or of an eagle’s beak, projecting above the
low-experimentera. The essential thing, it seems to me, is to table about eight or ten inches. This shape wasvisible for ’

leave to every one his own exposition and his personal judg- several seconds.
ment. I shall proceed in the same way with the other r e 5. We heard behind the curtain the noise of a chair roll-
ports which are to follow. I shall reproduce the principal ing over the floor ; by a first push it arrived as far as I was ;
a second push turned it upside down, its feet in the air, in
W--'

MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTSWITH'EUSBPIA 95

the position shown. It was a heavy stuffed chair. Succeed-
ing pushes moved it again, lifted it up, Report of H. Victorien Sardou

&
-v and made it turn somersaults ; it finally
came to a standstill almost in the place
where it had fallen over.
6. We heard the noise of two or three
objects falling to the floor (I mean o b
(Siance of November 1 9 )
(There were present at this seance, besides the hosts of the evening,
M. V. Sardou, M. and Mme, Brisson, M. A. deRochas, M. Prof. Richet,
M. G. de Fontenay, M. Gaston Mery, Mme. Fourton, M. and Mlle. des
Varennes).
I jecta behind the curtain upon the cen-
tre-table). The curtain parted in the middle, and in the dim I shall only relate here phenomenacontrolled by myself
light the little violin appeared. Sustained in the air by an personally in the séance of lastSaturday. Consequently, I
invisible hand, it came gentlyforward above our table, say nothing of the arrangement of the apartment, of the ex-
whence it settled down upon my hand and upon that of my perimenters, nor of the events which were first produced in
neighbor on the left.* the dark andwhich all the participants were able to authenti-
On two separate occasions the violin rose from the table cate,- such as cracking sounds in the table, levitations, dis-
and at once fell back again, making a vigorous leap, like a placements of the table, raps, etc., as well as the blowing
fish flopping upon the sand. Then it glided down to the out of the curtain over the table, the bringing on of the vio-
floor, where it remained motionless untilthe end of the lin, of the tambourine, and so forth.
sitting. Eusapia having invited me to take the place a t her side
7. A new rolling noise was heard behind the curtain. which had been vacated by M. Brisson, I sat down on her
Thistime it was the centre-table. A preliminary effort, left, while you preserved your place on her right. I took
quite vigorous, enabled it to rise half-way to the top of our her left hand in my right hand, while my left hand placed
table. By a second effort it got clear on top and rested upon upon the table was in contact with that of my neighbor, the
my fore-arm. medium insisting on this several times in order that the
8. Several tim= I distinctly felt light blows upon my chain might not bebroken. Her left foot rested upon my
right side, as if made with the point of a sharp instrument. right foot. All through theexperiment I never let go her
But the truth compels me to declare that these blows were no hand for a single second. She grasped my hand with a
longer given after Eusapia's feet were held under the table strong pressure, and it followed her through all her move-
by M. Bloch. I note thie correlation of things without ments. I n the sameway her foot always kept in contact
drawing from it any presumption against Eusapia's loyalty. with mine. My foot always kept touch with hersinall
I have so much the less reason to suspect her in that her left her foot scrapings on the floor, her shiftings of place, shrink-
foot did not leave my right foot during the whole sitting. ings, twitchings, etc., which never had anything suspicious
* In the following sitting, of November 12, M. Antoniadi writee
in them, nor were they of such a nature as to explain the
(with an excellent corroborative sketch) : " Phenomenonobserved with events which took place a t my side, behind me, around me,
absolute certainty; the violin was thrown upon the table, twenty inches and upon me.
above the head of Euaapia." In the first place, and in less than a minute after I had
been placed on the left of the medium, the curtain nearest
to me was puffed out and brushed against me, as if impelled
by a gust of wind. Then three times I felt upon my right
side a pressure which lasted but for a moment, yet was very
marked. At that momentwe were in a very dim light, yet

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i
I
! 96 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
enough to make the faces and the hands of all who were pres- hip, and mentioned the circumstance. You disengaged
I
\ distinctly
ent visible. After Eusapia’s violent nervous con- your left hand from the chain, and, turning toward me,
tractions, struggles, and energetic pushes (precisely like twice made in the air the gesture of the director of an or-
! those
which I had seen in similar caseselsewhere and which
chestra moving his bâton to and fro. And each time, with
only astonish thosewho have slightly studied these ph& perfect precision, I felt upon my side the repercussion of a
nomena), suddenly the curtain nearest to me was blown for- blow exactly tallying your gesture, which reached me after
ward with an astonishing propulsive power between Eusapia the delay of a secondmore or less, and whichseemed to
and me, inthe direction of the table, entirely concealing me to correspond exactly to the time necessary for the trans-
from me the face of themedium; and the violin,which, ference of a billiard ball or a tennis ball from you to me.
with the tambourine, had, before my introduction, been re- Someone, Dr. Richet, I believe, having spoken at that
placed in thedark chamber, was hurled to the middle of time of strokes upon the shoulders of the sittem in
the table, as if by an invisible arm. To accomplish this, which the action and shape of a humanhand was very
the a m must have lifted the curtain and drawn it along marked, I will mention as a proof of his remark that I
with it. received in succession three blows upon. the left shoulder
After this the curtain returned to its first position, bllt (that is to say, the one most distant from the curtain and
not completely ; for it still remained puffed out a little be- from the medium), more violent than the preceding ones ;
tween Eusapia and me, one of ita folds remaining upon the andthistimethe heavy pressure of the five fingers was
edge of the table a t myside. very evident. Then a last blow with the flat of the hand,
Then you took the violin and held it out at such a dis- applied in the small of the back, without hurting me at all,
tance from the two curtains that it was wholly visible to the was strong enough to make me lean forward, in spite of my-
company; and you invited the occult agent .to takeit. self, toward the table.
This was done, the mysterious agent taking it back with Some moments after, my chair, moving under me, glided
him into the dark closet, with as much good will as he had over the floor, and was shifted in such a way as to leave my
shown in bringing it on. back turned a little in the direction of the dark closet. ,p
The violin then fell upon the floor behind the curtains, I leave to other witnesses the task of telling the results
or portières. One of these which was nearest to me of their personal observations,- how, for example, the vio-
resumed its vertical position, and for a time I heard upon lin, having been picked up by you from the floor and replaced
my right upon the floor behind the curtains a kind of scrim- upon the table, was held out by Mme. Brisson, as you had
magebetween the violin and the tambourine, which were already done, and lifted up in the same way in the sight of
displaced, pulled about, and lifted, clashing and resounding all, while I held the left hand of Eusapia, you her right
at a great rate ; and yet it was impossible to attribute any hand, and with the hand which remained free you pressed
of these manifestations to Eusapia, whose foot never moved, the wrist of her left hand.
but remained firmly pressed against my own. Nor do I sayanything of a hand-pressure through the
A little after, I felt against my right leg, behind the cur- opening in the curtain, having seen nothing of this myself.
tain, the rubbing of a hard body which was trying to climb But that which I did bee very well indeed was the sud-
upon me, and I thought it was the violin. And so it was, den appearance of three very vivid little lights between my
in fact; and, after an unsuccessful effort to climb higher neighbor and myself. They were promptly extinguished
than myknee, thisapparentlylivingcreaturefell with a and seemed like a kind of will-o’-the-wisp, similar to elec-
bang upon the floor. tric sparks coming and going with great rapidity.
Almost immediately I felt a new pressure upon my right I n short, I can only repeat here what I have said during

..-
 98 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC
FORCES . MY EXPERIMENTS WXTH EUSAPIA 99
the course of these experiments, “ I f I had not been con- YOU will. My son held out and handed overalso a leather
vinced forty years ago, I should be this evening.” cigarholder, which was grabbed in the same way.
I
One of the persons present saw a rather heavy little music
box disappear-in the äame way.
Report of Mm Jules Claretie. With hardly a moment’s delay the box was removed from
our side with some violence ; and I can speak with the more
(Béance of November 95) feeling of the force of the ,projection and of the weight of
(Therewerepresent at this sitting, in addition to the hoste of the
the object,because it struck me underthe eye, andthis
occasion, M. Jules Claretie and hie son, M. Brimon, M. Louis Vig- morning I still have upon my face the only too visible mark
non, Mme. Fourton, Mme. Gagneur, M. G. Delanne, M.Ren6Baachet, of it,and feel thepain of it. I don’t understand how a
M. and Mme. Basilewska, M. Mairet,photographer.) woman seated by my side could have the strength to throw
with such force a box which, so to speak, should have come
I note only the ippreisions I received after the moment from quite a distance.
when Eusapia, who had taken my hand at the time when I observe,however, that all the phenomena are produced
M. Brisson was still seated by her, asked me to replace him. on the same side of thecurtain ; namely, behind it, or
I am certain that I did not let go of Eusapia’s hand during through it, if you will. I saw leafy branches fall upon the
all the experiments. Every moment I felt the pressure of table, but they came fromthe side of the said curtain.
her foot upon mine, the heel being especially perceptible. Some persons assert that they saw a green twig come in
I do not believe that I relaxed my fingers for a moment, nor through the open window which gives upon Cassini Street.
released the hand that I held. I was struck with the throb- But I did notsee that. -
bing of thearteries at the end of Eusapia’s fingers: the There was a little round table behind the curtain, very
blood bounded feverishly through them. near me. Eusapia takes my handand places it, held in
I sat next the curtain. It goes without saying that it wa8 hers, upon the round table. I feel this table shaking, mov-
drawnfromright to left or fromleft to right just as it ing. At a given moment I believe that I perceive two
happened. That which I can’t understand is that it could hands near by and upon mine. I am not deceived; but this
swell out until it floated over the table like a sail inflated by second hand is that of M. Flammarion, who, on his side, is
the wind. holding the hand of the medium. The round table bestira
I felt at first a little light blow an my right side. Then, itself. It leaves the floor, it rises. I have thefeeling of
through the curtain, two fingers seized me and pinched my thisat once. Then, the curtainhavinglifted and, as it
cheek. The pressure of ‘the two fingers wasevident. A were, spread itself over the table, I can distinctly see what
blow’ moreviolent than the first hit me on the right shoulder, passes behind it. The round table moves ; it rises ; it falls.
as if it came from a hard, square body. My chair was twice Suddenly tipping partly over, it rises and comes toward
i
moved and turned, first backward, then forward. me, upon me. It is no longer vertical, butis caught be-
Those two fingers which pinched my cheek I had already tween the table and me in a horizontal position. It comes
felt -before I took my place at Eusapia’s side -when I with sufficient force to make me recoil, draw in my shoulders,
was holding over against the curtain the little white book I and try to push back my chairto letthis movingpiece of
which M. Flammarion had given me. This book was seized furniture pass. It seems, like a living thing, to struggle
by two naked fingers (I say naked, because the folds of the i between the table and me. Or, again, it seems like an ani-
curtaindidnot cover them)andthen disappeared. I did
not see these fingers: I touched them, or they touched me, if I ’
mated being struggling against. an obstacle, desiring to pasa
or move on and not being able to do so, being stopped by the
 I
Il l00 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHICFORCES I MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSBPIa 101
l table or by myself. At a given
moment the round table is . astonished me the most was thecurtain swelling out like a
Y Y Y

upon my knees, and it moves, it struggles ( I repeatthe sail.! Where did the puffof wind come from 8 A regular
word), without my being able to explain to myself what breve would have beenneeded to put such life into it as
force is moving it. that. However, I do not discuss: I give in my evidence. I
This force is a formidable one. The little table literally I have seen these things, observed them carefully. I shall thinK
pushes me back, and in vain I throw myself backward to let of them for a longtime. I donot stop here. I shall seek
it pass.
Some of those present, M. Baschet among others, have
said to me that at this moment it was upon two fingers.
¡
i
an explanation. Possibly I shall find one. Butthis much
is certain, that we ought to be modest inthe presence of all
that appears to us to be for the moment inexplicable, and
Two fingers of Eusapia push up the round table ! * that, before affirming or denying, we ought to wait, to re-
But I, who had not lost my hold on her left hand nor aerve our judgment.
her foot,- I, who had byme the little round table (quite In the mean time, while feeling of my right maxillary
visible in the semi-obscurity to whichwe had accustpmed tooth, which is a little sore, I think of that line of Regnard
ourselves), sawnothing, nordid I perceive any effort on and allow myself to mangle it a little while recalling that
the part of Eusapia. hard musiobox,-
I should like to have seen Zumimus phenomeruz produced, cc J e vois que c’est un corps e t n o n pas un esprit.”
visions of brilliant lights, of sudden gleams of fire. M.
Flammarion hoped that we were going to see some of these. (I see that it is a body and not a spirit.):
He asked for them. But Eusapia was evidently fatigued by
this long and very interesting séance. She asked for “ un
poco di luce ” ( U a little light ”). The lamps were relighted. Report of Dr. Gustave Le Bon
Everything was finished.
This morning I recall with a kind of anxious curiosity the (8e’ance of N o v e m b e r SS>
least details of this very fascinating soiré[Link] we had
returned to the óbservatory,on leaving our amiable hosts, (There werepresent at this seance, besides the hosts, M. and Mme.
I askedmyself if I had been in a dream. But I said to Brisson, MM. Gustave LeBon,Brtschet,de Serenes, Louis Vignon,
Laurent, Ed. de Rothschild, Delanne, Bloch,Mathieu,Ephrussi, Mme.
myself, “ W e were present at the skilful performances of a la ComtessedeChevigne,[Link],Syamour, Fourton, Basi-
woman prestidigitator ; we witnessed only theatrical tricks.” lewska, Bisschofsheim.)
My son recalled to me the prodigies of skill of the brothers Eusapiais undoubtedly a marvellous subject. It struck
Isola. This morning, strange to say,reflectionmakesme
at once more perplexed and [Link] perhaps me as something wonderful that, while I was holding her
hand, she was playing on an imaginary tambourine to which
witnessed (we undoubtedly did witness) the manifestation the sounds of the tambourine that wasbehind the curtain
of an unknown force which willhereafter be studied and
perhaps one day utilized. I should no longer dare to deny accurately .corresponded.
the genuineness of Spiritualism. It isn’t a question of ani-
I do not see how any trick is possible in such a case, any
more than in the case of the table.
mal magnetism : it is something else, I know not what; a My cigarette-holder was grasped by a very strong hand,
quid d i v i n u r n (a divine something,), although science will
whichwrenched the object from me with a good deal of
some day analyze it and catalogue it. That which perhaps 1 energy. I was on my guard and asked to see the experiment
*This is absolutely true, says my Bon, who is reading over these again. The phenomenonwas so singular and SO beyond all
lines
i
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102 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA 103

that we can comprehend that we must first try natural ex- tion is of no value. I am absolutely certain that nobody
planations. glided behind the curtain, ngither in this particular case nor
l. I t is impossible that it could have been Eusapia. I in my other. My wife, also, particularly occupied herself
was holding one of her hands and was looking at the other in observing what took place in that part of the room and
a m , and I placed my cigarette-holder in such a position i
that, even with her two a r m free, she would not have been never waa able to discover anything suspicious. There is
able to accomplish such a marvellous thing. only one hypothesis ; that is, that Eusapia herself handled
2. It is not probable that it could have been an accom- the objects. Since Dr. Le Bon declares that the thing was
plice ; but is it not possible that the unconscious mind of impossible, he himself personally inspecting it, we are com-
Eusapia suggested to the unconscious mind of a person near pelled to admit the existence of an unknown psychic force."
thecurtainto pass a hand behind it and operate there"!
Everybody would be acting in good faith and would have
beendeceived by the unconsciouselement. Thisimportant Report of M. Armelin
point ought to be verified, for no experiment' would be
so valuable if it were once demonstrated. (Séance of November H )
Could not Eusapia's departure be put off? We shall not I

(For thissitting I had asked three members of the Astronomical

have a similar opportunitg, and we surely ought to clear up 1
f3ociety of Franceto exercise the severestcontrol possible; namely,
that phenomenon of the hand. M. Antoniadi, my assistant astronomer at the observatory of Juvisy,
It is very evident that the table was lifted ; but that is a M. Mathieu, agricultural engineer at the same observatory, and M.
Armelin, secretary of the Astronomical Society, Thelast-named gen-
material phenomenonwhich one can readilygrant. The tleman sent me the following report. There were also present M. and
hand which came to seize my cigarette-holder performed an Mme. Brisson, M. Baschet, M. Jules Bois, Mme. Fourton, Mme. La
act of the willimplying an intelligence, but the other is Comtesse de Labadye.)
nothing of the kind. Eusapia might lift a table to the height
of three feet without my scientific conception of the world At quarter of ten Eusapia takes her seat, her back to thi
being changed by it; but to bring in the intervention of a place where the two curtains meet, her hands resting upon
spirit, that would be to prove the existence of spirib, and you the table. At the invitation of M. Flammarion, M. Mathieu
see the consequences. 1
takes his watch
constant seat at upon
her right,
leftcharged
her with
hand, theM.
and duty of keeping
Antoniadi is
As for the hand which seized the cigarette-case, it is a b
solutely certain that it was not that of Eusapia (you know enjoined to do the same for her right hand. They also make
that I am very sceptical and that I was looking about me),; * During the correction of the proofs of these sheete (Oct., 1906) ,
but close ta the curtain, in the salon, there were a good many I received from Dr. Gustave Le Bon the fallowing note:
" At the time of her last sojourn in Paris (1906), I wasable ta
people, and several timea you heard me ask people to stand obtain from Eusapia three seances at my house. I besought one of the
aside from the curkin. I f wetwo had been able to etudy keenest observers that I know, M. Dastre,-a member of the Academy
Eusapia absolutely alone, in a room to which we had the of Science and professor of physiology at the Sorbonne,- to, be kind
enough to be present a t our experiments. There were presentalso my
key, the problem would soon be solved. assistant, M. Michaux, andthelady t o whose kind offices I owe the
presence of Eusapia.
" Besides the levitation of the table,weseveral times, and almost
I have not been 'able to make this verification, the sitting i n fullli ht,saw a handappear. Atfirst it wae abouttwo inches
at which Dr. Le Bon was present having been the last which and a half above Eusapia's head, then at the side of the curtain which
partly covered her, about twenty inches from her shoulder.
Eusapia had consented to give at my house. But his obje* U We then organized, for the second seance, our methods of control.
 104 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA 105
themselves sure -of her feet. At the right of M. Mathieu cZoseZy holding her hands and her feet, and that she i s not in
sits Mme. la Comtesse de Labadye ; on the left of M. An- contact with the table.
toniadi, Mme, [Link], between Mmes. .Thenlightrapsare. heard in the table. Eusapia makes
de Labadye and Fourton, MM. Flammarion, Brisson, Bas- M. Antoniadi lifthis hand about eight inchesabove the
chet, and Jules Bois. table and taps three times upon his hand with her hgers.
The gas chandelier is lighted and the full light turned on. The three taps are heard simultaneously in the table.
This chandelier is almost over the table. A little lamp withU To prove that she is not using either her hands or her
a shade is placedon the floor behind an easy-chair, near feet, she s i b downsidewise upon herchair on the left,
the opposite side of the room, in the direction of its great- stretches out her legs, and puts her feet on the edge of the
est length, and to the left of the fireplace. chair of M. Antoniadi : she is in full view and her hands are
At five minutes of ten the table is lifted from the side held. At once the curtain is shaken in the direction of
opposite to the medium and falls back with a bang. M. A.
At ten o'clock it rises from the side of the medium, who From 10.10 to 10.15, several times in succession, five raps
withdraws her hands, the other persons holding their hands are heard in the table. Each time the gas is turned down a
lifted up. The same effect is produced three times. The
second time, while the table is in the air, M. Antoniadi de- little, and each time the table moves without contact.
clares that he is leaning on it with all his weight and is un- At 10.20 it balances itself, suspended in theair,and
able to lower it. The third time, M. Mathieu leans on it in resting upon the two legs of the longer side. Then it rises
off of its four feet to a height of eight inches.
the same way and experiences the same resistance. During,
this time, Eusapia holds her closed fist about four inches 10.25. Thecurtain moves, ,and M. Flammarion says
above the table, looking asif she were strongly grasping that there is some one behind it, that somebody is pressing his
something. The action lasts several seconds. There is no hand. He holds his hand out toward the curtain, at a dis-
doubt whatever about this levitation. When the table falls tance of about four inches. The curtain is pushed out into
back, Eusapia experiences something like a relaxation after something like a pocket made by a hand which is drawing
a great effort. near. The medium with nervous laugh cries, " Take it,
take it." M. A. feels through thecurtain the touch of a
At 10.03 t,he table is lifted clean off its four feet at once,
at first on the side opposite to the medium, rising about eight soft body, like a cushion. Butthe hand of M. F. is not
inches ; then it falls abruptly back. While it is in the air, taken. Objecta are heard to move, including the bells of a
tambourine.
Ewapia calk her two neighbors towitness that they are All of a sudden the medium, leaving M. Mathieu,
Theywere altogether [Link] to the possibility ofproducing stretches her hand above the table toward M. Jules Bois, who
behindEusapia an illumination which she did notsuspect, we were takes it. At this moment, behind the curtain, an object falls
able to see oneofherarms, very skilfully withdrawnfrom our con-
trol, move along horizontally behind the curtain andtouch the arm to the floor with a great noise.
of M. Dastre, and another time give me a slap on the hand. 10.35. Eusapia, again freeing her right hand, lifts it up
" We concludedfromourobservations that the [Link]
had nothing supernatural about them. above her left shoulder, the fingers forward, at a distance
" As to the levitation of the table,-an extremely light one,placed of several inches from the curtain, and beata four or five
before Eusapia, andwhichherhandsscarcely left,- wehave not been strokes in the air which are heard to sound in thetambourine.
able to formulate any decisive explanation. I will only observe that
Eusapis admitted that it was impossible for her to displace the slight- Several persons think they see a will-o'-the-wisp through the
est one of the very light objects placed upon that table." gap between the curtains.
After writing this note, M. G. Le Bon said to me verbally that, Up to that point the gas has been gradually lowered.
in his opinion, everything in these experiments is fraud.
Bfter the lapse of a full moment I find that I can no longer
 *. -:
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106 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERJMENTS W I T H EUSAPW 107

read, but I can distinguish very clearly the horizontal Suddenly, M. Antoniadi exclaims that he is enveloped by
lines of my writing. I can see thehour perfectly by my the curtain, which rests upon his shoulders. Eusapia cries,
watch, as well as the faces of those present, (that. of Eusapia “ What is this that is passing over me ? ” The round table
especially) turned toward the light. The gas is now com- comes forth beneath the curtain. Mme. Flammarion, who
pletely extinguished. is standing opposite the window, and has kept lookingbe-
At 10.40, the gas being out, I can still read my watch, hind the curtain, says that she sees some very white object.
but with difficulty; I still see the lines ofmy writing, At the same moment M. Flammarion, Mme. Fourton, and
though without being able to read. M. Jules Bois exclaim that they have just seen a white hand
Eusapia wants somebody to hold her head, which is done. between the curtains, above Eusapia’s head; and, at the
Then sheaskssomebody to hold her feet. M. Baschet gets’ same moment, M. Mathieu says that his hair is being pulled.
down on his knees under the table and holds them. The hand we saw seemed small, like that of a woman or of
M. Antoniadi cries, 4‘ I am touched ! ” and says that he has a child.
felt a hand. I have very distinctly seen the curtain puff- “ I f there is a hand there,” says M. Flammarion, “ could
ing out. Mme. Flammarion, whom I see silhouetted on it perhaps grasp an object ? ” M. Jules Bois holds a book
the bright glass of the window, her head leaning forward, out toward the middle of the right-hand curtain. The book
goes behind the curtain in order to assure herself that the is taken and held [Link]. Flammarion, whom
medium is not doing anything suspicious in the way of mo- I see always silhouetted upon the bright glass of the win-
tions. dow, and who is looking behind the curtain, cries that she
One of the persons present having changed places, Eusapia has seen the book pass through.
utters complaints: “ La catena! la catena! ” (“ The . M. F. proposes to light up and verify. But everybody
chain I the chain ! ”) The chain is reestablished. agrees in thinking that the curtainmay have already changed
At 10.45 the curtain is inflated again. A bump is heard. its position. A moment afterwardsthe curtain is again
The round table touches the elbow of M. Antoniadi. Mme. puffed out, and M. Antoniadi says that he ishitfour or
Flammarion, who has kept looking behind the curtain, says five times on the shoulder. Eusapiahas asked him more
that she sees the round table turned over. Its feet are in the than ten times whether he is quite “ seguro ” (sure) that
air, and it is moving to and fro. She thinks she sees glim- he has hold of her hand and her foot.
mers of light near the floor. (‘Yes,yes,” he replies, seguro, segurissinao ” sure,
“

M. Mathieu feels a handand an arm pushing [Link] cur- quite sure ”).
tain against him. M. Antoniadi says that he is touched Mme. Fourton says that for the second time she has seen
by a cushion ;his chair is pulled and turns under him as if a hand stretched outand that this time it touched the
on a pivot. He is touched again on the elbowbysomeob- shoulder of M. Antoniadi. M. Jules Bois says that for the
ject. second time he has seen a hand stretched out at the end of a
It is ascertained that M. Jules Bois is holding Eusapia’s small arm, the fingers moving, the palm forward. ( I t is
right hand above the table; M. Antoniadi assures us that he impossible to decide whether these two visions were simul-
is holding her left hand, and M. Mathieu her feet. taneous or not.)
The curtain is again shaken twice ; M. Antoniadi is hit We are getting accustomed to the almost complete dark-
in the back very hard, he says, and a hand pulls his. hair. ness ; I can still read “ 11.15 ” by my watch. M. Antoniadi
The only light remaining is the little lamp with a shade, be- says his ear is pinchedvery hard. M. Mathieu says he is
hindan easy-chair at the farther end of the salon. I con- touched. M. Antoniadi feels his chairpulled: it falls to
tinue to write, but my strokes take all kinds of shapes.
p i---- -,--

IO8 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPEBIMENTSWITH EUSAPL4 109

the floor. H e lifts it again and seats himself on it, and is eaay-dhair, to enable each one of us to distinguiah his neigh-
again hit very hard on the shoulder. bors. Our silhouettes are outlined in the large mirror near
About 11.20, a t the request of Eusapia, M. Flammarion us and above the sofa. Thewhite collars of the men are
replaces M. Mathieu. He holds her two feet and one hand ; clearly seen, their faces a little less clearly. Yet on my left.
M. Antoniadi holds the other hand. The lamp is lowered I see very plainly M. Baschet, on my right Mme. Brisson,
still more. The darkness is almostcomplete. M. Flam- standing and holding her hand up to her face to shield the
marion, having remarked that an unknown physical force ia . eyes. I also distinguish Mme. Flammarion, who has come
evidently present, but perhaps not an individual personality, and seated herself near her.
feels his hand seized all of a sudden by some one (or some M. Flammarion feels an object gliding over his hair. He
thing), and is interrupted. Then, a little after, he com- begs Mme. de Labadye to take hold of it; and a music-box
plains that his beard is being pulled (on the side opposite falls bto hils hands, which, before the &ance,wasplaced
the medium, where I am. I did not perceive anything). upon the ogee, in the corner concealedby the curtain. M.
At 11.30 thelamp isturned up. It is comparatively Brisson has taken the place at the table formerly occupied
bright in the room. The curtain, after all these movements, by M. Flammarion, facing Eusapia. A cushion hits him
is seen to be more and more pushedaside, enveloping the full in the face. As I am approaching the mirror, I see the
head of Eusapia. Suddenly, above her head, we all see the reflection of this passing cushion by the comparatively bright
tambourine slowly appearand fall upon the table with a light at the far end of the room.
noise like that of sheep-bells. It seems to me brighter than M. Baschet seizes the object and rests his elbow upon it.
the feeble glimmer of the concealed lamp would justify and It is snatched from him, flies over our heads, hits the mirror,
as if accompanied by white phosphorescent gleams; but they falls upon the sofa, and rolls upon my foot. All this with-
are perhaps flashes of lightfrom its gilded ornaments, out my being able to perceive any movement on the part of
which, however, ought to appear yellower. the medium.
When the lamp is turned down, the noise of moving fur> Midnight draws near. The séance is adjourned.
niture is heard; the round table is fetched clear up onto the MM. Antoniadi and Mathieu then declare that the control
top of the large table. It is removed, and the tambourine with which they were charged has not been successful, and
executes a dance all alone with a peculiar sound likethe that they are not sure that they have always had hold of the
ringing of [Link]. Fourton says that she has had her medium’s hands.
hand pressed and her fore-arm pinched.
At 11.45 the window curtain is closed in its turn; and,
after a moment, we all see in the direction in which the cleft Report of H. Antoniadi
in the corner curtain ought to be,above Eusapia’s head, a
large white star of the color of Vega, though larger and of a (The Same Séance j
softer light, and which rests [Link] for someseconds,
then is extinguished. Shortlyafter, a zigzag glimmer of I shall give you an exact account of the rôle I played,
light, of the same white color, runs over the right-hand cur- that I may gratify your desire to know the truth.
tain, tracing two or three upright lines of several inches in I restricted myself to ascertaining whether there was a
length, like an N very much elongated. singb phenomenon which could not be explained in the most
In spite of the fact that night hasfallen, there is still suf- simple manner, and I arrived at the conclusion that there
ficient light. entering by the two uncurtained windows, and was not. I assure you, on my word of honor, that my watch-
proceeding from the vague glimmer of the lamp behind the ful, silent attitude convinced me, beyond all manner of
 --
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110 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTSWITH EUSAPIA 111

doubt, that everything is fraudulent, from the beginning to Ì t id not on account of prejudice that I do not believe in
the end; that thereis no doubt thatEusapiashifts her the reality of the manifestations, and I can assure you, if I
hands or her feet, and that the hand or the foot that one is were able to see the Eeast phenomenon that was really extraor-
thought to control is never held tight or very strongly pressed dinary or inexplicable, I should be the first to confess my
at the moment of the production of the phenomena. My cer- error.
tain conclusion is that nothing is produced without the s u b The reading of several books has led me to admit the pos-
stitution of hands. I ought to add that, at first, I was very sible reality of these manifestations, butdirect experience
much astonished when I was hit hard in the back, from be- has convinced me of the contrary.
hind the curtain, while I was very clearly holding two hands My frankness in this report unhappily borders upon indis-
with my right Eland. Happily, however, a t this moment, cretion. But franknessis hem synonymous with devotion,
Nme. Flammarion having given us a little light, I saw that for it would be to betray you if I were false for an [Link]
I held the right .hand of Eusapia and -yours ! to the sacred cause of Truth.
The substitution is made by Eusapia with extraordinary
dexterity. In order to ascertain it, I wasobliged to con-
centrate my mind upon her very slightest movements with Report of M . Mathieu.
the severest attention. But it isthefirststepthat costs;
and, once familiarizedwithher artifices, I predicted with (Séance of November SS>
decision al2 the phenomena by the sensation of touch alone.
Being a goodobserver, I am absolutely certainthat I The séanceopens at 9.30. M. Brisson, cont,roller on the
was not deceived. I was neither hypnotized, nor was I at left, puts his feet on Eusapia's feet; M. Flammarion, con-
all frightened during the " bringing in " of objects. And, holler on the right, holds her knees. In a moment the table
as I am not a lunatic, I 'believe that a certain weight leans to the right, its two left feet are lifted and then it falls
should be given to my affirmations. back; then follows thelifting of the two right feet, and
It is true that, during the Béance, I was not sincere, dis- finally the lifting of the whole table off of its four feet to a
guising the truth of the efficacyof my control. I did that height of about seven inches above the floor (contact of feet
with the sole purpose of making Eusapia think that I was certain and kneesmotionless). I take a photograph.
a convert to Spiritualism. I did this to avoid scandaE. But, At 9.37 a slight lifting on the left; then a lifting on the
once the sitting was over, the Truth choked me, and I was right, and a total levitation (photograph).
most eager to communicate it to my great benefactor and During the levitations of the table the salon is lighted by
official superior. a strongAuer burner. It is now extinguished andis re-
It is not prudent to be too affirmative. It isforthat placed by a little lamp which is placed behind a fire-screen
reason that I have always been reserved in my interpretation at the farther end of the room. Absolute control of the
of natural phenomena. Consequently, I am unable to be so hands and of the feet made by MM. Brisson andFlam-
terribly affirmative as to take oath to the absolute charlatqn- marion.
ism of the manifestations of Eusapia, before, as Shake- M. Brisson is slightly touched on the right hip, and at this
speare s a p , I have " rendered assurance doubly sure." moment the two hands of Eusapia are plainly seen.
I have no personal ambition in the spiritistic line, and all At 9.48 the curtain shakes and then puffs orit three times
the careful observations that I made during this séance of in succession. M. Brisson is again touchedon theright
November 21 are only one stone the more contributed to the hip ;the curtain is drawn back as if by a curtain-band. M.
edifice of Truth. Flammarion, whoholds Eusapia's hand, makes three ges-
 ?E
.. .
I
A~

-.
l
i
‘I 112 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA 113
tura and to each of his gestures corresponds a new diver- table dnd the tambourine, with displacement of the round
gence of the portière. Eusapia recommends that we ‘(give
’

table. (Undoubted control by MM. FlammarionandBris-

attention to the temperature of the medium ; it will be found son.)
to be changed after each phenomenon.” 10.30. Clattering noises of the round table in the cabi-
i At 9.57 thelightis diminished and is henceforth very netare heard. M. Flammarion makes gestures withhis
I feeble. Thecurtain bellies out, and at the same moment hand, and synchronistic movemenb of the table and of the
M. Brisson is touched; then the curtain is flungforcefully tambourine take place in the dark cabinet.
over the table. At the request of Eusapia, M. Delanne 10.35. Eusapia asks for a few minutes’ rest. The sitting
!
l lightly touches her head behind, and curtain
the slightly is resumed at 10.43. The violin andthe bell arehurled
trembles. with force through the cleft in the curtain (M. Brisson gives
Eusapia asks that a window be partly opened, the one in assurance that he holds Eusapia’s left hand by [Link] thumb,
the middle of the salon, saying that we shall see something upon her knees, and M. Flammarion the entire right hand).
new. M. Flammarion holds with his left hand the knees At this moment a photograph is taken by flash-light. Cries
of the medium, and with his righthand holds the wriet, and groans from Eusapia, blinded by the light.
the thumb, and the palm of her right hand before him at the The sitting begins again some minutes afterward, and M.
height of the eyes. M. Brisson holds theleft hand. Eu-# Jules Claretie, sitting at the left of M. Brisson, has his fin-
sapia seems to call something from the direction of the win- gers twice touched by a hand. M. Baschet, who is standing
dow, making gestures, and saying, “ I will catch it.” Then away from the table, holds out a violin to the curtain: the
a little branch of privet comes and touches M. Flammarion’s violin is seized and thrown intothe cabinet. H e holds a
hand, apparently arriving from somewhere near the window. book out to the curtain: this book is seized, but falls to the
M. F. takes this branch. A moment later two spindletree floor, beforethe curtain.
branches come from behind the curtain at the height of M. M. Claretie presents a cigaretteholder and feels a hand
Brisson’shead and past the edge of the curtain, which is which tries to seize it, but he resists and will not let it go.
pulled up and back. The branches fall on the table. M. Flammarion asks him to let go of the object: the hand
M. Brisson, all this time at Eusapia’s left, is next touched bears off the prize. A moment after, this object is thrown
on the hip, at a moment whenthehand of the medium is fromthecleft between the two curtains against Mme. de
at theheight of M. Flammarion’s beard. Then the chair of Basilewska at the other end of the table. It had been both
M. Brisson is pulled and pushed about. We hear distinctly, presented and removed at the middle of the curtain.
behind the curtain, sounds from the shaking of the round At eleven o’clock Eusapia begs for a little more light. M.
table, upon which is the tambourine. Certain vibrations of Claretiehas become controller of the left in place of M.
the tambourine are produced, corresponding tothe move- Brisson, He is touched on theleft side. Thenthe round
ments of the round table. At this moment M. Brisson -men- table is overturned while advancing toward the main table.
tions the fact that he has been out of touch with the foot of M. Claretie perceives that his chair is movingbackwards,
the medium for about half a second, but he is then holding as if pulled back ; then he is hit on the shoulder and experi-
her two thumbs about ten inches apart, and M. Flammarion ences a strong pressure under the arm-pit. The curtain sud-
has her right hand close to his breast. The right hand of Mm denly approaches M. Claretie, brushes against him, and en-
Brisson, holding the left of Eusapia, passes behind the CUP velopsbothhimself and the medium. M. Claretie is then
tain, and M. Brisson says that he has the impression of some- pinched in the cheek. M. Flammarion presents to the cur-
thing like a dress-skirt puffed out against his ankle. tain thehand of Mme. Fourton, andthe two handa are
Thereupon ensues new jolting and bumping of the rolllrd pinched through the curtain.
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114 MYSTERIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPU! 115

The music-box, which is in the dark cabinet, falls on tho . caress me, I immediately felt an icy breath before my face,
table ; Mmes. Gagneur and Flammarion at the same moment but yet without experiencing the least sensation of contact.
make mention of a hand. M. Baschet presents the music- When the medium announced the materialization of the
box to the curtain ; a hand seizes it through the curtain, he spirit in these words, IC E venuta, e venuta " (" She is here,
resists, thehand pusheshimaway ; he presenta it again, 1 she is here "), I distinguished over the middle of the table
the hand seizes it and throws it back, andthe box thus a spectral form, dim and confused, but which, little by little,
thrown wounds M. Claretie, who is struck beneath the left grew brighter, and took the shape of the head of a young
eye. The tambourine is thrown forward upon the table ! girl of the same stature as Rosalie.
after having remained suspended a moment above the head When objects, such as the music-box, violin, or the like,
of the medium. were unexpectedly brought before us, I saw very plainly the
At 11.15 a complete levitation of the table for seven or shape of a little hand emerging from the curtain that hung
eight [Link] control by MM. Flammarionand close byme, and whichplacedthese different objects upon
Claretie. M. Flammarion has his knee pinched by a hand. the table.
Next the round table is transferredto the knees of M. I ought to declare that,during these inexplicable phe-
Claretie and is forced upon him in spite of all his resist- nomena, the chain was not broken for a single moment: it
ance, Levitations of the table take place in full light. would consequently have been materially impossible for one
Verification of the feet. The feet o f one of the controllers of us to have made us0 of his hands.
are beneath,those of the other above, and those of the I will now describe the last phenomena in which I was
medium between the two. for a little while both actor and spectator. These events
closed the séance.
One of the company, M. Boutigny, whowasaffianced to
Report of M. Pallotti my daughter, having left the table to give his place to one
of the spectators, I saw him approach the curtain of which
(Séance of November 14)' I have spoken, which at once gaped open by his side. I as-
certained this fact very precisely.
(There arepresent at this seance, besides the hosts of the evening: M. Boutigny then announced to us aloud that he was
M. and Mme. Brisson, M. and Mme. Pallotti, M. le Boeain, M. Bou-
tigny, Mme. Fourton. ) being very affectionately caressed. The medium, whowas
at thie moment in an extraordinary state of agitation, kept
At the commencement of the sitting several levitations of saying, " Amore mio, amore mio !" (" My love, my love ! "),
the table took place, and, when I asked the spirit whowag and, addressing herself to me, called to me several times in
present if he could let me see my daughter Rosalie, I o b the following words, " Adesso vieni tu! vieni tu! " (" Come
tained an affirmative reply. I then made an agreement with at once, coge ! ") --

the said spirit that a series of eight regular raps would indi- I hastened to take the place which M. Boutigny occupied
cate to me the momentwhen my dear daughter would be near the curtain, and I was scarcely there when I felt my-
present. After some minutes of waiting, the number of self kissed several times. I was able foraninstant to
raps agreedonwas heard in the table. These rapawere touch the head which was kissing me, which, however, drew
vigorous and made at fixed intervals. back from' the contact of my hands.
I found, at this time, that I wasplaced opposite to the I ought to say that, while these events were taking place,
medium,- that is to say, facing her,- at the other end of my eyes were carefully observing the medium as well as the
the [Link] I asked the spiritto embrace me and persons who were by my side. I can therefore,e boldly Cer-

I
 116 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC
FORCES
I I' MY EXPERINENTS WITH
EUSAPIA il?
tify that I was not the victim of any illusion or subterfuge,
and that thehead which I touched was the head of a real and
unknown person. I felt myself afterwards gently stroked
several times, upon the face and head, the neck and the
breast, by a hand which came out from behind the curtain.
1
I
upon tlíe right shoulder. In order to make the matters clear,
I ought to depose that -
a) I sat at the left of the medium and held her hand ;
that, furthermore, duringthe whole sittingher footwas
At last I,saw the portière move aside and a little hand, very I placed on mine.
b) That,with Eusapia's hand always tightly pressed in
moist, very soft, stretched out and placed on my right hand.
Quick as thought, I reached my left hand to this place to
seize it; but, after having held it closely pressed in mine for
several seconds, i t seemed to melt away between my fingers.
l
i
mine, I proved,by suddenly placing it upon her knees, at
the very momentthatthe table wxzs rising from beside us,
that her lower limbs were in a normal position and abso-
lutely motionless.
Before closing, let me say, by way of additional authenti- c) For these different reasons, it seems to me, in fact,
cation, that M. Flammarion had the extreme kindness to have i impossible that Eusapia could have made any use whatever
this séance given for my family and myself, and it therefore I of these two limbs (which happened to be placed by me) to
took on a very markedly private character. i execuh a movement, even unconscious, that could give rise
The séance having lasted from 9.20 to 11.45 P.M., we sev- 1 to the least suspicion.
eral times asked the medium if she felt fatigued. Eu- 2. At a certainpoint in the proceedings I felt on my
sapia said no. It was only when the last experiment took right cheek the sensation of a fondling caress. I felt very
place, when we (myself and my family) had been caressed distinctly that it was a real hand which was touching my
and embraced, that the medium, feeling tired, decided fo skin, and nothing else. The hand in question seemed to me
'end the sitting. of small size, and the skin was soft and moist.
My wife is convinced, as I am, that she embraced her 3. Towards the end of the séance I felt upon my back
daughter, recognizing her hair and the general appearance of a gust of cold air, and at the same time I heard the curtain
her person. behind me slowly open.
Then, when I turned around, very muchpuzzled, I per-
Report of M. Le Bocain ceived standing at the lower end of thiskind of alcove a
form,- indistinct, it istrue, but not so much so that I
(The flame fliance) could not recognize the silhouette of a young girl whose fig-
ure was slightly beneath the average. I ought to say here
The following are some extraordinary phenomena which that mysister Rosalie wasalso of short stature. The t
I observed during the course of this séance and of which head of this apparition was not very distinct. It seemed
'

I believe I can give a report as exact as it is impartial, hav- surrounded by a short of shaded aureole. The whole form
ing personally taken the most minute precautions to assure of the statue, if I may so express myself, stood out very
myself of the perfect fairness of the conditions under which little from the dim obscurity from which it had emerged ;
these different wonderswereproduced. that is to say, it vas not very luminous.
I onlyspeak, be it understood, of circumstances or ac- 'i 4. I addressed myself tothe spiritin Arabic, in very
tions with which I myself was associated both as actor and nearly the following terms:
as spectator. '' If it is really thou, Rosalie, who art in the midst of
1. At t,he opening of the sitting and duTing the time that us, pull the hair on the back of my head three times in suc-
the table was engaged in all sorts of noisy pranks, I clearly cession."
felt the pressure of a hand clasping me in a friendly way About ten minutes later, and when I had almost com-
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118 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES ' MY EXPERIMENTS

WITH
EUSAPIA l19
pletely forgotten my request, I felt my hair pulled three On' the other hand, since the medium constantly seeks to
separate times, just as I had desired. I certifythisfact,
which,besides, formed for me a most convincing truth of release one hand (generally her left hand) from the control
the presenceof a familiar spirit close about us. designed to hinder her from doing so, a certain number of the
~ ; e&CAIN,
: Illustratora I
touches felt and of the displacementa of objects may be due
'Rire, Pile-Mêle, ChTonique Amusante, etc. to a substitution of hands. This behavior of herswill be
the subject of a special examination in thefollowing chapter.
I have restricted myself to presenting here these different But it would be impossible by the whole force of the hand
reports,* in spite of certain contradictions, and even because to produce the violent movement of the curtain, which seems
of them. The reports mutually supplement each other to be inflated by a tempestuous wind, and projected to the
and form a completewhole, through the entire independ- very centre of the table, forming a great hood around the
ence of each observer. heads of the sitters. To fling out thecurtainwith such
You see how complex the subject is, and how difficult it force, it would be necessary for the medium to rise and push
is to form a radical conviction, an absolute scientific judg- on it as hard as she could with her extmded arms -not
[Link] are incontestably true: thereare once merely, but again and again. But how can she do this
others which are doubtfuland which we may attribute to when she is all the while seated tranquilly in her chair 8
fraud, conscious or unconscious, and sometimes also to These experiments place us in a special environment or
illusiona of the observers. The levitation of the table, for atmosphere, on the different physical and psychical charac-
example, its complete detachment from the floor under the ters of which it is difficult to form an opinion.
action of an unknown force acting in opposition to the law At the timeof the last séance, during which M. and Mme.
of gravity, is a fact which cannot reasonably be contested. Pallotti are sure of having seen, touched, and embraced their
I may remark, in this connection, that the table almost daughter, I saw nothing, at that moment, of this spectral
always r i s e s hesitatingly, after balancings and oscillations,' form, although it was only a few yards from me, and al-
while, on the contrary, when it falls back it goes straight though I had perceived, some moments before, the head of a
down at one swoop, alighting squarely on its four feet.+ 'young girl. It is true that, out of respect for their emotion,
I did not approach their group. But I kept careful watch,
* To these eight st%ncee I might add a ninth, which took place on the
succeeding December 5, in the study of Prof. Richet. Nothmg remark- and I perceived no one but the living.
able occurred, unlem it waa the inflation, in full light, of a window,
curtain, which was about twenty-four inches from Eusapia's foot, my tube. But move the hand by a rapid see-saw movement, from left to
right, from righttoleft: you will thus create a centrifugal force
foot and leg being between it and her. The observation was absolutely
accurate. . which holds the object in vertical suspension, and which may even toss
it above your handandproject it intotheair, if the movement is
t To what cause may we attribute the levitation of the table? We rapid enou h.
have undoubtedly not yet discovered the secret. Theaction of gravity
may be counterbalanced by movement. What, tien, sustains
the knife, annihilates its weight? Force.
You can amuse yourself, while a t breakfast or dinner, by toying Might it not be that the influence of the experimenters seated around
with a knife. If you hold it verticallyinyourtightly closed hand, the table puts in special movement the molecules of the wood? They
its weight is counterbalanced by the pressure of the hand and i t does are already set in vibration by variations of temperature. These mole
not fall. Open your hand, still holding theknife grasped by the cules areparticlesinihitelysmall which do not touch each other.
, thumb and index finger, and it will slide as if it were in a too large Might not a molecular movement counterbnlance the effectof gravity?
I do not present this as a n explanation, but as an illustrative suggestion
(comme une &muge).
- 190 lktYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS W I T H EUSAPIA 121
At the séance of November IO the noise of a sonorous hand. I had charge of the right. I need not add that I am
'

object notified us of a displacement, a movement. w e seem as sure of the loyalty of M. Brisson as he is sure of mine,
to hear the violin strings [Link] touched. It is, in fact, the and that, forewarned as we were, and holding this séance
. little violin on the round table, which isliftedto a height for the express purpose of this control, we could neither of
somewhat above that of the head of the medium, passes into us be the dupes of any attempt at fraud, so far as regarda
the opening between the two curtains, and appears before us that occasion, at least.
with the neck forward. Theidea comes intomy head to The famous medium, Home, had several times spoken to
graspthisinstrumentduring its slowpassage through the me of a curious experiment that he and Crookes made with
air; but I hesitate, because I wish to see what will become an accordion held in one of his hands and playing all by
of it. It comes as far as the middle of the table, descendg . itself, without the lower end being held by another hand.
then falls, partly upon the 'table, partly upon the left hand i Crookes has represented this experiment by a sketch in his
of M. Brisson and the right hand of Mme. Fourton. memoir upon this subject. The medium is seen holding the
That wasone of the most accurate observations that I accordion with one hand in a kind of open-work cage, and
made at this séance. I did not let go of Eusapia's right the accordion is playing by itself. I shall give the details of
hand for a single instant, and M. Brisson did not for a m e this matter farther on.
ment let go left
of her hand. I triedthe experiment in another way,by holding the
Butin the face of phenomena so incomprehensible we accordion myself, and not letting it be touched by the me-
always revert to scepticism. In the séance of November 19 dium. Thefeats which we had just witnessed, and which
we had thoroughly. resolved thistimenot to leave any were performed while Eusapia had her hands securely held,
loophole for doubt as to the hands, to hinder every attempt gave me the hope of succeeding, so much the more because
at substitution, and to have the most complete control of each we believed that we had seen fluid hands in action.
hand, without having our attention withdrawn from this I, therefore, take a little new accordion, bought that even-
object for a single moment. Eusapiahas only twohandb. ing in a bazaar, and, approaching the table and remaining in
She belongs to the same zoölogical species that we do, and is a standing position, I hold the accordion by one side, resting
neither trimanous nor quadrumanous. two fingers upon two keys, in such a way as to permit the
I t was enough, then, that there were two of us ; that each I
I
air to pass in case the instrument should begin to play.
one took a hand of the medium and kept hold of it between So held, it is vertically suspended by the stretching out
the thumb and the forefinger, that no possible doubt might of my iight hand to the height of my head, and above
arise, drew in the elbows, and held thesaid hand as far the head of the medium. We make surethatherhands
removed as possible from the axis of the medium's body and. areall thetimetightly held andthatthe chain is m-
pressed against our own person, so as to remove the objection broken. After a shortwait of five or six seconds I feel
about the substitution of hands. the accordion drawn by its free end, and the bellows i s im-
That was the essential object of this séance, as far ae mediately pushed in several times successively ; and at the
concerned M. Brisson and me. He had charge of theleft '
same time the music is heard. There is not the leaat doubt

li
 122 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTSWITHEUSAPIA 123
that a hand, a pair of pincers, or what-not, has hold of the trollers at loggerheads withtheir own hands. It is some-
lower end of the instrument. I perceive very well the re- thing not to be thought of.
sistance of this prehensibleorgan. All possibility of fraud Apropos of the existence of a third hand, &fluid hand,
is eliminated ; for the instrument is wellabove Eusapia’s created on the spur of the moment, with muscles and bones
head, her hands are firmly held, and I distinctly see the (an hypothesis so bold that one hardly dares to express it),
distention of the curtain as far as the instrument. The ac- I relate here what weobserved during the sitting of No-
cordion continues tomake itself heard, andis pulled on vember 19.
so strongly that I say to the invisible power, “ Well, since M. Guillaume de Fontenay, with whom the experiments
you have such a good hold on it, keep it! ” I withdraw my at Montfort-l’Amaury were made, in 1897, at the homeof
hand, andtheinstrument remains as if glued tothe c u r the Blech family, had come on purpose from the centre of
tain. It is no longerheard. Whathas becomeof it? I France, with a great profusion of apparatus and of new
propose tolight a candle to hunt for it. But the general processes, to try to get some photographs. The medium ap-
opinion is that, since things are going so well, it is better to peared to be enchanted with them, and toward the middle of
make no changes in the environment. While we are talk- the soirée said to us, “ You are going to have, this evening,
ing, the accordion begins to play,- a slight and rather in- something that you did not expect,something which has
significant air. I n order to do that, it must be held by two never beenaccomplished by any other medium, and which
hands. At the end of fifteen or twenty seconds it is brought can be photographed as an unimpeachablerecord.” She
to the middle of the table (playingall the while). The then explains to us that I am to lift my hand up, while
certainty that hands are playing it is so complete b a t I say firmly holding hers by the wrist;that M. Sardou, while
to the Unknown, “Since you hold the accordion so well, you holding herleft hand, will keepwatchover it above the
can doubtless take my hand itself.” I reach outmyarm table, and that then her third hand will appear in the photo-
at the height ofmyhead, rather a little higher. The cur- graph, her fluidic hand, holding the violin near her head,
tain inflates, and through the curtain I feel a hand (a at some distance fromherright hand, behind her, and
pretty etrong left hand) ;that is to say, three fingers and the against the curtain.
thumb, and these grasp the end of my right hand. We wait pretty long before anything happens. At length,
Let ua suppose for aninstantthatthe accordioncould the medium trembles,sighs,recommends that we breathe
bave been pulled by one of Eusapia’s hands, which she had deeply and thus aid her, and we feel, rather than see, the
released,’liftedup, and screenedbehind the curtain. It is moving of the violin through the air, with a slight vibrating
a very natural hypothesis. Let us say that, the two con- noise of the strings. Eusapia cries, “ It is time, take the
trollers on the right and on the left respectively were cheated photograph,quick,don’t wait, fire ! ” Butthe apparatus
by the dexterity of the medium. That is notimpossible. does not work: the magnesium won’t kindle. The medium
But, then, that the instrument might play, our heroine would grows impatient, still holds out, but cries that she cannot
have had to release her two hands and leave the two Mn- hold out much longer. We all vehementlyclamor for the
photograph. Nothing moves. I n the darkness, which is
 k

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124 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERJMENTS WITH EUSAPU 125

needed in order that the plate in the camera shall not have to with my right hand, for a moment, in order to pick UP with
be veiled, M. de Fontenay does not succeed in lighting the my left the violin that has fallen near me. As I stoop
magnesium, and the violin is heard to fall tothe floor. down to the floor, I feel an icy breath upon my hand, but
The medium seemsexhausted,groans,laments, and we nothing more. I take the violin and put it on the table ;
all regret this check to the proceedings ; butEusapia de- then I take again with my left hand the hand of the medium,
clares that she can begin again, and asks us to get ready. In and, seizing the violin with my right, I hold it out again
fact, at the end of five or six minutes the same phenomena to thecurtain. But Mme. Brisson, peculiarly incredulous,
are produced.’ M. de Fontenay explodes a chlorate of potas- asks me to let her take it herself. She does so, holds it out
sium pistol. The light
is instantaneoue, but feeble. It ,
’, to the curtain, and tho instrument is snatched from her, in
enables us to seeEusapia’s left hand beingheldupon the spite of all the efforts that she makes to retain it. Every-
table by M. Sardou’s right hand, her right hand held in the bodydeclares they saw very distinctlythis time, ’

air by my left hand, and at a distance of about twelve The hands of the medium have not been let go a single
inches in the rear, at the height of one’s head, the violin, minute.
resting vertically against the curtain. Bat the photograph It seem aa if this experiment, made under these condi-
gives no picture. tions, in suflScient light, ought to leave no doubt about the
Eusapia now asks for a littlelight (Ic poco di luce ”
existence of a third hand of the medium which acts in obedi-
The small hand-lamp is lighted again, and the illumination ence to her will. And yet I -
is sufficient for us to seeeach other distinctly, including During this same soirée of November 19 I ask that the
the arms, the head of the medium, thecurtain, etc. The violin, which has fallen to the floor, be brought again upon
chain is formed again. The curtain flares widely out, and the table. We keep holding carefully the medium’s hands,
M. Sardou is several times touched by a hand which gives M. Sardou her left hand and I her right. Eusapia, wish-
him a goodwhack on the shoulder, making him bendhie ing to give still more security, more certainty, proposes that
head fornard toward the table. In the presence of this 1
I take her two hands, the right as I am holding it, and her
manifestation and of these sensations we have again the left wrist in my right hand, her left hand always being held
impression that there has been a hand there, a hand dif- by M. Sardou,- the whole show of hands taking place on the
ferentfrom those of the medium (which we continue table. A noise is heard. The violin is brought on, passes
carefully to hold),- and from ours, because wh are holding above our bands, thus crisscrossed, and is laid down, farther
eachother’s hands in the [Link], there is no one on, in the middle of the table. A candle is lighted, and the
nearthe curtain, which is plainly visible. I thereupon re- position of our hands is ascertained. They have not moved.
mark, “- Since there is a hand there, let it take from me this Some time after this phenomena, in the dim light, we all
violin, as it did day before yesterday.” I take the violin by sawwill-o’-the-wisps shining in the cabinet. They were
the handle and hold it out tothe curtain. I t is at once visible through the cleft ,in the curtains, which at that time
taken and lifted, then falls to the floor. I do not for a mo-
I

. was rather. wide. For my part, I saw three of them, the

ment let go the hand of the medium. Yet I grasp this hand I first very brilliant, the others lessintense. They wem not;
 126 MYSTERIOUSPSYCHICFORCES ~ -. :
.
MY EXPERJMENTS WITHEUSAPIA 127
tremulous, nor did they stir in the least, and remained in inches, while the gilded tambourine is in its turn leaping
view scarcely more than a second. gayly at the same height above the table, and noisily tinkling
M. Antoniadi having remarked that he is not always sure its bells.
of holding her left hand, Eusapia Hays to me in a flush of Stupefied with wonder, quick as I can I pull Mme. Bris-
passion, " Since he is not sure, take my two hands your- eon to my side, and, pointingwith my h g e r a t what is
taking place, " Look ! " said I.
selfagain." I already hold the right, and am absolutely And then the table and the tambourine begin their carpet-
certain of it. I thereupon take her left wrist in my right dance again in perfect unison, one of themfalling for-
hand, M. A. declaring that he will take care of the fingers. cibly upon the floor and the other upon the table. Mme.
In this position, Eusapia's two hands being thus held above ( Brisson and I could not help bursting out into laughter ; for,
the table, a cushion,which is at my right upon the table, indeed, it wastoo funny 1 A sylph could not have been
'

having been forcibly thrown there some moments before, is more amusing.
seized and thrown over the sofa, brushing my forehead on - Eusapiahadnotturned around. She was seen seated ;
the left. Those who sit at the table and form the chain af- and her hands, placed before her, were held by the two con-
firm that the hands of the chain have not lost touch with each trollers. Even if she had been able to free both her hands,
other. she would not have been able to take hold of the round
lIere is another circumstance recorded in the notea of table and tambourine, except by turning around ; and the
Mme. Flammarion : two ladies saw them leaping about all alone.
I obseme to Eusapia that she must be very tired, that the
We were almost in completedarkness,- the lamp, re-
moved as far as possible fromEusapia, having only the séance has lasted over two houra and has yielded extraor-
dim glow of a night-lamp. Eusapia was seated at the. .ex-
'
dinary results, and that it is perhaps timeto end it. She
periment table,-between MM. Brisson and Pallotti, who replies that she desires to continue still a little longer, and
were holding her two hands,- and almost facing this lamp, that there will be newphenomena. We accept with pleas-
Mme. Brisson and I were seated aome yards distant from ure, and sit down and wait.
Eusapia, one of us on the side and the other in the middle Then she lays her head on my shoulder, takee my entire
of the salon, Eusapiafacing us, while we had our backs
turnedto the light. This allowed ua to distinguish well right arm, including the hand, and putting my leg between
enough everything that passed before us. hers, and my feet between her feet, she held me very tight.
Up to the moment when the event that I m going to re- Then she begins to rub the carpet, drawing my feet along
late took place,Mme. Brisson had remained almost as in- with hers, and squeezing me tighter than before. Then she
credulous as I, apropos of the phenomena, and she had just cries, " &petta! spetta! " (" Look ! look ! ',) ; then, Vieni!
IC
been expressing to me in a low tone her regret at not having
yet seen anything herself, when, all of a sudden, the curtain vieni! " (" Come ! come ! ") Sheinvites M. Pallotti to
behind Eusapia began to shake and move gracefully back, as take a placebehind hiswife and see what will happen. L
if lifted by an invisible curtain band,- and what do I flee must add that both of them had been earnestly asking, for
The littletable on three feet, and leaping (apparently in some minutes, if they might see and embrace their daughter,
high spirits) over the floor, atthe height ofabout eight as they had done at Rome.
 328 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSAPIA 129
After a new nervous effort on the part of Eusapia, and , was passing. She hoped to detect a movement of the
a kind of convulsion accompanied by groans, complaints, and medium's arm, and to unmask her, in spite of the courtesy
cries, there was a great movement of the curtain. Several &eowed her as her hostess. She saw very plainly Eu-
times I see the head of a young girl bowing before me, with sapia's head, motionless before the mirror which reflected the
high-arched forehead and with long hair. light.
She bows three times, and' shows her dark profile against Suddenly the book appears to her, it having passed
the window. A moment after we hear sounds from M. and through the curtain,- upheld in the air, without hands or
Mme. Pallotti. They are covering with kisses the face of arms, for a space of one or twoseconds. Then she sees it
a being invisible to us, saying to her with passionate af- fall down. She cries, " Oh ! the book: it has just passed
fection, " Rosa,Rosa, my dear, my Rosalie,"etc. They through the curtain ! " and, pale and stupefied with wonder,
say they felt between their hands the face and the hair of she abruptly retires among the observers.
their daughter. The entire hither side of the curtain was plainly visible,,
My impression was that there was really there a fluidic because the left portion of the left-hand curtain had been
being. I did not touch it. The grief of the parents, revived loosened from its rod by the weight of a person who had sat ,

and consoled at the same time, seemed to me so worthy of ., down on the sofa where the lower part of the curtain had
respect that I did not approach [Link]. But, as to the iden- been accidentally placed ;and because a large opening had
tity of the spectral being, I believed it to be a sentimental been made fronting the mirror which filled the entire wall
illusion of theirs. of the farther end of the salon,- a. mirror that reflected the
I come now to the strangest circumstances of all, the most light of the little lamp.
incomprehensible, the most incredible, of any that we expe- If such an event had'really taken place,we should be
rienced in our séances. forced to admit that the book went through the curtain with-
On November 21 M. Jules Bois presents a book before the out any opening, for the tissue of the fabric ie wholly in-
curtain at about the height of a man standing upright. The tact ; and we cannot suppose for a single moment that it
salon is dimly lighted by a littlelamp with a shade, set passed through at the side, the book having been held out
pretty well to oneside. Yet objects are seen with distinct- about the middle,- that is to say, about twenty-four inches
ness. from each side of the curtain, the breadth of which is four
An invisible hand behind thecurt,ain seizes the book. feet.
Then all the observers,see it disappear as if it had passed Nevertheless, this bookwas seen by Mme. Flammarion,
through the curtain. I t is not seen to fall before the curtain. whowaslooking behind thecurtain ; and it disappeared
It is an octavo, rather slender, bound in red, which I have from the eyes of the persons who were [Link], notably M.
just taken from my library. Baschet, M. Brisson, M. J. Bois, Mme. Fourton and myself.
NowMme. Flammarion, almost as sceptical as M. Bas- We were not expecting this miracle in any way ; we were
chet about these phenomena, had glided past the window to stupefied by it; we asked what had become of the book, and
the rear of the curtain, in order to observe carefully what it seemed as if it had fallen behind the curtain.

- . . - _..1=- ._...
~ . . .-... __
130 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTS WITH EUSBPIA 131
Collective hallucination ? But we were all in cool blood, we understand it. But, of course, this is not the same case
entirely self-possessed. as that of the book. Yet, after all, it ismatter passing
I f Eusapia had been able to adroitly slip her hand around through matter, after a transformation of its physical condi-
and seize the book through the portière, the bare outline of tion.
the book would. not have been seen, but a protuberance of We might seek explanations, invoke the hypotheses of the
the portière. fourth dimension, or discuss the non-Euclidian geometry.
How great a value the sight of this thing passing through It seems to me more simple, however, to think that, on the
a portière would have as a scientific datum, if one were only one hand, these experiments are not yet sufficient for us to
sure of the absolute honesty of the medium,- if, indeed, make an absolute affirmation, and that, on the other hand,
this medium were a man of science, a physicist, a chemist, our ignorance of everything is formidable and forbids us
an astronomer, whose scientific integritg would be above sus- t o deny anything.
picion ! The mere fact of the possibility of fraud takes The phenomena of which I am speaking are so extraor-
away hinety-nine onehundredths of the worth of the obser- dinary that one is led to doubt them,evenwhenone feels
vation, and makes it necessary for us to see it a hundred assured thathe has seenthem. Thus, for example, I no-
times before being sure. The conditions of certainty ought ticed that M. René Baschet -my learned friend, present
to be understood by all investigators, and it is curious to editor of IZZwtration - affirmed before us all, during the
hear intelligent persons express surprise at our doubts, and séance and afterward, that he saw with his own eyes, und'er
at the strict scientific obligation we are under to lay down the table, a head like that of a young girl of about twelve
these conditions. In order to be sure of abnormalities like i years ofage, together with the bust. This head sank down
these levitations, for example, we must make sure .of them vertically while he waslooking at it and disappeared. H e
a hundred times over; not see them once, but a hundred made the affirmation on the 21st, repeated it on the 22d at a
times. theatre where we met, and on the 25th again at his home.
It seems to us impossible that matter could pass through Some time after, M. Baschet was convinced that he had been
matter. You place for example a stone upon a napkin. I f deceived, that he had been thedupe of an illusion. That
one should tell you that he has found it under the napkin, is also possible. I was looking at the same time, as well as
without any break in the continuity of the tissue, you would other persons, and we did not see anything.
not [Link], I take a piece ofice, weighing It is then very human, when we are thinking, some days
say two pounds, and place it upon a napkin ; I place both later, of these curious things, for us to suspect ourselves.
upon a strainer in the oven ; the piece of ice melts, passes But thereare prejudices lessexplicable. Thus, for ex-
through the napkin, and falls drop by drop into a basin. I ample, at the séanceofNovember 28 a distinguished engi-
putthe whole thinginto a freezing machine, the melted neer, M. L., absolutely refused to admit the levitation of
water congeals again ; the piece of ice weighing two pounds the table, in spite of the evidence. Of this my readers may
has passed through the napkin. judge for themselves. Here is a note which I extract from
It is verysimple, you think. Yes, it is simple because my reports :
' l

l 138 MYSTXRIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY EXPERIMENTSWITH EUSUIB, l 3 3

M. L. tells me that the medium lifts the table with her hm&ed years ago, two hundred years, three hundred 8
feet, while resting her hands upon it. I ask Eusapia to draw Look at astronomy five hundred years ago, and physiology,
back her feet under her chair. The table is lifted. and medicine, and natural philosophy, and chemistry. I n
After this second levitation, M. L. declares that he is not five hundred years, in a thousand years, in two thousand
satisfied (although neither of the feet of the medium is un-
der a foot of the table), and that we must begin the experi- years, what will these sciences of ours be ? And in a bun-
ment again, without having her Zegs touched at any point. dred thousand years 8 Yes, in a hundred thousand years,
The medium then proposes that her legs be fastened to those what will human intelligence be 8 Our actual condition will
of M. ,L. A third levitation takes place, after the left leg be to that what the knowledge of a dog is to that of a cul-
(the incriminated one) of the medium has been bound to tivated man ; that is to say, there is no possible comparison.
the left leg of M. L. We smile to-day at the science of learned men of the
This gentleman then declares that the hypotheees he has
made, in order to explain the phenomenon, arenulland time of Copernicus or Christopher Columbus or Ambroise
void, but that there must be, all the same, a trick in the Paré, and we forget that, in a few centuries, .savants will
thing, because he does not believe in the supernatural. .estimate usin the same fashion. Thereare properties of
Neither do I believe in the supernatural. And yet there matter which are completely hidden from us, and humanity
is no trick. is endowed with facultiesstill unknown to us. W e only
1
, This manner of reasoning, rather common,does not seem advance very slowly in the knowledge of things.
to me scientific. It is to claim that we know the limits of The critics do not always give proof that they possess a
the possible and of the impossible. very [Link] speak to them of facts
People who deny that the earth movea reason in just this proved by centuries of testimony. They challenge the value
way. That which iscontraryto commonsense is not im- of popular testimony, and declare that these uncultivated
[Link] isthe average state of popular folks, these petty merchants, these manufacturers, these la-
knowledge ; that is to say, of general ignorance. borers,these peasants, are incapable of observing with any
A man acquainted with the history of the sciences, and exactitude.
who
reasons calmly, cannot succeed in understanding Some days after, you cite the savants, men whose compe-
the ostracism to which certain sceptics subject unexplained tence has been proved. in the objective sciences of observa-
phenomena. " It is impossible," they think. Thisfa- tion, which attest these very facts, and you hear the sneerers
mouscommon sense on which they plume themselves answer that those savants are competent witnesses in their
is nothing after all, let me say, but common opinion, which special lineo of study and work, but in nothing apart from
accepts habitualfacts without comprehending them, and these.
which varies from time to time. What man ofgood sense So, afterthis fashion, all testimony is refused. They
would formerly have admitted that we should one day be declare that the thing, being impossible, cannot have been
able to photograph the skeleton of a living being, or store observed at all.
up the voice in a phonograph, or determine the chemical Of course there is room for a good deal of analysis in
composition of an inaccessible star ? What wasscience a discussing the claims of human testimony. But, if we sup-
 -- --
F ’.

I C
-
._

134 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES.

press every piece of testimony, what will there be left 8 - ,

our native ignorance.

But, to tell the truth, thereare someof these negative I I

gentry who are sure of everything, and whoimpose their l

aphorisms upon us with the authority of a czar giving out CHAPTER IV

his ukase or edict. OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA PALADWO
From these different experiments with Eusapia Paladino,
including those described in the first and second chapbra, The medium,whosemarvellous séance performances we
the impression is left that the phenomena observed are, to a havebeen describing has been the subject of a long series
great extent, real and undeniable ; that a certain number of observations by eminent and careful experimenters. Her
may be produced by fraud ; but that, in fact, the subject is endowmenta are indeed exceptional. When you studywith
very complex. Again, certain movements eimply belong to Eusapia, the comparison of her powers with those of ordi-
the material order, while others belong at once tothe nary cases makes you think of the difference between a fine
physical order and the psychical order. AU thisstudy is electrical machine operated under good atmospheric condi-
vastly morecomplicated than people in general bave any tions and a bad one operated on a rainy day. You see more
idea of. 1 am going to pasa summarily in review other with her in one hour than in a host of faulty triala with
experiments made by the same medium, and shall after- other mediums.
wards devote a special chapter to the examination of frauds Our study of these unknown forces will progress rapidly
and mystifications. if, in place of limiting the results obtained to one or two
Let us look, first, a t other achievements of Eusapia, and groups, such as those which precede, we examine the totality
select from them whatever they also have to impart in the of the observations made in the séances of this medium.
way of instruction or caution. My readers can then compare them with the preceding ones ;
they can judge, they can make their own estimates.
The documents which I am now going to print are all
borrowed from the Annales des sciences psychiques and from
the valuable collection of M. Albert de Rochas upon The Ex-
ternalization of Motiuity.
A few words, first, about the debuta of Eueapia in her me-
diumistic career.
Professor Chiaia, of Naples, to whom I owe it that I
was able to receive Eusapia at my house and obtain the ex-
periments reported above, was the first to bring her gifts into
public notice. He first published on the9th of August,
135
 .-- ,
1_

136 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER S6ANCES WITH EUSAPIA 137

1888, in a journal issued at Rome, the following letter There is much talk nowadays of a special malady which
addressed t.0 Professor Lombroso : is found in the human organism. We notice it every day ;
but we aro ignorant of it,s cause and know not what to call
I it. The cry
is raised thatit be subjected to the examina-
Dear Sir,- I n your article, The Influence of Civilizatim tion of contemporary science ; but science, in reply, only
%pon. Genius (which has incontestable beauties of style and meets the request with the mocking ironical smile of a
of logic), I noticed a very happy paragraph. It seems to me Pyrrhus, for the precise reason (as you say) that the time
to sum up the scientific movement (starting from the time is not yet ripe.
when man first invented that head-breaking thing called an But the author of the paragraph I have quoted above, of
alphabet) down to our own day. Thisparagraph reads as course did not write it merely for the pleasure of writing.
follows : It seems to me, on the contrary, that he would not smile dis-
“ Every generation is prematurely ready for discoveries dainfully if hewere invited to observe a special case that
which it never sees born, since it does not perceive its own is worthy to attract the attentlion and to seriously occupy
incapacity and the means it lacks for making further d i s the mind of a Lombroso. The case I allude to is that of an
coveries. The repetition of any one manifestation, by im- invalid woman who belongs to the humblest class of society.
pressing itself upon our brains, preparesour minds and She is nearly thirty years old and very ignorant ; her look is
renders them less and less incapable of discovering the laws neither fascinating nor endowed with the power which mod-
to which this manifestation is amenable. Twenty or thirty ern criminologists call irresistible ; but, when she wishes, be
yearsare enough to make the whole world admire a dis- it by day or by night, she can divert a curious group for an
covery which was treated as madness at the moment when it hour or so withthe most surprising phenomena. Either
wasmade. Even at the present day academic bodies laugh bound to a seat or firmly held by the hands of the curious, she
at hypnotism and at hommpathy. Who knows whether my attracts to her the articles of furniture which surround her,
friends and I, who laugh at Spiritualism, are not in error, lifts them up, holds them suspended in air like Mahomet’s
justas hypnotized persons are 8 Thanks to the illusion coffin, and makes them comedown again with undulatory
which surrounds us, we may be incapable of seeing that we movements, as if they were obeying her will. She increases
deceive ourselves; and, like many persons of unsound mind their weight or lessens it according to her pleasure. She raps
who stubbornly oppose the truth,‘we laugh at those who are or taps upon the walls, the ceiling, the floor, with h e rhythm
not of our way of thinking.” and cadence. I n response to the requests of the spectators,
Struck by this keen thought, which by chance I find something like flashes of electricity shoot forthfrom her
adapted to a certain matter with which I havebeen occu- body, and envelop her or enwrap the spectators of these mar-
pied for some time, I joyfully accept it, without abatement, vellousscenes. She draws upon cards that youhold out
without any commentwhich might change its sense ; and, everything that you want -figures, signatures, numbers,
confining myself to the fine old rules of chivalry, I make use sentences - by just stretching out her hand toward the indi-
of it as a challenge. The consequences of this challenge cated place. If you place in the corner of the room a vessel
will neither be dangerous nor bloody : we shall fight fairly ; containing a layer of soft clay, you find after some moments
and, whatever may be the results of the encounter, whether the imprint in it of a small or a large hand, the image of
I succumb or whether I make my opponent yield, it will a face (front view or profile), from which a plaster cast can
always be in a friendly way. The result will tend to the I
be taken. In this way, portraits of a face taken at differ
improvement of one of the two adversaries and will be in
every way useful to the great cause of truth.

I
 1
OTHER S6ANCES WITH EUSAPIA
l
I
139
fits of ill-temper. I said u fist, because it is always a clumsy
and callous hand that strikes the blow. I t has been noticed
that the hand of the sorceress is small. She has large finger-
nails ; has a moist skin, thetemperature ofwhich varies
i fromthenatural warmth of the body tothe icy chill of a
corpse the touch of whichmakesyou shiver; she allows
herself to be handled, pinched, observed ; and ende by rising
intothe air, remaining suspended there with no visible
means of support, like oneofthose plump wooden hands
! hung out over the sidewalk as a sign at the shops of the
I .
glove merchants.
I swear to you that I emerge with a very calm spirit from
the caveof this Circe. Freedfromher enchantments, l
pass all my impressions in review, and end in scepticism,
although the testimony of my senses assures me that I have *

not heen the aport of an error or of an illusion.

All these extraordinary manœuvres cannot be attributed to
preatidigitation. We ought to be on our guard against
every kind of trickery, and make a scrupulous investigation
in order to forestall mendacity or fraud.
But the test sometimes fails ; the facts do not always meet
the demands of the eager and restless spectators. This is
one more mystery to explain, and proves that the individual
herself who works these wonders is not their sole arbiter.
Undoubtedly,shepossesses the exclusivepower of produc-
ing these portatous feats ; but they cannot materialize
except with the co-operation of an unknown agent, some
dew ex machina.
From all this two things result; namely, the great diffi-
culty there is in examining the true inwardness of this stupe-
fying piece of charlatanry, and the necessity of making a
Beria of experimenta in order to get together enough of
them to illuminate the dark intellects of the dupes and to
overcome the obstinacy of the wranglers.
Now you ~ e emy challenge. If you have not written the
paragraph cited above simply for the pleasure of writing
it; if you have the true love of science; if you are without
prejudices,- you, the first alienist in Italy,- please have
’

the kindness to take the field, and persuade yourself that you
are going to measure swords with a worthy adversary.
 14-0 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES OTHER S&LNCES WITH EUSBPIA 141
When you can take a week’s vacation, leave your beloved in which the singular power of producing movements at a
studies, and, instead of going into the country, showme a distance has been obeerved.
place where we can [Link] the time yourself. At this epoch of her life it was remarked that the Spirit-
You are to have a room into which you will enter alone ualistic séances to which shewas invited succeeded much
before the experiment; there you will arrange the furniture better when she was seated at the table. But theytired
and other objects just as you wish; you will lock the door and bored her, and she refrained from taking part in them
with a key. I believe i t would be useless to present the lady for eight or nine years.
to you in the costume worn in the Garden of Eden, because It was only inher twenty-second o? twenty-third year
this new Eve is incapable of retaliating upon theserpent that the Spiritualistic education of Eusapia began. It was
and of seducing you. directed by an ardentSpiritualist, M. Damiani. It was
Four gentlemen will be our seconds, as is fitting in all then that the personality of Johh King appeared, a spirit
knightly encounters ; you will choose two, and I will bring who took possession of her when she was in the trance state.*
the other two. ThisJohnKing is said to be the brother ofCrookes’s
No easier conditions were evcr drawn up by the Knights ’
IEatie King, and to havebeen Eusapia’s father in another
of the Round Table. I t is evident that,if the experiment existence. It isJohn who speaks when Eusapiais in her
does not succeed, I &all be able to accuse only the harsh trance ; when he speaks of her, he calls her “ my daughter,”
decrees of destiny ; you will consider me but as a man suffer- and gives advice about the care of her person and life. M.
ing from hallucination, who longs to be cured of his extrava- ’ Ochorowicz thinks this John is a personality created in the
gances. But, if success crowns our efforts, your loyalty will spirit of Eusapia by the union of a certain number of impres-
impose upon you thc duty of writing an article, in which, sions collected inthe different psychic environments in
without circumlocution, reticence, or error, you willattest which her life has beenpassed. This would be almost the
the reality of the mysterious phenomena and promise to in- identical explanation for the personalities suggested by the
vestigate their causes. hypnotists, and for the variations of personality observed by
I f you decline this meeting,please-explain to me your MM. Azam, Bourru, and ‘Burot, et al.
sentence, “ Thetime is not yet ripe.” Undoubtedly, that Somehave thought they noticed that Eusapia prepared
might apply to commo3 intellects, but not to a Lombroso, to herself, consciously or unconsciously, at the séance,by di-
whom is addressed this advicc of Dante : “ Honor ought to minishing her respirat,ion,- a very singular thing. At the
close the lips of falsehood with truth.” same time, her pulse gradually rises from 88 to 120 pulsa-
Yours very devotedly and respectfully, tions a minute. I s this a practice analogous to that which
(PEORESSOR) CHIAIA. the fakirs of India employ, or a simple effect of the emotion
which, before every séance, Eusapia experiences ? - a fact
M. Lombroso did not at once accept this eloquent and which has a strong tendency to convince the sitters, but
witty challenge.
However,we shall presently find that is never sure of the production of the phenomena.
learned professorhimself experimenting. I n the mean time Eusapia is not hypnotized ; she enters of herself into the
trance state when she becomes a link in the chain of hands.
read what M. de Roehas tells us of Eusapia’s youth :- She begins to sigh deeply, then yawns and hiccoughs. A
series of varied expressions passes over her face. Sometimes
Her first mediumistic manifestations began atthe a@;o
of puberty, when she was about thirteen or fourteen years * The word “trance” has been given t o the peculiar state into which
mediums fall when they lose the consciousness oftheir environment.
old. This coincidence is found in almost all the cases It is a kind of somnambulistic sleep.
 " Y '-

142 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC

FORCES \ OTHER SÉANCES-WITH EUSAPIA 143
it takes on a demoniacal look, accompanied by a fitful laugh tions to be made upon the subject of displaced objects), for
very much like that which Gounod gives to Mephistopheles then her attention is strongly called in other directions.
i n the opera of Faust, and which almost always precedes an She is in constant motion dming the active period of thc
important phenomenon. Sometimes herface flushes ; the I eéances. These movements may be attributed to the hys-
eyes become brilliant and liquid, and are opened wide. The . terical crises which then agitate her; but they appear to be
smile and the motions are the mark of the ero IC ecstasy, necessary to the production of the phenomena. Every time
She says mio caro " (Umy dear "), leans her L a d upon that a movement is being caused at a distance, she imitates
the shoulder of her neighbor, and courts caresses when she it, either with her hands or with her feet, and by developing
believes that he is sympathetic. It is at this point that phe- 8 much stronger force than would be necessary for producing
nomena are produced, the success of which causes her agree- the movement by contact.
able and even voluptuous thrills. Duringthis timeher Here is what she herself says of her impressions when
legs and her arms are in a state of marked tension, almost she wishes to produce a movement at a distance. She sud-
rigid, or even undergo convulsive contractions. Sometimes denly experiences an ardent desire to produce the pkenomelua;
a tremor goes through her entire body. then she has a feeling of numbness and the goose-flesh. sensa-
To these states of nervous superactivity succeeds a period tion in her fimgers; these sensations keep increasing; at the
of depression characterized by an almost corpselike paleness same time she feels in the inferior portion of the vertebral
of the face (which is frequently covered with perspiration) column the flowing of cd current which rapidly extends into
andthe almostcomplete inertia of her limbs. I f she lifts 'her arm as far a8 her elbow, where it is gently arrested. It
her hand, it falls back of its own weight. is at this poünt that the phenomenon takes place.
During the trance her eyes are turned up, and only tho During and after the levitations of the tables she has a
white is visible. Her presence of mindandher general feeling of pain in her knees ; during and after other phenom-
consciousness are diminished or not a t all in evidence. She ena, in her elbows and all through her arms.
gives no reply, or, if she does, her reply is retarded by ques-
tions. Eusapia has no recollectionof what has taken place It was only in the end of February, 1891, that Profemor
during the séances, except for states of mind bordering close Lombroso, whose curiosity had finally been strongly excited,
on those of her normal state ; and, consequently, they only decided to come to Naples to examine these curious mani-
relate, as a general thing, to phenomena of slight intensity.
In order to aid in the manifestations, she frequently asks festations about whicheverybody in Italy was speaking.
that her force be increased by putting one more person in the The following reports by M. Ciolfi were published apropos
chain. I t has frequently happened to her to address a sym- of this visit."
pathetic spectator, to take his fingers and press them as if I

to draw something out of them, thenpush them abruptly First Séance

away, saying that she bas enough force. I

In proportion ashertrance increases, her sensibility to A large room, selected on the first floor by these gentlemen,
light increases. A sudden light causes difEculty in her had been put at our disposal. M. Lombrosobeganby care-
breathing, rapid beatings of the heart, an hysterical feeling, fully examining the medium, after whichwe took places
general irritation of the nerves, pain in the head and eyes, around a gaming table. Mme. Paladino sat at one end; at
and a trembling of the whole body, with convulsions,- ex- her left, MM. Lombroso and Gigli ; I faced the medium, be-
cept when she herself asks forlight (a thing which fre- tween MM. Gigli and Vizioli ; then came MM. Ascensi and
quently happens to her when there are interesting verifica- * Altnale8 des science8 psychiques, 181, p. 326.
 144 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SEIANCES WITH EUSBPIA 145
Tamburini, whoclosed the circle, the last named at the having his fingers broken (the bell weighed fully ten
- right of the medium and in contact with her. ' -ounces), hastened to rise and go and seat himself on a sofa
The room was lighted by candles placed upon a table be- ' behind me.
hind Mme. Paladino. MM. Tamburiniand Lombrosoeach I keptinsisting that we had to do with an intelligent
held a hand of the medium. Their knees touched hers, at a force,- a matter that he persistently denied,- and that con-
certain distance from the feet of the table ; and her feet were sequently there was nothing to fear. But M. Ascensi r e
under theirs. fused, under any circumstances, to take his place again a t
After a rather long wait the table began to move, slowly the table.
. a t first,- a matter explained by the scepticism, not to say I called.&[Link]&''to the fa&t''that the circle waa broken,
the positively hostile spirit, of thosewhowere thisnight since oneof the experimenters had left, andthat, uwder
in a &ance circle for the firat time. Then, little by little, penalty of no longer being able to observe the phenom-
the movements increased in intensity. M. Lombrosoproved ena in a cool judicious spirit, it would be necessary that he
the levitation of the table, and estimated at twelve or fifteen should at least keep silent and motionless. M. Ascensi was
pounds the resistance to the pressure which he had to make very willing to pledge himself to that.
with his hands in order to overcome that levitation. The light was extinguished, and the experimenta began
This phenomenon of a heavy body sustained in the air, again. While, in response to a unanimous wish, the little bell
off its centre of gravity and resisting a pressure of twelve or was beginning again ita tinkling and its mysterious aërial
fifteen pounds, very much surprised and astonished the circuits, M. Ascensi, taking his cue, unknown to us, from M.
learned gentlemen,who attributed it tothe action of an Tamburini, went (unperceived, owing to the darkness), and
unknown magnetic force. stood at the right of 'the medium, and at once with a single
At my request, tapsand Scratchings were heard in the scratch lighted a match, so successfully, as he declared, that
table. This was new cause for astonishment, and led the gen- he could see the Zittle bell, while it was vibrating ira the air,
tlemen to themselves call for the putting out of the candles in suddenly fall upon a bed about six feet and a half behind
order to ascertain whether the intensity of the noises would Mme. Paladino.
be increased, ashad been stated. All remained seated and I will not attempt to depict for you the amazement of the
in contact. learned body, the most striking manifestation of which was
In a dim light which didnothinder the most careful a rapid exchange of questions and comments upon this
surveillance, violent blows were first heard at the middle strange occurrence.
point of the table. Then a bell placed upon a round table, After some remarks I made about the intervention of M.
at the distance of a yard to the left of the medium (in such Ascensi, whoseemed likely to seriously trouble the psychic
a way that shewasplaced behind and to the right of 'M. condition of the medium, the darkness was turned on again,
Lombroso), rose into theair,and went tinkling over the so to speak, in order to continue the experiments.
heads of the company, describing a circle around our table, At first it was a little work-table, small, but heavy, that
where it finally came to rest. movedabout. It wasplaced attheleft ofMme. Eusapia,
In the midst of the expressions of deep amazement which and it was upon it that the little bell was placed at the be-
this unexpected phenomenon drew forth, M. Lombroso showed ginning of the séance. This small piece of furniture struck
a strong desire tohear and to prove it again. Whereupon againstthechair on which M. Lombrosowas seated, and
the little bell began to sound, and again made the tour of the tried to hoist itself up on our table.
table, redoubling its strokes nponit., to such a degree that In the presence of this new phenomenon, M. Vizioli gave
M. Ascensi, divided between astonishment andthe fear of up his place at our table to M. Ascensi and went to stand
 146 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES I
1 OTBER SEANCES
WITH
EUSAPIA 141
between the work-table and Mme. Eusapia,to
turnedhis back. At least he said hedidall this, forwe'
whom he

could not see him on account of the darkness. He took the

little table between his two hands and tried to hold it; but,
i measuredby MM. Lombroso andTamburini, t,here was
placed, in this alcove, a round table, with a porcelain salver
filled with flours in the hope of obtaining face-imprints in it.
in spite of hàs efforts, it released itself and went rolling over
the floor.
i' The alcove also contained a tin trumpet, writing-paper, and
a sealed envelope containing a sheet af white paper, to aee
if we could not get direct writing on it.
An important point to note is that, although IKM. Lom-
broso and Tamburini had not for a moment let go of the
hands ofMme. Paladino, Professor Vizioli a n n o u n d that
1
4
'
The gentlemen inspected the alcove with extreme care, in
order to assure themselves that there was nothing there of a
fixed-up, suspicious nature.
he felt a pinch in the back. General hilarity followed this Mme. Paladino sat down at the table, a little less than two
declaration. feet from the alcove curtains, turning her back to them.
M. Lombroso stated that he had felt his chair lifted up Then, at her request, she had her body and her feet tied to
so that he was compelled to remain standing for some time, her chair by means of cloth bands. This waseffected by
after which his chair had been so placed as to permit him to three members of the company, who left only her arms free.
sit do- again. That done,places were taken at the table in the following
He also experienced twitches upon his clothes. Then he order: on the left of [Link]. Eusapia, M. hmbroso ; then, in
and M. Tamburini felt the touches of an invisible hand upou succession, M. Vizioli, myself, the nephew of M. Lombroso,
their cheeks and fingers. MM. Gigli, Limoncelli, Tamburini; finally, Dr. Penta, who
M. Lombroso, especially struck with the two facts of the completed the circle and sat a t the right of the medium.
work-table and the littlebell, judged them of suihient impor- MM. Ascensi and Bianchi refused to form part of the cir-
. t a n c e for him ta put off till Tuesday his departure from cle, and remained standing behind MM. Tamburiniand
Naples, which had been first fixed for Monday. Penta. I paidlittleattention to these two, being certain
Upon his request I promised a newséance, on Monday, that their action was a premeditated combination in order to
at the Hôtel de Genève. redouble the vigilance. I simply recommended that, while
they were observing with extreme care, each should remain
Second Séance quiet.
The experiments began in candlelight strong enough to
At eight o'clock in the evening I arrived at the Hôtel de light up the whole room. After a long wait the table began
Genève,accompanied by the medium, EusapiaPaladino. to move, slowly at first, then more energetically. How-
We were received under the colonnadeby [Link], ever, the movements remained intermittent, labored, and
Tamburini, Ascensi, and several other personswhom they much less vigorous than a t Saturday's séance.
had invited ; namely Professors Gigli, Lirnoncelli, Vizioli, The table volunteered a request by taps of its leg des-
and Bianchi (superintendent of the insane asylum at Sales), ignating the letters of the alphabet>that MM. Limoncelli and
Dr. Penta, and a young nephew of M. Lombroso, who lives Penta ahould exchange places. This exchange effected, the
at Naples. table called for the turning outof lights.
After the customary introductions, we were asked to go A moment after, and with more force this time, the move-
up to the highest s t o r y in the house, where we were intro- ments of the table began again. Suddenly, in the midst of
duced into a very large room with an alcove. Curtains, or these, violent blowswere heard. Thechair placed at M.
portières, were let down across the front of the alcove. B e Lombroso's right tried to climb up on the table, then hung
hind the curtains at a distance of about three feet and a half, suspended upon the arm of thelearned professor. All of
 ,+&L:
'
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__ -

I
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148 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 149

a sudden the curtains of the alcove were shaken, and swung
I
forward over the table in such a way as to envelop M. Lom-
broso,who was very much moved by such a wonder, as he
himself has declared.
All these phenomena, happening at long intervals, in the.
I standing around the table conversing about the luminous phe-
nomena, and comparing the scattered and feeble effects o b
tained in this soirée with those of the Saturday preceding,
and seeking the reason for this difference, we heard noise
darkness, and in the midst of noisy conversation, were not in the alcove, and saw the portières which enclosed it vigor-
estimated at their true worth. It was thought that they were ouslyshaken, and the round table whichwas behind them
i
only the effects of chance or were jests of some member of slowly advancing toward Mme. Paladino,still seated and
the company. bound.
While we are all waiting and discussing the import of :he On seeing this strange, unexpected phenomenaoccur in
phenomena and the greater or less value that should be set full light, we were all stupeficd with amazement. M. Bian-
on them, the noise of the fall of an object is heard. When chi and M. Lombroso's nephew dashed into the alcove, under
the room is lighted, there is found at our feet under the table the impression that come personconcealed there waspro-
the trumpet which had been placed on the round table in ducing the movement of the portières and the round table.
the alcove behind the curtains. This circumstance, which Their astonishment wasunboundedwhen they ascertained
MM. Bianchi and Ascensi receive with a burst of laughter, that there was no one there, and that, under their very eyes,
the table continued to glide over the floor in the direction of
surprises the experimenters, and has the effect of more com-
pletely fixing their attention. , the medium. That is not all. Professor Lombroso o b
The room is darkened again, and, by urgent request Som9 aerved that, while the table was in movement, the salver on
fugitive glimmers of light are seen to appear and disappear it had been turned upside clown without a single particle of
at long intervals. This phenomenon impressed MM. Bian- the flour which it contained being spilled ;and he added that
chi and Ascensi, and put an end to their incessant railleries, no prestidigitator would have been able to accomplish such a
so much so that they came and formed a part. of the circle. feat. In the presence of thesephenomena taking place as
At the moment of the appearance of the gleams, and even they did, after the breaking up of the circle, in such a way
some time after they had ceased to showthemselves, MM. as to eliminate the hypothesi8 of a magnetic current, Pro-
Limoncelli and Tamburini, at the right of the medium, said fessor Bianchi, in obedience to the love of truth, confessed
thatthey mere touched in several placesby a hand. M. that it was he who, for the sake of a joke, had contrived and
Lombroso's young nephew, absolutely sceptical, who had brought about the fall of the tin trumpet, but that in the
taken a seat by the side of M. Limoncelli, declared that he
presence of such achievements as this he could no longer be
sceptical, and was going to apply himself to the study of
felt the touch of a flesh-and-blood hand, and asked with some
them in order to investigate their causes.
impetuosity who did that. He forgot -being not only Professor Lombroso complained ofthe trick, and said to M.
scept-ical, but artless -that,like himself, allthe persons
Bianchi that, as between professors met in order to make
present were helping to form the chain of hands and were in scientific studies and researches in common, mystifying
mutual contact. pranks like this could not but cast a slur upon the respect
It was getting late, and the lack of homogeneity in the cir- due to science.
cle was abridging the phenomena. Under these conditions Professor Lombroso, who was a prey both to doubt and to
I thought.1 ought, to end the séance and cause the candles ideas of his own which tormented his mind, made an en-
to be lighted. gagement to be present at further meetings on his return to
When MM. Limoncelli and Vizioli were taking leave, the Naples in the following summer.
medium being still seated and bound, andall of u8 were
150 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SBANCES WITH EUSAPIA 151
M. Ciolfi, having sent these two reports to M. Lombroso, Well, I donotsee anything inadmissible in this,- that
the eminent professor of Turin confirmed their accuracy in in the case of hypnotic and hysterical persons the excitation
of certain centres, which become powerful by the paralysis
the following letter, dated June 25, 1891 :- of all the others andthen provoke a transposition and a
transmission of physical forceg, may also produce a transfor-
Dear Bir,- The two reports that you have sent me are mation in luminous force or in motiveforce. Thus we
of the utmost accuracy. I add that, before we had seen the understand how the force in a medium which I shall call
salver turned over, the medium had announced that she cortical or cerebral may, for example, lift the table, pull
would sprinkle the faces of those who sat by her with flour; somebody’s beard, hit him, caress him, etc.
and everything leads to the belief that such was her intention, Duringthe transposition of senses due to hypnotism,-
but that she was not able to realize it,- a new proof, to my when, for example, the nose and the chin see (and that is a
mind, of her perfect honesty, especially considering her fact which I observed with my own eyes), and when for
eemi-unconsciousness. some moments all the other senses are paralyzed, the cortical
I am filled with confusion and regretthat I combated centre of vision, which has its seat in the brain, acquires such
with so much persistence the possibility of the facts called an energy that it supersedes the eye. It isthis which we
Spiritualistic. I say facts, because I am still opposed to the havebeenable to prove, Ottolenghi and I, in the case of
theory. three hypnotized persons, by making use of the lens and of
Please give my greetings to M. E. Ghiaia, and, if it is the prism.
possible, get M. Albini to examine the visual field and the
inner recesses of the eye of the medium, about which I desire The phenomenaobservedwould be explained, according
to inform myself.
to this theory, by a transformation of the powers of the
Yours very truly,
C. LOMBROSO. medium. Let us continue our account of the experiments.
Takinginto consideration the testimony of Professor
M. Lombroso soon after published hi9 experiences and -
Lombroso, several savants including MM. Schiaparelli, di-
reflections, in an article in the Ann’ales des sciences psy- rector of the observatory atMilan; Gerosa, professor of
chiques (1892) which ends thus: physics ; Ermacora, doctor of natural philosophy ; Aksakof,
councillor of state to the Emperor of Russia; Charles du
None of these facts, (which we must admit, because no one Prel, doctor of philosophy in Munich ; Dr. Richet, of Paris,
can deny things which he has seen) is of such a nature as
to lead us to form for their explanation an hypothesis of a I and Professor Buffern -met in October, 1892, in the apart-
world different from that admitted by the neuro-patholo- ment of M. Finzi, at Milan, to renew these experiments.
gists. l M. Lombrosowas present at several of the soirées. There
Above all, we must not forget that Mme: Eusapiais a were seventeen in all.
neuropath ; that in her childhood she received a blow on the The experimenters present signed the following long
left parietal bone, which produced a hole so deep that you
could put your finger in it; that she remained subject to at- declaration :
tacks of epilepsy, catalepsy, and hysteria, which take place
especially during the séance phenomena ; and that, finally, The results obtained did not always come up to our ex-
she has a remarkable obtuseness of touch. pectations. Not that we did not secure a large number of
 - .
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16% MYSTERIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES OTHER SÉANCESWITH EUSAPIL 153

factsapparently or really importantand marvellous ; but, Levitation of One Side of theTable
in the greater number ofcases,wewere not able to apply
the rules of experimental sciencewhich, in other fields of We agreed to have the medium sit alone at the table, in
observation, are regarded as indispensable in order to arrive full light, her two hands placed on its upper surface and her
at certainand incontestable results. The most important sleeves drawn back to the elbows. -
of these rules consists in changing, one after the other, the We remained standing about her, and the space above and
methods of experiment, in such a way as to bring out thetrue under the table waswell lighted. Under these conditions
cause, or at least the true conditions of all the events. Now the table rose at an angle of twenty to forty degrees, and so
it is precisely from this point of view that our experiments remained for some minutes, while the medium was holding
seemto us still incomplete. her legs stretched out and striking her feet one against the
I t is very true that the medium, t o prove her good faith, other. When we pressed with the hand upon the lifted side
often voluntarily proposed to change some feature of one or of the table,we experienced a considerable elastic resist-
the other experiment, and frequently herself took the initia- ance.
tive in thesechanges. But this applied only to things that The table was suspended by one of its ends to a dynamo-
were apparently indifferent., according to our way of seeing. meter which was coupled to a cord: this cord was tied to a
On the contrary, the changes which seemed to us necessary small beam supported upon two wardrobes.
to put the true character of the results beyond doubt, either Under these conditions, the end of the table having been
were not accepted as possible or ended in uncertain results. lifted six and a halfinches, the dynamometer showedsev-
Wedo not believe we have therightto explain these enty-seven pounds. The. medium sat at the same narrow end
things by the aid of insulting assumptions, which many still I of the table, with her hands wholly on the table, to the right
find to be the simplest explanation, and of whichsome and the left of thepoint where the dypamometer was at-
journals have made themselveschampions. We think, on tached. Our hands formed the chain upon the table, with-
the contrary, that these experiments are concerned with phc- out pressure: they would not have been able in any case to
nomena of an unknown nature, and we confess that we do not do more than increase the pressure brought to bear on the
know what the conditions are that are required to produco table. On the contrary, the desire wasexpressed thatthe
them. To desire to fix these conditions in our own right and pressure should diminish, and soon the table began to rise
out of our own headwouldbe as extravagant as to pre- ' I on the side of the dynamometer. M. Gerosa,whowas fol-
sume to make the experiment of Torricelli's barometer with lowing the marks on the apparatus, announced this diminu-
a tube closed at the bottom, or to make electrostatic exper- tion, expressed by the successive figures 71/2, 41/2, 21/2, 0
iments in an atmosphere saturated with humidity, or to take (pounds). At the lastthe levitation was such thatthe
a photograph by exposing the sensitive plate in full light dynamometer rested horizontally on the table.
before placing it in the [Link], it is a fact that Then we changed the conditions by putting our hands
the impossibility of varyingthe experiments inour own under the table. The medium,especially, put hers,not un-
way has diminished the worth and the interest of the results der the edge, where it might have touched the vertical bor-
obtained, by depriving them of that rigorous demonstration der-board and exercised a push downwards,-but under the
which we are right in demanding in cases of this kind, or, rail that unites the feet, and touched this, not with the palm,
rather, to which we ought to aspire. but with the back of the hand. Thus all the hands together
The following are the principal phenomena observed. could only have diminished the traction upon the dynamo-
meter. Upon the -desire being expressed to see this traction
augment, it increased from 7y~pounds t o 13 poqads, Dur-
154 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
ing all these experiments each of the medium's feet rested
under the foot of her nearest neighbor to right or 'left.

Complete Levitation of the Table. !

It was natural to conclude that if the table, in apparent

contradiction to the law of gravity, was able to rise partly,
it would be able to rise entirely from the floor. As a mat-
ter of fact,this is what happened. This levitation, one of
the most frequent phenomena that occur in the experiments
with Eusapia, stood a most satisfactory examination.
The phenomenon always materialized under the following
conditions: the persons seated about the table place their
hands on it, and form the chain; each hand of the medium
is held by the adjacent hand of her two neighbors ; each of
her feet remains under the feet of her neighbor, who also
press her knees with theirs. She is seated, as usual, at one of
the small ends of the table, a position least favorable for a
mechunical levitation. At the end of several minutes the ta-
ble makes a side movement, rises first to the right, then to
the left, and finally mounts off of its four feet straight into
the air, and lies there horizontally (as if it were floating on a
liquid), ordinarily at a height of from 4 to 8 inches (in
exceptional cases from 24 to 27 inches) ; then falls back
and rests on its four feet. I t frequently remains in the air
for several seconds, and while there also makes undulatory
motions, during which the position of the feet under the
table can be thoroughly examined. During the levitation
the right hand of the medium often leaves the table, as well
as that of her neighbor, and is held in the air above.
In order the better to observe this thing, we removed one
byone the personsplaced at the table,recognizing the
truth that the chain formed by several persons was neither
necessary forthis phenomenon nor for others. Finally, we
left only a single person with the medium,seated at her PLATEVIII. DRAWKG FROM PHOTOGRAPH, SHOWING METHODOF
CONTROL BP PROFESSORS TAMBROSO A I D RICHET OF
left.. This personplaced her footupon Eusapia's t,wo feet
EUSAPIA. TABLE COMPLETELY RAISED.
and one hand upon her knees, and held with her other hand
the left hand of the medium. Eusapia's right hand was on
the table, in fhll view,- though sometimes she held it in the
air during the levitation.

I
 OTHER SfiANCES WITH EUSAPIA 155
As the table rem,ained in the air for several seconds, it
wae possible to obtain several photographs of theperform-
I
ance. Three pieces of photographic apparatus were working
I
together in different parts of the room, and the illumination
1 was furnished by a magnesium light at the opportune mo-
ment. Twentyphotographs were obtained, some of which
are excellent. Upon one of them (Pl. VIII) we see Pro-
fessor Richet, who holds one hand, the knees, and a foot of
the medium. The other hand of t<helatter is held by Pro-
fessor Lombroso. The table is shown horizontally lifted,-
a fact proved by the interval between the extremity of each
foot and the extremityof the corresponding projectedshadow.
In all the experiments which precede, we gave our atten-
tion principally to a careful inspection of the position of
the hands and the feet of the medium ; and, in this respect,
we believe we can say that they were. safi from all criticism.
Still, a scrupulous sincerity compels us to mention the fact
to which we did not begin to call attention before the evening
of October 5, but which probably must have occurred also in
the preceding experiments. It consists in this, that the four
feet of the table could not be considered as perfectly isolated
during the levitation, because one of them at least was in
contact with the lower edge of the medium’s dress.
On this evening it was remarked that a little before the
levitation, Eusapia’s skirt was inflated on the left side until
it touched the foot of the nearest table. One of us having
been charged with the duty of hinderingthis contact, the
table was unable to rise as before, and it only did rise when
the observer intentionally permitted the [Link] to take place.
This is shown in the photographs taken during this experi-
ment, and also in those in which the table-foot in question is
visible (after a fashion) at its lower extremity. The reader
mill see that at the same time the medium hadherhand
placed upon the upper surface of the table, and on the same
side, in such a way that this table-foot was under her in-
fluence, as much in ita lower portion, by means of the dress,
as in the upper portion, .by means of the hand.
Now in what way is I t possible for the contact of a light
dress-stuff with the lower extremity of the foot of a table to
aseist in the levitation ? That is something we do not know.
158 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SGAXCES WITH EUSAPIA 157
The hypothesis that the dress may conceal a solid support, It was desirable to obtain this phenomenonas amatter
skilfully introduced, ’which may serve as a temporary sup- of experiment. For that purpose, the table beingplaced
port for the foot of the table, is a very poor one. upon casters, the feet of the nlediunl werewatched, as has
In fact, to keep the whole table resting on this one foot 1 been said, and all of the [Link] formed the chain with their
through the influence that a single hand could produce upon hands,‘ including those of the [Link] the table
the upper surface of the table would require that the hand began to move, we allliftedour hands, without breaking
exercise upon the table a very strong pressure, one that we the chain, and the table thus isolated made several move-
cannot suppose Eusapia. capable of,even duringthree or ments. This experiment was several times renewed.
four seconds.
We convinced ourselves of this by ourselves making proof The Fetching of DifferentObjects, the Hands of theMe-
of it with the same table.* dium Being tied to those of herNeighbors.

Movements of Objects at a Distance, without Contact with In order to assure ourselves that we were not the victims
A n y of thePersonsPresent of a trick, we tied the hands of the medium by a string to
those of her two neigbbors, in such a way that the movements
1. Spontaneous movements of objects. of the four hands would reciprocally control each other.
These phenomena were observed several times during our The length of the cord between the hands of the medium was
séances. It often happened that a chair, placed for thia from eight to twelveinches, and betweeneachone of her
purpose not far from the table, between the medium and one hands and the hands of her neighbors four inches. This
of her neighbors, began to move about, and sometimes came distance of spacewas purposely arranged in order that the
up to the table. A remarkable instance occurred in the sec- hands of the neighboring persons might, in addition, readily
ond séance, everything being all the time in full light. A hold those of the medium during the convulsive movements
heavy chair, weighing twenty-twopounds,which stood a which usually agitate her.
yard from the table and behind the medium, came up to M. The tying was done in the following way: we took three
Schiaparelli, whowas seated next the .medium. He rose to turns of the string around each wrist of the medium, without
put it back in its place ; but scarcely was he seated when the leaving any slack, but drawn so tightlyas almost to give
chair advanced a second time toward him. her pain,” andthen we tied two simple knots. This was
2. Movement of the table without contact.
I hear very often the following objection: ‘‘ I shall only be-
’ However,eome doubt ma remain. I n my photographs, also (Pl. lieve in mediums who are not remunerated; all those who are paid are
I. and VI.), the foot of the ta&e at the left of the medium is concealed. under suspicion.” Eusapia belongs to these last. Being withoutfor-
As I myself was at this very place, I am sure that the medium was tune, she never visits a city unless her travelling and hotel expenses
p a b l e to lift the table withher foot, for ticis foot was held under mine, are paid. She also loees her time, and is submitted t o a not very agree- ‘
not by a rod or by any support whatever; for I had a hand upon her able inquisition. For my part, I do notadmitthe above objection a t
legs, whioh did not moue. The objection is moreover refuted by the [Link] physical and intellectualfaculties have nothing in common
experiment which I made on the 20th of March, 1008 (see p. 6 ) , of a with money-getting. It will be mid that the medium is interested in
levitation, with Eusspia standing,-an experiment which had been deceiving andtricking: it increases her fees. Butthereare a good
made before on the27th of July, 1897, a t Monfort-l’Amaury (see p. many othertemptationsinthe world. I have seen unpaid mediums,
82),the feet, verynaturally, being visible. Hence there can be no men and womenof society, cheat without any scruple, from pure van-
doubt whatever about the complete levitation of the table floating in ity, or for a purpose still less fit to beavowed,- for the mere pleas-
space. Aksakof obtained a levitation, intheahnees a t Milan, after ure of trapping some one. The seances of Spiritualism have been made
havingtled Eusapia’s feetwith two strings,the ends of which were to serve useful and agreeable ends in fashionable society - and more
short and had been sealed to the floor very near each foot. than one marriage has originated there.
Farther on the readerwill be given proof of other undeniable in- W e must be as sceptical about one class of mediums as about an-
stances, among others, a t pp. 164,166. Other.
 -7-
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158 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER ,.SÉANCESWITH EUSAPIA 159

done in order that, if by any artifice the hand was able to M. Du Prel’s hand was completely blackened, the hands of
release itself fromthestring, the threeturns wouldwork the medium remaining perfectly clean.
against it and the hand could not get back again under the
string as it was before. I
A little bell wasplaced upon achair behind her. The Apparition of Hands upon a Dimly Lighted Background
chain was formed, and her hands as well as her feet were We placed upon the table a large cardboard covered with
held as usual. The room was darkened in answer to the re- a phosphorescent substance (sulphide of calcium), and we
quest that the little bell should at once sound, after which placed other pieces of cardboard upon chairs in different
we were tountie the medium. Immediately we heard parts of the chamber. Under such conditions we saw very
thechair move, describe a curve upon the floor, approach plainly the outline of a hand imposed on the cardboard of
the table, and presently place itself upon it. The bell rang, the [Link] the background formed’by the other pieces
then was thrown upon the table. The light having been at we saw the shadow of the hand pass and repass around us.
once turned on, we ascertained that the knots of the string On the evening of September 2 1 one of us several times
were in perfect order. It is clear that the fetching on of tlie saw the image, not of one, but of two hands at once, thrown
chair wasnot produced by the action of the hands of the upon the glass panes of a feebly illuminated window (out-
medium. side it was night, but the darkness was not complete).
These hands exhibited a rapid tremulous motion, but not 30
Impression8 of Fingers obtained on Smoked Paper. rapid as to hinder us from seeing the [Link] clearly. They
werewholly opaque and were thrown upon the window as
In order to decide if we had to do with a human hand. ... absolutely black silhouettes.
This simultaneous appearance of two hands is very signi-
or with any other way of dealing, we &ed a sheet of paper,’
blackened with the smoke of a lamp, upon the table,. on the ficant, for they cannot be explained on the hypothesis of a
side opposite that of the medium, and expressed a wish that trick of the medium, who would not have been able in any
the hand would leave an impression on it, that the hand of way to free more than one of her hands, owing to the
the medium should remain unsoiled, and that the lampblack surveillance of those who sat besideher. The sameconclu-
be transferred to the hands of one ofus. The hands of the sion applies to the clapping of two hands, one against the
medium were held by those of MM. Schiaparelliand Du other, which was several times heard in the air.
Prel. The chain was made in the darkness, then we heard
a hand lightly tap upon the table, and presently M. Du Pm1 The Levitation of the Medium to the Top of the Table
announced that his left hand, which he held on the right
hand of M. Finzi, had had the sensation of fingers rubbing We regardthis levitation as among the most important
it. As soon as the room was lighted, we found upon the and most significant of Spiritualistic achievements. It took
paper several imprints of fingers, and the back of M. Du place twice, on September .28 and October 3. The medium
P d ’ s hand wascovered with lampblack; butthehands of was seated at one end of the table, uttering deepgroans,
the medium, examinedthen and there, had no trace of it. and was lifted up with her chair and placed upon the table,
This experience was repeated three times. When we insisted not moving from her position, those next her still holding ,her
upon having a complete impression, we obtained five fingers hands as she rose.
upon a second sheet of paper, and upon a third the impres- On the evening of September 28, while her two hands were
sion of almost an entire left hand. After that th0 back of held by MM. Richet and Lombroso, the medium complained
of theirgraspingher under the arm. Then, in a state of
 160 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SBANCES WITH EUSAPIA IGI
trance she said, with the changedvoicewhichshe usually darkness with so much delicacy and promptness that the said
has while in this state, " Now I bring up my medium upon experimenter onlyperceived the loss of them when be no
the table." At the end oftwo or three seconds the chair, I longer hadtheusual feeling of them on his nose, on his tern-
with the medium seated in it, was not thrown, but lifted plea, and behind his ears, and he was obliged to feel with his
with precaution and placed upon the table. MM. Richet hands in order to be sure that they were no longer in their
and Lombroso are sure they did not assist her in this ascen-
sion. After she had spoken,being a11 the time in astate
of trance, the medium announced her dement, and (M.
Finzi being substituted for M. Lombroso)wasplaced upon the company felt his hair and beard stroked.
the floor with care and precision, MM. Richet and Fimi fol- l n all of the innumerable manœuvres executed by myste-
lowing her movements without at all assisting them. rious hands, there was never any awkward stumbling or col-
Moreover, during the descent, both gentlemen felt a hand lision to be noted, though ordinarily this is .inevitable when
touching them lightly rseveral times upon the head. On one is working in the dark. l may add, in this connection,
the evening of October 3 the same phenomenon was repeated that bodies tolerably heavy and bulky, such as chairs and ves-
in similar circumstances. sels full of clay, were deposited upon the table without hav-
ing collided with any of the numerous hands resting upon the
Touchings table,- a particularly difficult thing in thecase of chairs
which, owing to their dimensions,occupied a large part of i
Some of these merit particular notice, owing to a circum- the table. A chair was turned over on its faceuponthe
stance capable of giving us an interesting notion of their table and lay there at full length without causing the least
possible origin. Our first business is to describe the touch- annoyance to anybody ; and yet it covered almost the entire
ings whichwere felt by personsbeyond the reach of the surface.
hands of the medium. Thus, on the evening of October 6,
M. Gerosa,whowas separated fromthe medium by three Contact with a Human Face
places (about four feet, the medium being alittleto one
side' and M. Gerosa in one of the adjacent corners at the One of us having expressed the wish to be kissed, felt be-
opposite short end of the table), having lifted his hand that fore his very mouth the peculiar quick sounds of a kiss, but
it might be touched, felt a hand strike his own sleveral times not accompanied by any contact of lips. This happened
to make him lower it; and, as he persisted, he was hit with twice. On three different occasions one of the experimenters
a trumpet, which an instant before had been making sounds felt the touch of a face with hair and beard. The feeling
in the air. of the skin was exactly that of a living man. The hair was
h the secondplace, we must note touchings whichcon- much coarser and more bristly than that of the medium, and
stitute very delicate operations, and which cannot be made the beard seemed very soft and delicate.
in the darkness with the precision which we have noted in Such are the experiments made at Milan in 1892 by the
[Link] (on September l 6 and 21) M. Schiaparelli
had his spectacles removed from his nose and laid down on group of savants cited above.
the table before another person. These glasses are fixed to How can we help admitting, after the reading of this new
the ears by means of two springs, and a certain amount of official report, the following things ?
attention is necessary in order to removethem,even to one . 1..The complete levitation of the tables.
working in full light. Yet they wereremoved in complete 2. The levitation of the medium.
 162 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 163
3. The movement of objects without contact. an unconscionably long task to analyze them all. Let US
4. Accurate and delicate touches made by invisible or- merely select some special characteristic instances.
gans. In the report of M. de Siemiradski we read as follows:
5. The formation of hands and even of human figures.
These phenomena take their place in this book as things In the corner of the hall there was a piano, placed to the
left of Ochorowicz andEusapia,and a little ln the rear.
whichwereobserved with the most scrupulous care. Someone desired to hear the keyboard touched. We at
Let us note also the action of the little piece of furniture once hear the moving of the [Link] can even
(chair or round table), which tries to climb up on one of the ~ e ethe displacement, thanksto a ray of light which falls
company or upon the large table,- a thing also observed by upon the polished surface of theinstrument through the
myself. window shutters. The piano then opens noisily, and we hear
Although the savants of the Milan group regretted that the bass notes of the keyboard sounding. I utter aloud my ,

desire to hear high notes and low notes touched at the same
they did not make experiments, but only obsmations (I time, as a proof that the unknown force can act at the two
said above (p. 2O), what we ought to think about this), the ends of the keyboard. My wish is granted, and we hear bass
facts were noneproved.
the less . notes and treble notes sounded at the same time, which seems
I will add that after the reading of this procès-verbal, the to prove the action of two distinct hands. Then the instru-
cautious reserves of M. Schiaparelli seemexaggerated. If ment advances toward us. It presses againstour group,
and we are obliged to get up and move’back with our ex-
fraud has sometimes crept in, still what has been accurately periment table, and we do not stop until we have thus moved
observed remains safe and sound andis an acquisition to back several yards.
science. A glass half full of water, which stands on a buffet, out
Our medium, Eusapia, has been the subject of a fruitful of reach of our hands, was carried by an unknown power to
series of experiments. Let me also mention those of Naples the lips of Ochorowicz, Eusapia, and another person, who all
in 1893, underthe direction of M. Wagner, Professor of drank of it. This performance took place in complete dark-
ness and with astonishing precision.
Zoölogy at the University of St. Petersburg ; that of Rome We were able to prove the existence of a real hand not be-
in 1893-1894, under the direction of M. de Siemiradski, longing to any one present. We did it by means of the plas-
correspondent of the Institute ; those of Varsovie, from the ter cast and mould, as follows:
85th of November, 1893, to the 15th of January, 1894, a t Having placed a heavy basin filled with modelling-clay
the house of Dr. Ochorowicz ; those of Carqueiranne and of upon the large table in the middle of the dining-room, we
sat down withEusapiaaroundthelittle experiment-table
l’île Roubaud, in 1894, at the house of Professor Richet;
more than a yard distan& After some minutes of waiting,
those of Cambridge in August, 1895, a t the houseof Mr. the basin came of itself and stood on our table 1 Eusapia
Myers ; those of the villa de l’Agnellas, from the 20th to the groaned, writhed, and trembled in all her limbs ; yet not for
29th of September, 1895, at the house of Colonel de Rochas; a moment did her hands quit ours. Then’ she cried, ‘‘ E
those of Auteuil, in September, 1896, a t the house of M. fatto ” (“ It is done ”). The candle is lighted again, and
Marcel Mangin, etc. It would be entirely s u p d u o u s and I
we find an irregular hollowed place upon the surface of the ,
clay. This hollowplace, afterward filled with plaster, gives
UB a perfect cast of the contracted fingers of a hand.
 p
164 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SBANCES WITH EUSAPIA 166
We placed upon the table a plate smeared with lampblah. bellwas heard, not only &ensheremoved her foot, but ‘

The mysterious hand left there the print of the end of its when she lifted it too high in the box.
fingers. The hands of the experimenters, including those After all these demonstrations, I will not do my readers
of Eusapia, remained white. We next induced the medium the wrong of thinking that the [Link] the table is not
to reproduce the impression of her own hand ‘upon another YORE THAN PRQVED for all of them.
lamp-smoked plate. Shedid so. Thelayer of soot
r* Here, now, is a curious observation relative to the infla-
movedby her fingers had deeply blackenedthem. A com-
parison of the two plates enabled us to prove a striking’ re- tion of the curtain:Ten personswere seated around the
semblance,- that is to say (to speak more accurately), the table. Eusapia had her back turned to the curtain; she was
identity of the arrangement of the spiral circles in the epi- controlled by General Starynkiewicz and Dr. Watraszewski.
dermis of the two hands ; and we know that the arrangement
of these circles isunique in every individual. This is a I was seated (writes M. Glowacki-Prus) opposite Eusapia,
particular which speaks eloquently in favor of the hypothesis near Mlle. X., a very nervous person and easily hypnotized.
of the double personality of the medium. The séance had lasted for about an hour, with numerous and
variedphenomena. Eusapia, as always,was in a semi-con-
In order mechanically to control the movements of Eu- scious state. Suddenly she awoke, and Mlle. X. uttered
sapia’s feet, Dr. Ochorowiczemployed the following piece n cry. Knowing what this cry meant, I grasped her hand
of apparatus. Two deep and narrow cigar-boxes
were with great force and then put my arm about her; for this
placed under the table, and Eusapiaputher unshod feet girl becomes very strong in certain states. The roomwas
well lighted, and this is what we saw (something, be it noted,
into them. The boxes had doublebottoms and werepro- which I myself experienced by my hands). Every time that
vided with an electrical arrangement of such a nature that the muscles of Mlle. X. becamemore tense and rigid, the
she could move her feet freely for some inches in every di- curtain which hung opposite her, a t a distance of from seven
rection ; but, if she wished to withdraw them from the box, to ten feet, made a movement. The following table indi-
the electric bell tinkled before she had movedthem half cates thedetails of this correlation:
way to the top, and only stopped when they were returned
to their place. Eusapia cannot remain utterly quiet during
Feeble tension of the muscles . . The curtain is set in mo-
tion.
the séances. So she yas given a certain freedom of move- Strong tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It bellies out like a sail..
ment ; but it was impossible for her to make use of her legs Very strong tension, cries . . .. . It reaches as far as Eusa-
forliftingthe table. Under these conditions the table, pia’s controllers, and al-
weighing twenty-five pounds, rose up twice without the bell mostwhollycoversthem.
being heard. Duringthe second levitationthe table was
Repose ........... . ..... ... . Repose.
Tension of the muscles . . . . .. . ..Movement of the curtain.
photographed underneath. (The four feet of the table are Strong tension ... .... ... ..... .Strong inflation of the cur-
seen inthe photograph. Theleft is in contact with Eu- tain.
sapia’s dresp, as is always the case when the light is strong;
but the boxes holding the feet of the medium are in their This tabular view presents the striking proportion which
place.) Thenthe experimenters verified thefactthat the I ascertained between the tension of the medium’smuscles
 - er-
fl. . -
- .
.T .
._ ..

OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 167

l66 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
(who in this cage wasMlle. X.) and the mechanical work
the explanation of the greater part of the phenomena. Ac-
of the curtain in movement. cording to this conception, the moving of objects without con-
tact would be produced by the fluidic limbs of the medium."
1 .
This experiment is so much the more interesting since it
Sir Oliver Lodge, an eminent English physicist, rector
was not Eusapia who made it; and, if she had a trick for in-
flating the portières, it was not employed in this case. W e of the University of Birmingham, says that, on the invita-
already know that she had none. tion of Dr. Richet, he went to [Link] the experiments at
Here are the conclusions of M. Ochorowicz: Carqueiranne, thoroughly convinced that he should not see
there any instance of physical movement without contact;
1. I did not find any proofs in favor ofethe Spiritualistic but that what he saw completelyconvinced him that phe-
hypothesis; that is tosay, in favor of the intervention of nomena of that kind can have, under certain conditions, a
an intelligence other than that of the medium. " John " id real and objective existence. He vouches .forthe follow-
for me only a psychic double of the medium. Consequently, 'hgverified facts:
not I am
Spiritualist. a b

2. Mediumistic phenomena are confirmatory of " magnet- l. Movements of a chair at a distance, seenby the light
ism " as opposed to " hypnotism " ; that is to say, they im- of the moon, and in circumstances which proved that there
ply the existence of a fluidic action apart from mggestion. was no mechanical connection.
3. Still, mggestion plays an important rôle in them, and 2. The inflation and the movement of acurtaininthe
the medium is only a mirror reflecting the forces and the absence of wind or of any other ostensible cause.
ideas of those present. Moreover,shepossesses the power 3. The automatic winding up and movingabout of a
of realizing her own somnambulistic visions or thosesug- music-box.
gested by the company, simply by the process of externaliz- 4. Sounds proceeding fromapianoand from an accor-
ing them. dion which had not been touched.
4. No purely physical force explains these phenomena, 5. A key turned in a lock, on the inside of the room
which are always of a psycho-physical nature, having a cen- where the séanceswereheld, then placed upon the table,
tre of action in the mind of the medium. and again put back into the lock.
5. T h e phenomena proved do not contradict either me- 6. The overturning, by means of slow and correct evolu-
chanics in general or the law of the conservation of forces tions, of a heavy moving table, which was afterwards found
in particular. The medium acts at the expense of her own thus turned upside down.
proper powers and at the expense of those of the persons 7. The levitation of a heavytable, under condition8 in
present. which it would have been impossible to lift it in ordinary
6. There exists a series of transitions between medium- circumstances.
ship of aninferiorkind (automatism, unconscious fraud) 8. The appearance of blue marks upon a table previously
and mediumship of a superior kindor externalization of spotless, andthis, done without thehelp of the ordinary
motivity (action at a distance without visible and palpable methods of writing.
connecting link), 9. The sensation of blows, as if some one were striking the
7. The hypothesis of a " fluidic double " (astral body),
which, under certain conditions, detaches itself and acts in- These reports were published in detail in the work of M. de
Rochas OP The Ecterncclixatiorc of Yotivity, 4th edition, 1906, p. 170.
dependently of the body of the medium, seeme necessary for
168 MYSTERIOUS PSPCHIC FORCES . OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 169
head, the a m s , or the back,while the head, the hands, Seeing the uselessness of further questions, we go to bed
and the feet of the medium were plainly in view or held’ again, advising her to sleep quietly.
apart from the portions of the body that were touahed. Next day I ask her the same question. She is very much
I astonished and even troubled (she blushes slightly).
I t is plain enough what part the above statements play ‘in “ How ehould I dare,” said she, “ to enter your chamber

our argument. They are throughout simply confirmations during the night ? ’’
of the experiments described above. This accusation is very painful to her,’ and she tries to
persuade us by all kinds of insufficient reasons that we are
At Cambridge, Eusapia was taken in the very act of de- wrong. She denies the whole thing, and I amobliged to
ception ; namely, the substitution of hands. While the con- admit that she does not remember getting up or even heving
trollers believed that they were’holding her two hands, they conversed with W (it was just another somnambulistic state).
were only holding one of them : the other was free. So these I take a little table, and direct Eusapia to put her hands
experimenters at Cambridge unanimously declared that on it.
“ Very well,” says she, “ John will tell you that I don’t
“ everything was fraud, from the beginning to the end,” i n
lie.”
Eusapia Paladino’s twenty séances. I then ask the following questions:
I n a paper sentto M. de Rochas, M. Ochorowicz con- “ I s it you, John, whocame into our sleeping chamber
tested thisradical conclusion, for several reasons. Eusapia last night ? ”
is very susceptible to suggestion, and, by indulging her in- ‘‘ No.”
“ Was it the chambermaid ? ” (I suggest thisidea for
clination to fraud and not hindering it, they incite her to it
the express purpose of testing John’s veracity.)
still more by a kind of tacit encouragement. Moreover, her
“ No,” say8 he.
fraud is generally of an unconscious kind. I append here, “ Was it the medium herself? ”
as a particularillustration of this, a rathertypical story ‘‘ Yes,” says. the table.- ‘‘ No, it is not true, “ exclaims
about her: e Eusapia, seeing her hope banished -“ Yes,” replies the table,
forcibly.
One evening, at Varsovie (says M. Ochorowicz), Eu- “ Was she in the trance state ? ”

sapia is sleeping in her chamber by the side of ours. I have No.”

not yet gone to sleep, when suddenly I hear her rising and “ I n her normal state ? ”

moving about with bare feet ‘in the drawing-room. Then “ No.”

she entersher chamber again and approaches our door. I ‘‘ In a spontaneous somnambulistic state ?’’
make a sign to Mme. Ochorowicz, who has waked up, to be ‘‘Yes.”
quiet and to observe carefully what is going to take place. ‘‘ For what purpose 8 ”
A moment after, Eusapia gently opens the door,comes up ‘‘She was hunting matches; for she was frightened in her
to my wife’s toilet-table, opens a drawer, shuts it, and goes eleep, and didn’t want to sleep without light.”
away, carefully avoiding making any noise. I hastily dress Sure enough, there were always matches in the drawer
myself and we enter her chamber. Eusapia is quietly sleep openedby Eusapia, except on thisparticular night. She
ing. ,The light of our candle seems to wake her. therefore returned without getting any.
“ What were you hunting for in our sleeping-room ? ” While listening to the explanation of the table, Eusapia
“ I ? I haven’t left this place.” &rugged her shoulders, but protested no longer*
 . . -....- . -

IT0 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SfiANCES WITH EUSAPIA 171

Here, then, is a womanwho, from time to time, has the materialized, that of the medium contracts and rests heavily
power of passing from one psychical state to another. Iá it upon the controller, exactly at the moment that the phenome-
just to accuse such a creature of premeditated fraud, with-* non takes place. She is th& almost insensible andall
out the slightest medical and psychological examination, shrunken together. In very good mediumistic conditions
without the least attempt at verification ? the doubling is easy and the initial hyperaesthesiaof short
duration. I n this case the medium allows herhandto be
M. Ochorowice adds here that, so far as he is concerned, completely covered and the feet of the controllers to be upon
hers, as was always the case in our séances at Rome in 1893;
the phenomena are not produced by a personality different but, since that time, she can no longer endure that position,
from that of the medium, nor by a new independent occult and rather prefers to be held by hands under the table.
force ; but it is a special psychic condition which permits 3. I n accordance with psychologicallaws, the hand al-
the vital dynamism of the medium (the astral bodyof the ways proceeds automatically in the direction &f our thoughts Y
occultists) to act ata distance, undercertain exceptional (Cumberlandism). The medium acts by auto-suggestion,
and the order to go as far as an indicated point is given by
conditions. It is the only hypothesis which seems necessary her brain simultaneously to the dynamic hand and the cor-
in the actual state of our knowledge. poreal hand, since in the normal state they form only one,
Why does the medium so often try to release her hand ? And since, immediately after the hypemsthesia, the musm
So far as the Cambridge experimenters are concerned, the' lar sensation is excited and the hand growsbenumbed, it,
cause is very simple and al*ays the same: she releases her sometimes happens (especially when the medium proceeds
hand in order toindulge in tricks. As a matter of fact, carelessly and does not properly govern her movements)
I that the dynamic hand remains in place, while her own hand
the reasonswhy she frees her hand are many and compli- goea in the indicated direction. The former, not being yet
cated. materialized, produces only a semblance of pressure; and
Dr. Ochorowicz's explanations are as follows: another person, able to see a little in the darkness, will per-
ceive nothing of it, and will even be able to ascertain by
1. Let meobserve, in the first place, thatEusapiafre- touch the absence of the medium's hand from that of the
quently releases her hand for no other reason than to touch controller. Atthe same time the hand of the medium is
her head, which is in pain at the moment of the manifesta- going in the direction of the object; and still it may happen
tions. It is a natural reflex movement; and, in her case, it that it does not really reach it, acting, as it does, at u dis-
is a fixedhabit. Since, more often than not, she does not tance, by a dynamic pl'olongation.
notice that she is doing it, or at least fails to give warning It is in this way that I explain the cases in which the
to her controller, the darkness justifies suspicions. hand, being released, has not yet been able to reach the
2. Immediately before the mediumistic doubling of her- point aimed at (physically inaccessible), as well asthe
personality, herhand is affected with hyperæsthesia and, numerous experiinents made at Varsovie in full light, with
consequently, the pressure of thehand of another makes a little bell hung in different ways, with compasses of dif-
her ill, especially in the dorsal quarter. Shethen most ferent forms, with a very small table, etc.,- experiments in
frequently places the hand which is to be mediumistically which Eusapia's fingers were quite near, but did not touch,
active above and not below that of the controller, trying to the object. I proved that there was no electric force at work
touch it as little as possible. When the doubling of the in these cases, but that things occurred asifthearms of
personality is complete, and the dynamic hand more or leas the medium were lengthened and acted invisibly, but me-

. -...
. . . .
. .
172 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES ,OTHER SEANCES WITH EUSAPIA 173
chunicdy. At Varsovie, whenone of my friends M. But if discord reigns, if one or more of the company
Glowacki, took it into his head ‘‘ that it wasnecessary to persistently spy upon the acts of the medium, with the con-
give the medium free rein, in order to discover her method,”
we had an entirely fraudulent séance and lost our time to no viction that he or she must be cheating, the results am very
purpose. On the contrary, in a poorséance at l’île Rou- much like the progress of a sailing vessel impelled by sev-
baud, we obtained some good pheDomena after having eral contrary winds. The medium simply marks time
frankly told the medium that she was cheating. without advancing ; and little but sterile results are secured.
Paychic forces are no less real than physical or chemical or
And here are the conclusions of the author upon “ the
mechanical forces. I n spite of the desire that we may have
Cambridge frauds ” :
to convince prejudiced sceptics, it is,advisable to invite only
l. Not onlywas conscious fraud not proved on Eusapia one of them at a time, and to place him next to the medium,
at Cambridge, but not the slightest effort was made to do so. in order that he may be at once astonished, shaken, and con-
2. Unconscious fraud was proved in much larger propor- vinced. But in general this ia not worth the trouble.
tions than in all the preceding experiments. In the month of September, 1895, a new series of ex-
3. This negative result is vindicated by a blundering periments was made at l’tlgnélas, in the residence of Colonel
method littlein accordance with the nature of the phe-
nomena. -
de Rochas, president of the polytechnic school, with the as-
sistance of Dr. Dariex, editor of the AnnaZes des sciences
Suchis also the opinion of Dr. J. Maxwell, and of all I psg(chique8, Count de Gramont (doctor of science), Dr. J.
who are competent judges of the question. Maxwell, deputy of the attorney-general at the Court of Ap-
To sum up, we see that the influence of preconce:ped peals in Limoges, Professor Sabatier, of the faculty of sci-
ideas, opinions, and sentiments, upon the production of phe- ences at Montpellier, and .Baron de Watteville, a licentiate
nomena, is certain. When all the experimenters have nearly in science. They confirmed all the preceding details.*
the same sympathetic inclination for thia kind of research, A similar series was held in September, 1896, atTre-
and when they have decided to exercise sufficient “ control ”- mezzo, in the rooms of the Blech family, then in summer
(that is, watchful oversight) not to be the dupe of any mys- residence at Lake Como ;again at Auteuil, at the home of M.
tification, and agree among. themselves to accept the regreb Marcel Mangin, with MM. Sully-Prudhomme, Dr. Dariex,
table conditions of darkness necessary to theactivity of E d e Desbeaux, A. Guerronnan, and Mme. Boisseaux also
these unknown radiations, and not to trouble in any way participating. Let us atop for a moment to glance at this
the apparent exigencies of the medium, then the resuleng last séance.
phenomena attain an extraordinary degree of intensity.*
A very curio- experiment made with a letter-weigher took place at
* I will add, for the benefitof those who wish to try some of theae 1’8gn6las. In response toan impromptu suggeetion madeby M. de
psychic experiments, that the best conditions for success are to have Gramont, Eusspia consented to trg whether, by making vertical pasea
a homogeneous, impartial, and sincere group, free fromeveryprecon- with her hands on each side of the tray of the letter-weigher (going
ceived idea, and not exceeding five or six persons in number. It is ne high as fift grams), she could not lower it. She succeeded in
absurd to object that, in order to obtain the phenomena, me mmt- doing so severas times in succession, in the presence of five observers
haue fuith. But, while positivë belief is not necessary, it is yet ad- placed about her, who testified that ehe did not have in her fingers
vieable not ta exercise any hostile influence during â aknce.. either thread or hair to prem upon the trag.
 -.I .-
- = OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSBPIA 175
the silence, my attention is caught by the appearance of a
hand, the small hand of a woman. I can see it, owing to
~.,,the feeble light coming from the window.
7
I t is not the shadow of a hand: it is a hand of flesh (I
do not. add “ and of bone,” for I have the impression that
it has no bones). This hand opens and closes three times,
eufficiently long to permit me to say:
“ Whose hand is this ? -youra, Monsieur Mangin ? ”
u Nom” .
“ Then it is a materialization 8 ”
“ Undoubtedly : if you hold the medium’s right hand, I
hold the other.”
I had the right hand of Eusapia on my left hand, and
her fingers were interlaced with mine.
Now the hand which I saw was a right hand, stretched
out and presented in profile. I t remained for a moment
motionless in the air, at about from twenty-four to twenty-
\ eight inches above thetableand thirty-six inches from Eu-
sapia. As its immobility (I suppose) was the cause of my
not seeing it, it therefore opened and closed: it was these
movements which attracted my attention.
My favorable position in respect to the window, unfor-
tunately permitted me alone to see this mysterious hand; but
M. Mangin saw, at two separate times, not a hand, but the
shadow of a hand outlined in profile upon the opposite
window.
Eusapiaturnaher head in the direction of thecurtain,
behind which there is a leathercovered easy-chair, and, dis-
placing the curtain, this chair comes and leans against me.
She takes my left hand, lifta it above the table the whole
length of her right arm, and makes the feint of rapping in
the-air : the echo of three blows is heard on the table.
A little bell is placed before her. She stretches out her
two hands to the right- and the left of the bell at a distance
of from three to four inches; then she draws back her hands
toward her body, and, lo and behold ! the bell comes gliding
alongover the table until it bumps against something and
falls over. Eusapia repeats the experiment several times.
Youwould think that her hands were invisibly prolonged;
and that seems to me to justify the term “ ectenic force,”
..-.----u4- -- ._. _ .-- - .-

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176 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC

FORCES OTHER SEIANCES WITH EUSAPIA 177
which Professor Thury, of Geneva, gave in the year 1855 to heavy articles of furniture arranged by my companions and
this unknown energy. myself. That is allthat I can say about it. For my part,
I was just asking if she did not perchance have some in- I call “ natural ” that. which is scientifically proved. So that
visible thread between her fingers,when suddenly, ap irre- the word “ mysterious ” means that which still astonishes
sistible itching made her put her left hand to her nose ; her us because it cannot be explained. I believe that the sci-
righthad remained upon thetablenearthebell;the two entific spirit consists in verifying facts, in not denying a
hands at this momentwere about two feet apart. I ob- priori anyfact which is not in contradiction with known
served carefully. Eusapia rested her left hand upon the laws, and in accepting none which has not been determined
table,some inches from the bell, and this was again set in ‘by safe and verifiable conditions.
motion. Considering the gesture made byher, it would Béance of September 26.- A dark bust moves forward
have been necessary, in order to perform this feat, to have a upon the table, coming from where Eusapia sits; then an-
wonderfully elastic thread, absolutely invisible ; forour other, and still another. “ They look like Chinese ghosts,’’
eyeswere, so to speak, upon the bell, and thelight was says M. Mangin, with this difference, that I, who am
abundant. My eyes were only a foot distant from the bell, better placed,owing tothelightfromthe window,am
at the utmost. able to perceive the dimensions of these singular images,
This was a certain and undeniable case, and Sully-Prud- and above alltheir thickness. All these black busts are
homme returnedto his home with me as thoroughly con- busts ofwomen,of life size ; but, although vague, they do
vinced as I am. not look [Link] of them, of fineshape, is
that of a woman who seems young and pretty. These half-
The poet of Solitudes and of Justice, wrote on his part, as lengths, which seem to emanate from the medium, glide
follows : along between us ; and, when they have gone as far as the
middle of the table or two-thirds of its length, they sink down
After a rather long wait, an architect’s stool came march- altogether (all of a piece, as it were), and vanish. This
ing up all alone toward me. It grazed my left side, rose to l rigidity makes me think of the reproductions, or fac-similes,
the height of the table, and succeeded in placing itself upon of a bust escaped from a sculptor’s atelier, and I murmur,
it. As I lifted my hand, I felt it at once seized. I “ One would think he was looking at busts moulded in papier-

“ Why do you take my hand 8 ” I asked of my neighbor. maché? Eusapiaheard me. “ No, not papier-maché,”she
“ It was not I,” said he. says indignantly. She does not give any other explana-
While these phenomena were taking place, Eusapia seemed tion, but says (this time in Italian), “ In order to prove to
to be suffering. It seemed asif out of her own physie you that it is not the body of the medium, I am going to
logical fund or stock she were furnishing all the force re- showyou a man with a beard. Attention 1 ” I do not see
quired to put the objects in motion. anything, but Dr. Dariex feels his face rubbed against for
After the séance, while she was still very much prostrated, quite a while by a beard.
we saw an easy-chair whichwas behind the curtain come
rolling up behind her, as if to say, “ Hold on there ! you’ve New experiments made at Genoa in 1901, at which Eurico
forgotten me ! ” Morselli, professor of psychology at the University of Gen-
My conviction is that I witnessedphenomenawhich oa,was present, were reported bymy learned friend the
I cannot relatetoanyordinary physical law. My impres-
sion is that fraud, in any case, is more than improbable,- astronomer Porro, successively director of the observatories
at least so far as concerns the displacement at a distance of of Genoa and Turin, to-day director of the national observa-

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 178 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SÉANCESWITH EUSAPIA 179
tory of theArgentineRepublic [Link] formity withlaws almost unknown and, in any case, of
some extracts from this report :* sachacharacter that the will of the experimenterhasbut
1i ttle influence upon the unshackled, self-regulating,and
often adverse volitions which betray themselves at every mo-
Nearlytenyears have passed since EusapiaPaladino ment inthestudy of these psychical marvels. Nobody is
made her first appearance in the memorable séances at Milan betterprepared to study these thingsthanan astronomer,
during the course of her mediumistic tours through Europe. possessing, as he does, a scientific education precisely adapt-
The object of shrewdinvestigations on the part of experi- ing himtothe investigation of such conditions. I n fact,
enced and learned observers ; the butt of jokes, accusations, by the systematic observation of the movements of the heav-
sarcasms ; exalted by certain fanatics as a personification of enly bodies, the astronomercontractsthehabit of being a
supernatural powers and scoffed at by others as a mounte- vigilantand patient spectator of phenomena, withoutat-
bank,- the humble haberdasher of Naples has madeso much temptingeither to arrestorto accelerate their irresistible
stir in the world that she is herself bored and displeased development. I n other words, thestudy of thestars be-
by it. longs to the science of observation rather than to that of ex-
I had good proof of this when I took leave of her, after I periment.
had listened with much curiosity to the anecdotes which she
related to me of her séances and of the well-known men with . Professor Porro thensets forththeactualstate of the
whom shehas beenassociated,-Ch. Richet, Schiaparelli,
Lombroso, Flammarion,Sardou, Aksakof, et al. Shethen question relating to mediumistic phenomena.
very emphatically asked me not to speak in the journals of
her presence a t Genoa and of the experiments in which she The explanation that everything is fraud, conscious or
should figure there. Happily, shehas good reasons herself unconscious [says he], is to-day almost entirely abandoned,
for not reading the journa1s.t as much so as that which supposes that all is hallucination.
Why was an astronomer chosen to give an account of the In fact, neither one nor the other of these hypotheses is suf-
experiments at Genoa ? Because astronomers are occupied ficient to throwlightuponthe observed facts. The hypo-
with researches into the unknown.$ thesis of unconscious automaticaction on the part of the
I f a man absorbed in his own private studies and attached mediumhasnot obtained anybetter fate;for the most
to an austere and laborious manner of life, such as my ven- rigorous controls have only proved that the medium finds it
erated master M. Schiaparelli, has not hesitated to defy thc impossible to exciteadirectdynamic effect. Physio-psy-
irreverent jests of the comic journals, it behooves us to con- chology has therefore been obliged, in these latter years, to
clude that the bond between the science of the heavens and have recourse to asupreme hypothesis, by acceptingthe
t,hat of the human soul is more intimate than appears. The theories of M. de Rochas, against which they had heretofore
following is the most probable explanation. We have to ,do directedthefire of their heaviest guns. It has become re-
in these studies with phenomena which are manifested under signed to the admission that a medium whose limbs are held
wholly special andstill undetermined [Link], in con- motionless by arigorouscontrol may, under certain condi-
tions, projectoutside of herself, to adistance of several
* Published by C. de Vesme in his Revue des Etudes psychiques, yards, a force sufficient toproducecertain phenomena of
1901. movement in inanimate bodies.
t Eusapia, as has been said, is unable either to read or write.
Arago, in 1846, with the " electric girl ";Flammarion, in 1861, with The boldest partisans of this hypothesis go so far as to
Alfan Kardec, then afterwards with different mediums; Ztillner, in accept thetemporary creation of pseudo-human limbs,-
1882, withSlade; Schiaparelli, in 1892 withEusapia; Porro, in 1901,
with the same medium (Revue des Etudes psychiques). arms, legs,heads,- in the formation of which the energies
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180 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 182
of other persons present probably co-operate with those of the
medium. The theory is that as soon as the energizing power It was under suchabsolutely trustworthy conditions as
of the medium is withdrawn these phantom dynamic limbs theee that I was able to see inflated a very thick piece of black
at once dissolve and disappear. :cloth and the red curtains which were behind the medium,
For all that, we do not yet go so far as to admit the ex- end whichserved to close the embrasure of the window.
istence of free and independent beings who would be able to The casement was carefully closed, there was no current of
exercise their powers only through the human organism; air in the room, and it is absurd to suppose that persons
and still less do we admit the existence of spirits who once were hidden inthe embrasure of the window. I believe,
animated the forms of human beings. . .. then, that I can affirm with the utmost confidence that a
force, analogous to that which had produced the levitation
M. Porro openly declares that, for his part, he i s neither of the table, was manifested in the curtains, inflated them,
shook them, und p l i e d them out in such a way that they
a materialist noraSpiritualist: He says that heisnot touched now one and now another of the company.
ready to accept, a priori, eitherthe negations ofpsycho- During the sitting an event took place which deserves to be
physiology or the faith of Spiritualists. mentioned as a proof, or at leastas an indication, of the
He adds that the nine persons who were present with him inteZZàgent character of the force in question.
at the séances represented the greatest variety of opinions Being face to face with Mme. Paladino, at a point in the
on the subject, fromthe most firmly persuaded Spiritual- table the mostremoved from her, I complained that I had
not been touched as had the four other persons who formed
iststo the most incorrigible [Link], his task the company. No sooner had I saidthis [Link] I saw the
was not that of writing an official report, approved by all heavy curtain sweep out and come and hit me in the face
the experimenters, but solely that of faithfully relating his with it8 lower edge, at the same time that T felt a light blow
own impressions. upon the knuckles of my fingers, as if from a very fragile
The following are the most important of these,selected and light piece ofwood.
Next a formidable blow, like the stroke of the fist of an
from his reports on the different séances : athlete, isstruck in the middle of the table. The person
seated at the right of [Link] medium feels that he is grasped in
I saw, and plainly saw, the rough deal table (a table a the side; the chair in which he was seated is taken away
yard long and nearly two feet wide and resting on four feet) and placed upon the table, from which it then returns to its
rise up several times from the floor and, without any con- place without having beentouched by anybody. The ex-
tact with visible objects, remain suspended in the air, sev- perimenter in question, who has remained standing, is able
eral inchesabove the floor, during the space of two,three, to take his seat. in thechair again. The control of this
and even four seconds. phenomenon left nothing to desire.
This experiment wasrenewed in f i d Z light without the The blows are nowredoubled, and are so terrific that it
hands of the medium and of the five persons who formed the Beems asif they would splitthe table. We begin to per-
chain about the table touching the latter in any way. Eu- ceive hands lifting and inflating the curtains and advancing
aapia's hands were looked after by her neighbors, who con- 80 far as to touch first one, then the other, of the company,
trolled also her legs and ber feet in such a way that no part caressing them, pressing their bands, daintily pulling their
of her bodywas able to exercise the least pressure for the ear8 or clapping hands merrily in the air above their heads.
lifting or maintaining in the air of [Link] rather heavy article It. seems to me very singular and perhaps intentional,-
of furniture used in the experiments. this contrast between the touches(sometimesnervous and
 7 2

182 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SIZANCES WITH EUSAPIA 183

energetic, and again delicate and gentle, but always friendly) But a transfer of a totally different character is effected
and the deafening, violent, brutal blows struck upon the in the following way. I had complained several times that
table. ',.' my position in the chain at a distance from the medium had
A single one of these fist-blows, planted in the back, would hindered mefrom being touched duringthe séance. Sud-
suffice to break the vertebral column. denly, I hear a noise on the wall of the room, followed by
Thehandsthat perform these featsarethe stpong and the tinkling of the strings of the guitar, which vibrate as if
brawny hands of a man, thedaintierhandsare those of a , some one were trying to take d o m the instrument from the
woman, the very small hands those of children. wall on which it hung. At last the effort succeeds, and the
The darkness is rendered a little lessdense, and at once guitar comes toward me inan oblique direction. I dis-
the chair of No. 5 (Professor Morselli), which had already tinctly saw it come between me and No. 8, with a rapidity
made a jump to one side, is slipped from under him, while which rendered the impact of it rather unpleasant. Not
a hand is placed on his back and on his shoulder. The chair being able a t first to account to myself for this dim black o b
gets up on the table, comesdown againtothe floor, and, ject which was driving at me, I slipped to one side (No. 8
after different horizontal and vertical oscillations, soars up was seated at my left). Then the guitar, changing its route,
and rests upon the head of the professor, who has remained struck forcibly with its handlethree blowsupon my fore-
standing. It remainsthere for some minutes in astate of head (which remained alittle bruised for two or three
very unstable equilibrium. days), after which it came to a rest with delicate precision
The loud blows and the delicate touches of hands, large upon the table. It did not remain [Link] very long before it
and small, succeed each [Link] uninterruptedly in such a began to circle about the hall, with a rotation to the right,
way that,without our being able [Link] to prove quite high above our heads, and at great speed.
the' simultaneousness of different phenomena, it is yet al- It is proper to remark that, in this rotation of the guitar,
most certain in several cases. the vibration of its own strings was added to the sound of
While our opportunities for obtaining so valuable a sub the tambourine struck sometimes on one side, sometimes on
ject of demonstration increase, the simultaneity which [Link] other, in the air; and the guitar, bulky as it was, never
weask for is at last granted ; for the table raps, the bell once struck the central supporting electric-light rod, nor the
sounds, andthe tambourine iscarriedtinkling over our three gas lamps fixed on the walls of the chamber. When
heads all about the room, rests for a moment on the table, we take into consideration the contracted dimensions of the
and then resumes its flight in the air. . . . room,we see that it was very difficult to avoidthese ob-
A bouquet offlowers, placed in acarafe on the larger- stacles, since the space remaining free was very limited.
table, comes over onto ours, preceded by an agreeable per- The guitar took its flight twice around the room, coming
fume. Stems of flowers are placed in the mouth of No. 5 ; to astand-still (between the two times) in themiddle of
and No. 8 is hit by a rubber ball, which rebounds upon the the table, where finally it came to a rest. I n a final supreme
table., Thecarafe comesover tojointhe flowers on our effort, Eusapia turns toward the left, where upon a table is
table; it is then immediately lifted .and put to the mouth of a typewriting machine weighing fifteen pounds. During
the medium, and she is made to drink from it twice ; be- the effort the medium falls exhausted and nervous upon the
tween the two times it sinks down to the table and stands floor; but 'the machine rises from its place and betakes itself
there for a moment right side up. We distinctlyhear the to the middle of our table, near the guitar.
swallowing of the water, after which Mme. Paladino asks In full light, Eusapia calls M. Morselli, and, controlled by
some one to wipe her mouth with a handkerchief. Finally, the two persons next her, brings him with her toward the
the carafe returns to the large table. table, upon which is placed 8 mass 9f modelling-plaoter.
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184 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SEIANCES WITH EUSBPIA 185
She takes his .open hand and pushes it three times toward chair, having risen up a little bigher, turned over and placed
the plaster, as if to sink the hand into it and leave upon it itself on myhead,whence i t spontaneously returned to the
.an impression. M. Morselli's hand remains at a distance floor.
of more than four inches from the mass: nevertheless, at the This thing wag tried again. Eusapia and her chair were
end of the séance, the experimenters ascertain that the lump transported again to the top of the table, only, this time,
of plaster contains the impression of three fingers,- deeper the result of the fatigue undergone by her wassuch that
printsthan it is possible to obtain directly by means of the poorwoman fell in a faint upon the table. We lifted
voluntary pressure. her down with all due care.
The medium lifts her two hands, all the time clasped in The experimenters desired to know whether these phe-
mine and in those of No. 5 (Morselli), and uttering groans, nomena, the success of which depends in so great measure
cries, exhortations, she rises with her chair, so far as to upon the conditions of light, could not have better success
place its two feet and the ends of its two front cross-bard in the white and quiet light of the moon.
upon the top of the table. It was a moment of great anx- They were obliged to admit that there was no appreciable
iety. The levitation wasaccomplished rapidly, but without differencebetween thelunar light and other kinds. But
any jarring or jolting or jerking. In other words, if, in an the table around which they had formed the chain quitted
effort of extreme distrust you insisted on supposing that she the veranda where the sitting was being held, and, in spite
employed some artifice to obtain the result, you would rather of the strongly expressedwishes of the sittersand of the
have to think of a pulling up, by means of a cord and pulley, medium herself, betook itself intothe neighboring room,
rather than of a pushing from beneath. where t,he sitting then continued.
But neither of these hypotheses canstandthe mostele- This roomwas a little salon crowded with elegant furni-
. . .
',

mentary examination of the facts. ture and fragile objects,suchas crystal chandeliers, porce-
Thereis more to follow. Eusapia was lifted up still lain vases, brieb-brac, etc. The experimenters feared very
farther with her chair, from the upper part of the table, much that these things would suffer damage in the bustle of
in such a way that No. II on one side and I on the other the séance; but not the slightest object suffered any damage.
were able to pass our hands under her feet and under those Mme. Paladino, who wasnowherself again, took the
of the chair. hand of No. 11 and placed it. gently upon the back of a chair,
Moreover, the fact thatthe posterior feet of the chair were at the same time placing her own hand upon his. Then, as
entirely off of the table, without any visible support makes she lifted her hand and that of No. II, the chair foZZowed
this levitation still more irreconcilable with the supposition the same ascending movement several times in succession.
that Eusapia could have made her body and the chair take This thing was repeated in full light.
an upward leap. No. 5, as well as other gentlemen,.perceived, in a manner
that admitted of no doubt, a vague, lndistmincta figure thrown
M. Porro judges that this phenomenon is one of those upon the air in the doorway of an antechamber which was
which are less easily explained if wedecline to have re- feebly illuminated. The figure consisted of changing and
course to the Spiritualistic hypothesis. It is a little like the
fugitive silhouettes, sometimes with the outline of a human
head and body, sometimes like hands reaching out from the
man who fell into the water and thought he could pull him- curtains. Their objective character was demonstrated by
self out by his own hair. the agreement of impressions, which were controlled in [Link]
tnrn by means of continual inquiries. There was no possi-
Eusapia [adds M. Porro] descended without any jolting, bility of their beingshadows voluntarily invaluntarily
little by little, No. 5 and I never letting go her hands. The
186 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SÉAKCES WITH EUSAPIA IST
projected by the bodies of the experimenters, since we were The curtain is inflated, as if it were pushed against by a
mutually watching each other. strong wind, and touches No. II, who is seated in a sruall
easy-chair a yard and ahalf fromthe medium. The same
The tenth séance (the last) was one of the best-attended, person is touched by a hand, while another hand pulls a fan
and was perhaps the most interesting of all. from the inside pocket of his jacket, carries it to No. 5 and
then to No. II., Tlre [Link] soon returned to its owner, and
Scarcelyhas the electriclight been extinguishéd when is moved to and fro above our heads, to the great satisfac-
we remark an automatic movement of the chair upon which tion of all of us. A tobacco pouch is taken from the pocket
a lump of plaster has been placed, while the hands and feet of KO.3 : theInvisibleempties it on the table, andthen
of Eusapia are watchfully controlled by me and by No. 3. gives it to No. IO. Variousstems of plants drop upon the
However, as we wish to forestallthe objection of critics table.
that the phenomena take place in the dark, the table typto- Transfers of the fanfrom one handtoanother begin
logically (that is, by taps) asks for light,and the experi- again. Then No. 11 believes that heought to announce
menters light the electric lamp. that the fan hadbeen offered to him by a young girlwho had
Presently, al2 the company see the chair on which the expressed the wish that it be transferredto No. II, then
lump of plaster lies (not at all a light chair) moving between given back to No. 5. Nobody knew about this except No. 11.
myself and the medium, withoutour being able to under- No. 5, who at present occupies the small arm-chair where
stand the determining cause of the movement. formerly No. II was seated, a yardand ahalf fromthe
Mme. Paladinoputsher outspreadhand upon the back medium, feels the edge of the curtain touching him and then
of the chair and her left above it. When our hands rise up, perceives the presence of the body of a woman whose hair
the chairrises also without contact, reachingaheight of rests on his head.
about six inches. This performance is several times re- The séance is adjourned about one o’clock.
peated, with the addition of the intervention of the hand of Atthe moment of parting,Eusapia sees a bell on the
No. 5, under conditions of light and of control which leave piano; she extends her hand; the bell glides along on the
nothing to be desired. piano, turns over, andfalls on the floor. Theexperiment
The room is again almost completely darkened. . . . is renewed, in full light as before, the hand of the medium
remainingseveralinchesfromthe bell.. . .
A current of [Link] upon the table precedes the arrival of a
little branch with two green leaves. We know that there are
no plants in the neighborhood of the company: it appears It is evident that these exploits are still more extraordi-
then that we have here a caseof bringing-in from the out- nary than the preceding ones, in certain respects. The fol-
side. lowing are the conclusions of the report of Professor Porro.
No. 3 is greatlyexhaustedwith the heat. And, lo !. a
hand, which takes his handkerchief from his neck and with ,
The phenomena are real. They cannot be explained
it dries the perspiration on his face. H e tries to seize the either by fraud or by hallucination. Do they find their ex-
handkerchief withhis teeth, but it is snatched from him. planation in certainstrata of the unconscious (the sub-
A big hand lifts his left hand and makes him rap several liminal), in some latent faculty of the human soul, or indeed
strokes with it on the table. do they reveal the existence of otherentitieslivingunder
Gleams of light begin to appear, at first on the right hand conditions wholly different fromoursandnormally bac-
of No. 5, then in different parta of the hall. They are per- cessible toour senses ? I n other words, willthe animistic
ceived by everybody. hypothesis suffice to solve the problem and to do away with
188. MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTHER SÉANCES WITH EUSAPIA 189
the Áj’pirâtualistic hypothesis ? Or, rather, do not the phe- “ If me heat amber, the diamond, andcertain other very
nomena serve here, as in the psychology of dreams, to com- dense substances by chafing them, theyattractsmalllight
plicate the problem by hidingtheSpiritualistic solution bodies, because, in cooling off, they attracttheair, which
within them 8 I t i s tothis formidable query that I am ’ draws these corpuscles along with it.” Thus the desire
going to attempt a reply. to bringstill unexplained material facts under the known
When, eleven years ago, Alexander Aksakof statedthe physical laws of his day led an observer andthinker 60
dilemma between Animism and Spiritism, and in a masterly prudent abd practical as Galileo to formulate a false propo-
work clearly proved that purelyanimisticmanifestations eition. If anybody had said to him that in theattraction
were inseparable from thosewhich directour thoughts to exercised by amber there was the germ of a new branch of
a belief inthe existence of independent, intelligent, and science andtherudimentarymanifestation of an energy
active entities, no one could have expected thatthe first (electricity)then unknown, he would have replied that it
term of the dilemma would be disputed and criticised in a was useless to “ have recourse to the aid of the unknown.”
thousand ways, undera thousand varying forms, by p e r But the analogy between the error committed by the great
sons who would be dismayed at the second term. physicist and that which modern scholars commit can be
In fact, what are all the hypotheses which for ten years pushed still farther.
now have been invented in order to reduce mediumistic phe- Galileo was familiar with aform of energy which the
nomena to the simple manifestation of qualities latent in the natural philosophy of our times investigates simultaneously
human psyche (or soul), if not different forms of the ani- 1 with electric energy, with which it has close relations con-
mistic hypothesis, so jeered at when it appeared in the work firmed by all recent discoveries. If it had been perceived
of Aksakof ? that the explanation whichhegaveof the phenomenon of
From the idea of the unconscious muscular action of the amber had no foundation, hewonld have beenable to give
spectators (putforth half a century agoby Faraday)to his [Link] to the analogies which the attraction exercised
the projection of protoplasmic activity or to the temporary by amber rubbed over light bodies presents with the attrac-
emanation from the body of the medium imagined by Lodge ; tion exercised by the loadstone upon iron filings. When
fromthepsychiatric doctrine of Lombroso tothe psycho- he had got so far, he would very probably have discarded
physiology of Ochorowicz ; from the externalization admitted his first hypothesis and would have admitted that the attrae
by Rochas to the eso-psychism of Morselli ; from the autu- tive power of amber is a magneticphenomenon. He would
matism of Pierre Janet to the duplication of persona2ity of havebeendeceived,however, for it is an electric phenorne-
Alfred Binet,- there was a perfect flood of explanations, non.
having for their end theelimination of an exterior per- b
I n the same way might not those persons deceivethem-
sonality. selveswho, in order to escape at any cost the necessity of
The process was logical and in agreement with the prin- the hypothesis of spiritisticentities, should insistwith a
ciples of scientific philosophy, which instructs us to exhaust too persistent predilection upon theanimistic hypothesis,
the possibilities of what is already known before having re- evenwhen this wouldbe found insufFiciont toexplainall
course to the unknown. mediumistic manifestations ? Might it not be true that,
But this principle, unassailable in theory, may lead to like electric and magnetic phenomena, which are in close
erroneous results when it is wilfully stretched too far into interchangeable connection, and frequently appear to us in-
a given field of research. Vallati has cited, in this connec- separable, animistic and spiritistic phenomena have a com-
tion, a curious marginal note of Galileo, recently pnblished mon bond ? And let 1x9 well note that a single fact, inex-
in thethird volume of the nationaledition of his mrk8: plicable by theanimistic hypothesis and explicable by the
190 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES OTHER S ~ A N C E SWITH EUSAPIA 191
spiritistic hypothesis, would suffice to confer upon the latter admit the truth of cases observed by persons wort,hy of cre-
that degree of scientific value which up to the present time dence.
has been so energetically denied ta it, just as the discovery With regard tothefirst ofthese, theillustrious experi-
of a secondary phenomenon, that of the polarization of light, menter Sidgwick, has already said that no fact or case exists
sufficed to make FresnelrejecttheNewtonian theory of capable of convincing everybody, butthat cach one, by
emission and admit that of undulation. patiently and calmly observing, may find such fact or case as
Did we obtain, during the course of our ten séances with will suffice to establish his own conviction. I may say that
Eusapia, the one fact which is enough tomake the epirit- for myself sucha case exists. I need onlyreferto the
istic, hypothesis necessarilytake precedence of all others ? phenomena in which I have personallyparticipated in the
It is impossible to reply categorically to this question be- seances with Eusapia.
cause it is not possible, and never will be, to have g. scientific With regard tothe second point I could say much, bnt
proof of the identity of the beings who manifest themselves. that would lead me beyond the subject matter and the limits
The fact that I hear, that I see, that I touch a phantom; of this study.
that I recognize in it the form and the attitude of persons On the one hand, we have the universal belief in the o b
whom I have known and whom themediumhasneither jective existence of a world unknown to us in ournormal
known nor of whom she has even heard the names ; that I state ; that faith (the basis of all religions) in a future life
have the most lively and affecting testimony tothe presence of where the injustices of this one will be atoned for and where
this ephemeral apparition,- all that will not be sufficient to we shall be confronted with the good or evil deeds that we
constitute the scientific fact which none canrefute, and have done on earth;thatuninterruptedtradition of sys-
which shall be worthy toremain in the annals of science tematic or spontaneous observances andrituals,thanksto
along with the experiments of Torricelli,Archimedes and which man is constantly kept in relation more or less with
Galvani. It will always be possible to imagine an unknown that unknown world.
mechanism by theaid of which elemental substance and On the otherhand, we have the sceptical and disheartening
power may be drawn from the medium and the sitters and negation of systems of pessimistic philosophy and of atheism,
combined in such a way as to produce the indicated effects. anegation which takes itsrise in the absence of positive
T t will always be possible to find in the special aptitudes of proofs of the survival of the soul; the ever more and more
the medium, in the thought of the sitters, and even in their marked tendency of science toward a monistic interpretation
attitude of expectantattention,the cause of the humun of the enigma of human life; andthe belief thatallthe
origin of the phenomena. It will always be possible to un- known phenomena of lifeappear only in connection with
earth from the arsenalof the attacks made uponthese studies special organs.
during the last fiftyyears, some generic or specific argument, In order to decide in so abstruse a matter as this, medium-
either ad rem or ad hominem, while ignoring or feigning to isticexperiments do not suffice; everyone maydrawfrom
ignore the refutation of the argument which has alreadybeen these as much .of credence or of incredulity as he may need
made. in order to resolve his doubts in one way or another; but he
The question, then, reduces itself at once to an individual will never divcst himself of the substratum of temperamental
study of cases either directly observed or obtained from aome tendencies which the more or less scientific education of his
sure hand, in order on the one hand, to create a personal con- mind or the more or less mystical inclinations of his nature
viction capable of resisting the scathing ridicule of the scep- shall have developed in him.
tics, and, on theother hand, topreparepublic opinion to One word more and I have done.
While admitting it as the most probable hypothesi8 that
l

192 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES OTRER. SEANCES WITH EUSAPIA l93

the intelligent beings
to whomwe owe these psychical phe- unfair, to here ignore and cover UP. Our judicial review h

nomena are preexisting, independent entities, and that they would not be &mplete did we not consecrate a special c h a p
only derive from us the conditions necessary for their mani- ter to these mystifications, which unhappily are too fie-
festation in a physical plane accessible to our ens se^, ought
we toadmit also that they are really the spirits of the dead 8 quently employed by mediums.
To this question I will reply that I do not feel that I am
as yet capable of giving a decisive answer.
Still I ehould be inclined to admit it, if I did not see the
possibility that these phenomena might form part of a scheme
of things still morevast. I n fact, nothing hinders us from
believing in the existence of forms of life wholly different
from those which we know, and of which the life of human
beings before birth and after death forms only a special case,
just as the organic life of man is a special case of animal
life in general.
But I am leaving the solid ground of facts to explore that
of the most hazardous hypotheses. I have already spoken at
too great length, and will therefore close the discussion of
this particular topic.
I
I have considered the above subjects in several of my
own works."
We are surrounded by unknown. forces and there is no
proof that we are not also surrounded by invisible being.
Our senses teach us nothing about reality. But logically
the discussion of theories ought to be reserved as a comple-
ment to the ensemble or summary of our observations and
experiments ;that is to say, for the last chapter. I t behooves
us before everything else positively to ascertain that medium-
1
istic phenomena exist.
It seems to me, that this has beendone for every impar-
tial reader. This will be overwhelminglyconfirmed by the
following chapters. But thereis one point on which we
ought to dwell a moment. I mean the question of fraud,
conscious or unconscious, which it would be natural, but
Notably in araaie, in &elk, in Lumen, in L'lncomu. See ab0 ,
above, p. 30 in my Oration at the Grave of Allen K d e c .
 FRAUDS, MYSTIFICATIONS,IMPEDIMENTS 195
amined in the present volume) fraud,unhappily, has been
l

only too well established in more than one instance.

But a very importantremark must here bemade. All
physiologists know that hysterical persons have a t,endency
CEAPTER IT tofalsehood and simulation. They lie, apparentlywithout
reason, and solely for the pleasure of lying. Thereare
FRAUDS, TRJCKH,DECEPTIOMS, IXPOSTURES,FEATS O F LEQER-
hysterics among the women and young girls of the higher
DEMAIN, MYSTIFICATIORS, IMPEDIMEXTS
classes.
Several times in the preceding chapters the question has Does thischaracteristic defect. prove that hysteria does
come up of fraud in the mediums. I am sorry to say that not exist? I t proves just the contrary.
experimenters must be constantly on theirguardagainst Consequently, thosewho thinkthatthefrauds of the
mediums give the death blow to mediumship are deceived.
them. It is this which has discouraged certaineminent
Mediumship exists, as well as hysteria, as well as hypnot-
men and prevented them from continuing their researches,
ism, as well as somnambulism. Trickery also exists.
fortheirtimeis too precious to waste. This may be es-
pecially noticed in the letter of M. Schiaparelli above(p.
I will not say, with certain theologians, " There are false
prophets, therefore there are true ones," for that is a soph-
64) whom Spiritualists keep citing (wrongly) as among the
ism of the worst kind. The existence of the false does not
number of their partisans. But he absolutely refuses to
hinder the existence of the true.
be identified with them. H e accepts no theory ; he is not
even sure of the actual existence of the facts, and has de- I knew a kleptomaniac, who got herself arrested more
than once in the great shops of Paris for stealing various
clined to give the time needed for their authentication.
articles. That does not prove that she never bought any-
I shall take occasion in the secondvolumeof The Un-
thing, and only obtained by theft all the articles she needed.
known to treat of Spiritualism (properly so called), of the
doctrine of the plurality of worldg2 of the plurality of exist-
On the [Link], the objects stolen must have represented
but a small part of the materials of her toilet. But the fact
ences, of reincarnation, of preexistence, and of communica-
that she stole is incontestable. I n theexperiments which
tions with the departed,- subjects independent of the ma-
we are considering in these pages, deception is a co-efficient
terial phenomena to a discussion of which the present work
which cannot be neglected.
is devoted. To these subjects the physical manifestations
It is my duty to point out here some examples of this
only contribute in an indirect manner. As we have already
failing. Before doing so, I ought to recall the fact that for
several times said in the preceding pages,we are only con-
a period offorty years I have examined allthe mediums
cerned here to prove the actua2 existence of these extraordi-
whose achievements have had the widest celebrity,- includ-
nary phenomena. The establishing of the proof depeuds
ing Daniel D. Home, gifted with the most astounding pow-
above all upon the elimination of fraud.
ers, who,gave at the Tuileries, before the EmperorNa-
In the case of Eusapia (the medium most thoroughly ex-
194 poleon III, his family, and his friends, such extraordinary
 106 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES %’.LUUDS,[Link]?ICL\T IOXS, ILUPEDIMXNTS 197
séances, and whowas later employedby William Crookes niture, theautomatic throwing about of objects, andthe
in the accurate scientific researches made by that gentleman; likc. He was very willing togivemeoneséance a week,
Mme. Rodière, a remarkable typtologic medium ; C. Brédif, for six weeks (on Monday at II o’clock A. M., at 21 Beau-
who produced strange apparitions ; Eglington, with the en- jon’street).But I obtained nothing certain. I n the cases
chanted slates ; Henry Slade, who made with the astronomer [Lat did succeed, there was a possible substitution of slates.
Zöllner those incredible experimentsfrom which geometry Tired of so much loss of time, I agreed withAdmiral
only saved itself by admittingthe possibility of a fourth Mouchez, director of the Observatory of Paris,to confide
dimension of space ; Buguet whose photographic plates to Slade a double slate prepared by ourselves, with the pre-
caught and held the shadows of the dead, and who, having cautions which were necessary in order that we should not
allowed me to experiment with him, let me conduct my re- be entrapped. The two slates weresealed in such a way
searches for fiveweeks before I detected hisfraudulent with paper of the Observatory that if hetook them apart
methods and mechanisms ; Lacroix, to whom spirits of all he could not conceal the fraud. IIe accepted the conditions
agesseemed to troop in crowds; and many others who in- of the experiment,. I carried the slates to his apartment.
spire deep interest in Spiritualistsand scientific investi- They remained under the influence of the medium, in this
gators by manifestations more or less strange and marvelous. upartment, not a quarter of an hour, not a half-hour or an
I have quiteoften been absolutely deceived. When I Lour, but ten consecutive days, and when he sent them back
took the precautions that were necessary to put the medium to us there was not the least trace of writing inside ; and yet
beyond the possibility of trickery, I obtained no result ; if I specimens of this were alwaya furnished by him whenhe
pretended not to see anything I would perceive out of the had theopportunity of transposing slates prepared in ad-
corner of my eye [Link]. And, in general, the vance.”
phenomena which took place happened only in the moments Withoutenteringinto other details, let it sufficeme to
of distraction in which my attention was foraninstant say, that, too frequently deceived by dishonest and menda-
relaxed. While I was pushing my investigation a little cious mediums, I brought to my experiments with Eusapia
farther, I saw with my own eyes Buguet’s prepared nega- u mental reserve of scepticism, of doubt, and of suspicion.
tives ; saw with my own eyes Slade writing under the table The conditions of experimenting are in general so crooked
upon a concealed slate, a d so forth. Apropos of thisfa- that it is easy to be duped. And scientists and scholars are
mous medium Slade, I may recall thefactthatafter his perhaps most easily duped of all men,because scientific
experiments with Zöllner, director of the observatory at observation of experiments is always honest, since we are
Leipzig, he came to Paris, and for the purpose of experi- not obliged to distrust nature,- when the [Link] is of a
mentation, placed himself at my disposal (and that of all star or of a molecule,- and since we have the habit of de-
the astronomers at the Observatory to whom I should intro- ecribing facts as they present themselves to our intelligence.
duce him). H e said he got direct writinga from the spirits
by a bit of pencil placedbetweentwo slates tied together, * Hade was sentenced to three months of hard labor, in London, for
swindling. He died in a private hoepital, in the State of Michigan, in
by oscillations of the magnetic needle, displacements of fur- September, 1905.
 198 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES FRAUDS,MYSTIFICATIONS,IMPEDIMENTS 199
That granted, we may now look at certain curious doings bdroom, lighted only by candles, and I cannot see them any
of Eusapia. htter. I snuff out the candles, on the supposition that this
We considered a littlefarther back (p. 173) Col. de is perhaps a case of phosphorescence; but I never perceive
allything. We return to the salon. Eusapia spreadsa black
Rochas’s strange experimentwiththe letter-weigher. This 1 woollen shawl over her silk skirt and shows me the luminous
was considered by the experimenters as absolutely conclu- ofluence. But all the time I can see nothing, unless it be for
sive. I was curious toverify it. Hereare my notes on o moment a kind of pale ray at the end of the index finger
the matter. of her right-hand.
I. Thedinnerhour approaches. It is seven o’clock. A let-
tcrweigher (Pl. X), which I had bought to renew the curi-
November 12, 1898.- This afternoon we took 8 drive in ous experiment of M. de Roohas, is upon [Link] table. I ask
a landau (Eusapia and I) in company with M. and Mme. Ihsapia if she remembers having made a piece of mechanism
Pallotti of Cairo, and, among otherthings, we visited the likc this move downward on its spring by placing her hands
exhibition of chrysanthemums at theTuileries. Eusapia is on each side of it, a t a distance, and making something like
enchanted. We return about 6 o’clock. My wifeseatsher- nltlgnetic passes. She. doesn’t seem to remember anything
self a t the piano, and Eusapia sings some Neapolitan airs about it and hums a little stanza from Santa Lucia. I beg
and some littlefragments of Italian operas. Afterwards thatshewillt’ryit. She does so. Nothing moves. She
we all three chat confidentially with each other. mks me to place my handson hers. We make the samt!
She is in a very happy state of mind, tells us how some- passes, and, to my amazement (for I really was not expecting
times on stormy days she experiences electric cracklings and I
it at all) the little. tray sinks down to the point where it
sparkling in her hair, especially on an old wound that she touches [Link] lever and produces the sharp sound of contact.
once received on the head. She also tells us that when she This point is beyond the graduation of the scale, which stops
has been a long time without holding a séance she is in a 1
at fifty grams, and may go to sixty, and represents seventy
state of irritation, and feels the need of freeing herself of Krams at the lowest. Thetray immediately rises again.
the psychic fluidwhichsaturates her. This avowal aston- We begin a second time. Nothing. A [Link] time: the same
ishes me, for, at the end of every séance, she seems rather to lowering andthe same returnto [Link] I beg
be listless and melancholy and seems to hold a sitting rather 11cr totrythe experiment alone. Sherubsherhands to-
unwillingly than otherwise. She adds that she frequently gcther and makes the same passes. The letter weigher goes
has fluidic prolongations of the ends of her fingers, and, put- down tothesamemaximum point. Weareallstanding
ting her two hands on my knees, theinside of thehand close by her, in the full light of theAuer burners. The
turned upward, at the same time spreading out the fingers Harne perfomlance is repeated, t,he tray remaining down for
and placing them opposite each other face to face, a t a dis- an interval of about five minutes. The movement does not
tance of several inches, and alternately bringing the hands take place at once; there are sometimes three or four trials
together and withdrawing them, she tells us to observe from without success, as if the force were exhausted by the result.
timetotimetheradiations which prolong the fingers by The tray had already sunk down four times before our eyes,
forming a sort of luminous aureole at their extremities. My always as far asthe maximumpoint, when thevalet de
wife thinks she perceives some of them. I am unable to see chambre, passing by upon some matter of service, I tell
anything at all, in spite of all my efforts, although I change him tostop and look. Eusapia begins againand does not
the light and shade in all sorts of ways. The salon is lighted sncceed. Sllc waits a moment, rubs her hands, begins again,
at this time by two intenseAuer burners. We go into the and the same movement without contact is produced for the
 Fh1UDS, MYSTIFICATIONS, IMPEDIMENTS 201
1 return with a glass and a carafe and pour out for her
us uluch as shewishes. She drinks a quarter of a glass of
water. At my request,shemoves her hands downward on
crrch’side of the letter-weigher in the same way as day before
yesterday, and after two or three passes the tray sinks, not
to its full length as day before yesterday, but to the mark
of thirty-five or forty grams.
The experiment was tried a second t,ime and succeeded
in the same way.
Under pretext of going in search of a photographic camera
M. Mathieu draws me into another room and showsme a
long, very fine hair which fellinto his hand after the ex-
poriment, at the moment when Eusapia was making a gesture
us if she were going to shake his hand.
This hair is of a rich chestnut [Link] (the color of Eusapia’s
hair) and measures fourteen inches in lengt,h. 1 have pre-
served it.
This tookplace at quarter past nine. The sitting begins
at 9 :30 and finishes at II :30. Afterthesitting,Eusapia
I asks me for another glass of water, and shows me a little hair
between her fingers.
Just as she is going, at midnight, half laughingly, half
Rcriously,she pulls a hair from tahefront part of her head
and, taking the hand of my wife, puts this hair in it and
closes the hand while looking her in [Link]. She certainly
noticed that we had perceived fraud..
III.
November 19.- Eusapia is a sly one. She is gifted with
great sharpness of sightand has unusually sensitive ears.
She is very intelligent and is a person of rare delicacy of
feeling. She perceives and divines everything whichcon-
cerns herself. Never reading, since she doesn’t know how to
read; never writing, since she doesn’t know how to write;
speaking little when hcre, since she rarely finds persons who
understandand speak Italian, she remains always concen-
tratedin herself andnothing turns herfrompermanent
thought about her own personality. I t would undoubtedly
be impossible to discover asimilarstate of mind in the
case of other persons; for we, as they, are generally occupied

l
 202 MYSTEEIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES
with a tllolxsmd things which scatter our attcntiorl over mauy I1 ~ 1 1to a meeting with 31. Jules Cois wllo \WS 1ual;ilg sug-
different objects. gtbstion-experiments with Mme. Lina. Kusapia is w r y
I arrivc, at 11S O , at the rooms of Dr. Richct in order to much interestcd in these. W C speak of tllc jcsts and 1ui1lli(!l;-
escort Eusapia to Mme. Fourton’s, where W C aretotake iugs of the corrlcd’lans.
1 .

luncheon. Sheis cold and constrained. I pretendnot to an the evening, atdinner,thebrilliant. conversation of
notice it, and keep talkingwiththe doctor. She goes to Victorien Sardou, the repartees of Col. de Rocl~as, the ques-
put on her hat and we descend the stairs. At the foot of the tions (a little insidious) of Brisson, all interest her; but it
staircase she says, “ What did M. Richet say to you ? What ie evident that sheneverforgets herself. Thus, before clin-
were you speaking o f ? ” A moment after,returning in ner, she tells me that she has the headache, especially in the
thought to our last seance, she says, “ Were you completely neighborhood of hcr wound, passes her handthrough her
satisfied ? ” I n thecarriage I takeherhandand converse hair (“ which hurts her ”), and asks me for a brush. “ I n
withherin a friendly way. “ Everythingis goingvery order,” she says, that “ in case of a séance experiment,a
well,” I say to her; “ but some experimentswill still be etray hairshallnot be found in thewrong place.” And
necessary in orderto leave no room for doubt.” Then I clhe carefully brushes her shoulders. I do not always appear
speak to her of other things. to understand her. But there is nodoubt that she under-
She becomes gradually sociable andher clouded brow stands that we have -found a hair!
seems to clear up. However, sheevidentlyfeels thatin
spite of my rather superficial amiability, I arn not absolutely IV.
the same to her. Duringthe luncheon she holds out her
(MORE RECENT NOTE,- MARCH, 1906.)
champagne glass to me and drinks my health. Mme. Fourton
is convinced of Eusapia’s genuineness, beyond all manner of On Thursday, March 29, Eusapia, being in Paris, came
doubt. During conversation, a littlelater,Eusapia says to to see Inc. I h d not seen her since her &ances at nly house
her, “ I amsure of you, I am sure ofMme. Blech, of i n Xovember, 1598. We kept her to dinner, and after dinner
M. Richet, of M. de Rochas ; but I am not sure of M. I asked her to take part with me in some experiments.
Flammarion.” I first asked her to place her hands upon [Link] piano, think-
“ You aresure of Mme. Fourton,” I replied. ‘‘ Very ingthat perhaps some of itsstrings would vibrate. But
well. But think for a moment of the several thousand per- nothing happened.
sona who are waiting for my opinion in order to fix their I then induced her to place her hands on the covered key-
own. M. Chiaia told you this at Naples, M. de Rochas re- board. She asked that it. be slightly opened by means of a
peated it to you in Paris. You see I have a very great re- little block. I placed my hands upon it, by the side of hers.
sponsibility and you yonrself certainly see that I cannot af- My object was, by keeping up contact, to keep her from slip-
firm that of which I am not absolutely certain. You ought pinga finger over thc keys. She kcpt trying to substitute
yourself loyally to aid me in obtaining that certainty.” one hand for thc two that I held, in such a way as to leave
“ Yes,” she replied, “ I [Link] the difference very one of them free, and a few notes sountlcd. Ihsult of the
well. However, if it had not been for you I should not have cxperirnent, nil. We Icft thc piano and wcnt over to a
made thejourneyfrom Naples, forthe climate of Paris whitewood tablc. Ti7e got somc insignificant balancings.
does not agree with me very well. Oh, certainly ; we must “ Is there a spirit there 8 ”
have you convinced beyond the possibility of doubt.” “ Yes ” (indicated by three raps.)

She has now returned to her habitual intimacy. We took “ Does it wish to communicate ? ”

her to the Museum at the Louvre, which she had not visited, ‘‘Yes.”
 204 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
I pronounce slowly and in their proper order the letters These notes remind 11s once more that thcre is alnlost
of the alphabet.
rdwuys a mingling of veritable fact and of fraudulent pel’-
Reply, “ Tua matre,” (“ thy mother.”)
This certainly means “ Tua madre.” (note once more that formance.
Eusapia does not know how to read or write.) It is easy to admit that the medium, wishing to produce
Eusapia noticed that I was in mourning and I had told. nn efféct, and having at her disposal forthis purpose two
her that my mother had died on the first of last July. T means,- the one easy and demanding only skill and c m -
then asked to be told her name. (Eusapia does not know it.) ning, the other distressing, costly, and painful,- is tempted
No reply.
The movementsof the table which were next asked for to choose, consciously or even unconscioudy, that which costs
gave no results of any particular value. her the least.
However, a stuffed arm-cbair near by was several times The following is her method of procedure for obtaining
shifted out of its place without contact, advancing of itself the substitution of hands. The figures shown in Plate X I
toward Eusapia. Since the chandelier was lighted, and there represent four successive positions of the medium’s hands
was no possibility of any string being used, and since I had
my foot upon that one of Eusapia’s which was nearest the and those of the sitters. They show how, owing to the
arm-chair, the movement must evidently have been due to a darkness and to a skilful combined series of movements, she
force emanating from the medium. c m induce thesitter on therightto believe that hestill
I pushed the easy chair back three times. Three times it feele the right hand of the medium on his own, while he
[Link] same phenomenon was reproduced several really feels her left hand, which is firmly held by the sitter
daya afterward. on the left. Thisright hand of hers, being then free, is
It is observable that if she had been able to detach her
foot from mine, she would have been able,to reach the chair able to produce such effects,as are within its reach.
(by some littletwisting,) and the production of the phe- The substitution may lue obtained in different ways. But,
nomenon must have been within the range of her circle of whichever method is used, it is evident tllat the freed hand
activity (and of possible trickery).But,asthe casewas, can only operate in a space within its reach.
deception
impossible.
was T
Since we could not obtain any levitation of the table, and Who of us is always master of his impressions and of
since the psychical force of the four of us (Eusapia, myxlf, . his faculties 8 writes Dr. Dariex in this connection.*
my wife, and Eusapia’s companion, who had joined us for Who of uscan at will put himself into such and such a
, a moment, but, who a t other times, always remained apart) physical condition and such and such a moral state ? IB the
was clearly insufficient, I went and secured a lighter round composer of music master of his inspiration ? Does a poet.
table. Then, with her hands placed upon it in contact with crlways write. verses of equal worth ? Is aman of genius
mine, three of its feet were raised to a height of ten or twelve
’
always a man of genius ? Now, what is there less normal,
inches from the floor. We repeated the experiment three more impressionable, and more capricious than a sensitive,
times, with gratifying success. Eusapia squeezedmy hands a medium, especially when she is away from home, thrown
violently in one of hers (therighthand) which rested on out of the routine of her daily life, and staying with those
* the table. with whom she i a unacquainted or knows very slightly, u7ho
The whole sgance i R thus seen to have been a web of inter- are to be her judges and who expect from l m the rare and
mingled truth and falsehood.
*Annales dee sciences psychiques, 1806, p. 60.
 FRAUDS, MYSTIFICATIONS, IMPEDIMEKTS 207
I
SIN: docs i t without any other artifice. Her experirrlents arc
I ' not planned, and,contrary to thehabit of prestidigitators,
i nllc does not carryanyapparatus upon her person. I t is
amy to assure one'sself of this, for she is very willing to
completely undress before a lady charged with keeping watch
of her.
Furthermore, she exhibits her powers ad libitum with the
a m e persons, and repeats indefinitely the same experiments
I
before them. Prestidigitators do not act in this way.

It is infinitely to be regretted that we cannot trust the

loyalty of the mediums. They almost all cheat. This is
extremely discouraging to the investigator, and the constant
perplexity of mind we feel during our investigations renders
them altogether painful. When we have passed several days.
in these inexplicable researches and then return to scientific
I
work,- to an observation or to an astromical calculation,
for example, or to theexamination of a problem in pure
mience,- we experience a sensation of freshness, calmness,
relief, andserenitywhich give us, bycontrast, the most
I lively satisfaction. Wefeelthat we are walking on solid
ground and that we have not got to distrust anybody. In-
deed, all the intrinsic interest of psychic problems is needed,
gometimes, to give us t,he courage to renounce the pleasure
of scientific study in order to give ourselves to investigations
so laborious and perplexed.
I believe that there is only one way to assure ourselves of
the reality of the phenomena, and that is to put the medium
under conditsiionsin which trickery is impossible. To catch
her in the veryact of deceit would be extremely easy. It
would only be nccessary to give her frce rcin. And thcrl
one can very easily aid her to cheat and to get caught. All
that is necessary is that we be convinced of her dishonesty.
Eusapia, especially, very easily
takes suggest'ion. While
going one day in an open carriage to dine at his residence,
I
 208 MYSTERIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES I;EAUDS, &IYSTIFICATIOKS, IMPEDIMEXTS 209
Colonel de Rochas said to her, in my presence, “ You can:t IIoltl of it.” It is our parttocarefullyretain her normal
lift your right hand any more. Try it ! ” She did try, but lulntls in ours.
in vain. “ Non posso, non posso! ” (“ I can’t do it, I We sometimes have good reason to suspect that Eusapia
can’t do it ! ”). The mere suggestion had been sufficient. acizes the objects to be moved (such as musical instruments)
In the phenomena concerned with the movements ofob- with one of her hands which she hasfreed. But thereis
jectswithoutcontactshealways makes a gesture corre- plenty of proof that she does not always do so. Here is a
sponding to the phenomenon. A force darts forth from her case, for example. The scene is Naples, 1902, at a séance
and performs the deed. Thus, for example, she strikes with with Professor von Schrenck-Notzing :
her fist three or four strokes in the air at a dietance of ten
or twelve inches from the table: the same strokes are heard
in the table. And it is positively in the wood of the table.
It is not beneath it, nor upon the floor. Her legs are held
and she does not move them. Shestrikes five strokes with
the middle finger upon my hand in the air: the five strokes
are rapped upon the table (November 19).
Nay more, this forcecan be transmitted by another. I
hold her legs with my left hand spread out upon them; 31.
Sardou holds her left hand ; shetakes my rightwrist in
her right hand and says to me, “ Strike in the direction of
M. Sardou.’’ I do so three or four times. M. Sardou feels
upon his body my blows tallying my gesture, with the dif-
ference of about a second between my motion and his sen-
sation. Theexperiment is tried againwiththe same suc-
cess. FIQ.2.
That same evening, not only did we not let go for a single The séance took place in a little room, by a feeble light,
[Link] of Eusapia’s hands, separatedfrom each other by but one sufficient for us todistinguishthe personages and
the width of her body and placed near our own, but we did‘* their movements. Behindthemedium,uponachair,there
not allow them to be moved from the side of the objects to was a harmonica, at the distance of about ’a yard.
be displaced. It took considerable timeto obtain results. Now, at a certain moment, Eusapia took between her hands
But, all the same, they were wholly successful. ahand of the professor and colunlcnced to separate his
fingers one from another and bring them together again, as
She has a tendency to go and take hold of the objects; she may he seen in the accompanying cnt. The harmonica was
must be stopped in a good time. However, she herself does at that moment playing at. a distance in tones that perfectly
take hold of them, in fact, through the prolongation of her synchronized the movements made by Ensapia. The instru-
muscular force, and she says so : “ I am grasping it, I have ment was isolated in the room. Wemadesurethat. there
 210 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCIIIC
FORCES I'ItRl2DS, NYSTIFICilTIOSS, IMPK 1)llIESTS 3 1 1
were no threadsconnecting it withthe medium. Still less t ' t ~ o n n o uexpenditure
~ of vital forcc. Sllc is frcqwntly ill
could anybody fear accomplices, for the light would easily o11 the following day, sometimes even on the second day
have betrayed their intervention. This performance was following, and is incapable of taking any nourishment with-
analogous to that which occurred in my presence on the 2'7th o u t immediately vomiting. One can rcmlily conceive, [Link],
of July, 189'7. (see abovep. 72.) ihat when she is abletoperformcertain wonders without
The followingisatypicalexample of " sympathetic " rmy expenditure of force and lnercly by a more or less skil-
'movements, taken from a report by Dr. Dariex. Themat- f d pieceof deception, she prefers the second procedure to
ter in hand was to make a key spring out from a lock. 111efirst. It does not exhausther at all, andmay even
umuse her.
The light was strong enough for us to perfectly distinguish Let me remark, in the next place, that, during these ex-
Eusapia's every movement. All at once, the key of the chest periments, she is generally in a half-awake condition which
is heard to rattle in its lock; but, caught in some unknown is somewhat similar to the hypnotic or somnambulistic sleep.
way, it refuses to budge. Eusapiagraspswith her right Her fixed idea is to produce phenornena; and she produces
hand the left. of M. Sabatier, and, at the same time, curls thcm, no matter how.
the fingers of her other hand arolnnd his index finger. Then
she begins to make alternate movements of rotation back It is, then, urgent, indispensable, to be constantly on the
and forth around his finger. We at once hear synchronous alertandto cont.ro1 all her actions and gestures withthe
rattlings of the key which turns in its lock just as the fingers greatest care.
of the medium are doing." I could cite hundreds of analogous examples observed by
myself in theyears gone by. I-Iere is one takenfrommy
Let us suppose that the chest,, instead of being at a dis-
notes.
tance from the medium, had been within her reach; let 11s
still further suppose that the light, instead of being abund- Onthe second of Optober, 1889, a spiritualistic séance
ant, had been feeble anduncertain:thesitters would not had brought toget#hcrcwtain investigators in the hospitable
have failed to confound this kind of synchronous automatism n~ansionof the Countess of Mouzay, at Rambouillet. We
with conscious and impudent fraud on the part of Eusapia. were told that me had the rare good fortune to have nit11 11s
Andthey would have beendeceived. a veritable and excellent medium,- Mme. X., the wife of a
very distingnished Paris physician, herself well educated
Without excusing fraud, which is abominable, shameful, and inspiring by her character the greatest confidence.
and despicable in each and every case, it canundoubtedly We arranged oursclws, four in all, around a littlctahlc
be explained in a very human way by admitting the reality of light wood. Scarcely a minnte Ilas paswd wl~cn thch
of the phenomena. I n thefirst place th0real phenomena littletable S(!C\TTISto be taken withtrenlhling,and almost.
exhaust the medium, and only take place at the cost of a n immediately it rises and then fnlls lx&. This vertical I n o w -
ment is repeated several times in the full light of tllc lamps
See Annales, 1896. The report is very rich in records. The door of the salon.
of the wardrobe opened and closed of itself, several times in succession.
in synchronism with the movements of the medium's hands, which were The nextday the same levitation occurrcd in bro,nrl t l ~ y
at about a yard's distance. A toy piano weighing about two pounds light: at noon, while W C were waiting for a guest. w11o \vas
was moved about, and played several airs all alone, etc.
 212 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES FRAUDS, X P S T I F I C b T I O X S , ‘IMPEDIXEXTS 213
late to luncheon. This time the round table used was much ” Julx.’’
heavier. “ 30,it was in [Link]. l’ou arc not L6opoldine Ilugo.
“ Is there a spirit there 8 ” some one asks. I IOW old wcre you when yon died ? ”
“ Yes.” i
“ Eighteen years. They don’t remember very oftento
“ Is he willing to give his name 8 ”
clccorate my tomb with flowers.”
‘‘Yes.” “ Where ? ”
Someone takes an alphabet, counts the letters, and receives,
by tapsmade by one of thefeet of the table, thename
i “ At PGre-Lachaise.”

“ ’l‘ou are wrong, it was at Villequier that you were buried,

Léopoldine Hugo. und I went myself to visit your tomb. Pour husband, ~.

“ Have you something to say to us 8 ” Charles Vacquerie is also there, with the two other victims
“ Charles, my husband, would like to be reunited to me.”
of the catastrophe. You don’t know what you aretalking
“ But where is he P ”
about.”
“ Floating in space.”
At this point ourhostess declares that she was not thinking
“ And you 8 ”
at all of Père-Lachaise, and that, in her opinion, Léopoldine
“ I n the presence of God.”
Hugo and her husband remained at the bottom of the Seine.
“ All that is very vague. Could you give us a proof of After luncheon we sit down again at. the sèance table.
identity to show us that you are really the daaghter of Victor Various oscillations. Thena name is dictated.
Hugo, thewife of CharlesVacquerie ? Do you remember ‘‘ Sivel.”
the place where you died ? ” “ The aeronaut ? ”
“ Yes, at Villequier.”
“ Yes.”
“ Inasmuch as the accident of your shipwreck in the Seine
“ I n what year did you die 8 ”
is well known, and since the whole thing may be latent in “ 1875.” (Correct.)
our brains, could you please give 11s otherfacts ? Do you, “ What month ? ”
remember the year of your death ? ” “ March.” (It was April 15.)
“ 1849.”
“ From what point did your balloon start 8 ”
“ I do not think so,” I replied, “ for I have in my mind’s
“ La Villette.” (Correct.)
eye a page of the Contemplations where the date of Septem- “ Where did you fall ? ”
ber 4, 1843, is written. Has my memory played me false 8 ” “ In the river Indre.”
“ Yes. It is 1849.” All [Link] “ elements ” were more or less known to us. I
“ You astonish me very much, for in 1843, Victor Hugo
ask for a more special proof of identity.
returned from Spain on account of your death, while in 1849
he was a representative of the people in Paris. Moreover,
‘‘Where did you know me 8 ”
“ With Admiral Mouchez.”
you died six months after your marriage, which took place “ It. is impossible. I first knew Admiral Mouchez at the
in February, 1843.” time of hisappointment to thedirectorship of the Paris
At this point, the Countess of Mouzay remarked that she Observatory. H e succeeded LC Verrier in 1877, two years
was very well acquainted with Victor Hugo and his family, after yonr death.”
that they were living then in the street of Latour-d’ Auvergne, The table is agitated and dictates as follows:
and that the date 1840 must be correct. “ Give your name.”
I maintain the contrary. The spirit sticks to its fact. “ Witold. Marchioness, I love you still.”
“ I n what month did the event take place ? ”
“ Are you happy ? ”
 214 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES FRAUDS, MYSTIFICATIOKS, TMPEDIMEXTS 215
“ No, I behaved badly to you.” o f the, sitters to pass under the table ; and if it rose in spite
“ You know very well that I pardon you, and that I pre- of this, then we should know that thelevitation was due
serve the happiest recollection of you.” to an unknown force.
“ You are too good;” The remarks of Mme. X., when she saw this device, macle
These thoughts were evidently in the mind of the lady; me think at once that no levitation was going to take place.
so there was here no more proof of identity than in the other “ This power of ours,” said she, “ is capricious ; on sonle
case. days we get good results, on others none at all, and for no
All of a sudden tqhetable begins to move vigorously, and upparent reason.”
another name is dictated, f‘Ravachol.’’ * “ But we shall perhaps have rapg, at any rate ? ”

“ Oh, what is he going to say to us 8 ” “ Certainly. We oughtnot to anticipate results. One

I willset down herewhat he said, though notwithout can always try.”
shame, and with all due apologies to my lady readers. n e r e Two hours after luncheon, Ifme. X. agrces to try a sitting.
it is in all its crudity: No levitation whatever occurred.
. “ Bougresde crétins, votre sale gueuleestencore plaine I had some suspicions thatthis would be the case. I
des odeurs du festin.” ardently desired thecontrary, and we willed the levitation
(“ Nasty blackguards and idiots, your dirty throat is still with allourmight. I was expressly carefulto have the
full of the odors of the feast.”) Rame experimenters (Mme. X. and Mme. Cail,and my-
“ Monsieur Ravachol, this language of yours is exquisite ! self)asafortnight before, when everything succeeded so
Have you nothing more refined than this tosay to us ? ” admirably,- same places, samechairs,same room, tem-
“ You be blowed ! ” perature,hour, etc.
Certainly no one of us was capable of consciously compos- Raps indicate that a spirit wishes to speak. I notice that
ing such a sentence as that. But everybody knows the words the raps correspond to a muscular movement of Mme. X’s
that were used. Perhapsour conscious or subconscious leg.
thoughts spoke in them 8 Did they emanate from Mme. X., “ Who are you 8 ”
the medium ? “ In the library of the master of the house my name will
I n the uncertainty into which we were plunged by [Link] be found in a book.”
two séances, we asked M. and Mme. X. to come and pass a ‘‘ How shall we find it 8 ”
Sunday a t Juvisy and trysome new studies and tests. ‘‘ It is written on a piece of paper.”
They came, and on Sunday, October 8, we obtained some ‘‘ In what book 8 ”
remarkable levitations. But thereare some dregs of doubt “ Astronomia.’.’
yet in our minds, and we make engagementa for another re- “ Of what date 8 ”
union that day fortnight. No reply.
On Sunday, the 22d of October, 1899, in furtherance of ‘‘ Of what color 8 ”
my desire to exercise careful control over the investigators, l‘ Yellow.”
I had four broad boards nailed together, forming a vertical “ Bound 8 ”
frame inwhich I placed the little tableto be used during thc (‘No.”
[Link] frameworkmade it impossible for thefeet ‘‘ Stitched 8 ”
U Yes.”
A Parisian Anarchist executed for dynamiting the houses of the
Judges Benoit and Bulot. The popular chanson of the Anarchists ‘‘ On what shelf 8 ”
called La Ravacho2e originated in this man’s deeds and personality. See
Alvan &mborn’s Paris and the flocial Revolution, Boston, 1906.- Trans.
aunt?
216 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES F’RAEDS, J917STIFICIITIOSS, TXPEDIXEYTS 217
‘‘ It impossible to go through thousands ofvolumes, and, vonriction that something realesist,s he always returns, in
besides, there is not such a book in the whole library.” fipite of incessant trickery.
No reply. I n the month of Nay: 1901, Princess Karadja introduced
After a series of questions we learn that the book is on
the sixth shelf of the main body of the library, to the right to me a professional medium, F m u i h l l a Rothe, a German,
of the door. But first, we all went into the room to make whose specialty consisted in her alleged ability to spirit
sure it contained no such book as was described. flowers into a tightly closedroom in broad daylight.
“ Then the volume is bound in boards ? ” I made arrangements for a séance with her at lny apart-
“ Yes, there are four Zow volumes.”
ments in [Link] continuance, bouquets of flow-
“ We returntothe room, and, sure enough, find in a ers of all sizes, did, in truth, make their appearance,but
volume [Link] Anatomia Cezeste, Venice, 1573, a piece of
paper,uponwhich is pencilled thename “ Krishna.” We always from a quarter in the room the opposite of that to
return to the séance [Link]. which ourattention was drawn by Frau Rothe and her
“ Is it really you, Krishna 8 ” manager, Max Ientsch.
“ Yes.” Being well nigh convinced thatall was fraud,but not
“ In what epoch did yon live ? ”
having the timc t o dcrote to swll sittings, J begged JI. Cail
“ I n the time of Jesus.”
“ I n what country 8 ’’
to be present, as often as he ~ould,at the [Link] which
“ I n the neighborhood of the IIimalaya mountain system.”
were to be held in different Parisian salons. He gladly con-
“ And how did you writeyourname on this piece of sented, and got. invited to a séance at the C16mcnt Marot
paper ? ” house. Having taken his station a little in the rear of the
“ By passing through the thought of my medium.” flower-scattering medium, he saw her adroitly slip one hand
Etc., etc. beneath her skirts and draw out branches which she tossed
I thought it would be superfluous to persist any farther.
Mme. X. not being able to raise the table had chosen the into the air.
device of tablerappings. Thecalling up of theHindu H e also saw her take oranges from her corsage, and as-
prophet, however, I thought was a fine piece of audacity. certained that they were warm.
The simplest hypothesis is thatthe woman wentint.o The imposture was a glaring one, and he immediately
my library and put [Link] piece of paper in the book. I n fact., unmasked her, tothegreatscandal of theassistants, who
she was seen there. But even had she not been, the conclu-
sion would be no less certain. For the room was open, and heaped insults upon him. A final séance had been planned,
Mme. X. hadremainedaboutanhour in the next room, to be held in my salon on the following Tuesday. But Frau
detained by “ a nervous headache.” Ibthe and her two accomplices took tllc train at the Eastern
Railwaystation that very morning, and we saw tllem no
This specimen of mediumistic trickery is, as I have said, more. I n thefollowingyearshe was arrested in Berlin,
one among hundreds. Really, one must be endowed with [Link] after a fraudulent séance, and sentenced to one year in jail
most unweariable perseverance to enable himto devote to for swindling.
those studieshours which would be muchbetter employed In this class of things, cheat’ings and hoaxing8 areas
even in doingnothing at all. However, when one has the
 218 . fiYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
FRAUDS, MYSTIFICATIONS, IMPEDIMEKTS 210
numerous as authenticated facts. Thosewho are curious in
o f t h .confused uproar madebytwenty-fivedupcd sitters,
such things will not have forgotten the scandalous hoax and
CIIO heroine of the entertainment is compelled to show her-
nlisdemeanor of the celebrated Mrs. Williams, an American
eclf in flesh tights, while the whole apparatus of her ghostly
womanwhowasreceived in full confidence, in 1894, in
puppet-show is discovered in the cabinet!
Paris, bymy excellent friend,the Duchess of Pomar. Al-
Mrs. Williams had, the effrontery to defend herself, a
ready made-distrustful by the ingenious observations of the
little later, in the American, Journal Light, bestowing the
young duke, the sitters were determined not to be the butt.
playful epithet of “ bandits ” upon those who had unmasked
of her fooleriee very long, and a sitting was agreed on. The her in Paris.
participators were MM. de Watteville, Dariex, Mangin,
That was a case of high mystification, of jugglery worthy
Ribero, Wellemberg,Lebel,Wolf, Paul Leymarie (son of ‘ of a street-corner mountebank. But, as we have already
the editor of La Revue Spirite), etc. men, mattem do not usually attain to such a height of au-
The specialty of Mrs. Williams (who was, by the way, dacity, and quite often fraud only intervenes when the gen-
quite a stout person) wag the showing of apparitions, or uine powershavebecomeenfeebled. This well appeared
ghosts. Said apparitions proved to be manikins, rather in the accounts of the “ girl torpedo-fish,” Angelica Cottin,
poorlygot up ; thelady spectators, as well as the gen- who attained a good deal of notoriety.
t,lemen, were quite disappointed at the absence of the rich On the 15th of January, 1846, in the village of Bouvigny,
and flowing outlines of forrn under the draperies of the marPerrière(Orne), a young girl thirteen years old,
wretchedpuppets. Thinand limp, tatterdemalion thinge, namedAngelica Cottin, light and robust, but extremely
they showed not the faintest resemblance to the normal spatbetic in physical temperament and in morals, suddenly
and classic contours of woman, the lines of whichwe oxhibited strange powers. Objects touchedbyher, or by
shouldhave been able to glimpse at least to some extent her clothing,were forcibly [Link],even on
under thelight gauze that enwrapped the figures. Several her mere approach, people were thrown into commotion and
bright-witted, but rather irreverent, ladies took no pains to excitement, and pieces of furniture and household utensils
conceal the factthat they should preferannihilationif it were seen to move and vibrate. With some variations in
werenecessary to be so . . . ‘‘reduced,” so “ incom- intensity, andwith intermittences, sometimes, of two or
plete ” in the other world 1 The gentlemen added that they three days, this curious virtue held good for about a month,
would certainly not be alone in lamenting such a state of then disappeared as unexpectedly as it had appeared. It
things !
was authenticated by a large number of persons,some of
There was no religious atmosphere at all about these sit- whom submitted the little girl to genuine scientific experi-
tings. The imposture wasdiscovered, or, one might rather ments, and embodied their observations in formal reports,
say, seized, by M. Paul Leymarie. He simply grasps Mme.
whichwerecollected and published by Dr. Tanchou. This
Impostor around the waist (having slipped behind the cur-
gentleman first sawAngelica on February I2 (1846), in
tain for the purpose), and holds her fast for the inspection
Paris, where she had been talaen to be exhibited. The man-
of the audience. Lights are brought on2 and3 in the midst ifestations (which had decreaeed from the day when the
 220 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES FRAUDS, UYSTIFICATIOKS, IMPEDIXEXTS 221
basis, or usual course of her habits had been altered) were This girl’s radiations of psychic force (dnaanations) are
on the point of disappearing altogether. Yet they were still not permanentlypresent duringallthe hours of the day.
distinct enough to enable theinvestigator to draw up the They are especially strong in the evening, from seven to nine
following note, which was read to the Academy of Science, o’clock, -which leads me to surmise that perhaps her last
on February 17, by Arago, an eye-witness of the facts.” nlcal (taken at six o’clock) is not without its influence.
The emanations are given forth only fromthefront
1m-t of the body, cspecially at thewristandat the bend
I saw the young “ electric ” girl twice (says Dr. Tanchou). of the arm. They only occ‘ur on the left side, and the arm of
A chair which I was holding as hard as I could with my this side is of a higlwr tclrlperaturc than that of the other.
foot and both hands was forcibly wrenched from me the
moment she sat down in it..
1 t gives off a gcntlc h a t , as from a part where a lively reac-
tion is going on. Tllc arm trembles and is [Link] dis-
A [Link] slip of paper which I held poised on one finger turbed by unusual contractions and quiverings which seem to
was several times carried away as if by a gust of wind.
b.?imparted to the. hand that touches it..
A dining-table of moderate size, though rather heavy, was During the time I observed this subject, her pulse varied
more than once displaced by the mere touch of her dress.
from Ioli to 120 pulsations a minnte. It seemed to me fre-
A little paper wheel, placed vertically or horizontally upon
its axis was pnt into rapid movement by the radiations which cllwntly irregular.
When she is isolated from tlle colnlnon reservoir of elec-
dartedfromthis chilcl’s wrist and the bend of her arm. . t r i c or magnetic power, eithcr by hcing seated 11po11a chair
A largeand heavy sofaupon which I was seated was \vitlmut her fcct, touclliug t l ~ cfloor o r wllcn l)lacir~gtlmn
pushed with great force against the wall the moment the girl
Ilpon the cllair of a persc:m ill frout of lier, the pllenomena
came to seat herself by me.
do not take place. They also ceasc when she is made to
A chair was held fast upon the floor by strong men and I >il- dotynon Lcr o w l h11,ls. Al \\~;1scd a piece of o i l 4
was seated on it in snch a way as to occupy only the half of
f l 0 0 1 1 ,

silk, a plate of glass ~ultlerl m fcct or on tlle chair, all h a r e

the scat. It was forcibly wrenched away from under rne as
t IIO eflkct of antagonizillg ancl cleatroFing for the time tllcb
soon as the young girl sat down on the other half.
cbluctro-dpamic property of her body.
One curious thing is that every time the chair is lifted it/
During the paroxysm she can toncll scarcely anything
seems to clingto Angelica’s dress. I t follows her foran
instant before it becomes detached. with her left hard withoutthrowing it from her as if it
Two little elder-pith balls or feather-balls, suspended by a I,urned her. When her clothes touch the articles of furniture
silken thread, are set in motion, attracted to each other and in a room she attracts [Link], displaces them, and overturns\
sometimes repelled. t hm.
One will understand this more easily when it is realized
See also Enqudte sur l’authmticitd de8 phhaomènes electrìqtles illat at every electricdischarge she runs away to escape
d’dngelique Cottin. Paris, Germer Ballisre, 1846. Also L’Esterior- the pain. She says ‘‘ it pricks” or “ stings ” her in the wrist
isation de la motricitd, by Albert de Rochas.
t Lafontaine, who also studied Angelica’scase, saysthat“when she or bend of the elbow. Once when I was feeling for her pulse
brought her left wrist near a lighted candle, the flamebentover hor- i I I the temporal artery (not. having been able to locate it in
izontally, asif continually blown upon.” (L’artde magnetiser, p. the left arm) my fingers chanced to touch the nape of t-he
273).
M. Pelletier observed the sa- thing in the case of some of his sub neck. She uttered a cry and drew back quickly from me. I
jecte, when they brought the palm of the hand near a candle. Rcvcral times assured myself of the fact that, near the cere-
Specialists call these points “hypnogenic points,” from which fluidic hcllum, at the placc where the muscles of the upper part of
etreame radiate.
tkc neck are joined to the cranium, there is a spot so sensitive
 2 2,2 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
IXAUDS, MYSTIFICATÌONS,
IMPEDIMEETS 223 l

that sheallows no oneto touch [Link] sensations she

feels in her left arm arehere echoed or repeated. wllo guaranteed to me upon his honor the truth of the state-
Theelectric emanations of this child seem to move by Illcnt. In themiddle of theday almost no effectswem
waves, intermittently, and ip succession through different obtained, but in theevening, at the usual hour, they redoubled
parts of the anteriorportion of the body. But be that as in intensity. I t was at that time that action without contact.
it may, they are certainly accompanied by an a ë r i f o m cur- took place, and effects were produced in organic living bodies.
rent which gives the sensation of cold. I plainly felt upon These latter made their &st appearance in the form of violent
my hand a quick puff of air like that produced by the lips. nhocks felt in the ankles by one of the women laborers who
Every time the mysterious force strikes through her frame lluppened at thetimeto be facing Angelica, the points of
and materializes in an act, terror and dismay fill the mind tllcir sabots being about four inches apart.
of this child, and she seeks refuge in flight.. Every time slØe
brings the end of her fingers near the north pole of a piece Dr. Beaumont Chardon, a physician of Xortagne, also
of magnetized iron, she receives a severeshock ; the south published similar notes and observations,- a m o q others
poleproduces no effect. I f I manipulated the iron in such t he following :
a way that I could not myself tell ihe north pole on it, she
could always tell it very well. The repulsion and attraction, hopping about and displace-
Sheisthirteenyears old and has not yet reached ment, of a rather solid table ; of another table six feet by nine,
[Link] age of puberty. I learned from her mother that nothing mounted on casters ; of another four-feet-and-a-half square
like menstruation has yet appeared. She is very strong and oak table; of a very massive mahogany easy-chair, - all
healthy, but her intellect is as yet little developed. She is a thcse displacements took place through contact with the
peasant cottager (vilkzgeoise) in every sense of the word ;yet (,'ottin gà.rPs clothes,- contact either involuntary or pur-
sheknowshow to read and write. Her occupation is the posely brought about by experiments.
making of thread gloves for ladies. The first electric phe- There was a sensation of violent prickings when a stick of
nomena began a month ago. waling-wax or a glass tube suitably rubbed was placed in con-
lrtct with a bend in the left a m or with the head, or simply
It is desirable to add to the foregoing note extracts from when brought somewhat. near there. When the sealing-wax
other reports. Here, for example, is a citation from M. or the tube had not been rubbed, or when they were being
wiped dry or moistened, there was a cessation of effects.
Hébert : The hairs on one's arm, made to slope or lie flat by a little
d i v a , rose up again at the approach of the child's left arm.
On the 17th of January,- that is to say, the second day
of t,he appearance of the phenomena,- the scissors suspended I have already remarked that this young girl was brought
from her waist by a cotton tape, flew from her without the to Paris as a subject of scientific observation. Arago,
at the
cord being broken, and no one could imagine how it got un-
tied. This circumstance, incredible from its resemblance to Observatory, in the presence of his colleagues MM. Mathieu,
the pranks of lightning, makes one think at once that elee Laugier, and Goujon, established the truth of the following
tricity must play an important rôle in the production of such phenomena :
astonishing effects. But this way of looking at thething When Angelica held out herhand toward a sheet of
did not last long. For the miracle of the scissors only oc- paper laid near the edge of a table, the paper was strongly
curred twice, once in the presence of the curé of the village, ' attracted by the hand. Approaching acentretable, she .
 .. . . .

321 UPSTERIO'L'S PSYC€IIC FORCES

grazed it with her apron,andthetabledrew back from matter of'fact way iu tllc wvrld anci 1111~1 it bollid l m with
her. When she sat down on a chair and put ller feet on the such force that often the chair was broken against the wall.
floor, the chair was thrown back violently against the wall, But the supreme experiment,- that in which, according to
and she herself was thrown forward to the other side of the herparents, the miracle was revealed of motion prodnced
room. This lastexperiment,repeated several times, always without contact,- was as follows : She was placed standing
before a light centre-table covered with a thin silken stufi.
succeeded. Neither Arago northeastronomers of the Ob- Her apron also made of a very light and almost transparent
servatory were able to hold the chair down. 11. Goujon, wllo silk, rested on the centre-table (though this last condition was
had sat down in advance upon one half of the chair which not indispensable). Thcn, when the electric forcc appeared,
was going to be used by Angelica, was upset at the moruent thetable was orerturncd, wlde " the electric girl " main-
when she came to share the seat with him. tained her usual stupid impassivity. I had never personally
seen any success attained in this particular feature of [Link]
Followingafavorablereport of it,s ill~~striousperpetual girl's performances ; nor had my colleagues of the comnlis-
secretary," the Academy of Science named a commission to sion of the Institute, nor the physicians, nor certain writers,
examine Angelica Cottin. This commission confined its who, with great assiduity, had attended all the séances ap-
efforts exclusively to the task of determining whether or not pointed at the headquarters of thegirl'sparents in Paris.
the elect-rica1force of the subject was similar to that of the As for myself, I had already overstepped all the bounds of
machines orthat of the tor1)edo-fisll. T h y co111tl not come friendly complaisance, mhcn, one evening the parents came to
beseech me, in virtue of the intercst I had sllown in thelu, to
to any conclusion, probably 011 account of the emotion excited attended onc more séance, saying that tllc elcctric forcc WL;
in the girl at the sight of the formidable apparatus of es- going to declare itself auev wit11 grcat energy. I arrived
perimentation;andthen lier peculiar powers were already about eight o'clock in theercningat the hotcl wllcrc thc
on their decline. Thustheconmission hastened to declare Cottin family was staying. I was disagreeably surprised at
all the communications on this subject luatk to the Academy o111yfor 1uTwlf, ancl tllc fricndq
íinding R sila11c.c i~lic~ntl~~tl
n - h m I brought w i t 1 1 mc, orcrnm :11 :I caro\vtl o f l~llysi(.iaIls
previous to this to be null and void.
and journalists who had been attracted by the announcement
Upon this topic my old master and friend Babiaet, who of theprodigies which were to begin again. After due ex-
was a member of the commission, wrote as follows: cuses had been made I was introduced to a back room which
served as dining-room, and there I found an immense kitchen
The members of the commission were not able to verify tablemade of oak planks of an enormous thickness and
any of the features announced. There was no report made, weight. At the moment when dinner was being served the
and Angelica's parents, worthy people of the most, exemplary electric girl had, by an act of her mill (it was said), over-
probity, returned with her from Paris to their own locality. turned this massive table, and, as a necessary result, broken
The good faith of this couple and of a friend who accompan- all the plates and bottles that were on it. But her excellent
ied them interested me very much, and I would have given parents did not regret the loss, nor the poor dinner that re-
anything in the world to find some reality in the wonders sulted from it, on account of the hope that animated them
that had been proclaimed about the girl. The only remark- that the marvellous qualities of the poor idiot were going to
able thing she did was to rise from her chair in the most manifest themselves and receive the official stamp of authen-
ticity. There was no possibility of doubting the veracity of
&ago.- TT". these honest witnesses. An octogenarian who accompanied
. . . !
 .. .

.\
226 [Link] PSYCHIC FORCES
’k’ItAUDS, MYSTIFICATIONS, IMPEDIMRXTS 227
me (M. M.-, the most. sceptical of men) believed their re-
cital as I did ; but, after entering with me the room full of Babinet adds farther on in the same volume tho follom-
people, this distrustful observer took his stand in the very ing rcmarks on Angelica Cottin:
entrance-door, alleging as a pretextthe crowd in the room, and
80 placed himself as to have a side view of the electric girl
I n the midst of wonders which she did not perform there
with her centre-table before her. The crowd that faced the was seen a very natural effect of the first relaxation of muscles
girl occupied the farther end and the sides of the room. which was curious in the highest degree. The girl, of slight
After an hour of patient waiting, and all in vain, I with- tigure andtorpid physique, whowas correctly styled the
drew, expressing my [Link] and my regrets. M.M. re- ‘‘ torpedo-fish,” being first seated on a chair and then rising
mained obstinately at his post. H e pointed the electric girl wry slowly (in the midst of the movement she was making
with his unwearied eye, as acrouching setter does a partridge. irr the act of rising) had the power of throwing backward,
At last, at the end of another hour, when the attention of the with terrifying suddenness, the chair she was leaving, without
company was distracted by innumerable preoccupations and uuybody being able to pcrceive thc slightest movement of the
several centres of conversation had been formed -suddenly trunk of the body, and solely by the relaxation of the muscle
the miracle occurred :the centrktable was overturned. Great which had been in contact with the chair. At one of the test-
amazement! great expectat,ions! They were just beginning nBances in the laboratoryof physics at the Jardin des Plantes,
to cry “ Bravo ! ” when M. M., advancing by warrant of age Hcveral amphitheatrechairs of white wood were hurled
and the love of truth, declared that hc hadseen Angelica, by a against the walls in such a way as to break them. A second
convulsivemovement of the knee, push the table that was (‘hair, which I had once tabcn the prccaution to place behind
placed before her. H e drew the conclusion that the effort she Illat in which the electric girl w:ts soatcc1 (for the pnrpose of
must have made before dinner in the overturning of the heavy protecting, if need were, two persons who werc conversing at
kitchen table would have occasioned a severe contusion above tllc back part of the room) was drawn along with the pro-
her knee,- a matter that was investigated and found to be Iwlled chair and went with it to arouse from their absent-
truc. Such \c’as the end of this mclanclloly affair in which lllirdedness tllctwo savants. I will add that several young
so many pcople had been dupcd by a poor idiot, who yct had
twployees at l . 1 .Jardin
~ dcs Plantvs s u w w t l d in pcrfornling
enough crafty cunning to inspire illusion by her very calm- - althougll ill B les$ brilliant l v a ~ ~ tllis prchtty nicl; i 1 1
ness and impassivity. We have still to account for the singu- I)odilymechanics. I n order to get a good idea of this play
lar facts observed near Rambouillet (see the Reports of the of the muscles by a similar effect, you have only to gently
Academy), at the house of a wealthy manufacturer, all whose squeeze that part of the muscle of some one’s arm that is
vases and other vessels of pottery-ware burst into a thousand most developed, at the same time that he makes the motion
pieces at the moment when least expected. Kettles and other of opening and closing his fist several times. You will a t
large vessels cast in metal also flew into fragments, to the once feel the swelling up of the muscles and divine the more-
great loss of the proprietor, whose troubles, however, ceased ment that would result from it were the change of shape
with the discharge of a servant, who had come to an under- made very rapid:
standing with aman who was to occupy the factory so that he
might get it at abetter bargain. Nevertheless, it is to be Such is thereport of thelearned physicist. T t is thus
regretted that the matterended before it was discovered what that fraud once more hindered the recognition of the reality
fulminating powder had been employed to produce such cur- of phenomena thathad been duly provedbefore. Accom-
ious resulta, so new, and, apparently, so well proved. * panyingthisthere was also a weakening of the faculties
Btudes et lectures gtlr les sciences d’obsemafims, vol. II., 1866. of the performer. But it is absurd to conclude fromthis
225 3IT'[Link] PSYCHIC FORCES
that the observers of the earlier days in this case (including
Arago and his colleagues of the Observatory,- Mathieu,
Laugier, and Goujon,- as well as the examiner Hébert,
Dr. Beaumont Chardon, and others) were poorobservers,
and were deceived by movements of the foot. of this child. CHAPTER VI
We may allow for the fraud, conscious and unconscious
THE EXPEBXMENTS OP COUNT DE QASPARIN
of mediums. We may deplore it, for it throws an unpleas-
ant gloom upon all the phenomena; but let 11s render justice One of the most important series of experiments that haa
to incontestable facts, and continue to observe them. been made on the subject of moving tables is that of Count
Quœre et inwenies! Seek and thou shalt find. The Un- Agénor deGasparin at Valleyres, Switzerland, in Septem-
known, the science of to-morrow. ber,October,November, and December of theyear 1853.
The Count has published formal reports of these studies in
two large volumes.* These séances may be called purely
scientific,' for they were conducted with the most scrupulous
care and were under the severest control. The table usually
cmlployed had a round oak top thirty-two inches in diameter,
which rested on a heavy three-footed central column, the
feet being about twentytwo inches apart. There were usu-
ally ten or twelve experimenters, and they formed the chain
on the table by touching each other with their little fingers
in such a way that the thumb of the left hand of each opera-
tor touched-that of his right hand, and the little finger of
the right hand touched that of the left hand of his neighbor.
ln the opinion of the author, [Link] chain is useful, but not
:tbsolutely necessary. Therotation of the table usually
Llegan after a waiting of five or ten minutes. Then it lifted
one foot to a height that varied from time to time, and fell
back again. The levitation took placeevenwhen a very
heavy man was seated on the table. Rotationsand levita-
tions were obtained without the contact of hands, But let
us hear the author himself:
* Des Tablea toùrnantes, du Burnature1 em gdndral, et des E q r i t a ,
ptrr le comte Agénor de Gasparin, Puris, Dentu, ISS.#.
229

.
230 NTSTERIOUS PSTCIIIC FORCES EXPERJMENTS OF GASPARIN 231
I t is a question of positive fact that I wish to solve. The form his own conviction, and will judge whether my proofs
tllcory will come [Link]. To prove [Link] phenomenon of have that character of frequent occurrence, of persistency,
turning tables is real and of a purely physical nature ; that of progressive development which false discoveries, based
i t can neither be explained by the mechanical action of our upon solne fortuitous and poorly described coincidence, never
ruuscles nor by the mysterious action of spirits,- such is my have.
tllesia. It is my wish to state it with precision and circunl-
scribe itslimits here a t thevery start. I confess I find These are promising premises. We shall see whether
some satisfaction in meetingwithunanswerableproofsthc the promises will be kept. Thereport (or minutes) of the '

sarcaslns of people who find it easier to mock than to exam- first meeting bears the date of September 20, 1853. Numer-
ine. I am well aware that we have got to put up with
ous séances had been held before, but it had not been
that.. No new truth becomes evidentwithouthaving been
iirst ridiculed. But it is none the less agreeable to reach the thought necessary to write down the results. What those re-
moment when things assume their legitimate place, and when sults were will be seen by the following brief account:
rôles cease to be inverted. This moment might have been
long in corning. F o r a long time I feared that table-phenom- Only those have an invincible conviction (writes Count, de
ena would not admit of a definite scientific demonstration ; Gasparin) who have participated in séance studies frequently
that, while they inspired absolute certainty in the minds of and directly, who have felt under their very fingers the pro-
thc operators and witnesses at first hand, they would not fur- duction of those peculiar movements which the action of our
nishirrefutableargumentstothe public. I n the presence rrluscles cannot imitate. They know the limitations of their
of bare possibilities, each person would be free to cherish hiu powers and whereto stop. For t,hey have seen the table
own particular opinion ; we should have had believers and refuse to rotate at all, in spite of the impatience of the investi-
sceptics. The classification would have taken place in virtue gators, and in spite of their clamorous appeals. Then again,
of tendencies rather than by reason ofone's knowledge or they have been present-hen it started to move so gently, so ,
ignorance of the facts. Some, in the agreeable sensation of softly and spontaneously started, it can be said, under fin-
their intellectual superiority, would have carried their head gcrs which hardly touched [Link] have qt timesseen
very high, and others would have abandoned themselves in the legs of the table(riveted by some enchantment to the
despair to thecurrentsuperstitions of the day. The truth íloor) refuse to budge on any terms, in spite of the incite-
incompletely demonstrated would have been treated as a lie, illent and coaxing of those who composed the chain. On
and', what is worse, would have ended by becoming such. other occasions they hace seen the same tablelegs perform
But thank God ! it will not be so now. Our meetings were lcvitations that wcre so free and energetic that they antici-
real and formal séances, to which the best. hours of the day 1):Itcd thehands, got thestart of the orders, and executed
were given. The results, verified with the most minute care, tlle thongl~tu almost Before they were conceived, andwith
were embodied in formaland official declarations. I have :Ir1 energy well-nigh terrifying. They have heard with their
t h s e procès-verbaux before me now, and it seems to me that own ears stunning raps and gentle raps, the one threatening
I could not do better than to take up one after another and to break the table, the others of such incredible fineness and
extract from each theinteresting observations it may con- (lrlicacy that one could scarcely catch the sounds, and none
tain. I shallthus follow the method of certainhistorians, ( J f us could in any degree imitate them. They have re-
and relate the truth rather than systematize [Link] marked that the force of the levitations is notdiminished
will, as i t were, follow usstep by step. He willexamine when the sitters are removed from the side of the table that
rrnd chcok m y various assertions by comparing them; he will is to [Link] have themselves commanded
232 [Link] PSTCIITC FOECES EXPERJMENTS OF GASPARIN 233
the tablc to lift that orlcof its lcgs over which rest the only Hmong whom were several young ladies of delicate physique,
hands that compose that portion of the chain still remainimg, Ilad worked withveryunusual perseverance and energy.
and t h leg has risen as oftcn and as high as they wished. 'l'hcir bodily fatigue at the end of each sitting was naturally
Thcy have obscmed thetable inits dances when it beats wry great. It seems asifweshouldtherefore have ex-
the measure with one foot or with two ; when it reproduces iwted some nervous collapses more or less grave, to show
exactly the rhythm of the music that has just h e n sung ; I,llc!mselves among us. If explanations based uponinvolun-
whcn, yielding in the mostcornic way to the invitation to iary actsperformed in a state of cxtraordinary excitement
dance theminuet, it takes on grandmotllerlyairs,sedately Ilad the least foundation in fact, we should have had trances,
makes a half turn, curtsies, and then comes forward turning ithost possessions, and, at any rate, nervous attacks. Now,
the other side ! The manner in which the events took place i t 1 spite of the exciting and noisy character of our meetings,
told theexperimenters more thanthe events themselves. i t did not happen, in five months time, that any one of us
Thcy were in contact with a reality which soon made itself (bsperienced a single moment of indisposition or sickness of
understood. rlny kind. We learned something more : when a person is in
The persevering experiments we had made before the 20th u state of nervous tension, he or she becomes positively unfit
of September had already given us proof of two principal IO act upon the table. It must be handledcheerfully,
things,- the levitation of a weight that the muscular action lightly, and deftly, with confidence and authority, but with-
of the operators was powerless to move, and the reproduction out passion. This is so truethatthe moment I took too
of n u m h r s by mind reading. Illuch interest in things I ceased to obtain obedience. If,
on account of public discussions in which I had been engaged,
I shall now give theformal declarations or reports, by I chanced to desire success too ardently and togrow impatient
Count de Gasparin, or at least the essential parts of them. over delay, I had no longer any control over the table ; it re-
I shall present them here as the author hasdone, s6ance after twin inert. . .
s6ance. Thereaderwill judge. H e is urged to readthe Séance of September 94
reports with the greatest attention. They are scientific doc- We began pretty poorly, ,and were almost inclined to think
nrrlcnts of the highest value, and quite as important as the Illat thenetresult of the day's experiments would be
preceding 0 1 ~ s . limited to the two following obsemations, which have their
\due, totellthetruth,andwhichourexperiencehasalways 8

Séance of September 20 cmfirmed: 'First, there are days when nothing can be done,
nothing prospers, althoughthe sittersareas numerous, as
Some one proposed the experiment. ml~ichconsists in caus-
strong, and as excited a,s ever,- which proves that the move-
ing a table to rotat,c!and give raps while it has on i t a man
lllcnts of the table arenot obtained by fraud or by the involun-
weighing say a hundred and ninety pounds. We accordingly
~ a pressure
~ y of the muscles. Second, thereare persons.
placed such a man on the table, and the twelve experimenters,
( I Ilose among others who arc sickly or fatigued) whose pres-
in chain, applied their fingers to it.
once in the chain is not only of no use, but even detrimental.
The successmas complete: the tableturned,andrapped Ilcstitute themselves of the fluidic force, they seem, besides,
several strokes. Then it rose up entirely of the floor in such
Io hipder its circulatiodand transmission. Their good will,
a way as to upset the person who was upon it. Let me be
llleir faith in the table a+e of no avail; as long as they are
pcrrrlittctl hew, i n passing, to make zt generalremark. We I here the Yrotations are feeble, the levitations spiritless, the
had alwa(l*v had numerom mcctings. Our experimenters,
(lixfts drawuon thc table are not honored ; that one of ita feet
.
234 NYSTXIiIOCS PSYCII1C FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F GASPARIN 235
facing thcm is cspccially struck with paralysis. Ccg them to
retire, ancl imncdiatoly the vitality appears again and every- Siance of September 29
thing s~~cceeds as if by magic. Indeed, it was only after we We were naturally impatient to eubmit rotation without
lm1 takcu this c'cmrse that we fillally obtained ille frcc and contact to a new test. I n the confusion of the first success
enorgetic movelnents to which we had been accustomed. We we forgot to renew and vary this decisive experiment. When
liad become quite discouraged;but ~-11enthepurging of we got to thinking about it afterwards we saw that it be-
nllicll I llave just spoken tookplace, lo, whata change ! hooved us to do the thing over again with more care and in
Sothing seems difficult to us. Even those who (like my- the presence ofnew witnesses ; that it was, above all,im-
self) ordinarily llave only mediocre success,now think of portanttoproducethe movement andnotmerelyto con-
aulnbers and make thetable rap themoutwith complete tinue it, andto produce it in the form of levitations in-
succcss, or with the slight imperfection (that frequently oc- stead of limiting it to rotations. Such was the program of
curs) of a tap too many, owing to thc delay in giving the ourmeeting of September 29. Never was programcarried
nwntal order to stop the taps. out with greater precision. As B preliminary, we repeated
Seeing that everything was going according to o u wish, our successful feat of the 24th. While the table was rotating
and havmg decided to try the impossiblc, we next undertake'. rapidly, the interlockedhands were liftedfrom it, though
an cspwiment which marks our entrance into a wholly new ' wntinuing to turn above it and form the chain. The table
pllase of the study andplaces our formerexperilnental demon- followed, making now one or two revolutions, and now a
strations under the guarantee of a positively irrefutable dem- half or a- quarter turn only. The success, more or less pro-
onstration. F17e are goingto lcave probabilitybchiad and longed, was certain. W e confirmed it several times. But
d\wll witll eridcncc. We are going to make the table move some one might say that, the table being already in motion,
w i l i i o z l t touc7~ingit. And this is how we succeeded that first the momehtum carried it along mechanically while we im-
time : agined it was yieldingtoour fluidic force. The objection
At the moment when the table was whirling with a power- was absurd, and we would have challenged anybody to ob-
ful and irrcsistible rotation, at a givcn s i p a l we all lifted our tain a single quarter of a turn without forming the chain,
fingers. Then keeping our handsunited by means of the however 'rapid mighthave been therotationimparted.
litlle fingers, and continuing to form the chain at a height of Above all, would we have challenged anyone to renew its
say an eighth or a quarter of an inch above the table, we cou- motion when it had been foraninstant suspended. How-
tinned our circular movement.. l'o our great surprise the ever, it is well in such cases to forestall even absurd objec-
tcddc did the same; it made in this way three or four turns ! tions, however little of plausibility they may have. And this
IVe could scarcely believe our good fortulle; the by-Standers particular objection might seem plausible to the inattentive
(witnesses) could not kccp from clapping their hands. h d man. It was imperative, then, that we should produce rota-
the way in which the rotation took place was as remarkable as tion starting from a state of complete inertia. This we did.
the rotation itself. Orlcc OT twicc the table stoppccl follow- The table Being as motionless as we were, the chain of hands
ing 11s because the little accidents and interruptions of our parted from it and began to turn slowly at a height of about
marchhadwithdrawn our fingers fromtheirregular dis- threeeighths of an inch above its edge. I n a moment the
tance fromthe top of the table. Once or twice thetable tab1.e made slight movement, and each of us striving to draw
a .

had come to life again - if I may so express myself - when along ,by his will that .part situated under his own fingers,
the turning chain had again got into the right relation with we succeeded 'in drawingthe disk [Link] de-
it. We all had the feeling thnt each hand had carried along tailsthat fbllowed resembled those of the preceding case.
in its course thnt portion of the tablc ilnruedisltely berleath it. There is such difficultfin maintaining the chain in the -.air
 236 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 231
withoutbreaking it, in keeping it nearthe border of the
t,ablc withoutgoing too quick andthus destroyingthc Séance of October 7
harmonious relation established, that it oftenhappens that A long meeting, and very fatiguing. It was principally
therotationstops after a turn or ahalf-tnrn. Yctit is devoted to the trial of various mechanical devices which had
[Link] prolonged during three or even four revolutions. 110 success whatever,- such as metal rings ; frameworks of
W C expectcd to encounter stillgreater obstaclcs when W C canvas or of paper placed upon the table ; plates on pivots;
should undertake levitation without contact. But the matter and spring-keys. Whether the sight of all this gear hindered
tnrncd out quitc otherwise. This is easilyexplained when the radiation of the fluidic force from the operators, whether
we remember that in this case there is no circular movement thecontrivances themselves stopped its circulation in the
and it is much easier to maintain the normal position of t h table, or whether, in fine, the natural conditions of the phe-
hands above the table. The chain,then, being formed at a nomenon were disturbed in some other way, it is certain that
distance of an eighth of an inch or 90 above the round top the results amounted to nothing orwere doubtful.
of the table, we ordered one of its legs to lift itself up, and One new experiment rsucceeded. A plateturning on a
it did so. pivot held a tub. I filled thistubwith water, and two
M7e were highly delighted, and repeatedthis pretty cx- of my collaborators and I plunged ourhandsintoit. We
periment, many times. Without touching it in any way, we formed the chain and began a circular walk, being careful
ordered the whole table to rise into the air, and to resist the not to touch the tub. This at once imitated our movement.
witnesses, who had to put forth effort to bring it down to the We repeated the thing several times in succession.
floor. We commanded it to turn bottom sidc up, and i t Since it might be supposed that the impulse given to the
fell over with its feet in the air, although we ncvcr touched water would suffice to set in motion a tub resting on so deli-
it with our fingers, but kept them in advance of it as it fell, cately balanced a plate, we at once procecded to prove the
at the distance a p e d upon. contrary.' The water was given a circular whirl causing it
Such were theessentialresults of this meeting. They to move with much greater rapidity than when we formed
are snch that l hesitate to mcntion in the same connection in- the chain; butthe tub moved nota peg. Undoubtedly the
cidents of secondary importance. p i n t remains to be considered whether one of us three did
.I will only say, in passing, thatthe séance was very not touch the inside of the tub and so determine its move-
discouraging at the start ; for, not only was it found neces- ment. To that I reply, first, thatthe way in whichour
sary to remove certain new operators, but several of the old hands were held in thewater obviously proves that none
ones did not bring to it their usual high spirits. The table of our fingers could really touch bottom; secondly, that,
responded poorly; raps were nlacle faintlyand as ifwith taking pains as we did to form the chain at the centre, i t
rc..luctancc; the telepathic rcadiag of nunlbcrs did not S I ~ C - would have been scarcely less difficult for us to touch the
wed. Then TVC took a rcsolrltion fro111 n-l~ichWC dcrivcd verticalsides o f the tub.
much bonefit : \VC persevered, aud p r s m ~ c r e dgaily ; we sang, And yet, the doubt being not wholly inadmissible, I class
\re madc t h tuldc d a l l w ; W C p w 111) a11 tllongllts of 1u-w 1 his experirncnt among those of which I do not purpose to
cspcrimcnts and persistcc1 i n easy and alrnlsing ones. A f t w make any 11se. I wish to show that I am hard to please in
:i while conditions chan& ; thetable fairly bolmded, and the matter of evidence.
hardly waited for our orders; me wcre now in condition to The proof which the rapping of numbers by mind-reading
i r y more serious things. fnrnishes' has always seemed to be one of the most convinc-
ing. I n thesitting I am describing, it hadthis special
featu*, that cach of [Link] ten Operators in turn receivcd

\
. .

-. -- __ .-..__-_.
- --
2'2s NYSTERlOUS PSPCIIIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 239
the communication of a number in writing, the others hav- il nlau upon it, it had been objected that this man might lend
ing their eycs shut. Now, in the whole ten, one alone failed ]lis aid to the movement, and even incite it in part. Deter-
to obtain perfect obedience from the table-leg which had been lllillecl to seek out the truth with the most anxious care, we
assigned to him by very suspicious witnesses, o1 by-stauders. 11ad recognized a certain plausibility i n this objection, and
If my readerswill reflect carefully theywill see that the llad decided to meet it [Link] being who was living,
combinations of movements communicated and of cheating i tltelligent, and consequently suspected must be replaced by
f ricks which such a solid result as this would require passes ;III incrt weight. Buckets filled with sandmust be placed
f u beyond the bounds of admissible things. To justify i11 the precise centre of the table, whichshouldthen be
it tllc objector must invent a miracle much more astounding called on to exhibit its skill.
than ours. But theday was badly chosen. After we had placed on
Let us turn again to the finest of all demonstrations, that the table two buckets, one upon the other, both weighing i n
of levitationwithout contact. W C began ,byperforming it a11 143 pounds, it was discovered that we were unable to pro-
three times. Then, since it wasthought by some thatthe duce the levitation. It was necessary for us to cantent our-
inspcction of the witnesses could be carried on in a surer way sclres .with continuingthem in circular movement after
in the case of a small table than in that, of a large one, and they had been started. The buckets were removed, the table
with five operators more certainly than with ten, we had a' was set in motion, and the buckets replaced while the move-
plain deal centre-table brought which the chain, reduced by ment was at its height. They did not arrest it in the least,
h:)lf,
sllfficed toput, in rotation. Thenthehands were h t were 'carried around with such force that the sand flew
Iiftcd, and, contact zoith t7m table being entirely broken, it ont on all sides.
rose seren times into ihe air at our command. The remainder of the sitting was given up to an investiga-
Sc'ance of Ociobcr 8 tion of the subject. of (alleged) divination, or guessing.
When'the table was asked to guess something known to one
Two circumstances occurred to confirm the results we had of the members of the chain, it pretty frequently and quite
obtained in preceding s6anccs. Among the numbers selected naturally happened that it guessed it. I t isthe case of
for the thought-test the roguery of one of the witnesses had thought-reading bynumbers,- nothing more, nothing less.
placed a zero, and the leg selected by him to respond was at When it is asked to guessa thing known to a member
the left of the operator and beyond the reach of his muscular of the compauy whodoes notform at thetime a part of
action. Kow, the command having been given to the leg and Ille chain, it happens sometimes thatit guesses it. But
no action resulting, we were allfeeling disconsolate, being the persdn in question must be endowed with great fluidic
convinccci that our meakncss that day was so great that me 1)owerand be able to exercise it at a distance. We did not
were not going toobtain even simple levitations. I affirm ourselves obtainanythinglikethis ; but others have suc-
most emphatically that if movement had ever been imparted wded, and their testimony seems too well established to be
by an experimenter to atable ]cg, it would have appeared called in question.
at thatnmnent. Our 1~crvcswere in an exalted stateand Up to tllc prcscnt Inolncnt, it is plain, t l m e is not the least
our impatience was at its height. Yet no movement of thc (race of divination. I t isfluidic action, near-by or distant.
table took place, and we mere consequently allthe mow If the tables divine, if they think, if there are spirits, we
solaced when we learned that the figure communicatcd had on& to get decisive responses in the case whcre no one knows
1)wn a cipher. ille facts, either in the chain or out of the chain. The prob-
Nonment wi thont. contact was accomplislled twice. I~lnt h y stated, the solution is not difficult..
To our cxperiment of a table that gave raps while having Take a book. Do not open it, but invite the table to read

Y
 EXPERIMENTS O F GASPARIN 241
2-40 MSSTXEIOUS YSY CI-IIIC FORCES
A second tub, weighing 42 pounds, was next placed in the
the first. line of tllc page you will designate,- say page 162 middle of the other. They wereboth lifted -less easily,
or page 354. Tlle table willnotflinch: it willrap, a d but very neatly and clearly.
will conqmc words for you. :It was thus, at. least, that it Then a third tub, smaller, and weighing 2874 pounds, was
always actcd with 11s. At any ratc, one thing is certain, that placed on top of the two others. The levitations took place.
neither here nor elsedlere, has ally spirit, however [Link], We had still further got ready enormous stones weighing
read, this sin11)lc linc ; nor will it h able in the future to altogether 481/2 pounds. They were placed on the third tub.
do so. II reconmcncl the expcrimcllt to tllc partisans of spirit After rather long hesitation, the table lifted several times in m

cvocations. succession each of its three legs. It lifted them with a force,
As to the test of pieces of money in apurse, hours, a decision, an élan, whichsurprised us. But its strength,
playing-cards etc., the tables betake themselves to a strict already put to so many proofs, could not resist this last one.
calculation of probabilities; they guess just as much as you Bendingunderthe powerfulswayingmotion imparted by
do, oras I do. Inasmuch as [Link] a question of small the total mass of 165 pounds, it suddenly broke down, and its
numbers of which one can form in advance an approximate massive centre-post was split from top to bottom - to the
idea, the range of possible combinations is not very extensive. great peril of the operators on the side of whom the entire
Themind fixes upon a numberwhichhas a fairly good load rolled off.
cllance of being the true one, and theproportion between I shallnotstopto comment on such an experiment. It
the failures of the table and its successes is in such a case answers all demands. Our united muscular force would not
j ~ s what
t it. would be apart from all question of miraculous have sufficed to determine the movements that took place. A
divination. mass of inert matter free from the suspicion of being oblig-
Shuncc of NoverrLber 9 ing, had replaced the person whose complicity was held in
suspicion. Finally, when the three legs had been lifted, each
Bcforc cnt,ering upon thc description of this sitting,- a in turn, critics no longer had as a resource the insinuation
very rcrrlarkablc onc,-I will say that neither the thermorne- that we had caused the weight to be laid more on one side
tcr northe mariners' compass have furnishedthcslightcst than on the other.
indication of anything interesting. I thought I: oughtto Inasmuch as our poor table had been wounded on the field
note this, in passing, to show to the reader that we did not of honor and could not ,be repaired on the spot, we got a new
mglcctto employ instrnments which secmcd lilrcly to pnt one which much resembled it. But it was a little larger and
11s in the way of obtaininga scientific explanation. I n a little lighter.
general, I pass by that pllase of our work, as well as the The interesting point was to be settled whether we were
different trials which remainedmerelytrials, and did not going to bc obliged to wait' for it to be charged with the psy-
lead to any positive results. cho-plysical fluid. The occasion was a famous one for solv-
Our first care was to renew the experiment of the levitation ing thisimportantproblem:Where does thefluid reside 8
of an inert weight. It was agreed among us this timc that - in the operators or in the piece of furniture. The solu-
W C would always start from the state of absolute immobility tion was aspromptas it was decisive. Scarcelyhad our
in the object : we wanted to produce movement, not to con- hands, in chains, been placed upon this second table than it
tinueit. began to revolve wit11 the most unexpected andthe most
The centre of the table, then, haring been fixed with nice comic rapidity ! Evidently, the fluid was in us, and we were
precision, R first tub of sand, weighing 4 6 pounds, was placed free to apply it in succession to different tables.
111)on it. The legs easily rose f r o m the floor w l ~ c nthey gol We lost no time. I n the mood in which we t,hen were,
i71,c o d e r .
I
 2-42 AITSTEEIOCS I’SYGI-ITC FORCES EXPERIïklEK’I’S OF GASPARIN 243
movcmcnt [Link] contact must succeed betterthan ever. tcarity theresultsto which they essentially contribute. The
Xor did we deceive ourselves in so thinking. We first. devcl- I)sycho-pllpical working power of a “ sensitive ” table-turner
ol)(?drotations without contact to the nun-Aber of five or six. is of a mixed nature : a resolute posture and a circular move-
As to levitations without contact, we discovered a metllotl lllcnt are not sufficient to give birth to it. Besides this, and
uf proceeding t,hat. renders their success easier. The clmill, al)ore all, there is needed the will.
for~lleda few millimetres above the top disk, is arranged so Our will having at last asserted itself, and muscular pres-
RS to go in the direction in which the movement is to take Fwe having yielded its place to the pressure of commands,
place; the hands the nearest to the leg called on to rise are t he fluidic rotation arrives, after five or six minutes of con-
o~ltsideof ancl bcyond the top; they draw near and pass grad- wntration of our thoughts. Wefelt, indeed, keenly that
n;lIly by, while the hands that are opposite, and which had sotue important person was lacking and that we did not pos-
:\t first advanced towardthe same leg,move away from w s s our usual power. However, we were determined to suc-
it while theyattractit. It isduringthis progression of wcd, even at the price of greater mental fatigue.
t IIC chain, mllile all o m wills are fixed upon a particular spot So we took up boldly our most difficult feat; namely, move-
011 the wood, and when the orders to 1evitat.e are forcibly lutrnts without contact. Rotationswithout touch were ob-
giren, that the foot quits the ground and the table-top follows 1;lined thrice. I should add that. they were very incomplete,
the hands,- to the point of upsetting, if one did not keep - a quarter of a turn, or a half-turn at most.
h o l d of it. As to levitations without touch OUT success was more decis:
This lcvitation without contact was proclnccd n h u t thirty i v(! ; but it was purchased at thc price of a very considerable
times. \VC [Link] it. by each of the three legs in sncces- chspenditure of force. After each levitation we had to rest,
sion, in order to remove every pretextfor criticism. More- rillcl, when we had reached No. O vie were absolutely obliged
over, WC wafcllcd the hands with scrupulons care. If the IO stop, overcome with fatigue. One must have had personal
rc!adcr will pleasc observe that this surwillance was exercised Itnowledge of suchexperimentstounderstandwhat drafts
during thirty opcrations without detecting the slightest con- 1 IIPY make upon one’s attention and energy, and at what point
tact, I thid; it will be concluded that the reality is hence- ir is indispensible to will, andto willperemptorily, that
fOl‘tlA 1 ) 1 L K A d b ~ J ‘ O l l d ill1 dollbt. swh and such a knot ofwood in the table shall follow the
ol,cned fingers that are allnring it at a distance.
SPance of [Link] RI But be that as it may, our attempt mas crowned with
The cllicf charactcristic. of this s6ance mas the absence of . ‘ I I ( T ~ S S ,and we could end the sitt,ing with less exhausting
t h t onc o f CIIIF I I I I I H ~ P Ywho c!.uercisctl t h greatest, authority t~s~rcises.
:lt I11c t:lI)l(~.-’- T n wwking witllout hcr we wcre put in a The idea came to us then and there to try ourpowers on a
pmition to csta1)lish two things: first, that one cannot with I;[Link] tablewith four legs. It. hadoften been claimed that
i n ~ p n i t pc10 witllont an extraordinary giftcd experimenter ; I Ilree-legged centre-tables alone would respond to our man-
a114 SPCOI~CZ, that o m can, nevertheless, do withouthim OT iImlations. I t was time to furnish undeniable proof to the
I w , if it is nlxolutcly nccesaary, and that success, although t-ontrary. So wetook a tablethree feet five inches i n di-
leas brilliant in this case, is not impossible. I call specid ;~rncter, a folding halfof which (independent of the leg that
attontion to this last point., as well as to the frequent modifi- sllpports it when it is raised) can be turned up at will.
cl:Itious of our personnel, for the benefit. of suspicious persons Scarcely were o m fingers in place than the table began
wlm, not knowing the [Link] worth of the persons in qued- II rotation with noisy bustle, the sprightliness of which sur-

t h , wigllt he tlisposed to place to the account of their dex- ~hrisedus. It thus showed that tables with four legs were no
Tho 1 ~ 1 ~ 1who
~7 Y o m [Link] was styled “ t h e medium.” 1mrerefractorythan others. I n addition to this, it fur-

.
244 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERJMENTS O F GASPARIN 245
nished a new argument in favor of olle of our former observa- cww,e, the occasion was scarcely remarkableforanything
tions,- that the fluid is in thc persons and not in the tables. cbxcept the almost total absence of fluidic power. For a sin-
In fact the movement of tlle large table took place almost gle moment we had cl little of it. A half-hour of action and
irrlmediatcly, and before it could be considcred as charged [Link] hours and a half of inertia - this was our net result.
with fluid. Nothing was more lamentable, and a t the same time more
The nest task before us was to make it give raps with its wlrious, than to see us aboutthedifferent tables, passing
cliffercnt legs. We began with those fastencd to one half of I'rom one to another, enjoining them to do the most elemen-
the top, three in number. They rose from the floor two at a l;lry things, and only obtaining a weak and languid [Link],
linle with such force that at the end of a moment one of the which soon stopped altogether.
casters flew to picccs." Now it is difficult to form an idea
of the intcmsity which a f r a d u l e n t action of the fingcrs must Séance of December 3
llave acquired in order to exercise a leverage upon so heavy a . I should have bccn vexed to have to close my recital with
table, aud la~~ncll into it the air to such a height. so dullandspiritless a record asthepreceding one. By
There remained the leg of the table which was independ- good fortune the lastof our reports gives me the right to leave
ent of the top. Wethought, it would obey aswell asthe 11 totally different impression on the reader's mind.
others. But no ! I n vaindid we pouroutthe most prodi- We were in fine temper. Perhapsthebeautiful weather
gal and pressinginvitations: it was ncvcr willing to risc, Iwlped. It is not the first time I have noticed this. What. is
citllcr along with its right-hand neighbor or with its neigllbor cwtain is that the very same persons who, on November 21,
on the lcft. O m next thought was thatthis was dueto Ir;ltl only a half-hour ofsuccess and had passed the rest of
thc pcrsons placcd near it, and certain members of the chain 1 1 1 sitting
~ inbeseeching in vain for clnytlling better than poor
cl~angeclseats. I n vain! All combinations failed one after ;ll)ortiverotations or faint raps, to-day governed the table with
;lnotllcr. ;III authority, a quickness, and, if I may so put it, an elasticity
We drcw greatdeductionsfromthis circnmstance. But t t t ' bearing that. left nothing to be desired.

since it was refuted later, when tlle contumacious leg yielded Thelargetablewithfour legs was set in motion. And
I ) ( h r f w t obeclicncc [Link] nlcetìng, J. willnottake t h I his time, the ease with which the free leg lifted its share
p11!)1ic into our conficlence by a display of our reasonings on 4 JE the table proved that we were right in not drawing too
t l i , ~ s111)jcct. I will only ask that two things be noted ; first, clofinite conclusions fromitsformer refusal. Everytime
I l i ( * P:IW MY? took to wrìfy rnang time9 the phenomena before I 111ut we [Link] to lift without contact that part of the table
atlirlning tl1e111 ; and, wcond, that we have llcre once more a I II(: farthest removed from myself I felt the table-leg nearest
t i ~ wrchtntion of the critics who asscrt that lnuscnlar action IIIC graduallyapproachand press against my leg. Struck
c.w1 explain ewrytl~ing. If this were so, why did not muscu- with this occurrence, which took place several times I drew
lar action lift the free leg as well as those fastened tight to tlle I ]IC: conclusion that [Link] table was gliding forward, not having
tilble ? It could llave donc so just as easily ; and yet, for some I (wough forceto rise. We were, then,exercisingapercepti-
mknmwu rcnson, Fut one evidently foreign t o the laws of Ide influence on this large table without touching it in any
nwch,anics, only theattached lcgs consented to move. \[Link].
I n order the better to assure myself of it, I left the chain
Séance of 1November 2'7 ulldobserved the movement of the feet of the table on the
We were in full muster; but two or three of the operators h o r . I t ranged from fractions of an inch to several inches.
WCIY?slightly indisposed. Onthe whole, whatever was the W h we then tried to turn up without contact the folding
* 'l'his IViIs the only table with casters that the operators made u00 of. 1ta:lf of gaming-table
a covered with cloth, we obtained
 246 3fYSTERIOUS PSYCI-IIC FOIZCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 241
the same result : tlle folding lcaf would not yield to our in- To the above reports I will add here a supplementary ex-
fluence, but the entirc table advanced in the direction of tlle priment, described in thepreface of Count de Gasparin’s
prescribed movcnlcnt. Xow9 I onght to add that t h glitling - -
*i book :
was not. at all casy, for the floor of our room was rougll and
uneven. Certaindistinguishedsavantsto whom I had communi-
It isinterestingto note in this connection tho moment cated the results we had secured, agreed in assuring me that
when this gliding movemcnt ordinarily bcgias. Tt occnrs at levitations without contact would have the character of ab-
precisely tlIe same timethatthelevitationwithout contact solute certain proof if we succeeded in verifyingthem by
tabes place wllcn that ~~lanifestation is in process. \Then the the following practical device: “ Sprinkle flour upon the
portion of the chain which is pushing on has just advanced !dde,77 they said, “ at the instant your hands have just left
bcyond the side of thc table-top, whcrc it begins to turn, and i t ; then produce one or more levitations ; finally assure your-
jv1len that portion of thechain that is p l l i n g has just Helves that the layer of flour bears not the slightest sign of
crossed themiddlepoint inits recession, tlwm the ascen- rtuy touch, andall objectors will bedumb.”
sional nmvelncnt -or, in default of that., the gliding motion Why, it is precisely thisexperiment that we have per-
-manifests itself. Our fluidic power is then at its maxi- I’or’med successfully several times. Let me giveafew de-
1m11n, prwisely at tlw instant when our mechanical power is tuils :
:It its nlinilrllllll, when the llallds that. arc pushing havc ceased Our first trial had succeeded very badly. We used a
to act (snpposing the case of fraud) and when the hands that c’oarse sieve which we had to move to and fro over the entire
lm11 arc [Link] to act. i:[Link]. This produced t,he double inconvenience ; first, of sus-
1,ct 11s now revcrt to our ordinary table. We triecl to pro- I)wding too long, and so of nullifying the action of the
d11ce lwtatiorls and levitations without contact, m d Ilad co111- oprators ; and, secondly, of spreading a layer of flour much
plcte success. I(W thick. The buoyant spring and impuls’e of the wills of
I 1 1 0 operators was abated, the fluidic action was thwarted, the
Such rcports as t l ~ eforegoing are of more value than all
t:~ble-topgot chilled down, so to speak; nothing moved. The
thedissertations. They show theundeniablereality of the 111ischiefwent so far that the table not only refused us levi-
levitation not total,but partial,- of thc tablewhich re- lalions and rotations [Link] contact, but almost all the or-
rnaillecl in an oblique position poisccl on h o l c g ~only. They t Ii uary ones.

&OW also rotations and levitations zcz‘t7~01.d coutact, as well as Then a brilliant idea came to one of us. We possessed one
glidings under the influence of a natural forcc hitherto only c ~ thosef bellows used in blowing sulphur upon vines attacked
I y the grape-mildew. I n place of sulphur we put flour
slightly studied.
i 1110it, and, so prepared, began the test.
Levitations of a heavy table, having on it a man weighing Theconditions were most favorable. The weather was
1 9 1 pounds, or of tubs of sand and stones weighing 165 ( I r y and warm, the table ment leapingunder our fingers,
pounds,- no denial of these occurrences can be admitted. : I I I ~ , indeed, before the order to lift hands had been given,
Thc same is true of the movements of the table dancing t II(! greater part of the band of us had spontaneously ceased

in accordance with the rhythm of certain airs, of it,s over- I O touch the table-top. Thenthe command rings out; the
\vMe chain lifts up from the table, and at the same instant
turnings, of its obedience to theorders given. Thesefacts III(: bellows covers its entire surface with a light dusting of
havebeen observed precisely as mechanical, phpical, chcm- tlour. Not a second had been lost; the levitationwithout
icul, nwtrorological, astronomical facts have beenobserved.
 248 MYSTERIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 249
contact liad already taken place. But to lcave no doubt, the crmr proceeds. Illusions originating in accident, or chance,
thing was repeated three or four times in succession. tlo not thus resist a long study, and do not pass unmasked
'l'bat, donc, the table was scrupulously examined ; no finger I hough a long series of experiments that justify them more
had touched it, or C U C I L grazed it in the slightest degree. itnd more.
Thc fear of grazing it. involuntarily hadeven been so great Thereading of numbers in others' minds, and the bal-
thatthe hands liad acted fluiclically from aheight much ance of forces, merit special consideration.
gmatcr than in prcvions sittings. Each one had thought hc When all the operators but one arc ignorant of the number
.~

coulcl 1NJt raisc his hands too high, and the bands removed 10 be rnaterializcd by raps, the operation (unless it is fluidic)
I o q h t to proceed eitherfromtheperson who knows the num-
to snr:h n distance from the top, liacl not had recourse to any I bcr and furnishes at once the movement and the
arrest, or
of the lnanwuvres or passes of which we had at other times i rise it ought to proceed from a relation instinctively estab-
n m l e use. Keepingits place, above the table to be lifted,
t h cl1&11 had ~ ) T C ' S C ! ~ Vits
C ~ form intact; it had made hardly R lished between that. person who furnishes the arrest and his
p(~r(:cptihlerllotiou in thc clirection of the movement i t was vis-à-viswho furnishes the movement. Let us examine both
i 1heses.
lypot
prochwillg a t a diata~lccl:from the tnblc.
I will add, finally that we did not content. ourselves with The first is untenable ; for, in the case where some one
=I singlc espcriencc. A careful inspcctioxfollowing each of ('hooses a leg of the table upon which the operator who knows
several lcvitations, always showed that tl~c dust-likelayer ifle number can exercise nomuscular action, thelegthus
of flour was absolutely untouched; a11d uo portion of the designated none the less rises at his command.
table h a c l cscapecl its tcll-tale coat of white. The second is untenable; for, in the case where gome one
i indicates a zero, the movement which ought to take place
Tlx author of these reports himself estimatesas follows does not do so. Nay more. I f you place at loggerheads two
pcrsons placed on opposite sides of the table and enjoin each
thc results llc has recorded : ' 10 make a different number triumph,
the more powerful
operator secures the execution of the chief number although
Tllc
pIl(m~rncna oI)swvc¿l confirm and elucidate each
othcr. Large four-legged tables compete with three-leggeti llis vis-à-vis is interested not only in not furnishing it to him,
ones. Irlcrt. wcigllts, placed on thcsc, come forward as sub- hut in arresting it.
stitutes for pcrsons snspccted of giving a l~clpinghand to the I know that this matter of the divining of numbers thought
tahlc clmrgctl wit11 tllc task of liftzing them. At lastth: of is in bad odor. It lacks a certain pedantic and scientific
p a t discowry arrives in its turn: WC bcgirl by continuing form. Yet T have nothesitated to insist on it; for there
u-ithont (contact nloveltwnts alrcwly initiatccl, and we end by are few experiments in which is better manifested the mixed
prodncing t l ~ c n l ;W? snrcccd almost in creating the process, rharacter of the phenomenon,- physical power developed
to s11c.h an estentthat these cxtraorclinary facts manifcst and applied outside of ourselves b,y the effect of our will.
themselves sonletimes inanunintcrrnpted series of fifteen Just because it forms the grcat offense, or stumbling block, I
or thirty performances. The glidings round out the subject am unwilling to be shamefaced about it. I maintain, be-
by throwing light on one phase of action at a distance: they sides thatthisisjust as scientific asanything else. True
reveal it as powerless (at times) to lift the tablc, but able to science is not tied to the employment of such and such n
draw it along over the floor. process or such and such an instrument. That which a fluicl-
Suchistherapidly sketched account of our progress. onleter would show wonld bc! no less scientifically demon-
Taken jnst by itself alone, it constitutes a solid proof and T strated than what is seen with the eyes and estimated by the
rwoltllmnd a study of it to serious men. It is not thus that cason on.
 250 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERZMEXTS OF GASPARIN 251
Let us go on, however. We have not yet reached the end I itjigitation were generally practised there, and that i t had
of our proofs. One of thesehas always especially struck Ilwu thrust under our very eyes for five months, and under
~ I :C I mean the proof derived from failures. I II(! eyes of numerous and very suspicious witnesses without
It is claiincd I hat themovcmenLs arc produced by the :I single case of perfidy having been pointed out. W e have
a d o n of o m nmscles, byinvo1untar;V pressum Nom here I o well concealed our game that we have invented a secret
arc thesameoperators who yesterday secured fromthe I(3lcgraphic code for the experiment of reading numbers, a
table thefulfilment of their most. [Link] desires ; their r n the finger for moving the most enormous
~ ~ r t i c u l a r t u of
nluscles are as strong, their vivacity is as great, their desire III;lsses, a method of gradually lifting tables that we do not
I o succeed is perhaps keener - and yet nothing ! absolutely :.ocrn to touch. We are all liars, all ; for we have been mu-
~lnthing! A whole hour will pass without the least rotation t Idly watching each other for a long time now, and do not
bqinning ; or, iftherearerotations,levitations are im- Ilvnounce anybody. Nay, more, the contagion of our vices
possible to procure ; what little is done by the table is done i s so swift to take that, as soon as we admit a stranger, a
feebly, dismally, and asifreluctantly. I repeat it again, Ilostile witness, into the chain, he becomes our accomplice ;
the muscles have not changed; then why this sudden inca- IIV voluntarily closes his eyes to the transmission of signals,
pacity ? The cause remaining identically the same, whence t O muscular efforts, to the repeated and prolonged suspicious
COITICS it that the effect varies to such a degree ? wtions of his next neighbors in the chain ! Well and good;
" Ah ! " says an objector, " yon are talking of involuntary ::lIppose we grant all that, me shall not have got farther along
p ~ s s a r e ancl
, say nothing about voluntary prcssnrc, of fraud, l ' o r that. It will still remain to be explained why our cheat-
l
in short. Don't you see that the chcaters may bc present at I'I-S sometimes do [Link] at the very moment when it would
one sittingandnotappearat another, that t h y inay act I to their interest to succeed. It has happened, indeed, that
w
one day and not give tllelnselves the trouble on the ncxt ? " . I I certain sittingat which we hadmany witnesses and a
I will reply very simply, and by facts. K w a t desire to convince turnedoutto be a mediocre one.
'' Thecheaters are absent when wedo not, succeed ! " S w h and such another, under the same conditions, was, on
But i t hashaypencdmanyatime that our personnel has t IIC!contrary, a brilliant success.
not becn changed inany may. The same persons, abso- There you have real and important inequalities, and they
lutelythe same, llave passed from astate of remarkable cl;lre to talk to us of muscular action and of fraud.
power to a state of comparative impotence. And that is not .Fraud and muscular action ! Here for instance is a fine
all. I f there exists no operator whose presence has pre- opportunity to put them to the proof. We have just placed
served 11s from failures, no more does any exist whose a b :I weight on the table. This weight is inertand cannot
sence has relzderccl 11s incapable of success. N7ith and I I ( ' accessory to any device. Fraud is all around it perhaps,
without each one of the members of the chain we have suc- I ) l l t it isnotinthetubs of sand. This weight is equally
cecded in performing all the experiments,- all without ex- clivided among [Link] three legs of the table, andtheyare
wption. going to prove it by each one [Link]
But ' the cheaters do not take so much pains cvery day ! ' Ioad weighs 165 pounds, and we scarcely dare to increase it,
The pains would be great indeed, and those who infer fraud l'or, as it is, it was enough, one day, tobreakourvery
littlethink whatprodigiesthey are invoking. The accusa- solid table. Very well ; now let someone try to move this
tion is an absurdity which verges on silliness, and its silliness \wight. Since
muscular action andfraudmustexplain
rmnoves its sting. One does nottake offense at thingslike wcrything, it will be easy for them toputthe mass in
[Link] come now, let 11s suppose for the moment that notion. Now theycannot do it. Their fingers contract
Jyalleyres were peopled with disciples of BOSCO, that pres- and the knuckles whitenwithout their obtaining a single
 \
952 MYS'l'KlUOUS l'SY CHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF QASPARIN 253
levitation, whereas, some luolnents later,levitationswill cliverse and irrefutable proofs, which are, moreover, joined
take place at the touch of the same fingers, which gently ¡ I I the closest solidarity, give to the fluidic action the stamp
graze tllc tablc's top and make no effort, at all, as any one OC complete certainty. Those who have hadthepatience
may easily conviwc hinlself. to follow me thus f a r will have felt their suspicions vanish-
Certain very ingenious scientific rules of measurement, for i11g one after another, and their faith in the new phenomenon
the invention of which I cannot claim the credit, pnt us in ~~roreandmore strengthened. They will have made good
the n.:~?CJf translating into figurcs the effort which the rota- \ h a t we ourselves have substantiatedandmadegood;for
t i o n or lcvitatidn of the table clcmands, when loaded in the 110 one has opposed more difficulties to tableturning than
way jllst doscribed. \Vit11 the above-lncntioned weigllt of llavewe, no one has sllown himself more inquisitorial and
165 pounds, rotation is secured by means of a lateral trac- cbxacting respecting them.
tion of abont I7yz po~mds,wllile lcvitation is only obtained It is not our fault if the results have been conclusive (and
by a pcrp(mtlic11lur pressure of 132 pounds at lcast (which I llore and more so), nor ours t-he blame if they have recip-
I will reduce, 1.1owever,to 110, in deference to the presumed rocally confirmed each other, if they have ended by forming
wishcs of the critic, and on the supposition that the pressure olle body and taking on [Link] character of perfect evidence.
migllt not be absolutely vertical).Severaldeductionsare 'l'o study,to compare, to repeatandrepeatagain,andto
to be drawn from these figures. !i rlally exclude all that admits of doubt or question - this
In the first place, muscularaction may cause the table \\.;ISour duty. Nor have we failed to performit. I make
to twn, but it cannot lift it. As amatter of fact,theten t I o affirmations in these reportswhich I have not proved
opcrators l ~ r m e e hundred fingers applied to its surface. w r and over again.
Xow, the vcrticd, or quasi-vertical, pressurc of each finger
cmllot csccctl twelve ounces on tllo arcruge, the chain being Such are the n~cmor:~ble experiments of the Count de Gas-
cwnlposcd as it is. They only develop, then, a total pressure Ijarin. Their worth will be appreciated by all who read
of (icipounds, which is quitc insufficient to produce levita- tllem. I have been anxious to reproduce these careful re-
tion.
l n the ncst place, this striking thing befalls, that the phe- Iborts ; for they establish of themselves the absolute and un-
110r11c11011 wllich muscular action could easily produce is pre- ~Irniable reality of these movements that contradict the nor-
c4s;cly the 0 1 1 c tllat we most rarely and with the greatest t t r l r l law of grauitatìon. Let us hear the Count's explanatory
tlií-ficnlty obtain, and that the phenonlcnon which muscular Ir~*potheses.
action w u l c l not c'cmptss is the one the most habitually real-
ized ~ 1 1 0 1 1tllc chail1 is for1nod. W11y does not our invol- Thereaderwillhave noticed the care I have taken to
mtaTyimpulsc t ~ l ~ v a yma1;es tlle table turn ? Why shodd (monfine myself tothe verification of thefacts,without
not our '' fraud " always procure sl~ctha triumph 8 Why, 1r;lzarding any explanatory hypothesis. If I have employed
as a gcmcral thing, do we only succeed in cffecting that t II(? word " fluid," it was to avoid circumlocutions. Strict
which is mechanically impossible ? sdlimtific precision would have demanded that I always
I aclvisc people w l ~ olike to make fun of table-turnings \\-rite" the fluid, the force, or physical agent whatever it may
uot t-o investigate them too closely, and to beware of giving 1~11." I shall be pardoned for having been a little less exact
too c:treful attention to our supreme demonstration,- that. Illill1 this in my language. I t was enough that my thought
of 1110v~nl~nts without contact, for it will leave them not the \{.;ISperfectly clear. That we have to do with a fluid,, prpp-
dig11tcst prctcst for incredulity. ~ ~ 1 . 1 . vso callcd, in the plr~nornenaof tahle turning and lift-
Thus the fact is established. Uultiplicd experilnents, iug 1 cannot absolutely aífirru. 1 affirm thatthereisan
254 UYSTERTOCS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPER,IMEXTS O F GASPARIX 255
agent,andthatthisagent is ]lot supcrnnturab, that it is Seeing that it was asked for on all sides, I have risked
physical, i ~ ~ p r t t i; ~~phTsicnl ~ g objects the movements which 1 he following statement :
o11r will dctcrnlincs. You assert that our pretensions are false, f o r the simple
Our will, 1 llave eailJ. Ancl tlsis isin fact the funda- reason thatthcy cannot be true ! 'Very well. But, atall
meutal idea we have gathered out of this subject of a physi- wents, allow me to lay before you certain postulates. Sup-
cal agent. It is this which characterizes it, and it is this also pose, in thefirst place, that you do not knoweverything,
d d l compromises it in the eyes of a good lllany folks. They illat the moral and even the material nature of man have
nligllt, p ~ r h p sbe~ resigned to a ncw agent, if it weretho olxcuritieswhich you havenot been ableto remove. Sup-
newssaryandesclusiveproduct of thehandsformingtho ])ose thatthe smallcst. blade of grassspringing up in the
chain, if only i t were true that certain positions or certain Iicld, that the smallest grain reproducing its kind, that the
acts inswed ita manifestation. Butthisisnotthe case finger of your hand in the act of executing the order you
n-ith it : the llrcntal and the physical mzst condillc in ordcr give it, enclosc mysteries that surpass the powers of the
to give it birth. Hereare hands thattire themselves out Ivarned doctors to fathom, and which they woulddeclare
in forming the chain, and yet obtain no movement: the will :Ibsurd if they were not. compelled to recognize them as real.
lias not been mingled in the act. Here is a will that com- 'I'hen, in the second place, suppose that certain men who will
111ands in vai11 : the handa hare not bccn placed in a suit- W to do, and whose hands are joinedonetoanother in a
ahlc. position. cwtain way, give birthto afluidortoaspecialkind of
ll'c lm-c thron7n light,upon both tllcsc sides of the phe- ~'~wce.I do not ask you toadmitthat suchforceexists ;
n t 1 1 1 1 t l n o 1 1 , í'or tlwy c'wo both eswntiul. ,v011 willonlyagrcewith me thatitis pussiblc. There is
L h ) t l l k t r f;wt Ilas 1 K : m notccl by 119, ancl onght toenter I I O natural law opposcd to it that I know of.
into adcscription of tllc plqsicsllagent in question:this Xow, let us take one more step. The willdisposes of
agentinllercs in thepersons ancl not in the table. Let the ilris fluid. It gives an inlpulse to external objects only
operators, wllcn they are in rapport, pass to a n e ~ 7table and \{.Ilen wewill it,andinquarters selected by us. Would
c~lcirclcit : t h y will Ix ahlc irnmediatcly to excrcive all their I Ilere be anything impossible inthis ? Is it anunheard-
authority o w r it; their will will continuc to dispose of the (IF thing that we transmit morenlent to matter that is out-
physicalagcnt and to make use of it for rapping numbers :.ide of ourselves ? Why, we do so everyday, and every
nlcntally selected by persons present or for producing move- irtstant ; our mechanical action is nothing more or less than
ments without contact. illis. The horriblethingin your eyes doubtless is that we
Such are t . 1 ~facts. Theexplanation of [Link] will come ( 1 0 not act mechanically ! Butthereis something besides
latcr. It is, however, very naturaltowanttofindthisat rllechanical action in this world. There are physicalcauses
once, and to make hypotheseswhich
niay be regarded O E movement that are somcthing else than this. The caloric
as possible, if not true. I llave taken the
risk of I hat penetrates a living body produces dilatation there; that
doin5 this, and I do notrepent of [Link] it. notim- is to say, universal movement. The loadstoneplaced in
perative to prove to our opponents that they have not even I llc neighborhood of a piece of iron attracts it, and makes
thc pretext of " a scientificimpossibility " ? Hypotheses i t leap across the intervening space.
harc! theirlegitimateplaceandtheirutility, even ifthey " Yes," some one will exclaim, " we should make no ob-
arc incorrect. If they are admissible in themselves, that jwtion, provided your pretepdcd fluid did not obey one spe-
is sufficient, f o r thatdefendsthefactsto whichthey are (aial direction inits progress. If it went. straight on, as
appliedfromthe accusation of monstrosity. The critic has :I. hlind form, wcll and p ~ ! ~ I tdmould then be likethe
no longer tllc right to demand the previcns question. mloric, thatdilateseverythingit meets inits passage. It
 EXPERIMEXTS OF GASPARIN 257
!'orce or lateral attraction which account for rotations cannot
:tccount for levitations.
Butwhy ? Because thewilldirectsthefluid now into

i -
i
one leg o f the table,now [Link]
Itlentifies itself with us, after a fashion, becomes a limb of
ollr own body, and produces movements thought of by us in
I I E same manncr as our
arm prodnccs
them.
Because we
i I!nve no conscious knowledge of the direction
imparted
to
-i

1.
I lie flnid, and govern the movements of the tablewithout
ilrlagining that any kincl of flnid or forcewhatever is in
wtion.
I n all o w acts, in all withont exception, we have no con-
wiousness of thedirectionimpartedbyour will. When
you explain to me how I lift my hand, I will explain to you
I~owI make the table-leg rise from the floor. I " willed to
wise my hand." Pes, and I alsowilled to lift this table-
I

log. As for tho executing of the mandates of the will, the

IjIItting into play of the muscles required to lift the hand,
0 1 . of the fluid-power required to lift the table-leg, I have
IIO knowlmlge of what passea i n me apropos of this.
St range mystery, and one which ought to inspire in us a
li1tle modesty ! There is in me an executive power, a
1,ower of such a nature that, when I havewilled such or
..;Ilch an act, it addressesdetailedorderstothedifferent
Illllscles and sets i n motion a hundredcomplicated move-
I twnts to bring about a final result which has been merely
~Iloughtof, merely willed. That miracle goes on within me,
: I l l t l I understand it not at all, and never shall understand
i I. Do [Link] executivepowercan
give to the fluid the directions it givesto the muscles ? I
Ililve willed to play a sonata on the piano, and, unknown to
I I I C , somethingwithinmehas given orderstohundreds of
I Iwnsands of mllscular acts. I havewilled that the leg of
IIli3 t,able sllo~lldbe lifted up, and, unknown to me, some-
111ingwithin me has directed the attractions and impulsions
oî-' the fluid to the designated place.
Thehypothesis of afluid is, then,defensible. Tt accords
with the natnre of thingsandwiththenature of man. I:
Ililve no wish to go farther and furnish at once a definitive
cqdanation. Ent. I am not. worrg'ing. Letthefacts once ,
255 BITSTF,[Link] PSPCEIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 259
h adn~itted,and explanationswill not be wanting. What nity. I also stand on mine, and I make bold to think that
sccms impossible now will seem very [Link] :L certificate signed with my name would not be rated by
i~lcontcstaLlcthingsnotrouble is made. Weare so con- :~r~ybody as a piece of impostureorfrivolity. It is known
stitutcdthat,after we have assertedtheimpossibility of hat I am in [Link] habit of weighing n’y words; it is known
everything WC do not comprehend, we declare cornprehensi- illat I love the truth, and that I will not sacrifice it on any
Ide allthat TVC Ilam recognized as real. Peopleare cvery- vonsideration; it is known that I prefer to, admit an error
where to bc nlct with who skrng [Link] when you rather than persist in it ; and when, after a long-continued
epcak to them c d table-tnrnings allcl who makc nothing of inquiry, I persist with afirmerandprofounder conviction
tllc I’uck-lil;c? performance of the electric currellt in putting han ever, the import or scopeof the [Link] I make is
the girdle of its circuit around the earth in the fraction of not to be misapprehended.
a 1nom?nt, and who find the miracle of the trananlisaion of I can tell you, in the next place, that the testimony of
t h [Link] and moral qualities of the fathers to the children the eyes has, in my opinion, a scientific value. Inde-
a w r y simple thingtounderstand ! The [Link] of the Iwndently of instrumentsand figures, on which I set the
psycllic cxperilneatercannot escape the common lot. Their llighest values, I believe thatthetrue seeing of things
phenonma, absurd to-day, are to-morrow self-evident. trlay serve. I believe thatthis also is of itself aninstru-
rrwnt. I f a sufficient number of good pairs of eyes have as-
I ’ h w Cqwrinwnts of C!onnt de Gasparin and his associ- wrtained and proved, ten,twenty, n hundred times, that a
ntos 11avcLcen linowll for over half c? century, and i t is really 1:11deis pnt in motion [Link] contact ; if, furthermore, the
i t ~ ( ~ ~ ~ t l~ ~ C~tT C ~~L the ~ ~of~tlw~ levitation
~ fact l ~ ( ~of ~tables
l ~ i ~ l ~ casplanation of thefact by franctulentor inroluntary con-
~;tctspasses the limits which must be assigned to incredulity,
and of t-lwir 1mvelnent~shau contirlucd to be denied. Verily,
IIre conclusion is clear. Nobody is warranted in crying out :
if the tal)les arc? sowctirnes light,, it must be confessed that T o u havc neither fluidometcr nor alembic ; you do not give
tllc llunlau race is a little heavy. ;I specimen of your physicalagent in a bottle; you do not
3 s to the theory, the hypothesis of the fluid,- feZix qui (loscribe IIOW it acts upon a column of mercury or upon the
pot !rit wrum cogrloscere causm (Happy theman who can (1 i p of a needle. We don’t believe you, for you have done
rrothing but sec.”
know the cause of things)- I shallreturntothismat-
“ I do not believe you because you have done nothing
ter in the chapter on explanatory tllcorics. But it is incon- Iwtsee ! ” “ I do not believe you because I hare not seen
tostable that, in snch esperiences, we act by means of an withmy own eyes ! ” So many pedants, so many objec-
invisibleforcecnlallating from us. One must. be blindnot I ions. They hardly talre the t.rroub1e to agree among them-
to athnit that. solves ; in awar waged against [Link] tablea any weapon is
After a series of experiments so admirably conducted me! fair, nothing comes amiss.
I do not wish to forget that scientists were stilltalking
c w understandthattheauthor might. well be allowed to only of rotations at the moment when Faraday invented his
indulge in a little derision of obst,inately prejudiced unbe- (Iislcs.* I n the presence of a phenomenon so inadequate,
lievers. In closing thischapter, I cannot forego the pleas- and, let us admit, it, so suspicious, we can understand how
ure of citing Count de Gasparin apropos of the learned * The allusion is to Faraday’s explanation of Arago’sdiscovery in
nt?gation(; of Rabinet and hisemulators of the Institute. the magnetism of rotation. Faraday showed that n, rotating disk of
non-magnetic metal would draw after it in similar rotation amagnetic
ncdle suspendedover it, and even a heavy magnet. See Professor
The znrnnts are not the oril? OXEJ to stand on their dig- ‘I‘vndall’s Fa,*aday as a Discoverer, pp. 25, 20.-Trans.
260 XYSTERIOUS PSY CIIIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 261
the savantv showed themselves sceptical and contented them- movements,rnovementa [Link] power of which seems to sur-
selves with flimsy [Link]. They proportioned the num- pass that of developed movements.
ber and size of their weapons to the appearance of the As far asregards unconsciousmovements, M. Babinet
t~Iwmy. The one Bmong tbcm who s l w n ~ the l most p e n e adds nothing to previous explanations -nothing but the
trntion, and v7ho proposed the most plausible explanation, story of that lord (an Xnglish lord, be says) whose horse
is most assuredly Chevreul. Tlís theory of the tendency was so admirably trained that it seemed as if i t were only
1 necessary for one to think the movement one wished to have
to movement is incontestably true. It explains how the
objccts we suspend from our finger finally take a vibratory him execute, and he instantly realized it. I am thoroughly
lnovcmerlt in the direction indicated by our will. I am not convinced, as is M. Babinet, thatthe aforesaidlord gave
astonished that some have thought this theory sufficient to an impulse to thebridlewithout suspecting it, and I am
! just as thoroughly convinced that the experimentere who%
explain how experimenters can, in t,hc cnd, impart a rota- 1 hands are touching a table may exert a pressure of whioh
tion to the table and participate in the movcment them-
[Link]. I need not say that our proved levitations of they are not conscious. Only -II thinkthere should be
weights, anil our movcnlcnts without contact, will not bence some proport,ion betweent,he cause and the effect. Suppose
forth permit anyone t o t,ake refuge in snch an explanation. the movements are unconscious: they are none the less
If all the tendencies to movement were unitedinto one vigorous for all that. The burden is upon M. Babinet
they would not be able to produce at a distance an impelling and his followers, to prove that the very same fingers that
nower, nor move a mass that mechanical action could not in vain clench themselves till they are stiff in the endeavor
to lift a weight of eighty-eight pounds, will lift double this
weight by simply being unconscious that they are making
any effort.
My honorable and learned opponent will not hear of
movements obtained without conta& ‘‘ Everything that
has been said about action exercised at a distance ought
pounds. to be banished tothe realm of fiction.” The judgment is
But they prefer to use insulting expressions, and then cwrt and summary. Movements without contact are a fie
proceccl to invent some theory or other which has only one tion,- first because they are impossible ; secondly because
little fault -that it bas no legs to walk with. The recent povdered soapstone has hindered the rotation of a table ;
article of N . Babinet. in tbc Revue des Deux Mondes is a nnd, finally, because perpetual movement is impossible.
masterpiece in its way. If I needed to beconvinced of Movements a t a distance are impossible ! To be etrictly
the reality of the phenomena of table-turning, etc., I should logical, M. Babinet ought to have stopped there, remem-
most assuredly have been convinced by the reading of this bering the reply made by Henry IV to the magistrates who
refutation of it. had thus begun an address to him:
In the opinion of M. Babinet, the phenomena of the tables “ We did not give a salute of cannon on the approach

off er no difficulty whatever ! Happy science of physics, of Your Majesty, and that for three good reasons, In the
happy science of mechanics which has an answer ready for first place, because we had no cannon -”
“ That reason is sufficient,” said the king.
werything ! We poor, ignorant fellows thought we had
detected something extraordinary, and did not know we were We are fain to believe that M . Babinet himself has lit-
1ncrely obeying two extremely elementary laws,- the law tle donLt about his “ impossibility.” Hc has acted wisely
of unconscious movements, and, above all, that. of nascent. i I L doing so ; for this impossibility is based entirely on a
2G2 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIN 263
vicions circle of reasoning. “ I s tllerea single known ex- in January, “ I will believe it when I see it done before my
ample of movement produced withoutaforceacting from eyes in Bourgogne.” One can understand, of course, how an
the outside ? Xo. Well, movement at adistance would unreasonable and troublesome fastidiousncss might be shown
vcry plainly take place by an active external force. Therc- regarding travellers’ tales. But scientific experiments are
fore nlovement [Link] is impossible.” I feel very of anothercharacter. In the presence of facts so evident,
n~uchdisposcd to say to 11. Babinet, inthe technicallan- it. is almost incredible that they wish to impose upon u9
guage of t h schools, thathismajor prcmise is trucand instruments, needles, and mechanical devices. The idea
that his conclusion wouldbe legitimate if hisminor were of introducing becauses and thersfores into an investiga-
not purelyandsimplya begging of the question. YOU tion in which the real nature of the acting force is a mys-
claim thatthereis no active forceexterior to thetable tery to all the world !
which lifts it withoutthe touch of the hands. 13ut that is Polemical essays are not scientific studies. I n general,
precisely thepoint at issue between us. 11 fluid is an ex- they arethedirect opposite. When persons who have seen
tcrnal active force. I t is handy for my critic, indeed, to nothing, who have not devoted any considerable portion of
begin by establishing this axiom. Now (hesays),thereis theirenergy andtime to experimentation, who have per-
no fluid, or analogous physical agent, in the case of the haps been presentonly a t some ridiculousrotations of
tablcls; therefore there is no effect produced. centre-tables, take their pen in hand for the purpose of ex-
The learned gentlemen, Faraday, Babinet, and others, do posing theories or giving lofty reprimands to experimenters,
not, limit themselves to objections derived from nascent or l do not look at them in the light of scientific students.
unconscious movements, small causes producing great effects. I am convinced that a man never really studies that which
Tllcy have still another method of proceeding. Ifan ex- he declares a priori to have no sense in it. I f attacks are
perimenthas succeeded it has no longerany value. Oh, studies; there is nolack of them, and (I may add) never
if one could succeed in performing such another experiment, will be. At the time when the Academy of Medicine buried
well and good ! But this would not hinder the new experi- the report of M. Husson and published what everybody in
mentfrom becoming insignificant initsturnand giving Europe persisted in calling a refusal to examine, there was
place toa new desideratum. The phrasingruns somewhat issued every morningapaperagainstmagnetism ; every
in this way: rllorning some new writer vociferated that the partisans of
“ You are doing such and such a thing. Very well ; but wagnetism were imbeciles, and proposed an explanatory
now let us see you do adifferentthing. You are employ- system of his own. I f you call thatmakingastudy,then
ing such or such a method ; be pleased to be contented with I grantthatthey have studiedtable-turnings, forthere
those which we prescribe you. To succeed in your way is vertainly has been no dearth of insults and of theories about
notenough; .you must succeed in ours. Yourway is not these phenomena. They have received everyattention, ex-
scientific; it runs contrarytothetraditions. We shut [Link] wpt that no one was willing to inspect, experiment, listen,
door in the face of facts if they do not come in the regula- :md read.
tion claw-hammer coat of full chess. Weshallpay no Twice, a month apart, the Institute has announced (with-
attention to your experiments if our experimental apparatus out protest from anybody wllatt-lvcr) to the students of tablc-
docs not figure in them.” tnrnings that it was shclving papers relating to that topic;
Strange may of verifying and establishing the results of thut it was not obliged to occupy itself with nonsense ; that
esperimcnts ! You begin by changingtheconditionsun- there was a place in its archives for lucnbrationa of that
der mhich they are produced. You might as wcll say to the. kind ; namely, the place to which were consigned papers on
man wllo Ilas sccn the harvesting of barley in Upper Egypt perpetual motion.
264 MYSTERIOUS PSPCI’IIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF GASPARIIN
1 265
011, X o l i h ! why arc you not. present with us ? But, in
reality, you are hc~*c. Y O L ~ genius
F has limaed with ,i I f you don’t call that a refusal to examine, I don’t know
incfiaccable lincsthatcrcrlasting discase of venerable big- l what the words mean in good French.
wigs and mouldy specialists,- disdain of‘ the laity, respect
With such ingenious candor a r 1 d v i t h such authority did
for tllcir fellow-members, idolatry of the past. A most sin-
g11Iur ddorlllity, this ! ilnd it appears in all ages, in vari- the Count Agénor de Gasparin express himself in the year
. . 1854. I t seems to me that tl~ces;wriments made known in
o11s cZlsguIscs, in the midst of all branches of human activ-
ity, now in the name of religion, now in that of medicine, this volume furnish abnndant evidence that he is right.
and again in the name of wiwce or of art. Yes, even sur- Yet I have still friends, at the Institute, who smile with
viving the wreck of revolations wllich sparenothing,ap- the utmost scorn when I ask their opinion on the phenomena
pearing even within the walls of learned academies the
rrlcmbers of which writeforthefurtherance of thegreat of the levitation of tables, the movement of objects without
nlovenwnts of modern progress, one thing remains,- the ’ perceptible Caus) unexplained noises in haunted houses,
spirit of partisanship, of cliqncs, the spirit of tradition, the communication of thought. at a distance, premonitory dreams,
superstitious regard for forms. and apparitions of the dying. Although these unexplained
Really, it mould secnl as if people must be stilltaking phenomena have undeniably been proved to be facts of oc-
Bible oaths like those in the Laccaluurcate ceremony at the I
currence, those learnedfriends of mineremain convinced
end of Molière’s XaladeInmginaire. X. Foucault is fond
of this scene, and will therefore not take it ill if I recall to
,i that “ such things as that are impossible.”
his mind a couple of stanzas: I
Essere in omnibus
Consultationibus
Ancieni aviso,
Aut bono,
Aut mauaaìso.
-JURO!
De non jamais te servire
De remediìs alcunis
Quam &S ceux soulement doctœ facultatis,
N a l a d u s d u t 4 crevare,
E’t mori de suo malo.
-JURO! *
* The long scene from which this is taken in lloliC!re is so full of
Italian, Old French, and dog Latin, that it has not been translated by
Van Laun. All but thelast word (juro) of each stanza is spoken by
tho bi,o-\vi,os in this mock examination of a baccalaureate medical stu-
 RESEARCIIES OF PROFESSOR THURY 267
Superfluous to say, the last method is the one adopted by
Thury (as it was by Gasparin). H e considers it to be the
only suitable, efficient, and legitimate method.
Darkness saps thc strength of science. Its strongest hold
lies in bringingeverythingoutintothefulllight of day.
CHAPTER vIr Ilere, then, lies the question: Zn these curious phenomena
of the tables, is the explanation so clear that you can lay
a finger on the causes of illusion and clearly show that
The insufficient. explanations of Chevreul and of Faraday, there is in them no new and unknown element at work ?
the scientific ncgations of Rabinet, the conscientious experi-
I do not think(replies the Genevan professor) that we
lnents of the Count de Gasparin had led several scientists to have attainedtothat degree of evidence. I wish only one
study t h question from t,he purely scientific point of view. proof, the explanation of what has already been attempted.
Alnoug them was a highly-gifted savant whom I visited at If, then, i t is well established that the common explana-
Gcncva,- 31. Marc Thury, professor of natural history and l-ion is not self-evident., in the eyes of allintelligentand
of astronomy in the Academy of that city. Wearein- sensible men, thereremains a taskto do, a duty owed to
science,- that of throwing full light upon the phenomenon
clcbtcd to llim for a remarkable and little known monograph," in question ; and this task cannot be exchanged for the easier
which it is my duty to condense for this volume. one of treating with irony or disdain those who have gone
astray in the path that Science refused to illuminate.
W l l m we were in thc presence of new phenomena (writes
Thury) there was only one alternative: The savants are, however, excusable for not going too quick
First, either to reject, in the name of common sense and (let us admit with Thury).
of theresultsacquired by science, allthepretended phe- What! a perturbative force lurking, by the hypothesis, in
nomena of tablesas so manychildishsportsunworthy of the human organism sufficiently powerful to lift tables, and
taking up the time of the true scientist or scholar, since, on
the very face of it, their absurdity is evident; in short, to which yet had never produced the slightest derangement in
lct the matter drop by refusing to give it serious attention. the thousands of experiments that physicists are daily mak-
Or, second, to make adeterminedexamination of it at ing in their la-tories ! Their balances, responsive to the
whatever cost, tostudythefact, inits details in order weight of a tenth of a milligram, their pendulums whose os-
to lay fully open all the sources of illusion by which the (dations take place with mathematical regularity, had never
public is duped, separate the true from the false, and throw felttheslightestdisturbing effect of these forces, whose
a strong light on all aspects of the phenomenon, physical,
physiological, and psychological, in order thatthematter source is there present wherever there is a man and a voli-
may be so superabundantly clear andevident that no fur- tion ! Now, it is the ardent wish of the physicist that the
ther excuse for doubt may remain. clxperiment shall always exactly tally the forecasts of theory.
Must he then admit an unknown disturbing force ?
* '' Les Tablestournantes," cornidérés au point de vue de la ques-
tion &c physique gkndrale qui rattache. Genève, 1855. And, even without going ontside of the limits of the bu-
266
 RESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR TIWRY 269
compared withthestrength of the resistance to be over-
come. But the mechanical force of thehands is difficult
to measure exactly, undertheconditions necessary to pro-
duce the phenomena.
Yet over and above that plan of work there remained two
methods of operation to employ.
a. So t.0 dispose tho apparatus employed that tho move-
ment to be produced shall be one that tlle mechanical action
of the fingcrs could not conlpass.
b. To set up movements at adistancewithout any kind
of contact.
The following were our first experiments:
A. Mechanical action rendered impossible. The first ex-
perimentattempted along thisline gave wholly negative
results. We snspended atable by a cord that passed over
two pulleys fixed in theceilingand had a counter-weight
attached to thefree end. It. was easy, by regulatingthis
counterpoise, to balance intheaireitherthetotal weight,
of the table or only a fraction, nlorc or less great, thcreof.
As a matter of fact, the table hung almost in equilibrium
with the wcight, one only of its three l c p touching the floor.
The [Link] placed theirhandsuponthetopsurface.
We acted at first in a circular direction, a disposition of the
force t,he efficacy of which had been established by previous
experiments. We thentried in vainto lift thetable by
The experiments of Valleyres (he writes)tend to estab- detaching it from the floor. No positive result was obtained.
lish the two following principles : Wehadalready (during the previousyear)hadatable
1. The will, in a certaincondition of thehuman organ- suspended to a dynamometer, andthe efforts of four mes-
ism, can act, from a distance, upon inert bodies, and by an merizers were powerless to relieve the dynamometer of an
agency different from that of muscular action. appreciable fraction of the weight of the table.
2. Underthe same conditions, thought can bc co~nmuni- But theconditions necessary forthe production of tho
catcd directlg,though unconsciously, from one individual phenomena were still unknown to us, and, consequently,
to another. when the expcriments tried led to negative results, we had to
As long as me wcre ignorant of any other facts than thoso try others, withoutpressing too hast,ily for inferences and
resulting from a alove~.nent~effected by contact with the fin- conclusions. It was thus that we securcd theresultswhich
gers of the hand, in a way in which the mcchanical action I am going to describe.
of the fingers became possible, the results of the experiments Experiment with the Swinging Table.- We needed a
upon thetable were always of difficult and doubtful inter- piece of apparatus of such a kind that the mechanical action
[Link] result,s had to be necessarily based upon of the fingers would be rendered impossible. For this pur-
an estimate of the mechanical forceexerted by the hands pose we had a table made with a top about 33 inches in

a
2'70 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES RESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR THURY 2'71
diameter, and acentraltrifurcatedleg underneath. This adiameter of 32 inches and weighs 31 pounds. An aver-
table bore a close resemblance to the one which had served age tangential force of 4 2-5 pounds, which may be raised
our purposes up to that time, and could turn like its prede- to 6 3-5 pounds, according to the greater or less inequalities
cessor. Still,the new table was capable of beingtrans- of the floor, applied to the edge of the table, is necessary to
formed in a moment into a mechanism such as I shall now give to it a movement of rotation. Ten is usually the num-
dcscribe. ber of persons who operate about this table.
The summit of the tripod becomes the fulcrum of a lever I n order to assure ourselves of the absence of all con-
of thc first order which is able to balance freely in a vertical tact, we placed our eye on a level with the table in such a
plane. This lever, whose two armsareequalto each other may as to see light between our fingers and the surface of
and to the radius of the taablebears at one of its extremities the table, the fingers themselves remaining a little less than
the table-top, held by the edge,. and,towardtheother ex- an inch above the top. Usually, two persons would be ob-
tremity, a counterpoise which lust balances theweight of serving at once. For instance, hl. Edmond Boissier was
thc table, but which can be modified at will. To the under observing the legs of the table, while I was watching the
side of the table-top is fastened a leg resting on the floor. top. Then we exchanged rôles. Sometimes two persons
Afterthe necessary preliminaryrotations,thetableis took places at the extremities of one and the same diameter,
harnessed upinits second form. Equilibriumis first se- the one opposite the ot,her, for the purpose of watching the
cured, then 3-5 of a pound is taken from the counterpoise. top of the table. Severaltimes we saw it move, although
The forcerequiredto lift the top by its centre isthen 4 we could notdetecttheslightest touch by the fingers. Ac-
ounces, and previousexperiments have proved that the ad- cording to my calculations, it would require the contact of
11crenceof thc fingers of the operators (the top was polished, at least IO0 fingers, or the light pressure of thirty, acting
and notvarnished),togetherwiththe possible effects of voluntarily and fraudulently, to explain in terms of mechan-
elasticity, form a total lower thanthat figure. Yetthe ics the m0vement.s we observed.
top is lifted by the action of the fingers placed lightly on Much more frequently still we obtained balancings with-
itsupper surface, at acertaindistancefromthe edge. out contact, balancings which sometimes went so far as to
Then the counterpoise is diminished ; the mechanical diffi- tipthe, table entirely over. To explain in terms of me-
culty of lifting is augmented, yet still it takes place. The chanical movement the effects weobserved,we should have
weight is again diminished, and more and more, up to the to admit the involuntary contact of 84 fingers, or the light
limit of [Link] necessary toliftthe pressure of 25, or two hands acting with intent to deceive.
top is then 8 1-5 pounds, and the counterpoise has been re- But these suppositions, also, are not at all admissible.
lieved of 24 pounds;yetthelevitation is easily accom- Nevertheless, we always feltthat someone might pre-
plished. The number of the operators is gradually lessened sent the objection that it was difficult to observe these opera-
from eleven to six. The difficulty goes on increasing,yet tionswith precision, and we were constantly urging M .
six operators still suffice; but five arenot enough. Six Gasparin-to convince the doubters and sceptics in the mat-
operators lift 9 1-3 pounds,- an average for each man of ter of the non-contact of the fingers by means of some
about l?& pounds. mechanical device. Out of this arose thelastexperiment
We now possess, in the apparatus just described, a gauge made at that time, and the most conclusive of all. A light
or instrument of measurement. film of flour was almost instantaneouslyspread over the
B. The following movements were produced without con- table by means of a sulphur bellows such as is used in
tact: vineyards. The movement of thechain of hands above the
The table on which were made the trials I witnessed has table set it whirling. Then the filmof flour was examinecl
 RESEARCHES OF PROFESSOR THURY 273
272 NYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
wholly or in large part, from the ground, if it had been a
and found to be inviolate from the touch of hands. Several force directly telluric, the platform would have turned, the
rcpetitions on different days always gave the same results. effort which the table exerted upon it being no longer coun-
terbalanced by an equal reaction proceeding from the indi-
Suchare theprincipalfacts which establish thereality viduals.
of the phenomenon. Thur7 next takes up the more difficult Conditions of the Production and Action of the Force.-
[Link] of courses. I have said that the conditions forthe production of the
force arelittle known. In the absence of precise laws, I
shall present what has been verified in agreater or less
Tlae Seat of the Force.- I t is possible that the force degree in the case of the three following points:
wllich produces the phenomena is a general telluric force a. Conditions of action relative to the operators.
which is merely transmitted by the operators or set in action b. Conditions relative to the objects to be moved.
by them; or, possibly, the force resides inthe operators c. Conditions relative to the modeof action of the oper-
themselves. ators upon the objects to be moved.
To decide this question, we hadalarge movable plat- THE Wru. Thefirstandthe most. indispensable condi-
form constructed which revolved on a perfectly vertical asis. tion, according to M. Gasparin, i a the will of the operator.
X m r the outer periphery of the platform stood four chairs, " Without the will," he says, " me obtain nothing; we might
andthere was atable at the centre. Four operators, ex- sit there in chain twenty-four hours in succession without
lwrts in nervo-magnetic action, took their places on the getting the slightest movement." Farther on, theauthor
cllairs, and, placing their hands on the table in the centre, speaks, it is true, of unexpected movements different from
tricd to give it circular movement by non-mechanical power. those which th? will prescribes; but it is evident that he is
I n fact, the table soon began to move. Then it was stoppcd referring to a necessary combination of prescribed move
and fastened totheplatform by means of three screws. menta and external resistances, t,he effectivemovements be-
The effort exerted upon this t,able by the four magnetizers ing the resultant of those that have been willed and of forces
was such that, at the end of three-quarters of an hour of of resistance developed in external objects. In short, the
experimentation, thecentralsupportingleg I was broken. will is always the prime mover and originator.
Yetthe movable platformdid not [Link]. Thetangential. Xothing, i t is true, in the experiments at Valleyres gave
force required to mechanically move the empty platform was any authority for believing that it could be otherwise than
only a few grams; loaded with the four operators, 250 this. But it is also certain that this purely negative result,
grams was necessary, applied about 28 inches fromthe or provisional generalization, deduced from a limited num-
centre. This figure would have been much less if it had ber of experiments,- cannot invalidatetheresults of ex-
beenpossible to distribute the weight of the operators uni- periments inconsistent with those, in case such should exist.
f ormly. In other words, the will may ordinarily be necessary, with-
The result, of this experiment (of June 4, 1853) showed out always being so. Similarly, contact is ordinarily neces-
that the force which tends to make thetable turn is in sary, and always has been so with a large number of opera-
theindividualsand not in the ground. F o r the force ex- tors, without, however, giving them theright to conclude
erted upon the table tends to draw along the platform with that contact is the indispensable condition of the phenome-
it. If, then, theplatform remains motionless, it must be non, and thatthe different results obtained at Valleyree
that an equal and contrary force is exerted by the-operators. were only illusions or error.
It is therefore in them thatthe base of theseat of the
force resides. If, on tho contrary, this force had emanated,
Since me aredealing here with a point of capital im-
 274 JIYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES R E S E A R C E E S O F PROFESSOR THURY 275
portancc, I: shall take the liberty of stating with some detail which was more than the strength of M. N. could manage;
circumstances which seem opposed to [Link] thesis maintaincd at another, it seemed asif it hadno longer any weight
by 31. [Link], ordata, have asguarantee at all, and opposed notthe least resistance to his efforts.
tllc testimony of a man whom I shouldliketo bc able to Since the interior noises were becoming more and more vio-
name, because his scientific cultureand hischaracter are lent, the lesson was brought to a close, for fear the instru-
Imo~vnof all men. It was in his house and under his eyes mentmightsuffer some damage. The lesson was changed
that the events took place which I am going to relate. to the morning .and given in another room situated on the
Atthetime wllen everyone was amusmg himself with ground floor. The same phenomena tookplace, andthe
nlaking tables turn and speak, or in directing the motions of piano, which was lighter than the one upstairs, was lifted
Icad-pencils, fixed in movable sockets,over sheets of paper, up much more ; that is to say, to a height of several inches.
tllc children of the house amused tllemselves several times M. N. and ayoung mannineteenyears old triedleaning
wit11 this sport,. At first, the responses obtained were such with all their might on the corners of the piano which were
illat you could sec in them a rcflex of the unconscious thought rising. Then one of two thingshappened:either their r e
of tllc opc~utors,;I “ drclam of waking performers.” Soon, sistancc was in vain, and the piano continued to rise, or else
[Link], tlle character of the roplies secmed to change. the music-stool on which the child sat moved rapidly back
I t seemed as if what they revealed could hardly have ema- as if pushed or jerked.

! nated from themind of [Link],

there was such an opposition to the commands given that M.
K., uncertain as to t,he true nature of these manifestations
If occurrences like that had only taken place once we
might thinkthatthe child or the persons present were
laboring under some illusion. But they were repeateda
great number of times, for a fortnight, in the presence of
l
t ’
in whichawilldifferent
appear,forbadetheirbeing
from thehumanwill seemed to
called forth again. Fromthat different witnesses. Then, one day, a violent manifesta-
l time forth, sockets and tablc rested undisturbed. tion tookplace, and thenceforth no unusual event occurred
A week liad scarcely rolled by, after the events just. nar- inthe house. At first, it was in themorningand in the
I
rntcrl, when a c l d d of thefamily, he who hadformerly evening that these perturbationsmanifested themselves ;
snc(:ccdeci best in thetableexperiments, became the actor, then, invariably at any and all hours, theyoccurredevery
i or tllc instrnmcnt, in strange phenomena. The boywas re- time the child took his seat at the piano, after five or ten
I

i coivitlg rz piallo-lcsson,wlwn a low noisc sonndcd in the minutes of playing. The phenomena happened only with
inst-r~[Link],and it was shaken and displaced in such a may this boy, althoughthere were otherspresent(musicians) ;
tllat pnpil ant1teacllrtr closetl it in llnstc and left the room. :md it made no difference which of the pianos in the house
Onthencxt day, M. N., who had been informed of what 11e used.
11ad happcncd, was prcsent at the lesson, given at the same I saw these instruments. The smaller, on theground
time,- namely, when the dusk was corning on. At the end floor, is a rectangularhorizontal piano. According to my
of five or ten minutes he heard a noisc in the piano difficult calculations, a force of about 1G5 pounds applied to the edge
to ciefi1113, but which was certainlythekind of sound one of the case, beqeath the key-board, is necessary to lift this
wonld expect a musical instrumentto produce. There pianoas it was lifted by the unknown force. Theinstru-
was something about it musical and metallic. Soon after, ment i n the first story of the house is a heavy Erard piano,
il1c two front legs of thepiano(which weighed over six ‘@‘ weighing, withthe packing-box in which it was sent, 812
llun(lrcd a l d sixtypounds) were lifted up a littlefrom pounds, as stated in the way-bill, which I myself [Link]-
t h -Hoor. RI. N. went to one end of theinstrument. and cording to my approximatecalculationsapressure of 440
t r i c ( 1 to liftit. At one time it had itsordinary weight,
 2'76 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES l RESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR THfJRY 277
pounds is required to lift this piano, under the same condi- ingtothe boy's testimony, which we believe to be wholly
tions as the first was lifted. true, he did notwill i t ; he seemed to be visibly annoyed
I do not think that anyone will be temptedto attribute by what occurred; it disturbed his custom of industriously
to the direct muscular effort of a child eleven years old the practicinghis lesson and offended histasteforregularity
liftingup a weight of 440 pounds." A lady-who hadat-
tributed thc effect produced to the action of the knees passed i and order; a thing well known tohis intimates. My per-
sonal conviction is that we positively cannot admit, in the-
her own hand between the edge of the piano and the knees f case of thislad,a conscious will, a settled design, toproduce
of the child, and was thus able to convince herself that her '!
these strange occurrences. But it is known that sometimes
explanationhad no foundation i n fact. Even when the we have a double personality, and one of them converses with
child got upon his knees upon the piano-stool to play, he !
b . the
other
(as in dreams) ; that our nature then uncon-
didnot find thattheperturbations he dreaded ceased any sciously desires what it does not will, and that between will
the more. and desire there is only a difference in degree rather than
in kind. I t would be necessary to have recourse to explana-
These anthmticated fncts of Professor T h r y are at once tions of this kind,-too subtle, perhaps,- in orderto
prccise and formidable. What.! two pianos risefromthc square these piano-facts withthe theory of M. Gasparin;
floor andjnmpabout! What do the physicists, the chem- and it would still be necessary to modify and enlargethe
ists, the learned pedant.s in office need, then, to arouse them facts if you admit that even unconscious desire suffices, in
from their torpor and make them shake their ears and open the absence of the expressed will. There is, then, reason
for doubt. on this essential point. That is the sole deduction
their eyes 8 What. shall be done to remove their noble and that I wish to draw from the events I have related.
pharisaical indolence ?
But, happen what. may, no one is occupying himself with This Icvitation, equivalentto an effort exerted of 440
the fascinating problem asstated, except scattercd investi- poundF,, has its scientific value. But how could the will,
gators who arc freed
from
the f a r of ri(lic1lle and conscious or unconscious, lift a piece of furniture of that
arc aware of the exact value of the hnman race, in large and weight,? By an unknown forcewhich we are obliged to
~ 1 1 1 ~ 1 1and
, the worth of its judgnents. recognize.
JI. Thury nest discusses the explanation based on '(the
will. " Preliminary Action.- Power is developed by action.
The rotations prepare for the tippings and the levitations.
Did this boy (he says) will what took place, as the theory The rotations and the tippings,with contact, seem to d e
of 91. de Gasparin~011ld require 11s to admit ? Accord- velop the force necessary to produce the rotations and tip-
* The dynamic force necessary to produce thisuplift,ifweadmit pingswithout contact. In theirturn,therotationsand
that it was developedandaccumulatedduringthefive or tenminutes the tippings without contact prepare for the production of
of playing that preceded the phenomenon, would not, on the other hand, truelevitations, such as those of the swingingtable ; and
be beyond thestrength of thechild; it wouldremainevenmuch be-
neaththelimit of his powers. Ingeneral, the forceexpended, in thene the persons who llave this latent force awaked in them are
phenomena of thetahles, if one may judge by thedegree of fatigue better fitted to appeal to it a second time.
experiencedby the operators,much sl1rpasse.s what would be rt-qnired There is, then,agradualpreparationrequired, at least
to produce the same effectn mecl~[Link], in this
respect. no reason for admittingtheintervention of a force foreign t o forthemajority of operators. Does thispreparation con-
the boy's own nature.- (Thury.) sist in a modification that takes place in the operator, or in
 979 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES RESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR THURY 279
the inert bodyon which heacts, or in both 8 I n orderto A will simple and strong, animation, high spirits, the con-
resolve this problem, esperimenters who had been practicing centration of the thought upon the work to do, good bodily
at one table mentover to another, operating on which they health, perhaps the very physical act of turning around the
foundtheir full power unabated. Thepreparation tl~cre- table, and, finally,everything that cancontribute to unity
fore consists in a modification that takes place in the indi- of will-power among t,he experimenters,- all these things
viduals, and not in the inert body.” This modification OC- helptomake efficacious the commands addressed tothe
aurring in individualsisdissipatedratllcrrapidly, espe- table with force and authority.
cially when the chain of expcrimcntcrs is broken. The tables (says M. de Gasparin) “ wish to be handled
Inner Ilecelopment of the Operators.- It is only after gaily, freely, with animation and confidence; they must be
n certain pcriod of waiting that the operators, who have not hnmorecl atthestart withamusingand easy exercises.”
so far acted, cause even t h casicst rnovancnt,- that Thefirstcondition necessary for success withthetableis
of rot-ation with contact. It is cluring thistitnc thatthe good health and the second, confidence.
~ O T C C , or thc conditionsdcterminingthemanifestation of Among unfavorable circumstances, on theotherhand,
t h ~ O Y C C ,t l ~ ~ ~ tllcmsel\~cs.
lop Fromthat time on, thc de- must be rcckoncd a state of nervous tension; fatigue ; a too
vclopcd force has nothing to do but t.0 increase. That which Ilassionate interest; a mind anxious, preoccupied or dis-
takes place, therefore, in thistime of waiting, is a very tracted.

l inlportant thing tobe considered. We already know that it,

istheoperators themselves who are modified. Bnt what is
it that taltcs place within them ?
The tables - M. de Gasparin further says, in his meta-
phorical language -“ detest folks who quarrel,eitheras
their opponents orastheir friends.” “ As soon as I took
It must h that a kind of activity is sct np in tllc organ- too dcep an interest, 1 ceased to command obedience.” “ I f
l
g ’ ism, an acltivity which ordinarily requirestheintervention it happened that I desircd success too ardently, and showed
t of tllc mill. This activity, this work, is accompanied by a impatience at delay, I no-longer had any power of action
[Link] act,ion is not. aroused inalloperators on the table.” “ I f the tables encounter preoccupied minds
t
withequal case and promptness. There are evcn persons or nervous excitement, they go into a sulking mood.” “ I f
(the anthor estimates their number at one in ten) in whom pou are touchy, over-anxious .. . you can’t do any-
it appears that it cannot be produced at all. thing of any value.” “ In themidst of distractions,chat-
I

I n the midst of this great diversity of natural aptitudes, tcrings, pleasantries,theoperatorsinfallibly lose alltheir
i
it. is obaervcd that children “ can sccure obedience from the power.” Away with salon experiments !
table justlike grown folks.” Nevertheless, children do not Must one have faith ? I t is not necessary; but confidence
magnetize. Thus, although severalfacts seemto show that. i n the result predisposes to a larger endowment of power in
I Ile séance of the occasion. T t does not sufficc! to have faith;
magnetizers (or mesmerizers) have frequently strong
a
p o w r 0~7erthe tables, yet one cannot admit the identity of there are persons whollave faithand good will, yetwith
magnetic power and power over thetables;the one is not whom power of action is altogether wanting.
the measure of the other. Only, the magnetic power would Muscularforce or nervous susceptibility do not seem to
play any rôle.

i constitute (or presume)afavorablesubjective condition.

* In thefirst experiments of Thury, eight persons remained an hour
and a half standing, and then seated, around a table, without ol)tnining
the leastresulting movement. Two or threedaysafter, on their sec-
ond trial, the same persons, at the end of ten minutes, made a centre-
Meteorological conditions have seemed to exercise some
influence, probably byacting upon the physique andthe
spirits of the; operators. Thus fine weather, dry and warm
weather (but not a suffocating heat) act favorably.
table revolve. Finally, on the 4th of May, 1853, at thethird or fourth
trial, the heaviesttables began to move almost immediately. The especially efficacious influence of dry heat upon the
280 3 l Y STEKIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
R,ESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR THURP 281
surface of the table * will perhaps receive a different ex-
planation. ical force; these levitations so spontaneous, so energetic,
Unconscious Muscular Action, produced during an espe- which leap up to m'eet the hands ; these dances and imita-
cially N e ~ ~ v o uConditìon.-
s So longas only movements tions of music which you would in vain attempt to equal
with contact were known, in which the movement observed by means of the combined andvohmtaryaction of the
was one of those tvhich nmscular action migllt produce, ex- operators; these litt,le raps succeeding theloud ones, when
planations based on the hypothesis of unconscious muscular the command is given, the exquisite delicacy of which noth-
action were certainly sufficient and much more probable ing can express. Severaltimeswhen someone asked a so-
thau all the otller explanations which had been up to that called spirit his age, one of the legs of the centre-table lifted
time proposed. ' up andrapped 1, 2, 3, etc. Thenthe movement was ac-
From this point of view (entirely physiological) it is set- celerated. Finally,thethree legs beat a kind of drum-roll
t h 1 that we mustdistinguish between the effort which a so rapidthat it was impossible to count, and which the
muscle exertsandthe consciolxness we bave of this effort. most skilful could never succeed in imitating. On another
Tt will be rc-memhercd tllst tllcre exist in the human organ- occasion, under the contact of hands, the table was turning
ism a ~ W T nunlher of I I ~ I I S C ~ C Sthnthabitually exert con- upon three legs, upon two, upon a single one; and, in this
siderable c4Tort withoutourbeing in theslightest degree last position, changed feet,, throwing its weight first upon
aware of it. It. has been pointedout that muscles exist one and then upon another with great ease, and with noth-
whose contractions arc perceptible by 11s in acertainstate ing abrupt OF jerky inits motions. Neitherthe experi-
of the system and unperceived in another state. It is thcrc- menters nor their most eminent opponents would ever be
fore conceivable thatthe muscles of ourlimbsmight as able to irnitate mechanically this dance of the table, and,
an exceptionalthing,exhibit the same phenomenon. Tho above all, the whirling pirouettes and changes of feet.
preparation for thc movement of the table, the special kind EZectricity.- Many have tried to explain the movements
of reaction that takes place at this interval of waiting, put of tables by electricity. Even supposing that they involve
the nervous system into a particdar condition in which the very abundant production of this agent, no known effect
certainmuscular movements maytake place in an uncon- of electricity would account for the movement of the tables.
scious manner. But, in fact, it is easy to show that there is no electricity
But, evidently, this t l ~ o r yis not sufficicnt to acconnt for produced; for, whenagalvanometer was interposed in the
movements without contact, nor those thattake place in chain, no deviation of the needle took place. The elec-
such a way that muscularaction could notproduce them. trometerremains as indifferent to thesolicitations of the
Tt is therefore these two clnsscs of movements which m w t tables as does the mariner's compass.
serve asthe basis ofnew csperimentsandasthefounda- Nervo-rnapctism.- There is certainly some analogy be-
tion of a new theory. tween several phenomena of nervo-magnetism and those of
How also explain the vcry peculiar and truly inconceiv- the tables. Those passes which seem to favorbalancing
able character of the movements of the table ? - this start- without contact; the motion imparted by the chain to this
ing to move, so insensible, so gentle, so different from the man whom they cause to turn about (unless, indeed, there
abruptnesscharacteristic of theimpetusgivenby mechan- is in this some effect of the .imagination) ; finally, the power
thatmany mesmerizers exert over the tables - allthis
* In thecaseof difficult tests, when they took place on cold days,
seems to indicate a kinship between the two orders of phe-
a warm spread wns stretched over thetable, and removed at the mo-
ment of theexperiment. The operatorsthemselves, before acting,held nomena. But, since the laws of nervo-magnetism are little
their hands open for a moment before a stove. known, there is no conclusion to be drawnfromthis,and
it seems to me preferable, forthe present, to study sepa-
352 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES RESEARCHES OF PROFESSOR THURY 283
ratclythe phenomena of tables, which arebetteradapted The glass placed in the middle of the tablestopsthe
t-o t,hc espcrilnents of the physicist, and which, well studied, movement because it drives away the fluid.
will rcnder mow scrvicc to nervo-magnetisnl than it could The glass placed on one side of the table makes the
rcceive in alongtime from this obscurc branch of physi- opposite side rise because the fluid, fleeing from the glass,
ology. accumulates there.
Thury does not attempt the discussion of this theory. But
Thury ncxt touches upon M. de Gasparin'stheory of we may repeat with Gasparin, " When you shall have ex-
fluidic action. Bcing certain that he accurately understands plained to me how I lift my hand, I will explain to you how
this theory, he gives a résumé of it in the following items: I cause the leg of the table to rise."
The whole problem lies in that,- the action of mind on
I. A fluid is produced by tllc brain, and flows along the
nerves. 'i matter. We must not dream that we can give a final solu-
2. 'Illis fluid can go bcyoncl the limits of the body; it can tion of it at the present time. To reduce the new facts to
bc c d t c d . conformity with the old ones ; that is to say, to relate the
3. Under the influence of the will, it can move hither
.t action of mind upon inert bodies outside of us tothe action
and thither. l of mind uponthe matter in our bodies -such isthe only
4. This fluid acts upon inert bodies; yet it shuns contact a problem which the science of to-day can reasonably propose
with certain substances, such as glass. to itself. Thury states it in general terms as follows :
5. It lifts the parts toward which it moves, or in which it ! ... ..
' 1- General Question of the Action of Mind upon Matter.-
accurnulatcs. -

6. I t further acts upon inert bodies by attraction or by We shall seek to formulate the results of experiment up to
repulsion, witha tendency toeitherjoinorseparatethe thepoint where experiment aba'ndons us. Fromthere on
inert body and the organism. we shallstudy allthealternatives offered to ourmind, as
7. It can also determine interior movements in matter, simple possibilities, someof which willgive place to hy-
and give rise to noises. potheses explanatory of the new phenomena.
8. This fluid is especially produced and developedby Firstprinciple: I n the ordinary state of the body, the
turning, and by the will, and by the joining of hands in a will acts directly only in the sphere of the organism.-
certain manner. Matter belonging to the external world is modified on con-
9. It is ctornmunicatecl from one person to another by t a c t with the organism, and the modifications which it un-
vicinage or by contact. Yet certain persons impede its com- dergoes gradually produce others by contiguity. It isthus
munication. that we can act upon objects at adistancefrom us. Our
10. We have no knowleclge of special movements of the action at u distance upon all that surrounds us is mediate
fluid, which are determined by the will. and not immediate. We believe thatthis is true of the
II. This fluid is probably identical with the nervous fluid action of all physical forces, suchasgravity, heat, elec-
and with the nervo-magnetic fluid. [Link] effect isgradually communicated, andthus
Application.- Rotation is a resultant of the action of the alone they put distance behind them and come into relation
fluid and of the resistances of the wood. withmanasasentient being.
Tipping results from the accumulation of the fluid in the Second principle: I n the organism itself there is a
leg of the table which is lifted. aeries of mediate acts.- Thus the will does not act directly
 284 IIYSTEEIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES RESEARCHES OF PROFESSOR THURY 285
upon the bones which receive the movenwnt of the muacles ; d. The psychode is apeculiarstate of matter,astate
nor does the will modify any more directlythe muscles, habitually produced within the sphere of the organism, but
eince, when deprived of nerves, they are incapable of move- w*hich may also be produced beyond itslimitsunderthe
ment. Does the will act directly upon the nerves ? It is a influence of a certain state of the organism,- an influem%
mootccl question ~vl~ether itmoclifies thcmdirectly orindi- comparable to that of magnets in the phenomena of dia-
rectly. Tllw thc sltbstance upon which the son1 immedi- magnetism.
atcly acts is still undctcrmincd. Tlle substance may bo
solid, may bc fluid;it may be a substance still unknown, Thury proposes tho adjective e c t e m i c (from Z K T ~ Y ~ ~ ,
or 1)crlla.p~it particular state of kuown substances. I n order oxtension) to describe that special state of the organism in
to avoid a circumlocution, let mc give it a narne. I shall
call it the psychode ($qpj, soul, and S ó s , way). which the mind can, in some measure, extend the habitual
Thirdpl-inciylc:Thesubstance upon which the mind limits of its action, and he styles " ecteneic force '' that
immediately acts - the psychode - is onZy susceptible of which is developed in this state.
ccry simple nrodificatiom u d e r the influence of t h e mind,
for, since thelnorements areto be somewhat varied, an Thefirst hypothesis (he
adds) would not be at all
estensireand complicated apparatus appears in thc organ- dapted to explainthe phenomena with which we are con-
ism,- a whole system of nluscles, vessels, nerves, etc., which wrned. Rut the threcothers give rise to threedifferent
arcwantingintheinfcrioranimals (among whommove- chxplanations, in which (he assures us) thegreaterpart of
mcnts are verysimplc~), ; 1 1 d which ~ v o u l c l have been un- the phenomena investigated will be comprised.
ncccssary had matter btcn directly susceptible of rnodifica- Explanations based uyou theIntervention of 8pìrìts.-
tioasequallyvaried under the inflaence of [Link] 91. de Gasparinhas shown theerror of all these explana-
movements are intended tobe very simple (as in the case tions :
of infusoria)the complicated apparat,ns iswantingand
the life-spirit acts upon matter that is alrnosthomogeneous. l. By theological considerations.
The following four hypotheses regardingthe psychode 2. By the very just remark that we should not resort to
may be formed: cxplanations which introduce spiritsinto [Link] problem un-
a. The psychode is a substance peculiar to the organism, til other interpretations have been proved to be entirely in-
axld not capable of clnergiag from it. It acts only sufficient.
mediately upon everythingoutside of the visible organism. 3. Finally, by physical considerations.
b. The psychode is a. substancc pcculiar to the organism, Looking at thequestionhere solely fromthegeneral
capable of extending beyond the limits of the visible organ- physical point of view, I do not follow M. de Gasparin (says
ism ullder certain special conditions. The modifications it 'l'hury) in hisexploitation of theological explanations. As
receives necessarily act upon otherillert bodies. The will 1 0 the sccond, I will only callattention to the suggestion
acts upon the ps-phode, and thus mediately, upon thc bodies illat t h sufficiency of explanations purely physical should
t h t the sphere of this substance embraces. strictlyapplyonly to theValleyres experiments, where, in
c. The psychode is auniversal substance which is con- truth,nothing gives evidence of the intervention of wills
ditioned in its action on other inert bodies by the structure other than the human will.
of living orpllismg, or by a certain state of inorganic hodies The question of the intervention of spirits might bede-
- a state clctermincd l)? the influence of living organisms (aided from the tcnor or content of the revelations, in any
in certain special corditloas. case in which this content would be such as evidently could
286 [Link] PSYCHIC FORCES RESEARCHES O F PROFESSOR. THURY 28'7
not have originated in thehumanmind. It is not myin- Experience instructs us that these mental forces m,anifest
tention to discuss this point. The presentstudytakes cog- hemse elves by theintermediary of special organisms, very
nizance solely of n1ovclnentsof inert bodies, and w e llave (wrrlples in the case of man andthesuperior animals, but
only to considCr, anmlg the argurrlents of 31. cle Gasparin, simple in that of the lowest, among which latter class mind
those which are included in this field of view. Ilas no need of mascles and nerves in order to manifest itself
Now, hisarguments on thispoint seen1 to me to be all clsternally, but seems to act directlyupon a homogeneous
summed upin these slightlyironical lines: " Strange matter, the movements of which it determines (the amœba
spirits ! . . . whose presence or absence could depend of Ehrenberg). I t is in these elementary organizations that
upon arotation,dependupon cold or warmth, or health the problem of the action of mind on matter is stated, after
or disease, on high spirits or lassitude, on an unskilful H fashion, in its simplest terms.

company of unconscious magicians ! I have the headache When once we have, admitted the existence of thewill
or the grip, thercfore the daemonic beings will not be able 11s distinct, at least in principle, fromthematerial body,
to appear to-day." it, becomes solely aquestion of experience to ascertain
31. clc Mirvillc, who beliercs inspirits 1j7ho manifest whether othcr wills than that of man and the animals play
thcrnsclves through the agency of the fluid, might reply to ;my rôle whatever, frequent or occasional, on thestage of
Gasparin that the [Link] of the ostensible manifestation life. I f these wills exist, theywill have some means or
of spiritsareperhapsthefluidicstateitself;thatifthis' other of manifestation,withwhich experience alone can
is so, we might very well, in a séance phenomenon, have a 11lake us acquainted. As a matter of fact,all that it is
fluidic manifestation without the intervention of spirits, but possible to affirm, a priori, is that, in order to appear, they
not the intervention of spirits without a preliminary fluidic wust manifcst themselves through some one of the forms of
manifestation, and that, thus, anyone will invite such mani- the eternal substance we [Link], to say that this
festation only at his own risk and peril. matter must necessarily have an organization of muscles,
nerves, etc., would be to hold to averynarrow idea, and
Thurynest. discusses horn the question of spirits ought one already belied by observation of theanimal kingdom
to be considered. in its lower types. As long as we do not know whatthe
bond is that unites the mind to the matter in which it mani-
Thc task of science (he writes) is to bear witness to thd festsitself, it would be perfectly illogical to lay down, a
truth. I t cannot do so if it borrows a part of itsdata priori, particular conditionswhichmattermust observe in
fromrevelation or fromtradition; to do this would be a Ihis [Link] areat present wholly
begging of t h qwstion, and the t,est,imonyof science would undetermined. Thus we are at libertyto seek for s i p s
becon1c worthless. of these manifestations in the cosmic ether or in ponderable
Tlw facts of the nntnral orcler are connectdwith two matter; in t h gases, theliquids, or thesolids;in unor-
categories of forces, the one that of necessity, the other that ganized matter, or particularly in matter alrcady organized,
of freedom. To the first belong thegeneral forces of sixch as that of which manandtheanimalsarebuilt up.
gravitation, heat, light, electricity, and the vegetative force. It would be poor logic t.0 affirm that other wills than those
Tt is possible that me may discover others some day; but at of men and animalscannot be discovered, on theground
presentthey arethe only ones weknow. To the second that, heretofore, nothing of thekindhas been seen;for
ctatcgory belong solely the mind of animals and that of man. facts of thiskind may bave beenobserved, but not scien-
These aretruly forces, since they are the cause of move- tifically clucidated and authenticated. Furthermore these
nr w t s and of various phenomena in the physical world. wills mightappear only at longintervals, or what seem
 1

268 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

long to us ; but the yast abysses of nature’s epochs are not
;l
to be spanned by ourlittle memories or measured by the , - 1
momentary duration of our lises.

Such are the facts and the ideas set forth in this consclen-
tious monograph of Professor Thury. It is easily seen
that,in his opinion (1) the plleuornena arc positive €acts;
(2) that t h y are produced by an unknown substance, to
i
‘t
I
CHAPTER .VITI

TILE EXPEWME,NTB O F TITE; DIALE’CTICAL SOCIETY O F LONDON

A well-known association of scholars and scientists, t,lle

which he gives thename psyc7mde, a somctlling that,by I 1)ialectical Society of London, founded in IS67 under the
tho hypothesis, exists in u s and serves as thc intermediary presidency of Sir John Lubbock, resolved, in the year 1869,
between themindandthe body, between thewilland the t o include within the sphere of its observations, the physical
organs, and can project itself btpond the limits of the body; Irhenomen8 which it is the object of this volume tostudy.
( 5 ) thatthe hypothesis of spirits is notabsurd,and thnt After a series of experiments the society published a report,
thcre may exist in this ~ v ~ other
~ l dwills than those of man l o which it addedtheattestations, upon [Link] samesubject,
and the animals, wills capable of acting on matter. of acertainnumber of scientists, among whom I had the
ProfessorMarcTbury died in 1905, having devoted llis .I honorof being included.* Thisreport was [Link]
entire life to the study of theexact sciences. His specialty French by Dr. Dusart and publisllecl -/ in the series of psychic
was astronomy. works so happily planned and directed by Count de mochas.
To give a true. idea here of theresults reached by [Link] so-
ciety I cannot do better than cite the salient and essent,ial
portions of this purely scientific memoir.
Two o r three paragraphs from the beginning of the report
will showhow and a t what time the society first took up
psycho-physical studies :

At a Meeting of t3he8 London Dialectical Society, held on

c Wednesday, tho6th of January, 1869, Mr. J. H. Levy in
the chair, it was resolved: -
“ That the Council be requested to appoint a Committee
in conformity wit-h Bye-law VII., to investigate the
Phenomena alleged to be Spiritual Manifestations, and to
report thereon.”
* Report on Spiritualism of the Committee of the London Dialectical
Bociety, London : 1871.
t In one vol. 8vo. Paris: Leyrnarie, 1900.
289
 4
2130 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES r DIALECTICALSOCIETY'S EXPERIMENTS 291
This committee was formed on January 26 following. It t he third(and finally successful) Atlantic cable between
was composedof twenty-seven members. Among these we I4:urope and America, hastenedto identify himself with
note Alfrcd Russel Wallace, thelearned naturalistand IIIC investigations, and by his aid materially furthered the
nlcrnbcr of the I b y a l Society, of London. Professor IIuxley l
progress of this scientific examination.
and George Henry Lewis were asked to collnl~orate with the The report, with its various pieces of testimony, was pre-
committee. [Link]'sletter is too sonted to the Dialectical Society on the 20th of July, 1870.
cllnracteristic to be omitted : I h t , in ordernotto compromise the society, it was decided d
not to publish it officially, under the e g i s of the associa-
Sir,- l rep&. that, I am unable to accept the invitation t ion. Consequently the committee unanimously resolved to
of Council of the Dialectical Society to co-operate with
tlltl
lmblish thereport on its own responsibility. It reads 8s
:I Colllnlittec for thc investigation of " Spiritualism ; " and
1't b110WS :
for t,wor(:asons. 111 the first place, I have no time for 'such
an illquir,y, which monld involve rnnch troubleand (un-
Icss it wert unlike all inquiries of that kind T llave known) Tour Committee have held fifteen meetings, at which
nlucll aarloyancc. I n the second place, 1: take no interest in 111oyreceived evidence fromthirty-three persons, whode-
the subject. The only case of " Spiritualism " I have had svribed phenomena which, they stated, had occurred within
tlle opportunity of examining into for myself, was as gross I hcir own personal experience.
an i1npostturc as ever carne undw nly notice. n u t suppos- ,
Your Committee have received written statementsrelat-
illg the pllenorrl~?nato be gemirle - they do not intmcst me. i ng to the phenomena from thirty-one persons.
If any h t l y would endow me with the faculty of listening Your Committee invitcd the attendance and requested the
to tllc callattcr of old wornen and curates in tlle nearest (.o-operation and advice of scientific men who had publicly
catllctlral town, I should clccline the privilege, having better (Sspressed opinions, favourable or adverse, tothe genuine-
things t o do. IICSS of the phenomena.

h t l if the folk in the spiritual world do not talk more Your Committee also speciallyinvitedtheattendance of
wiwly and sensibly thantlleir frimtlareport themto do, I)crsons who had publicly ascribed the phenomena to im-
I prit. I-llclrl i n t h same cntcgory. I mture or delusion.
r 1
[Link] only good that I. (2211 see in a denlvnstration of the As it appeared to your Committee to be of the greatest
truth of " Spiritualism " is to fnrnish an additionalargu- ilrlportancc thatthey should investigate the phenomena in
nient against suicide. 13cltter lire a crossing-sweeper than clnestion by personal experimentandtest,they resolved
die and Ix made to talk twaddle by a " medium " hired at t llemselves into sub-committees as the best means of doing
a guinea a shame. SC).

I am, sir, etc., Six Subcommittees were accordingly formed.

January,
29th 1SG9. T. H. HUXLE~Y. These reports, hereto subjoined, substantially corroborate
oach other, and would appeartoestablishthefollowing
As if opposing a direct negative and rebuke to this radical propositions :-
sccpticism, bascd on a single s6anceof observation ( !) the l. That sounds of avariedcharacter, apparently pro-
ceeding from articles of furniture,the floor and walls of
learncd electrician, Crommcll Fleetwood T'arlcy, in 1867, the room (the vibrations accompanying which sounds are
who did so much toforwardand encourage thelaying of often distinctlyperceptible tothe touch) occur, without
C"J. ïUYSTEIIIOZ'S YSYCIIIC FORCES DIALECTICAL SOCIETY'S EXPERIMENTS 293
h i n g produced by muscularactionormechanical con- often where requested, when the hands of all present were
trivance. visible.
2. That movements of heavy bodies take place without 4. Thirteen witnesscs declare that they have heard
mechanical contrivance of any kind or adequate exertion of Inusical pieces well playcd upon instrumentsnotmanipu-
nluscular force by the persons present, andfrequently lated by anyascertainable agency.
without contact or connection withany person. 5. Five witnesses statethat thcy have seen red-hot coals
3. That these sounds and movements often occur at the :Ipplied to the. hands or heads of several persons without
times andinthemanner asked for by persons present, ~'roducing pain or scorching ; and three witnesses state that
and, by means of a simple code of signals, answer questions 111eyhave hadthe same experiment made upon themselves
and spell ont coherent commnnications. with the like immunity.
4. Thatthe answers and communications thus obtained 6. Eight witnesscs statethatthey have received precise
are, forthe most part, of zt common1dwc clraracter ; but illformation through rappings, writillgs, and in other ways,
facts are sometimes correctly given which are only known 11le accuracy of which was unknown at thetimetothem-
to one of the persons present. wlves or to any persons prcscnt, and which, on subsequent
5. That the circu1nst:mces under which the phenomena inquiry, was found to be corrcct.
occur are variable,the most. prbminent fact being that the 7. One witness declarcs that I1e has received a precise
presence of certain persons [Link] to their occur- :tnd detailedstatement which, nevertheless, proved to be
rence, andthat of ot,hers generally adverse. Butthisdif- mtirely erroneous.
ference does not appear to depend upon any belief or dis- 8. Three witnesses statethatthey have been present when i
hclicf co~lccrning thephenonlena. !hawings, both in penciland colora, were produced in so
G . That, ncwrtheless, the occurrence of the phenomena is short a time, and under such conditions, as to render human
~ o t insurcd
, by thc presence or absence ofsuc11 persons r e :Igency impossible.
spcctively. 9. Six witnesses declare that they hace received informa-
Theoralandwritten evidence received byyour Com- lion of future events, ancl that in somecases the hour and
mitteenot only testifies to phenomena of the same nature IllinUteof their occurrcllce have been accurately foretold,
as those witnessed by the sub-committees, but to others of thys and evenwecks bcforc.
a nlore varied and extraordinarmy character. I n addit,ion to t h a h w , evidence has been given of
Th is evitlence may be briefly summarized as follows : - IlInnce-speaking, of healing, of automaticwriting, of the
1. Thirtccn' witnesscs state [Link] have seen heavy introduction of flowers and fruitsinto closed rooms, of
hotlics - in some instancos mcn -rise slowly in the air voices in the air, of visions in crystals and glasses, and of
a n d remain tllere for some tirne withont visible or tangible 11le elongation of the' human body.
snpport.
2, Fourteen witnesses [Link] to having seen Elands or Some extract.s fromthe reportswillgive my readers a
figures, not appertaining to any human being, butlife-like better idea of these experiments and show their wholly scien-
in appearance and mobility, which they have somctimes
t ific character :
tonclled or eren grasped, ancl which they are therefore con-
vincecl were not the result of imposture or ilhzsion.
3. Five witnesses statethatthey have been tonched, by ,411of these meetings were held at the private, residences
m n e inviaible agency, on various parts of the body, and of members of the Committee, purposely to preclude the
1~osaiblityof prearranged mechanism or contrivance.
291 IIYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES DIALECTICAL SOCIETY'S EXPERINEKTS 295
r l l i ttee had been sitting round one of the dining-tables above
The furniture of the room in which the experiments were
conducted was on every occasion its accustomed furniture. clescribed for forty minutes, and various motions and
The tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables, requir- sounds had occurred, they, by way of test, turned the backs
ing astrong effort to move them. The smallest of them of theirchairstothe table, at aboutnineinches from it.
was 5ft. gin. long by 4ft. wide, andthe largest, 9ft. 3in. They allthenknelt upon their chairs, placingtheir arms
long and @/Aft. wide, and of proportionate weight. llpon the backs thereof. I n this position, their feet were of
The room, tables, and furniture generally were repeatedly c'ourse turned away fromthe table, and by no possibility
subjected tocarefulexamination before, during,andafter trould be placed under it or touch the floor. Thehands of
tlle experilnents, to ascertain that 110 concealed machinery, path person wereextended over thetable at about four
instrument or other contrivances existed by means of which inches from the surface. Contact., therefore, with any part
the sounds -or movements hereinafter mentioned could be of the table could not [Link] place without detection.
cansed. I n less than a minute the table, untouched, moved four
The experiments were conducted inthelight of gas, limes ; at firstabout fiwe inches to one side, thenabout
except on the few occasions specially noted in the minutes. / w e h e inches to the opposite side, and then, in like manner,
Your Committee have avoided the employment. of pro- r o w inches and six inches respectively.
fessional orpaid mediums, themediumshipbeing that of The hands of all present were next placed on the backs
members of yourSubcommittee, persons of good social of their chairs, and about a foot fromthe table, which
position and of unimpeachable integrit,y,
having
no ngain moved, as before, five times, over spaces varying from
pwuniary object to serve, and nothing to gain by deception. four to six inches. Thenallthechairs were removed
Of the members of your Sub-committee about four- twelve inches fromthe table, and each person knelt on
fifths entered upon theinvestigation wholly scepticalas his chairas before, thistime however foldinghishands
to thereality of the alleged phenomena, firmly believing behind his back, his body being thus about eighteen inches
thcm to be the result either of imposture or of ddusion, or from tlle 'table, and having the back of the chair between
of [Link] muscular action. It was only by irresistible himself andthe table. The tableagain moved four times,
evidcnce, under conditions that precluded the possibility i n various,directions. In the course of this conclusive ex-
of either of these solutions, and aft,er trial and test many periment, and in less than half-an-hour, thetablethus
tinm repcatcd, thatthe most sceptical of your Sub-com- moved, without contact orpossibility of contactwith any
mittee were slowly and reluctantly convinced that the person present, thirteen times, the movements being in dif-
pllcnolnena eshibitcdinthe course of theirprotractcdin- ferentdirections, and some of themaccordingtothe re-
quiry were veritable facts. quest of various members of your Subcommittee.
A description of one experiment, andthemanner of The table was thencarefully examined, turned upside
conducting it, will best show thecare and cautionwith clown andtakento pieces, butnothing was discovered to
which your Committee have pursued their investigations. account for the phenomena. The experiment was con-
So long asthere was contact, or even the possibility of clucted throughout, in the full light of gas above the table.
Contact, by the hands or feet, or even by the clothes of any Altogether, your Subcommi ttec have witnessed upwards
person in the room, with the substance moved or sonnded, of fifty similar motions without contact on eight different
there conld be no perfectassurance thatthe motions and evenings, in the houses of members of your Sub-committee,
sounds \%'erenot prodnccd by the person so in contact. The the most careful tests being applied on each occasion.
fol'lowing experinlent was therefore tried : l n all similar experiments the possibility of mechanical
On an occasion wheneleven mclmbcrs of your Snb-com- or other contrivance was further negatived by the fact that
296 [Link].S PSTCIIIC FORCES DIALECTICAL, SOCIETY’S EXPERIMENTS 297
the nlovcments wcrc i n various dircctions, now to one sidc,
SPECIAL OBSERVATIONS.
tlwn to tho otllcr ; now up the room, now down [Link] room -

i
nlotions that wonld h a w required the co-operation of many March 9th. Nine members present. Reunion at eight
11ands or fcot ; and thcsc?, fromthegreat sizc and weight. o’clock. The following phenomena were produced : l.
of t h , tables, could not have been so used [Link] the The members of the circle standing, rested the tips of their
risible clxercise of muscular force. Every handand foot fingers only on the table. It madea considerable move-
was plainlyto be sccn and could not have been moved -1
i ment. 2. IIoldingtheir hands a few inches above tlle
w i tlmu t instant detection. table, and no one in any way touching it, it moved a dis-
Thc motions were witnessed simultaneously by all i tance of more than a foot. 3. To rendertheexperiment
prcscnt. They were matters of measurement, and not of I
.!
- absolutely conclusive, all present stood clear away from the
o p i n i o n o r fancy. And they occurred so often,under SO table, and stretching out thcir hands over it without. touch-
~ n m yand suchvarions conditions, with such safcguardv ing it, it again moved as before, and about the same dis-
against error or dcception, and with such invariable results, tance. During this time, one of the Committee was placed
as to sat-isfy the nlembers of your Sub-committee by whom upon the floor to look carefullybeneaththe table, ,while
theexperiments were [Link], wholly scepticalas most, of others were placed outside to see that no person went near
tllcrrl Iwre wlwn theyentercd upon the investigation, that tothe tabler In this position it was fiequently moved,
I l ~ e r e is (;L forcecapable of nzoving heavy bodaes without withoutpossibility of contact by any person present. 4.
wraterinl r o n t m t , [Link] w l ~ i c hf o l m is in some unlcwwn man- Whilstthusstandingclear of the table, but with the tips
wor tkpcrrdent jupon the presence of human beings. of their fingcrs restinguponit,all at thesamemoment
raised theirhands at a given signal;and on several o c
Sncll was thc first vcrdict of science upon Spiritmualistic casions thctablejumpedfromthe floor toan elevation
doings in England, a vcrdict rendered by physicists, chem- varyingfrom half an inch to an inch. 5. All held their
ists, astronomers and naturalists, several of them nlembcrs hands close abovc the table, but. not touching it, and then
c d tlle 1,ontlon lXoyal Society. The investigations were un-
on a word of command raised them suddenly, and the table
jumpedas before. The member lying on the floor, and
der t110 cspwial [’:11’c! of Professor Xorgan, president of the those placed outsidethe circle, were keenly watchingas
Socdictg, of T,ontlon ; of 17nrlcy, cllicf clectrical
~latl1c~n~;ttic~11 before, and all observed the phenomena as described. ,
onginwr of t h t1q):lrtmcnt. of Ic~lcgrnplls,ant1 Alfred Wal-
lace, naturalist, otc. SJercral mmnbcrs of the Dialectical A p d 15th. Eight members present. Sitting at 8 p. m.
Society refused to join in tlle conclusions of the committee, Witllin five nlinutes tapping sounds were heard on the leaf
of the table. Various questions, as to order of sitting, etc.,
and declared they ought. to be verified by another. scientist; were put,and answered by rappings. The alphabet was
for example, by the chemist, Crookes. This gentleman ac- called for, ancl the word “ laugh ” was spelled out. I t was
cepted the proposition, and in this way it was that he began asked if it was intended that we should laugh. An affima-
his experiments, of which more anon, t i w answer being given, the members laughed; upon which
But, before prcsenting all account of theexperiments of the table made a most vigorous sound and motion imitative
tlw eminent cl-lcmist, I sllould like to place before my read- of and responsive tothelaughter, and so ludicrousasto
cause a. gcneral peal o f reallaughter, to which thetable
ors the chicf pointa scttlctl by the Esperirnerltal Committee, shook, ancf therapping kepttime as an accompaniment.
of whic11 T 11av-cj u s t spoken. The following questions were thenputand answered by

a
 .- i.
8
C) C(-) XYSTEJUOLS PSYCHIC: FORCES t DIALECTICAL SOCIETY’S EXPERIMENTS 299
I

tl1c n ~ u ~ l b cofr rays gircn : - IImv many cllildren has Nrs.

,ñi all
their efforts. Thechair on which themedium was
al- v. 7,
&L Four; 7, d i &h. W - ‘G ” Three ; ” “ Nrs. 4i seated was drawn several times over the floor. First it
moved backward several feet; then it gave several twists
Y-
S-
G ” So rap ; ” Mrs. E-
” ‘i T\V&”
? ” “ Five; ” “ Nrs.
It, was ascertained, upon inquirythat
these rcplics were perfectly correct, except. inthe case of
T

J
,i and turns, and finally returned with the medium to nearly
itsoriginal position. The chair bad no casters, and moved
quite noiselessly, the medium appearing perfectly still
and
Mrs. E-, who has only four childrenliving,buthas $1 holding her feet above the carpet; so that
duringthe en-
lost ont’. Keithcrthemedium nor any person present, was i tire phenomenon no part of her person or of her dress
aware of all the above mmbers, but each number was I touched the floor. There was bright gaslight, and the mem-
known to some of them. Theinquiryfor a written coin- .i bers had a clearopportunity to observe all that occurred;
11l~ulicationh i n g responded to by threeraps, some sheets
andallagreedthatimposture was impossible. Whilethis
of pap^ with a pencil were luid undcr tlle table, andat was going on, a rapping sound came continually from the
tlle end of tlle sitting examincil, but no letter or mark was
floor beneath andaroundthechair. It was then suggested
found on tlw paper. I n ordcr to test whether these sounds that trials should be made if the table would move without
wonld colltinue uncler different conditions, all sat sonle dis- contact. All present, includingthemedium stood quite
tancc fromthe table, holdinghands in acircleroundit. clear of the table, holding theirhandsfromthree to six
But illstcad of upon the table as before, loudrappings inches above it, and without any way of touchingit. Ob-
werc llcarclto proceed from various parts of the floor, and
servers were placed under it to see that it was not touched
from the cllair on which tho medium sat ; while some came thcre. Ths following were the observations:
from tllc otllcr sicleof the room, a distancc of about fifteen l. The tablerepeatedly moved alongthe floor in differ-
foct fromthe ncarest, person. A clesire having been ex- entdirections,often takingthat requested. Thus, in ac-
prcssccl for a shower of raps, loud rapping came from every
cordance with a desire expressed that it should move from
p a r t of the tablc at once, producing an effect similar to that
t,he front to the back room, it took that direction, and, on
of a s11011’crof hail falling upon it. Tllc sonnds throughout approaching the folding doors and meeting with an obstrue
t h crerliug were very sllary and distinct. I t was observed . tion, turnedasif to avoid it.
that,although cluriug tllc conversation therappings are
2. On a given signal all raised their hands suddenly, and
so1wIi111(?sof a singularly liwly character, yet when a qoes- the
table
immediately sprang or jerked up from the
t ion is put thcy wuse instantly, and not one ishearduntil ’
floor about one inch.
tllc response is given. Various members of the Committee volunteered by turns
to keep watch below the table, whilst others standing round
d p d 29th.. Kine members present. Medium and con- t,hem carefully noted everything that took place; but no one
ditions as before. In about a quarter of an hour thetable could discover any visible agency in their production.
macle suldry movements along the floor, withrappings.
The souncls at. first were very softly given, but subsequently May 18th. Music was played on the piano-forte, and
became much stronger. Theybeattime to theairs played one piece was accompanied by tapping sounds from all parts
by a musical box, and came from any part, of the table r e of the table, and [Link] piece both by tapping sounds,
quested by the members. Some questions were putand vibrations, and slightvertical movements of thetable at
followed by r a p , but more frequently by tilting of the its sides, ends, and corners. The sounds and movements
table at its sides, ends, or corners, the elevation being from all kept timewiththe music. The same phenomena also
one to four inches. An cndeavour was niade by those sit- occurrccl w11(m song was sung. During the séance the
ting near, to prcveut the table from rising, but i t resisted
300 XI‘STERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES DIALECTICALSOCIETY’SEXPERIIVENTS 301
sounds \vere vcry equally distributed, being seldom cou- table, the legs of which were containedwithin it. Insido
fined to one part of the table. the cylinder was a bell, resting on the floor. No sounds
proceeded from the bell, but there wererepeatedrappings
June ‘317~. Eight members present.. The most interest- . upon andjerkings of the table. This cylinderprecluded
ing fact this evening was, that thoughthe tapping sounds the possibility of contact with the table by a foot of any of
poccc:clccl from different parts of the table, but principally the persons present, during the entire continuance of the
-f’roln that in front of the 1nccliun1; yet,, whcn she went into knockings .and jerkings of the table.
the ha11 to receive a message, they still continuedto come
from that part of the table. Dec. 14th. Sounds from table without contact.- All sat
The alphabet bcing repeated in accordance with the sig- away fromthe table, without inanymanner touchingit,
nal, “ Queer Pals ” was spelt out. These words scemed to andthe sounds, although somewhat fainter,continued to
a m u s e aucl puzzle the mceting. IIowcver, it 117’51s suggested proceed from it.
theymight applyto theChristyNinstrels, whose nigger
nleloclies, at St. George’s Hall, were very clearlyheard Dec.
28th.
Movements without contact.- [Link]:
through the open window of the back room. At this sugges- “ Would the table now Be moved without contact 1 ’’ An-
tion the table gave threc considerable tilts. swer : “ Pes,” by three raps on the table.
All chairs were then turned with their backs to the table,
J u n e 17tA. The lnecliumheld a sheet of note paper at and nine inches away from i t ; and all present knelt on the
arm’s h g t h over the table by one of its corners, and, at. ohairs, withtheirwristsresting on the backs, andtheir
request, faint. but. distincttaps were hearduponit. The handsa few inches above the table.
othcr corners of thc! papor were then held by members of Undcr these conditions, the table (the heavy dining-room
the Committee, and the sounds ere againheard by all at table previously described) nloved four times, each tirne
thetablc; whilc tllosc who held thepaperfelttheimpact from four to six illc11es, and the sccond time nearly twelve
of the illvisiblc blows. 01lc or more questions were an- inches.
swered in this way by tl~reeclear anddistinctlyaudible Thenallhands were placed on the backs of the chairs,
taps, which l~atla sonnd similar in character to that pro- andnearlya foot fromthe table, when four movements
t l l l c c d by drop1)ing wator. This new and curious phenom- occurred, one slow and continuous, fornearlyaminute.
m o n occurrcd closc undcrthe eyes of all present, without Thenallpresent placed their handsbehind their backs,
any yl~ysicalcausc for it bcing detected. kneelingercct on theirchairs, which were removed a foot
clear away from the table; the gasalso was turned up higher,
June 2Ist. Mo.z;emcnt of harmonican without codact. so as to givc abundance of light, and under these test con-
On the luedimn and two other members holdillg their hands ditions,distinct movements occurred, to theextent of sev-
above theharmonicanwithout inany way touchingit, it eral inches each time, and visible to every one present.
moved almost entirelyround, bysuccessive jerks, on the The motions were in various directions, towards all parta
table on which it was placed. The dining-table was of the room -some were abrupt,others steady. Atthe
strongly moved adistance of sixfeet,thehands of the same time, andunderthe same conditions, distinctraps
members present, resting lightly on it. occurred, apparently both on the floor and on the table,
in answer to requests for them. The above described move-
O c t . 1Yt7~. A cylinder of canvas, threefeet in height, ments were so unmistakable, that all present unhesitatingly
and alnout two feetin diametCr, W‘BS placed under a sn:al! declared their conviction, that no physical force, cxprtecl
 302 NYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES DISLECTICALSOCIETY’SEXPERIMENTS 303
by any one present, could possibly have produced them. cution of anyexperimentalinquiry in regard to them. It
And they declared, further,inwriting,that arigid ex- is, therefore, no easy matter to put aside the obstacles thus
amination of the table, showed it to be anordinary din- placed inthe way of the seriousinquirer,toeliminate
illg-table, with no nlacllinery or apparatus of any kind con- [Link] sources of error, andtogetatgenuine manifesta-
nected with it. The table was laid on the floor with its legs t,ions of the phenomena in question ; carefullyguarding
“p, and taken to pieces as far as practicable. one’s own mindagainstallerror,all self-deception in the
methodical and scrupulousexamination of theorder of
Special Obsercatìons. facts now under discussion. Nevertheless, I do not hesi-
These experiments are only a repetition and absolute con- tate to affirm my conviction, based on personal examination
finnation of those that have beenclescribed all through this of thesubject, thatany scientific man who declares the
phenomena denominated “ magnetic ” “ somnambulistic,”
w l ~ ~ l l l cfrom
, its very first pages. l‘ct they are enough in “ mediumistic,” and others not yet explained by science, to
tIlemselvcs alone to justify one’s convictions. be “ impossible,” is one who speaks without knowing w7zat
This first sub-committee, theprincipalelyeriments of he is talking about; and also any man accustoméd, by his
which we hare been giving, was stu¿l?ing only physical phe- professional avocations, to scientific observation - provided
nonlena. Sub-committee KO.2 was 111orc especially occupied that his mind be not biased by preconceived opinions, nor
with intelligent communications anil lnodiumistic dictations. his mental vision blinded by that opposite kind of illusion,
unhappily too common in thelearned world, which con-
Tlley Ilceci not. detain us here, but will fitind their placo in n siats in imagining thatthelaws of Naturearealready
slwcial work on Spiritualism known to us, and that everythingwhichappearsto over-
T h same comlni ttee published in its generalreportthe step the limit of our present formulas is impossible - may
following letter, which it did me the honor of requesting : acquire a radicaland absolute certainty of thereality of
the facts alluded to.
I must confess to you, in the first, place, gentlemen, that., After an affirmation so categorical, it is hardly necessary
of those who call thcmsclves “ lncdiulns ” and “ spiritists,” for me to assure the members of the Dialectical Society that
I have acquired, through my own observation, the absolute
a considerablc nmlbcr are pcrso11s of limited intelligence,
incapable of bringingtheexperimental method tobear on certainty of the reality of these phenomena. . . .
the investigation of this orcler of pllmomcna, and conse- But although thus compelled, in the absence of conclu-
quently arc often t h dnycs of tllcir crcclulity or ignorance ; sive data in regard to the cause of the so-called “ Spiritual
while [Link], of whom the number is also considerable, are Phenomena,’’ to refrain from making any positive affirma-
impostors whose moral sense has lsccolne so blunted by the tion in regard to this part of the subject, I may add that
habit of fraud that they sccrn to be incapable of appreciat- while thegeneralassertion of itsspiritualnature, on the
ing the heinousness of theircriminal abuse of the confi- part of the occult force which, within the last quarter of
dence of those who applytothemforinstruction or for acentury,has thus manifesteditself all over the globe,
consolation. constitutes a feature of the case which, from its universality,
And cven where the subject is being investigated seriously meritstheattention of theimpartial investigator -the
and in gooc1 faith,the force to which theproduction of history of the human race, from the earliest ages, furnishes
11lesc pllenouenais due is so capricious in its action that instances of coincidences, previsions and presentiments of
lllucll delay aucl disappointment is inevitable in the prose- warnings experienced in certaincritical moments, of ap-
paritions more or less distinctly seen, which are stated, on
 c

304 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES DISLECTICAL SOCIETY’S EXPERIXEKTS 305

evidence astrustworthyas that which wepossess with re- The foregoing résumé of the labors of the Dialectical So-
gard to anyother branch of historical tradition, to have ciety of London shows once more that mediumistic phe-
, occurred, spontaneously, inthe experience of all nations, nomena long ago entered upon the road of scientific experi-
and which may therefore be held to strengthen the presump-
tion of the possibility of [Link] between incarnate ment. It, wouldseem asif only thewilfully blind could
and discarnate spirits. henceforth deny their allegiance.
I may also add that my own investigations in the fields The results of the studies described also form an answer
of philosophy and of modern astronomy have led me, as is .to the question frequently asked, whether one can undertake
well known, to adopt a personal and individual way of re- similar experiments without knowing a true medium. I re-
garding the subject of space and time, the plurality of in- ply that, in any meeting of a dozen persons, there will al-
habited worlds, theeternityandubiquity of the acting
forces of the universe, andthe indestructibility of souls, ways be one or more mediums. This wasprovedby the
as well as of atoms. séances of the Count de Gasparin.
The everlastingness of intelligent life ought to be regarded TheEnglishreport also containe (May 25, 1869) a
as the result of the harmonious succession of sidereal incar- communication fromthe electrician, Cromwell Varley, de-
na t ions. claring that mediumistic phenomena could not be discredited
Our earth being one of the heavenly bodies, a provin’ce
of planetary existence, and our present life being a phase by any observer of good faith, and that, tohim, the hypothesis
of our eternal duration, it appears only natural (the super- of disembodied spirits is the one that best explains them -
.
,

natural does not exist) that there should exist a permanent just plain, common spirits(as ageneralthing),likethe
link between the spheres, the bodies, andthe souls of the majority of the citizens of our planet.
universe, andtherefore altogether probable, that the exist- The scientific experiments of the Dialectical Society’s com-
ence of thislink will be demonstrated, in course oftixrie, mittee were continued by the “ Society for Psychical Re-
by the advance of scientific discovery.
It would be difficult to over-rate the importance of the search,” founded in 1882, the successive presidents of which
questions thus brought forward for consideration ; and I were Professor Sidgwick, ProfessorBalfourStewart, Pro-
have Been with lively satisfaction the noble initiative which, fessor Sidgwick for a second time, Professor William
through the formation of your Committee of- Inquiry, has James, Sir William Crookes, Frederick Myers, Sir Oliver
been taken by a body of men so justly eminent as the memm Lodge, Professor Richet -all eminent in the departments
bers of the Dialectical Society, in the experimental investi- of science and education. Let me mention here the splendid
. gation of these deeply interesting phenomena. I am most
happy, therefore, to comply withthetenor of your letter, work of Dr. Hodgson and of Professor Hyslop in the Ameri-
by sending you the humble tribute of my observations on can branch of this society.
the subject in question, and thus to have the opportunity of The experiments were continued, in a masterly way, by
offering to your society the expression of my sincerest good the celebrated chemist, Sir William Crookes, and yielded
wishes for the speedy elucidation of the mysteries of nature himthe mostwondroue resu1t.s. My readerswill presently
that have not yet been brought within the domain of positive
realize t h i s
science. I am, sir, yours faithfully,
FLAMMARION,
CAMILLE
10, Rue des Moineaux (Palais Royal).
Paris, May 8, 1870.
 E X P E R I M E N T S O F SIR WM. CROOKES 307
P his laboratory, where the experimentalists could weigh, meas-
ure, and submit it to proper tests.” I said, too, that I could
not promise toenterfullyintothis subject, owing tothe
difficulties of obtaining opportunities, and the numerous fail-
ures attending the enquiry; moreover, that “ the persons in
CHAPTER. IX whose presence these phenomena take place are few in mm-
ber, andopportunities for experimentingwith previously
THE EXPEBIMEMTS OB SIR WILLIAM CROOKES arranged apparatus are rarer still.”
Opportunitieshavingsince offered forpursuingthein-
The learned chemist, Sir William Crookes, member of the vestigation, I have gladly availed myself of them for apply-
Royal Society of London, the author of several discoveries ingto these phenomena careful scientific testingexperi-
ments, and I have thusarrivedatcertain definite results
of thefirst rank (among which should be placed the dis- which I think it right should be published. Theseexperi-
covery, in 1861, of the metal, thallium), and of ingenious ments appear conclusively to establish the existence of a new
experimentson “radiant matter,” published hisfirst re- force, in some unknown manner connected with the human
searches on the subject we are here considering in a review of organization, which for convenience may be called the Psy-
which he was the editor -the Quarterly Journal of Science. chic Force.
I had t,he honor of contributing certain astronomical pa- Of all the persons endowed with a powerful development
of this psychic force, and who have been termed “ mediums ”
pers to this journal.* I will first lay before my readers an upon quite another theory of its origin, Mr. Daniel Dunglas
extract from Mr. Crookes’s article of the Ist of July, 1871, Home is the most remarkable, anditismainly owing to
entitled “ Experimental Investigation of a New Force,” in the many opportunities I have had of carrying on my inves-
which he describes his studies with Home. I also had occa- tigation in his presence that I am enabled to affirm so con-
sion myself more than once to hold conversationwith this clusively the existence of this force. The experiments I
medium.t have tried have been very numerous, but owing to our im-
perfect knowledge of the conditions which favor or oppose
Twelve months ago in this journal, July 1, 1870, I wrote the manifestations of this force, to the apparently capricious
an article, in which, after expressing in the most emphatic manner in which it is exerted, and to the fact thatMr. Home
manner my belief in the occurrence, under certain circum- himself is subject to unaccountable ebbs and flows of the
stances, of phenomena inexplicable by any known natural force, it has but seldom happened that a result obtained on
laws, I indicated several tests which men of science hada one occasion could be subsequently confirmed and tested
right to demand before giving credence to the genuineness with apparatus specially contrived for the purpose.
of these phenomena. Amongthetestspointedout were, Among the remarkable phenomena which occur under Mr.
that a “ delicately poised balance should be moved under Home’s influence, the most striking,as well asthe most
test conditions ;” and that some exhibition of power equiv- easily tested with scientific accuracy, are -(l) the alteration
alent to so many “ foot-pounds ” should be “ manifested in in the weight of bodies, and ( 2 ) the playing of tunes upon
musical instruments (generally an accordion, for convenience
* See, for example, the January number, 1876: 8ìdereaZ A8tronomy. of portability)withoutdirecthumanintervention,under
7 Especially a t Nice, in 1881 and 1884. Home died in [Link] was conditions rendering contact or connection with the keys im-
born in 1833, near Edinburgh.
possible. Notuntil I had witnessed these facts some half-
306
 308 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
dozen times, and scrutinized them with all the critical acu-
men I possess, did I become convincedof their objective
reality. Still,
desiringto place thematter beyond the
shadow of doubt, I invited Mr. Home on several occasions
to come to my own house,where, in the presence of a few
scientific enquirers, these phenomena could be submitted to
crucial experiments.
The meetingstookplace in the evening, in a large room
lighted bygas. Theapparatuspreparedforthe purpose
of testing the movements of the accordion,consisted of a
cage, formed of twowoodenhoops, respectively 1 foot 10
inches and 2 feet diameter, connected together by 1 2 nar-
row laths, each 1 foot IO inches long, 80 as to form a drum-
shaped frame, open at the top and bottom ; round this 50
yards of insulated copper wire were wound in 24 rounds,
each being rather lens than an inch from ita neighbor. The
horizontal strands of wire were then netted together firmly
with string, SO as to form meshes rather less than 2 inches
long by l inch high. The height of this cage was such that
it would just slip under my diningtable, but lx too close
to the top to allowof the hand being introduced into the
interior, or to admit of a foot being pushed underneath it.
In another room were [Link] Grove's cells, wires being led from
them into the diningroom for connection, if desirable, with
thc wire surrounding the cage.
The accordion was a new one, having been purchased by
myself for the purpose of these experiments at Wheatstone's,
in Conduit Street. Mr. Home had neither handled nor seen
theinstrument before the commencementof the test ex-
periments.
In another part of the room an apparatus was fitted up
for experimenting on the alteration in the weight of a body.
It consistedof a mahogany board, 36 incheslong by 91/2
inches wide and 1 inch thick. At each end a strip of ma-
hogany 1y2 inches wide was screwed on, forming feet. One
end of the board rested on a firm table, whilst the other end
was supported by a spring balance hanging from a substan-
PLATEXII. CAGEOF COPPERWIRE,ELECTRICALLY
CHARGED,
I
tial tripod stand. The balancewas fitted with a self-regis- USED BY PROFESSOR IN THE HOME
CROOKES
tering index, in such a manner that it would record the EXPERIMENT.
ACCORDION
maximum weight indicated by the pointer. Theapparatus
 EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 309
was adjusted SO that the mahogany board was horizontal, its
foot resting flat on the support. In this position its weight
was 3 lbs., as marked by the pointer of the balance.
Before Mr. Home entered the room theapparatus had
been arranged in position, and he had not even the object
ofsome parts of i t ,explained before sitting down. It may,
perhaps, be worth while to add, for the purpose of, anticipat-
ing some critical remarks which are likely to be made, that in
the afternoon I called for Mr. Home at his apartments, and
when there he suggested that, as he had to change his dress,
perhaps I should not object to continue our conversation in
his bedroom. I am, therefore, enabled to state positively,
I
that no machinery, apparatus, or contrivance of any sort was
secreted about his person.
The investigators present on the test occasionwere an
eminent physicist, high in the ranks of the Royal Society,*
a well-known Serjeant-at-Law ;t my brother; and my chem-
ical assistant.
? Mr. Home sat in a low easy-chair at the side of the table.
In front of him under the table was the aforesaid cage, one
of his legs being on each side of it. I sat close to him on
his left, and another observer sat close to him on his right,
therest of the party being seated at convenient distances
l round the table.
For the greater part of the evening, particularly when any-
thing of importance wasproceeding, the observers on each
side of Mr. Home kept their feet respectively on his feet,
so a3 to be able to detect his slightest, movement.
The temperature of the room varied from 68 degreee to
'i 70 degrees F. .
Mr. Home took the accordionbetween thethumband
middle finger of one hand at the opposite end to the keys
(see Pl. XII A) (to save repetition thiswill be subse-
quently called " in the usual manner ").
Having previously opened 'the basskeymyself, and the
cage being drawn from under the table so as just to allow
the accordion to be pushed in with its keysdownwards, it
Sir William Huggins, an .astronomer well known for his discoveries
in spectrum analysis.
t Edward William Cox.
 S
.I

‘y i

310 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WX. CROOKES 311

was pushed back as close as Mr. Home’s arm would permit, runs, and afterwards a well-known sweet and plaintive mel-
but without hiding his hand from those next to him (Pl. ody, which was executed perfectly in a very beautiful man-
XII, Cut B). Very soon the accordion was seen by those on ner. Whilstthistune was being played I grasped Mr.
each side to be waving about in a somewhat curious manner; Home’s arm, below the elbow, and gently slid my hand down
then soundscame from it, and finally severalnoteswere it until I touched the top of the accordion. He was not
played in succegion. Whilst this was going on, my assistant moving a muscle. His other hand wason the table,visible
went under the table, and reported that the accordion was ex- to all, and his feet were under the feet of those next to him.
panding and contracting; at the same time it was seen that Having met with such striking results in the experiments
the hand of Mr. Home by which i t was held was quite still, withthe accordion in the cage,we turned to the balance
his other hand resting on the table. apparatus already described. Mr. Home placed the tips of
Presently the accordion was seen by those on either side his fingers lightly on the extreme end of the mahogany board,
of Mr. Home to move about, oscillating and going round whichwas resting on the support, whilst Dr. A. B. and
and round the cage, and playing at the sametime. Dr. A. myself sat, one on each side of it, watching for any effect
B. nowlooked under the table, andsaidthat [Link]’s I which might be produced. Almost immediately the pointer
hand appeared quite still whilst the accordionwasmoving of the balance was seen to descend. After a few seconds it
about emitting distinct sounds. rose again. This movementwas repeated several times,as
Mr. Home still holding the accordion in the usual manner if by successive waves of the psychic force. The end of the
in the cage, his feet being held by those next him, and hie boardwasobserved to oscillate slowly up and down during
other hand resting on the table, we heard distinct and sepa- the experiment.
rate notes sounded in succession, and then a simple air wa8 Mr. Home now of his own accord took a small hand-bell
played. As such a result could only have been produced by and a little card match-box, which happened to be near, and
the various keys of the instrument being acted upon in har- placedone under each hand, to satisfy us, as he said, thae
monious succession, this was considered by those present to he was not, producing the downward pressure (see Fig. 3).
be a crucial experiment. The very slow oscillation of the spring balance became more
But the sequel was still more striking, for Mr. Rome then marked, andDr. A. B., watching the index, said that he
removed his hand altogether from the accordion, taking it saw it descend to 6Vz lbs. The normal weight of the board
quite out of the cage, and placed it in the hand of the person as so suspended being 3 lbs., the additional downward pull
next to him. The instrument then continued to play, no per- was therefore 3% lbs. On looking immediately afterwards
son touching it and no hand being near it. at the automatic register, we saw that the index had at one
I was now desirous of trying what would be the effect of time descended as low as 9 lbs., showing a maximum pull of
passing the battery current round the insulated wire of the 6 lbs. upon a board whose normal weight was 3 lbâ.
cage, and my assistant accordingly made the connection with I n order to see whether it was possible to produce much
the wires from the two Grove’s cells. Mr. Home again held effect on the spring balance by pressure at the place where
the instrument inside the cage in the same manner as b e Mr. Home’s fingers had been, I stepped upon the table and
fore, when it immediately sounded and moved about vigor- stood on one foot at the end of the board. Dr. A. B., who
ously. But whether the electric current passing round the was observing the index of the balance, said that the whole
cage assisted the manifestation of force inside, it is irnpossi- weight of my body (140lbs.) so applied only sunk the index
ble to say. 1yz lbs., or 2 [Link] I ahook it 8 Mr. Home had been
After this experiment, the accordion, which he kept hold- sittingin a low easy-chair, and couldnot, therefore, had
ing in one hand, then commenced to play, at first chords and he tried his utmwt, have exerted any material i d u e n m
312 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
on these results. I needscarcely add that his feet as well The slight downward pressure shown by the balance when
as his hands were closely guarded by all in the mom. I stood on the board was owing probably to my foot extend-
This experiment appears to me more striking, if possible, ing beyond this fulcrum.
thanthe one with the accordion. As will beseen on re- I havenowgiven a plain, unvarnished statement of the
ferring to the cut (Fig. a), the board was arranged per- facts from copious notes written at the time the occurrences
fectly horizontally, and it was particularly noticed that. Mr. were taking place, and copied out in full immediately after.
Home’s fingers were not at any time advanced more than Respecting the cause of these phenomena, the nature of the
1% inches from the extreme end, as shown by a pencil- force to which, to avoid periphrasis, I have ventured to give
mark, which, with Dr. A. B.’s acquiescence, I made at the the name of Psychic, and the correlation existing between
that and the other forces of nature, i t would be wrong to
hazard the most vague hypothesia. Indeed, in inquiries con-
nected so intimatelywith rare physiological and psycho-
logical conditions, it is the duty of the inquirer to abstain
altogether from framing theories until he has accumulated
a suflicient number of facts to form a substantial basis upon
which to reason. In the presence of strange phenomena as
yet unexplored and unexplained following each other i n such
rapid succession, I confess it is difficult to avoid clothing
their record in language of a sensational character. But, to
be successful, aninquiry of thiskind must be under-
taken by the philosopher without prejudice arid without sen-
timent. Romantic and superstitious ideas should be entirely
banished, and the steps of his investigation should be guided
by intellect as cold and passionless as the inst,ruments he uses.
Apropos of this Mr. Cox wrote to Mr. Crooks:

’ The results appearto meconclusively to establish the

important fact, thatthereis a force proceeding fromthe
time. Now, the wooden foot being also I1/2 inchbs wide, and neme-system capable of imparting motion and weight to
resting flat on the table, it is evident that no amount of solid bodies within the sphere of its influence.
pressure exerted within this space of 11/2 inches could pro- I noticed that the force was exhibited in tremulous pulsa-
duce any action on the [Link], it is also evident tions, and not in the form of steady continuous pressure, the
that when the end farthest from Mr. Home sank, the board indicatorrisingandfalling incessantly throughout the ex-
would turn on the farther edge of this foot as on a fulcrum. periment. The fact seems to me of great significance, as
The arrangement was consequently that of a see-saw, 36 tending to confirm the opinion that assigns its source to the
inches in length, the fulcrum being Iy2 inches from one end ; nerve organization, and it goes far to establish Dr. Richard-
were he, therefore, to have exerted a downward pressure, it son’s important discovery of a nerve atmosphere of various
would have been in opposition to the force which was causing intensity enveloping the human structure.
the other end of the board to move down. Your experiments completely confirm the conclusion a t
 C.

314 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOEES 315

which the Investigation Committee of the Dialectical Society matter ia now receiving the attention of cool and clear-headed
arrived, after more than forty meetings for trial and test. men of recognized position in science ” ; a fourth asserted
Allow me to add that I can h d no evidence even tending that “ no one could doubt Mr. Crookes’s ability to conduct
to prove thatthis force is other than a force proceeding the investigation with rigid philosophical impartiality-” ; and
from, or directly dependent upon, the human organization, a fifth was good enough to tell ite readers that “ if men like
and therefore, like all other forces of nature, wholly within Mr. Crookes grapplewith the,aubject, taking nothing for
the province of that strictly scientific investigation to which granted [Link] it is proved, w0 shall soon knowhow much
you have been the first to subject it. to believe.”
Now that it is proved by mechanical teats to be a fact These remarks, however, were written too hastily. I t was
in nature (and if a fact, it is impossible to exaggerate its taken for granted by the writers that the results of my ex-
importance to physiology and the light it must throw upon periments would be in accordance with their preconceptions.
the obscure laws of life, of mind and the science of medi- What they really desired was not the truth, but an additional
cine) it cannot fail to command the immediate and most witness in favor of their own foregoneconclusion. When
earnest examination and discussion by physiologists and by they found that the factswhich that [Link] established
all who take an interest in that knowledge of “ man,” which could not be made to fit those opinions, why -“ so much the
has been truly termed “ the noblest study of mankind.” worse for the facts.” They try to creep out of their own
To avoid the appearance of any foregone conclusion, I confident recommendations of the enquiry by declaring that
wouldrecommend the adoption for it ofsome appropriate “ Mr. Home is a clever conjurer, who has duped us all.”

name, and I venture to suggest that the force be termed the “ Mr. Crookes might, wit.h equal propriety, examine the per-

Psychic Force; the persons in whom it is manifested in ex- formances of an Indian juggler.” “ Mr. Crookes must get
traordinary power Psychics ; and the science relating to it better witnesses before he can be believed.” “ The thing is
Psychism as, being a branch of psychology. too absurd to be treated seriously.” “ It is impossible, and
therefore can’t be.” * “ The observershave all beenbiol-
The preceding article was published separately by Wil- ogized ( !) andfancy they saw things occurwhich really
liam Crookes in a special brochure which lies before me,* never took place,” etc.
and which contains, in addition, the following study, not These remarks imply a curious oblivion of the very func-
tions which the scientific enquirer has to fulfill. I am
less curious from the human and anecdotical point of view ecarcely surprised when the objectors say that I havebeen
than from the point of view of the experimenter in physics : deceived merely because they are unconvinced without per-
sonal [Link], since the same [Link] of a
When I first stated in this journal that I was about to priori argument has beenopposed toallgreat discoveries.
investigate the phenomena of so-called Spiritualism, the an- When I am told that what I describe cannot be explained
nouncement called forth universal expressions of approval. in accordance with preconceived ideas of the laws of nature,
One said that my “ statements deserved respectful consid- the objector really begs the very question at issue, and r e
eration ” ; another expressed “ profound satisfaction that the sorts to a mode of reasoning which brings science to a stand-
subject was about to be investigated by a man so thoroughly still. Theargument runs in a vicious circle: we must not
qualified as,” etc. ; a thiTd was “ gratified to learn that the asaèrt a fact till we know that it is in accordance with the
Experimental Investigation on Psychic Force, by William Crookes, laws of nature, while our onlyknowledge of the laws of
F. R. L., etc., London, HenrGilman, 1871. Thebrochure was trans-
lated into French by M. Azdel, Paris. Psychical Science Publishing * The quotation Occure to me -“ I never said it was possible, I only
House, 1897. said it waa true.”
 \

316 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMERTTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 311

nature must bebased on an extensiveobservation of facts. only approved of the giftcd chemist’s mixing in heretical
I f a new fact seems to oppose what is called a law of nature, and occult researches on consideration of his demonstrating
it does not prove the asserted fact tobe false, but only that the fallacy of all those prodigies.
we have not yet ascertained all the laws of nature, 61-not
learned them correctly.
ln his opening adaress before the British Association at ’

Edinburghthisyear (1871), Sir William Thomson said,

“ Science is bound by the everlasting law of honor to face

fearlessly every problem which can fairly be presented to

iL” My object in thus placing on record the results of a
very remarkable series of experiments is to present such a
problem,which, according to Sir William Thomson, “ Sci-
ence is bound by the everlasting law of honor to face f e a r
lessly.” It will not do merely to deny its existence, or try
to sneer it [Link], I hazard no hypothesis or
theory whatever; I merely vouch for certain facts, my only
object being -the truth. Doubt, but do not deny ; point
out, by the severest criticism, what are considered fallacies FIG. 4.
in my experimental tests, and suggest more conclusive trials ;
but donot let us hastilycallour senses lying witnesses
merely because theytestify against preconceptions. I say
to my critics, Try the experiments; investigate with care
and patience as I havedone. If, having examined, you
discover imposture or delusion, proclaim it and say how it
wasdone. But, if you find it be a fact, avow it fearlessly,
as “ by the everlasting law of honor ” you are bound to do.

In this part of his work Professor Crookes recalls the ex-

periments of Count deGasparinand of Thury (detailed
above) on the phenomenon of the movement of bodies without
contact, athing proved and demonstrated. Weneed not
recur to that. He adds that the ecteneic force of Professor
Thury and psychical force are equivalent terms, and that the
nervous atmosphere or fluid of Dr. Benjamin Riahardson
also belongshere. FIG.6.
Professor Crookes sent his observations to the Royal
ciety, of whichhe isa member. The society refused his I Professor Stokes,[Link] secretary, refused to coneider the
communications. The evidencegoes to show that if had subject at all, or to inscribe even the title of the papers in
 818 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC. FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 319
the society’s publications. I t was an exact repetition of nished with an automatic register, D. The balance is SUS-
what took place at the Academy of Science in Paria in 1853. pended from a very firm tripod support, E.
Profemor Crookes bcorned these arbitrary and anti-scientific The following piece of apparatus ie not shown in the fig-
judgments and denials and answered them by publishing the ures. To the moving index, O, of the apring balance, a h e
detailed description ofhi6 experimenta. The following are steel point is soldered, projectJng horizontally outwards. In
the eseential point&of this description: front of the balance, and firmly fastened to it, is a grooved
frame carrying a flat box similar to the dark box of a photo-
graphic camera. This box is made totravel byclock-work
horizontally. in front of the moving index, and it contains a
sheet of plate-glass which has beensmokedover a flame.
The projecting steel point impresses a mark on this smoked
surf ace.
If the balance is at rest, and the clock set going, the result
is a perfectly straight horizontal line. I f the clock is
stopped and weights are placed on the end, B, of the board,
the resultis a vertical line, whose length depends on the
weight applied. If, whilst the clock draws the plate along,
the weight of the board (or the tension on the balance) va-
ries, the result is a curved line, from which the tension in
grains at any moment during the continuance of the experi-
ments can be calculated.
The instrument wascapable of registering a diminution
of the force of gravitation as well as an increase; regis-
trations of such a diminution were frequently obtained. To
avoid complication, however, I will only here refer to results
in which an increase of [Link] was experienced.
The end, B, of the board being supported by the spring
On trying theee experiments for the first time, I thought balance, the end, A, is supported on a wooden strip, F,
that actual contact between Mr. Home’s hands and the sum- screwedacross its lower side and cut to a knife edge (see
pended bodywhose weight was to be altered was essential Fig. 6). Thisfulcrum rests on a firm and heavywooden
to the exhibition of the force; but I found afterwards that stand, G H. On the board, exactly over the fulcrum,is
this was not a necessary condition, and I therefore arranged placed a large glass vesselfilled with water, I. L is a
my apparatus in the following manner: massive iron stand, furnished wit,h an arm and ring, M N,
The accompanying cuts (Figs. 4, 5, 6) explain thear- in which rests a hemispherical copper vessel perforated with
rangement. Fig. 4 is a general view, and Figs. 5 and 6 several holes at the bottom.
ehow the essential parts more in detail. The reference let- The iron stand is two inches from the board, A B, and
ters are the same in each illustration. A B is a mahogany the arm and coppervessel, M N, are so adjusted that the
board, 36 inches long by Sy, inches wide and 1 inch thick. latter dips into the water 11/2 inches, being 51/2 inches from
It is suspended at the end, B‘ ,by a epring balance, C, fur- the bottom of I, and 2 inches from its circumference. Shak-
ing or striking the arm, M, or the vessel, N, produces no
 c

320 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. CROOKES 321

appreciable mechanical effect on the board, A B, capable of to b as effect.ua1as actual mechanical contact, I wished to
e ‘

affecting the balance. Dippingthe hand to the fullest ex- see ifthe power or force couldaffect the weight, either
tent into the water in N, does not produce the least appreci- through other portions of the apparatus or through the air.
able action on the balance. The glass vessel andiron stand, etc.,were therefore re-
As the mechanical transmission of power by Mr. Homs moved, asan unnecessary complication, and [Link]’s
is by this means entirely cut off between the coppervessel hands were placed on the stand of the apparatus at P (Fig.
and the board, A B, it follows that the power of muscular 4). A gentleman present put his hand on Mr. Home’s
control is thereby completely eliminated. hands, and his foot on both Mr. Home’s feet, and I also
There was always ample light i n the roomwhere the watched him closely all the time. At the proper moment the
experiments wereconducted (my own dining-room) to see clock was àgain set going; the board descended and rose in
allthat tookplace. Furthermore, I repeated the experi-
ments, not only with Mr. Home, but also with another
son possessing similar powers.

m. 9.
Experìment I.- The apparatus having been properly ad-
justed before Mr. Home entered the room,hewas brought
in, and asked to place his fingers in the water in the copper
vessel, N. He stood up and dipped the tips of the fingers
of his right hand in the water, his other hand and his feet
being held. When he said he felt a power,force, or influ-
ence, proceeding from his hand, I set the clockgoing,and
almost immediately the end, B, of the board wasseen to an irregular manner, the result being a curved tracing on the
descendslowly and remain down for about IO seconds ; it glass, of which Fig. 8 is a copy.
then descended a littlefarther,andafterwards rose to its [Link].- Mr. Home was now placed l foot from
normal height. It then descended again, rose suddenly, the board, A B, on one side of it. His hands and feet were
gradually sunk for I7 seconds, and finally rose to its normal firmly grasped by a bystander, and another tracing, of which
height, where it remained till the experiment was concluded. Fig. 9 is a copy, was taken on a moving glass plate.
The lowest point marked on the glass was equivalent to a di- Experiment IV.-( Tried on an occasion when the power
rect pull of about. 5,000 grains. The accompanying figure was stronger than on the previous occasions.)Mr. Home
7 is a copy of the curve traced on the glass. was now placed threefeetfromtheapparatus, his hands
Experiment M.- Contact through water having proved and feet being. tightly held. The clockwassetgoingwhen
 .

1 5-1

322 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. CROOKES 323

hegave the word, andthe end, B, of the board soon de- E F. This glass plate is drawn along in the direction, H G,
scended, and again rose in an irregular manner, as shown in by clockwork, E. The end, B, of the lever is weighted 80
Fig. IO. I . that it shall quickly follow the movements of the centre of
The following series of experiments were tried with more the disc, A. These movements are transmitted and recorded
delicate apparatus,and with another person, a lady, Mr. on the glass plate, E F, by means of the lever and needle-
Home being absent. As the lady is non-professional, I do point, C. Holes are cut in the side of the hoop to allow a
i free passage of air to the
under side of the membrane.
Theapparatus waswell tested beforehand bymyself and
others, to see that no shaking or jar on the table or support
would interferewiththe results. Theline traced by the
1
point, C, on the smoked glass was perfectly straight in spite
of all our attemptsto influence the lever by shaking the
etand or stamping cm the floor.
Experiment V.- Without having the object of the instru-
-._

FIG. 11.

v
FIG. 13.

ment explained to her, the lady was brought into the room
and asked to place her fingers on the wooden stand at the
points, L M, Fig. II. I then placed my hands over hers to
enable me to detect any conscious or unconscious movement
on her part. Presently percussive noises were heard on the
Fro. le. parchment, resembling the dropping of grains of sand on its
surface. At each percussion a fragment of graphite which
not, mention her name.. She has,however, consented to I had placed on the membrane was seen to be projected up-
meet any scientific men whom I may introdurn for purposes wards about l-50th of an inch, and the end, C, of the lever
of investigation. moved slightly up and down. Sometimes the sounds were as
A piece of thin parchment, A, Figs. 11 and 12, is stretched rapid a8 [Link] from an induction-coil, whilst at others they
tightly across a circular hoopof wood. B C is a light lever were more than a second apart. Five or six tracings were
turning on D. At the end, B, is a vertical needlepoint taken, and in all cases a movement of the end, C, of the lever
touching the membrane, A, and at C is another needle-point, was seen to have occurred with each vibration of the mem-
projecting horizontally and touching a smoked glass plate, brane.
324 MYSTERIOUS’PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIlkfENTS O F SIR WM. CROOKES 325
In some cases the lady’s hands were not so near the mem-,
at which I arrived in my former paper; namely, the exist-
brane as L M, but were at N O, Fig. 12. ence of a force associated, in some manner not yet explained,
The accompanying figure 13 gives tracings taken from with thehuman organization, by which force increased
the plates used on these occasions. weight is capable of being imparted to solid bodies without
Experiment VI.- Having met with these results in Mr. physical contact.
Home’s absence, I was anxious to see what action would be Now, however, having seen more of Mr. Home, I think I
produced on the instrument in his presence. perceive what it is that this psychic force uses up for its
Accordingly I asked him to try, but without explaining development. In employing the terms vital force, or nervous
the instrument to him. energy, I am aware that I am employing words which con-
I grasped Mr. Home’s right arm above the wrist and held vey very different significations to many investigators ; but
after witnessing the painful state of nervous and bodily pros-
tration in whichsome of these experiments have left Mr.
Home -after seeing him lying in an almost fainting con-
dition on the floor, pale and speechless - I could scarcely
Fra. 14. doubt that the evolution of psychic force is accompanied by
a corresponding drain on vital force.
To witness exhibitions of this force it is not necessary to
haveaccess to h o w n psychics. The force itself is probablr
possessed by all human beings, although the individuals en-
dowed with an extraordinary amount of it are doubtless few.
Within the last twelve months I have met in private fami-
lies five or six persons possessing a sufficiently vigorous de-
velopment to make me feel confident that similarresults
might be produced through their means to those here re-
corded, though less intense.

FIQ.16. These experiments continued to be the object of bitter

and relentless criticism on thepart of the recognized au-
his hand over the membrane, about 10 inches from its sur- thorities in science and education in England. These per-
face, in the position shown at P, Fig. 12. His other hand sons absolutely refused to recognize their value. Professor
was held by a friend. After remaining in this position for
about half a minute, Mr. Home said he felt some influence Crookes amused himself, at times, by replying to these fan-
passing. I then set the clockgoing, and we all saw the tastic attacks, but, naturally, without convincing his uncom-
index, C, moving up and down. The movements were much promising opponents. It is unnecessary to reproduce these
slower than in theformer case, and were almost entirely lettershere; they can be found intheFrench edition of
unaccompanied by the percussive vibrations then noticed. Crookes’s Researches. The learned chemist did better still:
Figs. 14 and 15 show the cumea produced on the glass he continued his researches into the domain of the Unknown,
on two of theseoccasions.
Figs. 13, 14, 15 are magnified. and got still more remarkable results -still more extraor-
These experiments confirm beyonddoubt the conchaion dinary, more inexplicable, more incomprehensible. -
His notes continue as follows:
328 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMEKTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 327
Like a traveler exploring some distant country, the won- years, and, were my time at my own disposal it would prob-
.dem of which have hitherto been known only through reports ably extend still longer.
and rumors of a vague or distorted character, so for four My principal object will be to place on record a series of
years have I beenoccupied in pushing an inquiryinto a actual occurrences which have taken place in my own house,
territory of natural knowledgewhichoffers almost virgin in the presence of trustworthy witnesses, and under as strict
soil to a scientific man. test conditions as I coulddevise. Every fact which I have
As the traveller sees in the natural phenomena he may observedis,moreover, corroborated by the records of inde-
witness the action of forces governed by natural laws, where pendent observers at other times and places. I t will be seen
others flee only the capricious intervention of offended gods, that the facts are of the most astounding character, and seem
so have I endeavored to trace the operation of natural laws utterly irreconcilable with all known theories of modern sci-
and forces, where others have seen only the agency of super- ence. Having satisfiedmyself of their truth, it would be
natural beings, owning no laws, and obeying no force but moral cowardice to withhold my testimony because my previ-
their own free will. ous publications were ridiculed by criticsand others who
The phenomena I am prepared to attest are so extraordi- knew nothing whatever of the subject, and whomere too
nary and so directly oppose the most firmly rooted articles prejudiced to see and judge for themselves whether or not
of scientific belief -amongst others, the ubiquity and in- there was truthinthe phenomena. I shall state simply
variable action of the force of gravitation -that, even now, what I haveseen and provedby repeated experiment and
on recalling the details of what I witnesaed, there is an test.
antagonism in my mind between reason, which pronounces Except where darkness has been a necessary condition, as
it to be scientifically impossible, and the consciousness that with someof the phenomena of luminous appearances, and
my senses, both of touch andsight -and these corrobo- ! a few other instances, everything recorded has taken place
rated, as they were, by the senses of all who were present,- in the light. In the. few cases where the phenomenanoted
are not lying witnesses when they testify against my precon- have occurred in darkness I havebeen very particularto
ceptione. mention the fact. Moreover, some special reason can be
But the supposition that there is a sort of mania or de- shown for the exclusionof light, or the results havebeen
lusion which suddenly attacks a whole roomful of intelligent produced under such perfect test conditions that the sup
persons who am quite sane elsewhere, and that they all con- pression of one of the senses has not really weakened the
cur to the minutest particulars, in the details of the occur- evidence.
rences of which they supposethemselves to be witnesses, I have said that darkness is not essential. It. is, however,
seems to my mind more incredible than even the facts they a well-ascertained fact that when the force is weak a bright
attest. light exerts an interfering action on some of the phenomena.
The subject is far moredifficult and extensive than it The powerpossessedbyMr. Home is sufficiently strong to
appears. Four yearn ago I intended only to devote a leisure withstand this antagonistic influence ; consequently,he al-
month or two to ascertain whether certain marvellous o c waysobjects to'darkness at his séances. Indeed, except on
currences I had heard about would stand the test of close two occasions, when, for some particular experiments of my
scrutiny. Having, however, soon arrived at the same con- own, light was excluded, everything which I have witnessed
clusion as, 1 may say, every impartial inquirer, that there with him has taken place in the light. I have had many
was " something in it," I could not., as a student of nature's opportunities of testing the action of light on different
laws, refuse tQ follow the inquiry wheresoever the facts I sources and colors,- such as sunlight, diffused daylight,
might lead. Thus a few months have grown into a few moonlight, gas, lamp, and candlelight, electric light from a
328 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES [Link] O F SIR WI%[Link] 329
vacuum tube, homogeneous yellow light, etc. Theinterfer- wry numerous. I will briefly mentionafew of the most
ing rays appear to be those at the extreme end of the spec striking. My own chairhas been twisted partly round,
trum. whilst my feet were off the floor. A chair was seenby all
present to move slowly uptothetablefroma far corner,
Professor Crookes next proceeds to classify the phenomena when all were watchingit. On another occasion anarm-
observed by him, going from themore simple to the more com- chair moved to where we were sittins, and then moved slowly
plex and giving in rapid review under each head, a sketch of back again (a distance of about threefeet) at my request. .
some of the fach. In the abridgment of hisreport which On three successive evenings asmalltable moved slowly
follows I eliminate what has alreadybeen fully demonstrated across the room, under conditions which I had specially pre-
elsewhere in this book. arranged, so as to answer any objectionwhichmight be
raised tothe evidence. I have hadseveralrepetitions of
FIRST CLASS: The movement of Heavy Bodies with Con- theexperiment considered by the Committee of theDia-
tact, but without Mechanical Exertion. lecticalSociety to be conclusive, viz., the movement of a
(This movement has been fully proved in this volume.) heavy table, in full light, the chairs turned with their backs
SECOND CLASS : The Phenomena of Percussive and other to the table, about a foot off, and each person kneeling on his
Allied Soumds. chair, with hands resting over the back of the chair, but not
An important question here forces itself upon the atten- touching the table. On one occasion this took place when I
tion. Are the movements and sounds governed by intelli- was moving about so as to see how everyone was placed.
gente 4 At a very early stage of the inquiry, it was seen that FIFTH CLASS: TheRising of Tables and Chairs off the
the power producing the phenomena was not merely a blind Ground,, without Contact with any Person.
force, but was associated with or governed by intelligence. (We need not recur to these matters.)
Thus the sounds to which I have just alluded will be repeated SIXTH CLASS : The Levitation of Human Beings.- The
a definite number of times. They will come loud or faint, most striking cases of levitation which I have witnessed have
and in different places at request; and by a pre-arranged code been with Mr. Home. Onthreeseparate occasions have I
of signals, questions are answered, and messages given with seen himraised completely fromthe floorof the room.
more or less accuracy. Once sitting in an easy-chair, once kneeling on hischair,
The [Link] phenomena is sometimes and once standing up. On each occasion I had full oppor-
manifestly below that of the medium. It isfrequently in tunity of watching the occurrence as it was taking place.
direct opposition tothe wishes of the medium. When a Thereare at leastahundred recorded instances of Mr.
determinationhas been expressed to do somethingwhich Home's rising from the ground, in the presence of as many
might not be considered quite right, 'Ihave known urgent separate persons, and I have heard from the lips of the three
messages given to induce a reconsideration. The intelligence witnesses to the most striking occurrence of this kind -the
is sometimes of such a character as to lead to the belief that Earl of Dunraven, Lord Lindsay, and Captain C. Wynne -
it does not emanate from any person present. their own most minute accounts of what tookplace. To re-
THIRDCLASS: The Alteration of Weights of Bodies.- jectthe recorded evidence on thissubject is torejectall
(Experiments which have been already described.) human testimony whatever; for no fact in sacred or profane
FOURTH CLASS: Movements of Heavy Substances when history is supported by a stronger array of proofs.
at a distance from the Medium.- The instances in which SEVEMTH CLASS: Movement of Various Small Articles
heavy bodies, suchas tables, chairs, sofas, et,c., have been without Contact with any Person.-(As in the case of the
moved, when the medium hag not been touching them, are sixth class, this is well known to my readers.)
 330 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. CR,OOKES 331
EIGHTH
CLASS : LuminousAppearances.- These,being in my own room, whilst I was holding the medium’s hands
ratherfaint, generally require the room to be darkened. I and feet.
needscarcely remind my readers again that, under these On another occasion, a small hand and arm, like a baby’s,
circumstances, I have taken proper precautions to avoid be- appeared playing about a lady who was sitting next to me.
ing imposed upon by phosphorized oil or other means. More- It then patted my arm and pulled my coat several times.
over, many of these lights are such as I have tried to imitate At another time, a finger and thumb were seen to pick
artificially, but cannot. the petals from a flower in Mr. Home’s button-hole, and lay
Under-the strictest test conditions, I haveseen a solid them in front of several persons who were sitting near him.
self-luminous body, the size and nearly the shape of a t&- A hand has been repeatedly seen by myself and others
key’s egg, float noiselessly about the room, at one time higher playing the keys of an accordion, both of the medium’s hands
thanany one present could reach standing on tiptoe, and being visible at the same time, and sometimes being held by
then gently descend to the floor. I t was visible for more those near him.
than ten minutes, and before it faded away it struck the The hands and fingere do not always appear to me to
table three times with a sound like that of a hard solid body. be solid and lifelike. Sometimes, indeed, they present more
During this time the medium was lying back, apparently the appearance of a nebulous cloud partly condensed into the
insensible, in an easy-chair. form of a hand. This is not equally visible to all present.
I haveseen luminous points of light darting about and Fbr instance, a flower or other small object is seen to move ;
settling on the heads of different persone# I have had ques- one person present will see a luminous cloud hovering over
tions answeredby the flashing of a bright light a desired it, another will detect a nebulous-looking hand, whilst others
number of times in front of myface. I haveseen sparks will see nothing at all but the moving flower. I have more
of light rising from the table to the ceiling, and again fall- than once seen, first an object move, then a luminous cloud
ing upon the table, striking it with an audible sound. I appear to form about it, and, lastly, the cloud condense into
have hadan alphabetic communication givenby luminous shape and become a perfectly-formed hand. At this stage
flashes occurring before me in the air, wxilst m i hand was the hand is visible to all present. It is not always a mere
moving about amongst them. I haveseen a luminous cloud form, but [Link] appears perfectly life-like and graceful,
floating upwards to a picture. Under the strictest test con- the fingers moving, and the flesh apparently as human as that
ditions, I havemore than once had a solid,self-luminous, of any in the room. At the wrist, or arm, it becomes hazy,
arystalline bodyplaced in my hand by a hand which did and fades off into a luminous cloud.
not belong to any person in the room. I n the light, I have To the touch, the hand sometimes appears icy-cold and
seen a luminous cloudhoverover a heliotrope on a side dead, at other times, warm and lifelike, grasping my own
table, break a sprig off, and carry it to a lady ; and on some with the firm pressure of an old friend.
occasions I have seen a similar luminous cloud visibly con- I have retained one of these hands in my own, firmly
dense to the formof a hand and carry small objecta about. resolved not to let it escape. There was no struggle or ef-
NINTHCLASS: The Appearance of Hands, either 8elf- fort made to get loose, but it gradually seemed to resolve
Luminous or Visible by Ordinary Light.- During a séance itself into vapor, and faded in thatmanner from my grasp.
in full light a beautifully-formed small hand rose up from TENTHCLASS : Direct Writing.-( The learned chemist
an opening in a dining-table and gave me a flower; * it a p cites some remarkable examples obtained by [Link]
peared and then disappeared three times at intervals, afford- l
not speak of them in thisbook.)
ing me ample opportunity of satisfying myself that it was ELEVENTH CLASS : Phantom Forms and Faces.- These
as real in appearance as my own. This occurred in the light are the rarest of the phenomena I have witnessed. The con-
 332 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHICFORCES EXPERJMEETS O F SIR WM. CROOKES 333
ditions requisite for their appearance appear tobe so deli- to another person on another subject was being given alplla-
cate, and such trifles interferewiththeir production, that betically by means of “ rap!,” and the whole time she was
only on very few occasions have I witnessed them under sat- conversing freelywith a third person on a subject totally
isfactory test conditions. I will mention two of these cases. different from either.
I n the dusk of the evening, during a séance with Mr. Perhaps a more striking instance is the following:
Home at my house, thecurtains of a windowabout eight During a séance with [Link], a small lath, which I
feet from Mr. Home were seen to move. A dark, shadowy, have before mentioned, moved across the table to me, in the
semi-transparent form, like that of a man, was then seen light, and delivered a message to me by tapping my hand, I
by all present standing near the window, waving the curtain repeating the alphabet, and the lath tapping me at the right.
with his hand. As welooked, theformfaded away, and letters. The other end of the lath was resting on the table,
the curtains ceased to move. ~ o m edistance from Mr. Home’s hands.
The following is a still more striking instance. As in The taps were SO sharp and clear, and the lath was evi-
the former case, Mr. Home was the medium. A phantom dently SO well under control of the invisible powerwhich
form came from a corner of the room, took an accordion in was governing its movements, that I said, “ Can the intelli-
its hand, and then glided about the room playing the instru- gence governing the motion of this lath change the character
ment. Theform wasvisible to all present for many min- of the movements, and give me a telegraphic message through
utes,Mr. Home also being seen at the same time. Coming the Morse alphabet by taps on my hand 8 ” (I have every
rather close to a lady whowas sitting apart from the rest reason to believe thatthe Morsecodewas quite unknown
of the company,she gave a slight cry, upon which it van- to any other person present, and it was only imperfectly
ished. known to me.) Immediately I said this, the character of the
TWELFTH CLASS: Bpecial Instances which seem to point taps changed, and the message was continued in the way I
to the Agency of an Exterior Intelligence.- It has already hadrequested. Theletters were given too rapidlyfor me
been shown that the phenomena are governed by an intelli- to do more than catch a word here and there, and conse-
gence. It becomes a question of importance as to the source quently I lost the message; but I heard sufficient to con-
of that intelligence. IS it the intelligence of the medium, of vince me that there was a good Morse operator at the other
any of the other persons in the room, or is it an exterior end of the line, wherever that might be.
intelligence ? Without wishing at present to speakposi- Another instance. A lady was writing automatically by
tively on this point, I may say that whilst I have observed means of the planchette. I was trying to devise a means of
many circumstances which appear to show that the will and proving that what she wrote was not due to “ unconscious
intelligence of the -medium have much to do with the p h e cerebration.” The planchette, as it always does, insisted
nomena, I have observed some circumstances which seem con- that, although it was moved by the hand and the arm of the
clusively to point to the agency of an outside intelligence, lady, the intelligence was that of an invisible being who was
not belonging to any human being in the room. Space does playing on her brain as on a musical instrument, and thus
not allow me to give here all the arguments which can be moving her muscles.. I thereforesaid to this intelligence,
adduced to prove these points, but I will briefly mention “ Can you see the contenb of this room ? ” “ Yes,” wrote

one or two circumstances out of many. the planchette. “ Can you see toreadthisnewspaper?
I have been present when several phenomena were going said I, putting my finger on a copy of the Times, which was
B
on at the same time, some being unknown to the medium. on a table behind me, but without looking at it. Pm,”
I havebeen with Miss Fox when she has been writing a was the reply of the planchet,te. ‘‘ Well,” I said, ‘‘ if you
message automatically to one person present, whilst a message can see that, write the wordwhich is now covered by my
‘î ._A-.
 334 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 335
finger, and I will believe you.” The planchette commenced have all published accounts of them which breathe an
to move. Slowly and with great difficulty the word “ how-
ever ” was written. I turned round and saw that the word air of sincere belief. Professor Crookes got in t,ouch with
‘‘ however ” was covered by the tip of my finger. this new medium in December, 1873. In The 8pirituaZist
I had purposely avoidedlooking at the newspaper when -a journal edited by Mr. Harrison, a t whose home several
I tried this experiment, and it was impossible for the lady, sittings had taken place - there appeared in the numbers
had she tried, to have seen any of the printed words, for she for February and March, 1874, two letters from Professor
was sitting at one table, and the paper was on another table Crookes. A few extracts from these letters here follow:
behind, my body intervening.
THIBTEZNTH Cuss.: Miscellaneous Occurrences of a I have reason to know that the power at work in these
Complex Character. phenomena, like Love, “ laughs a t locksmiths.”
(Professor Crookes here cites two examples of the trans- The séance of which you speak and at which I was pres-
ference of matter through matter,- a bell passing from ent, was held at the house of Mr. Luxmore, and the “ cab-
neighboring room into that in which the séance was being inet ’’ was a back drawing-room separated from the front.
held, and a flower separating from a bouquet and passing room in which the company sat by a curtain.
through the table.) The usual formality of searching the room and examining
the fastenings having been gone through, Miss Cook entered
The space at my disposal will not permit me to give more the cabinet.
details here; but all my readers must appreciate, as I do, the Aft,er a littletimetheform of Katie appeared at the
importance of these experiments of the eminent chemist. I side of the curtain, but soon retreated, saying her medium
will especially call attention to the proofs they afford of the & was not well, and could not be put into a sufficiently deep
sleep to make it safe for her to be left.
presence of a mind or intelligence, other than that of the I was sittingwithin a few feet of the curtain close
experimenters ; to the formation of hands and spirit-forms ; behind which Miss Cook was sitting, and I could frequently
and to the passage of matter through matter. hear her moan and sob, a8 if in pain. This uneasiness con-
These experiments date from the years l871 to 1873. tinued at intervals nearly the whole duration of the séance,
Duringthelast mentioned year, a newmedium,endowed and once, when the form of Katie was standing before me in
with particularly remarkable powers, appeared in London, the room, I distinctly heard a sobbing, moaning sound, ìden-
tical with that which Miss Cook had been making at intervals
namely, Miss Florence Cook,who was born in 1856, and the whole time of th0 séance, come from behind the curtain
was, therefore, seventeen in 18’73. Sinoe the preceding year where the young lady was supposed t o be sitting.
(18’72), she had often seen the apparition by her side of a I admit that the figure was startlingly life-like and real,
young girl. This spectral form had taken a liking to her, and, as far as I couldsee in the somewhat dim light, the
and told her she was called Katie King in the other world, featnres resembled those of Miss Cook ; but still the positive
evidence of one of my o m senses that the moan came from
and had been a lady called Annie Morgan during one of her Miss Cook in the cabinet, whilst the figure was outside, is
lives on earth. Someobserverstoldmarvellous stories of too strong to be upset by a mere inference to the contrary,
these apparitions, which they also saw,- among them being however well supported.
WilliamHarrison,Benjamin Coleman, Mr. Luxmore, Dr. Your readers, sir, know me, and will, I hope, believe that
Sexton, Dr. Gully, thePrince of S a p Wittgenstein, who I will not come hastily to an opinion, or ask them to agree
with me on insufficientevidence. I t is perhaps expecting
 336 [Link] PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. [Link] 337
too much to think that the little incident I have mentioned tlllowme to pass. I found Miss Cook had slipped partially
will have the same weight with them that it had with me. off the sofa, and her bead was hanging in a very awkward
-
But this I do beg of them Let those who are inclined to position. I liftedher on tothe sofa, and in so doing had
judge Miss Cook harshlysuspend theirjudgmentuntil I Ratisfactory evidence, in spite of the darkness, that Miss
bring forward positive evidence which I think will be suffi- Cook was not attired in the “ Katie ” costume, but had on
cient to settle the question. her ordinary black velvet dress, and was in a deep trance.
Miss Cook is now devoting herself exclusively to a series Not more than three seconds elapsed between my seeing, the
of private séances with me and one or two friends. The whiterobed Katie standing before me and my raising Miss
s6ances willprobablyextend over some months, and I am Cook onto [Link] sofa fromthe position into which shehad
promised that everydesirabletestshall be given to me. fallen.
These séances have not been going on many weeks, but On returning to my post of observation by thecurtain,
enoughhastakenplace to thoroughly convince me of the Katieagain appeared, and saidshe thought she would be
perfect truthand honesty of Miss Cook, andto give me able to show herself and her medium to me at the same time.
every reason to expect that the promises
- SO freely made to The gas was then turned out andshe asked for my phos-
me by Katie will 6e kept. phorus lamp. After exhibiting herself by it for somesec-
WILLIAM CROOKES. onds, she handed it back t.0 me, saying, ‘‘ Now come in and
Here is the second letter from the cautious investigator: see my medium.” I closely followed herintothelibrary,
and by the light of my lamp saw Miss Cook lying on the
I n a letter which I wrote to thils journal early in February sofa just as I had left her. I looked round for Eatie, but
last, speaking of the phenomena of spirit-forms which have she had disappeared. I called her, but there was no answer.
appearedthrough Miss Cook’s mediumship, I said, “ Let 0x1 resuming my place, Katie soon reappeared, and told
those who are inclined to judge Miss Cook harshly suspend me that shehad been standing close to Miss Cook all the
theirjudgmentuntil I bringforward positive evidence time. She then asked if shemight try an experimenther-
which I think will be sufficient to settle the question.” self, andtakingthe phosphorus lamp from me she passed
I n that letter I described an incident which, to my mind, behind the curtain, asking me not to look in for the present.
went very far towards convincing me that Katie and Miss In a few minutes she handed the lamp back to me, saying
Cook were two separatematerial beings. When Katie was she could not succeed, as she had used up all the power, but
outside the cabinet, standing before me, I heard a moaning would try again another time. My eldest son, a lad of four-
noise from Miss Cook in the cabinet. I am happy to say teen, who was sitting opposite me, in such a position that he
that I have at last obtained the “ absolute proof ” to which could see behind the curtain, tells me he distinctly saw the
I referred in the abovequoted letter. phosphorus lampapparentlyfloating about in space over
On March12th,during a séance here, after Katie had Miss Cook, illuminatingherasshelay motionless on the
been walking amongst usandtalkingfor some time, ehe sofa, but he could not see anyone holding the lamp.
retreated behind the curtain which separated my laboratory, I pass on to a séance held last night at Hackney. Katie
where the company was sitting, from my library which did never appearedtogreater perfection, andfornearly two
temporary duty as a cabinet. In a minute she came to the hours she walked about the room, conversing familiarly with
curtain and called me to her, saying, “ Come into the room those present. On several occasions she took my arm when
andliftmy medium’s head up, she hasslipped down.” walking, andthe impression conveyed to my mind that it
Katie was then standing before me clothed in her usual was a living womanby my side, instead of a visitor from
white robes andturban head-dress. I immediately walked the other world, was so strong that the temptation to repeat
into the library up to Miss Cook, Katie steppingaside to a recent celebrated experiment became almost irresistible.

E
 338 MYSTERIOUS PSYCIIIC FORCES ESPERIXESTS OF SIR m r . [Link] m
Feeling, however, that if I had not. a spirit, I had at all Katie and examine her with steadfast, scrutiny, until I had
eventsa lady close to me, I asked herpermission to clasp no doubt whatever of hcr objective reality. At last Niss
her in my arms, so asto be able toverifytheinteresting Cookmoved slightly, andKatieinstantly motioned me to
observations which a bold experimentalist has recently some- go away. I went toanother part of the cabinet, andthen
what verbosely recorded. Permission was graciously given, ceased to see Katie,butdidnot leave the room tillNiss
and I accordingly did -well, as any gentleman would do Cook woke up, and two of the visitors came in with a light.
underthe circumstances. Mr. Volckman will be pleased to Before concluding this article I wish to give some of the
know that I can corroborate his statement that the “ ghost ” points of difference which I have observed between Miss
(not “ struggling ” however) was asmaterialabeing as Cook [Link]’sheightvaries ; in my house I
Miss Cook herself. have seen her six inches taller than Miss Cook. Last night,
Katie now said she thought she would be able this time with bare feet, and not “ tiptoeing,” she was four-and-a-half
to show herself and Miss Cook together. I was to turn the inches tallerthan Miss Cook. Katie’s neck was bare last
gas out, and then come with my phosphorus lamp into the night; the skin was perfectly smoot,h both to touch and sight,
room now used as a cabinet. This I did, having previously whilst on Miss Cook’s neck is a large blister, which under
asked a friend who was skillful a t shorthand to take down similar circumstances is distinctly visible and rough to the
any statement I might make when in the cabinet, knowing touch. Katie’sears are unpierced, whilstMiss Cook habit-
the importance attaching to first impressions, and not wish- ually wears earrings. Katie’s complexion is very fair, while
ing to leave more to memory than necessary. His notes are that of Miss Cook is very dark. Katie’s fingers are much
now before me. longer than Miss Cook’s, andherface is also larger. In
I went cautiously into the room, it being dark, and felt manners and ways of expression there are also many decided
about. for Miss Cook. I found her crouching on the floor. differences.
Kneeling down, I let air enter the lamp, and by its light
I saw the young lady dressed in black velvet, as she had been Afterthe observations summarized in these two letters
in the early part of the evening, and to all appearance per- Professor Crookes continuedhisexperiments at his own
fectly senseless; she did not move when I took herhand home, for a space of two months. The result of all is em-
and held thelightquite close toher face, butcontinued
quietly breathing. bodied in thefollowingstatementsmadeby Crookes him-
Raising the lamp, I looked around and saw Katie stand- 8elf :
ing close behindMiss Cook. She was robed in flowing
whitedraperyas we had seen her previously duringthe Duringthe week before Katie took herdeparture she
séance. Holding one of Miss Cook’s hands in mine, and gave séances at my house almost nightly, to enable me to
still kneeling, I passed the lamp up and down so as to il- photograph her by art.ificia1 light. Five complete sets of
luminate Katie’s whole figure, and satisfy myself thoroughly photographic apparatus were accordingly fitted upforthe
that I was really looking a t the veritable Katie whom I had purpose, [Link] of five cameras, one of the whole-plate
clasped in myarmsafewminutes before, andnot at thc size, one half-plate,onequarter-plate, and two binocular
phantasm of adisorderedbrain. Shedidnot speak, but stereoscopic cameras, which were allbroughttobearupon
moved her head and smiled in recognition. Threeseparate Katie at t,he same time on each occasion on which she stood
timesdid I carefully examine Miss Cook crouching before for her portrait. Five sensitizing and five fixing baths were
me,tobe sure that the hand I held was that of aliving used, and plenty of plates were cleaned readyfor use in
woman, andthreeseparatetimesdid I turn thelamp to advance, so that theremight be nohitch or delay during
 340 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS O F SIR W A L CROOICES 341
the photographic operations, which were performed by my- On entering the cabinet, Miss Cook lies down upon the
self, aided by one assistant. floor, with h & - headon a pillow, and is soon enkanced.
My library wasused asa dark cabinet. It has folding During the photographic séance, Katie rrmffled her medium’s
doors opening into the laboratory ; one of these doorswas head up in a shawl to prevent thelightfalling upon her
taken off its hinges, and a curtain suspended in its place to i
face. I frequently drew thecurtain on one side wheu
enable Katie to pass in and out easily. Those of our friends Katie was standingnear,and it was a common thingfor
whomere present were seated in the laboratory facing the the seven or eight of us in the laboratory to see Miss Cook
curtain, and the cameras were placed a little behind them, 1
andKatie at ;he same t,ime, underthe full blaze of the
ready to photograph Katie when she came outside, and to electric light. We did not Ón these occasions actually see
photograph anything also insidethe cabinet, whenever the 1
the face of the medium because of the shawl, but wesaw
curtain was withdrawn for the purpose. Each evening there her hands andfeet.; we saw her move uneasily under the
were three or four exposures of plates in the five cameras, influence of the intense light, and we heard her moan occa-
giving a t least fifteen separate pictures at each séance ; some sionally. I have one photograph of the two together, but
of these were spoilt in the developing, and some in regulat- Katie is seated in front of Miss Cook’s head.
ing the amount of light. Altogether, I have forty-four nega- During the time I took an active part in theseséances
tives, some inferior, some indifferent, and some excellent. $Catie’s confidence in me gradually grew, until she refused
Katie instructed all the sitters but myself to keep their to g v e a séance unless I took chaxe of the arrangements.
seats and to keep conditions ; but for some time past she has SheU saidshe always wanted me toakeep close to fer, and
given me permission to do what I liked -to touch her, and near the cabinet, and I found that after this confidence was
to enter and leave the cabinet almost whenever I pleased. I established, and shewas satisfied I would not break any
have frequently followed her intothe cabinet, and have promise 1- might make to her, the phenomena increasëd
sometimes seen her and her medium together, but most gen- greatly in power, and tests were freely given that would
erally I have found nobody but the entranced medium lying have been unobtainable had I approached the subject in
on the floor, Katie and her white robes having instantane- another manner. She often consuïiêd me about persons pres-
ou4y disappeared. ent at the séances, and where they should be placed, for of
During thelastsix monthe Miss Cook has been afre- I

late she had become very nervous, in consequence of certain

qnrnt visitor at my house, remaining sometimes a week at ! ill-advised [Link] that force -should b ê employed as an
a time. She brings nothing with her but a little hand-bag, adjunct to more scientific modes of research.
not locked. During the day she is constantly in the pres- One of the most interesting of the pictures is one in which
ence of Mrs. Crookes, m y d f , or some other member of my I am standing by the side Õf Eatie: she has her bare foot
family, and, not sleeping by herself, there is absolutely no i upon a particularpart of the floor. Afterwards I dressed
opportunity foranypreparation even of a less elaborate Miss Cook like [Link], plased her and myself in exactly the
character than would be required for enacting Katie King. same position, and we were photographed by the same cam-
I prepare and arrange my library myself as the dark cabinet, eras, placed exactly as in the other experiment, and illum-
and usually, after Miss Cook has been dining and convers- inated by the same light. When these two picturesare
ing with us, and scarcely out of our sight for a minute, she placed over each other, the two photographs ofmyself co-
walks directly into the cabinet, and I, at her request,lock incide exactly as regards stature, etc., but Katie is half a
its seconddoor, and keeppossession of the key all through head taller than Miss Cook, and looks a big woman in com-
the séance. The gas isthenturned out, and Miss Cook is parison with her. I n thebreadth of her face, in many of
left in darkness. the pictures, she differs essentially in size from’her medium,
 __ .---. -- -.

rk. EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. CROOKES 343

342 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
and the photographs show several other points of difference.
l
!!
+
This mysterious being, thisstrange Katie King,had an-
But photography is as inadequate to depict the perfect ’ x
-. .
nounced, from the time of her first appearances, that she
beauty of Katie’s face as words are powerless to describe ..:..- - would be able to show herself in this way foronly three yearn.
her charms of manner. Photography-may, indeed, give a The end of this period was now approaching.
map of her countenance ; but how can it reproduce the bril- -.
-.
liant purity of her complexion, or the evervarying expres- L
When the time came for Katie to take her farewell I asked
sion of her mostmobile features, now overshadowed with that she would let me see the last of her. Accordingly when
sadness when relating some of the bitter experiences of her ehe had called each of the company up to her and had spoken
past life, now smiling with all the innocence of happy girl- to them a few words in private, she gave some general di-
hood when she had collected my children round her and was rections for the futureguidance and protection of Miss Cook.
amusing them by recounting anecdotes of her adventures in q
From these, which were taken down in shorthand, I quote the
India ? following : “ [Link] has done very well throughout,
“ Round her she made an atmosphere of life ; and I leave Florrie with the greatest confidence in his hands,
Thevery air seemed lighter from her eyea, feeling perfectly sure he will not abuse the trust I place in
They were EO soft and beautiful, and rife
With all we can imagine of the skies; him. He can act in any emergency better than I can my-
Her overpowering presence made you feel self, for he has more strength.’’ Having concluded her di-
It would not be idolatry to kneel.” rections Katie [Link] me intothe cabinet with her, and
allowed me to remain there to the end.
Having seen so much of Katie lately, when she has been After closing the curtain she conversed with me for some
illuminated by the electric light, I am enabled to add to the time, and then walked across the room to where Miss Cook
points of difference between her and her medium which I was lying senseless on the floor. Stooping overher, Eatie
mentioned in a former article. I have the most absolute touchedher, andsaid: “ Wake up, Florrie, wake up ! I
certainty that Miss Cook and Katie axetwo separate indi- must leave you now.”
viduals so far as their bodies are concerned. Several little Miss Cook then woke andtearfullyentreatedKatie to
marks on Miss Cook’s faceare absent on Katie’s. Miss etay a little time longer. “ My dear, I can’t; mywork is
Cook’s hair is so dark a brown as almost to appear black ; done. Godbless you,” Katie replied, and then continued
a lockofKatie’s, which is now before me, and which she speaking to Miss Cook. For several minutes the twowere
allowed me to cut from her luxuriant tressea, having fist conversing with each other, till at last Miss Cook’s tears
traced it up to the scalp and satisfied myself that it actually prevented her speaking. Following Katie’s instructions I
grew there, is a rich golden auburn. then came forward to support Miss Cook,whowas falling
One evening I timed Katie’s pulse. It beat steadily at onto the, floor,sobbing hysterically. I looked round, but
75, whilst Miss Cook’s pulse a little time after was going thewhiterobed Katie had gone. As soon as Miss Cook
at its usual rate of 90. On applyingmy ear to Katie’s was sufficiently calmed, a light was procured and I led her
chest I could hear a heart beating rhythmically inside, and out of the cabinet.
pulsating even more steadily thandid Miss Cook’s heart
*hen she allowed me to try a similar experiment after the One word more about this astonishing phenomenon. The
séance. Tested in the same way,Katie’s lungs were found medium Home, employed, as we have seen, in the firat ex-
to be sounder than her medium’s, for at the time I tried
my experiment Miss Cook w a ~under medical treatment for perimenta of Professor Crookes, gave it to me as his per-
a severe cough. sonal opinion that Miss Cookwas only a skilful trickster,
 ... .

344 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

and had shamefully deceived the eminent scientist, and as z-
=- - counts of William Crookes by giving an extract fro= the
for mediums, why there was only one absolutely tmcstworthy' ._.
L -i'
- --
i journal The Spiritualist of the 29th of May, 18'74.
and that was himself, Daniel DunglasHorne! He even .- . From the beginning of the mediumship of Miss Cook, the
added that the fiancé of Miss Cook had given striking proofs -. epirit KatieKingor Annie Morgan, who had produced the
of her extreme cantankerousness ! greater portion of the physical part of the manifestations,
He who has observed at close hand the rivalries of me- hadannounced that she wouldnotbeable to be with her
-
diums which are as strongly marked as those of doctors, medium longer than three years, and that after that time
she would say good-bye to her forever.
-
actors, musicians and women will not,, it seems to me, The end of that period came last Thursday ; but before
find in this talk of Home any intrinsic value whatever. But leaving her medium, she gave herfriendsthree more
I must confess that this matter of Katie King is really so
extraordinary that I am forced to try everypossibleex-
planation before admitting its
truth.
This
is also the Among the spectators was Prof. William Crookes.
opinion of Mr. Crookes himself.
At 7.23 in the evening Professor Crookes led Miss Cook
into the dark cabinet, whereshe lay down upon the floor,
herhead resting on a cushion. At 7.28 Katie spoke for
In order to convincemyself (says he) I W ~ E constantly
I
the first time, and at '7.30 she showed herself outside of the
on my guard, and Miss Cook readily assisted me in all my #t curtain in her full form. She was dressed in white, short
investigations. Every test that I haveproposedshe has at eleeves and bare neck. She had long light auburn hair of a
once agreed to submit to with the utmost willingness ; she rich tint, falling in curls on each side of her head and down
is open andstraightforward in speech, and I havenever herback toher waist. She wore a long white veil which
seen anything approaching the slightest symptom of a wish was not drawn down over her face more than once or twice
to deceive. Indeed, I do not believeshecould carry on a during the sitting.
deception if she were to try, and if she did she would cer- The medium wbre a light blue merino robe. During al-
tainly be found out very quickly, for such a line of action is most the whole of the séance, Katie remained standing before
altogether foreign toher nature. And to imagine thatan ue. Thecurtain of the cabinet was drawn aside andall
innocent school-girl of fifteen would be able to conceive and could distinctly see the medium lying asleep, having her
then successfully carry outforthree years so gigantic an face covered with a red shawl, in order to shield it from the
imposture as this, and in that time would submit to any test light. Katie spokeof her approaching departureand ac-
which might be imposed upon her, would bear the strictest cepted a bouquet which Mr. Tapp had brought her, as well
scrutiny, muid be willing to be searched at any time, either as a bunch of lilies offered by Mr. Crookes. She asked Mr.
before or after a séance, and wouldmeet with even better Tapp to untie the bouquet and to put the flowers before her
success in my own house than at that of her parents, knowing
that she visited me with the express object of submitting to I on theall
asked floor.
to,She thensat
sit' around her indown inthe way.
the same Turkish style
Then sheand
di-
strict scientific tests - to imagine, I say, the Eatie King vided the flowers and gave to each a little bouquet tied up
of thelastthree years to be theresult of imposture does with a blue ribbon.
more violence to one'sreason and commonsense than to Shethen wrote letters to someof her friends, signing
believe her to be what she herself affirms. them " Annie OwenMorgan,'' saying that was her true
name during her life on earth. She alas wrote a letter to
It will perhaps not be superfluous to round out these ac- -3
3
s
 -- _-
. __-- -

346 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOEES 341

her medium, and chose for her a rosebud as a good-byê gift. Elgie Corner, and, from that time on, her contributions to
Katie then took the scissors, cut off a lockof her hair and psychical research almost weed. I have several times been
gavesome of it to all of us. Shethen took Mr. Crookes' aeeured that ehe also had been caught in the very act .of
hand and made the tour of the room, pressing the hand of cheating. (Always thatfeminine hysteria!) But the in-
each of us in [Link] down againand cut off .
...

several pieces of her robe and of her veil for remembrances. c veetigations of Crookes were conducted with such care and
Seeing such holes in her robe (she being seated all this while competence, that it is very difficult to refuse our credence.
between Mr. Crookes and Mr. Tapp), some one asked her Beeidee, this mientist was not the only one to studythe
if she could repair the damage, as she had done on previous -' mediumship of Florence Cook. Among other works that
occasions. Shethen held the cut part of the robe in the may be consulted on this subject is one containing a large
light, gaveone rap upon it,andinstantly thatpart was
whole and unblemished as [Link] near her touched number of proofs and testimonies, as well as several photo-
and examined the stuff, with her permission. They affirmed graphe (alluded to above)."
that there was neither hole nor seam, nor anything added These recorded cases, or testimonies, form a collection of
at the very place where an instant before they had eeen records, the study of which is most instructive. The study
holes several inches in diameter. of the great chemist 'surpass the rest, to be sure, but it does
She next gave her last instructions to Mr. Crookes. Then, not diminish the intrinsic value of the others. All the o b
seeming fatigued, she added that her force was disappearing,
and repeated her good-bye to everyone in the most affection- semations agree and mutually confirm each other.
ate manner. All present thanked her for the wonderful As to the explanation of the phenomena, Crookes thinks
manifestations which she had given them. that we cannot discover it. Was this apparition what it
While she was directing toward her friends a last grave claimed to be ? There is nothing to prove it. *

and pensive look, she let fall the curtain,and it hidher Might it not, be a double of the medium, a product of her
from our view. We heard her waking up the medium, who
begged her with tears to remain a little longer. But Katie psychic force
said, " It is impossible,my dear ; my mission is accom- The learned chemist did not change his opinion (as has
plished ; Godblese you !" And we heard the sound of a been claimed) about the authenticity of the phenomena
kiss. The medium [Link] out among us whollyex- studied by him. In an address delivered at a meeting of the
. hausted and in a state of deep dismay. British Association for the Advancement of Science,held
-- - at Bristol in 1898, and of which he was President, heex-
Such are the experiments of Sir William Crookes. I have
pressed himself as follows :
restricted myself to relating his own personal observations,
as set forth by himself. The story of Katie King is truly No incident in my scientific career is more widely h o w n
one of the most mysterious, the most incredible, to be found than the part I took many years ago in certain psychic re-
in the whole history of Spiritualistic research, and ie at the searches. Thirty years havepassed since I published an
account of expérimenta tendingto show that outside our
same time, one of the cases that have been most ecrupulously
studied by the experimental method, including photography. Katie King, The B t v q of her Appearances. Parie, Leparie, 1899.
I thought I would not reproduce these photographs here,because they
The medium, Miss Florence Cook, married in I874 Mr. did not seem to me to have [Link] himself. Florence
Cook died in London on the 2d of April, 1004.
 -__ - - -

34s' MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS OF SIR WM. CROOKES 349

scientlnc knowledge there exists a Force exercised by intelli- the first time these inquiries to the world of science I should
gence differingfrom the ordinary intclligence common to choose a starting point different from that ofold. It would
mortals. This fact in my life is, of course, well understood be well to begin with teZepathy; with the fundamental law,
by those who honored me with the invitation to become your as I believe it to be, that thoughts and images may be trans-
[Link] among my audience some may feel ferred from one mind to [Link] without the agency of the
curious as to whether I shall speak out or be silent. I elect recognized organs of sense, that knowledge may enter the
to speak, althougk briefly. human mind without being communicated in anyhitherto
To enter at length on a still debatable subject would be known or recognized ways.
to insist on a topic which,- as Wallace, Lodge and Barrett
Although theinquiry has -elicitedimportantfactswith
have already shown,- though not unfitted for discussion at reference to the mind, it has not yet reached the scientific
[Link],does not yet enlist the interest of the ma-
stage of certainty whichwould entitle it to be usefully
jority of my scientific brethren. To ignore the subject would
be an act of cowardice, an act of cowardice I feel no tempta- broughtbeforeone of our sections. I will therefore con-
tion to commit. fine myself to pointing out the direction in which scientific
To stop short in any research that bids fair to widen the investigation can legitimately advance.
gates of knowledge, to recoil from fear of difficulty or ad- I f telepathy take place we have two physical facta -the
verse criticism, istobring reproach on science. Thereis physical change in thebrain ofA, the suggester, and the
nothhg for the investigator to do but to go straight on, " to analogous physical change in the brain of B., the recipient
explore up and down, inch by inch, with the taper, his rea- of the [Link] physical events there
son;" to follow the light wherever it may lead, even should must exist a train of physical causes. Whenever the con-
it at times resemble a will-0'-the wisp. necting sequence of intermediate causes begins to be revealed
I have nothingto retract. I adhere to my already pub- the inquiry will then come within the range of one of the
lished statements. Indeed, I might add much thereto. I sections of theBritish Association. Such a sequence can
regret only a certain crudityin those early expositions, which, only occur through an intervening medium. All the phe-
no doubt justly,militatedagainsttheir acceptance by the nomena of the universe are presumably in some way con-
scientific world. My own knowledge at thattime scarcely tinous, and it is unscientific to call in the aid of mysterious
extended beyond the factthat certain phenomenanew to agencies when with every fresh advance in knowledge it is
science had assuredly occurred, and were attested by my own shown that ether vibrations havepowers and attriburtes
sober senses, and, better still, by automatic record. abundantly equal to any demand -even to the transmission
I was like sometwo-dimensional being who might stand of thought. It is supposed bysomephysiologists thatthe
at the singular point of a Riemann's surface, and thus find essential cells of nerves do not actually touch, but are sep-
himself in infinitesimal and inexplicable contact with a plane arated by a narrow gap which widens in sleep while it nar-
of existence not his own. row8 almostto extinction during mental activity. This con-
I think I see a little farther now. I have glimpses of dition ia so singuarly like that of a Branly or Lodge coherer
something like coherenceamong thestrange elusivephe- as to suggest a further analogy.
nomena ; of something like continuity between those unex- The structure of brain and nerve being similar, it is con-
plained forces and laws already known. This advance is ceivable there may be present masses of such nerve coherers
largely due to the labors of another Association of which I in the brain whose special function it may be to receive im-
have also this year t,he honor to be President - the Society pulses brought from without through the connecting sequence
for Psychical Research. And were I now introducing for of ether waves of appropriate order of magnitude. R,Öntgen
has familiarized us with an order of vibrations of extreme
 350 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES’ EXPERIMENTS O F SIR WM. CROOEES 351.
minuteness compared withthe smallest waves with which the. Universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we striveto pierce
wehave hitherto been acquainted, and of dimensions com- the inmost heart of N a b e , from what she is to reconstruct
parable with the distances between centers of the atoms of what she has been, and to prophesy what ehe yet shall be.
which the material universe is built up; andthere is no Veil after veil we have lifted,andherface grows more
reason do suppose that we have here reached the limit of beautiful, august, and wonderful, with every barrier that is
frequency. It ie known that the action of thought. is ac- withdrawn.
companied by certain molecularmovements in the brain, j ’
and here we have physical vibrations capable from their ex- It would be difficult to fmd truer thought better expressed.
treme minuteness of acting directly on individual molecules, ! It is [Link] language of true science, and is also the expression
while their rapidity approaches that of the internal and ex- of the highest philosophy.
ternal movements of the atoms themselves.
Confirmation of telepathic phenomena is afforded by -..c .
many converging experiments, and by many spontaneous
occurrences only thus intelligible. The most varied proof, \

perhaps, is drawn from analysis of the subconscious work-

ings of the mind, when these, whether by accident or de-
sign, are brought into conscioussurvey. Evidence of a
region below the threshold of consciousness has beenpre-
sented, since its first inception, in the “Proceedings of the
Society for Psychical Research;” and its various aspects are
being interpreted and welded into a comprehensive whole by
the pertinacious genius of F. W. H. Myers.
A formidable range of phenomena must be scientifically
sifted before we effectually grasp a faculty so strange, so be-
wildering, and for ages so inscrutable, a8 the direct action
of mind on mind.
An eminent predecessor in this chair declared that “ by
an intellectual necessity he crossed the boundary of experi-
mental evidence, and discerned in that ‘matter, which we, in
our ignorance of its latent powers, and notwithstanding our
professed reverence for ita Creator, have hitherto covered
with opprobrium, the potency and promise of all terrestrial
life.” I should prefer ‘to reverse the apophthegm, andto
say that in life I see the promise and potency of all forms
of matter.
In old Egyptian days a well-known inscription was carved
over the portal of the temple, of Isis : “ I am whatever hath
been, is, or ever will be; and my veil no man hathyet
lifted.” Not thus do modernseekers aftertruth confront
Nature,- t,he word that stands for the bafing mysteries of

I
I
 ..

EXPERIMENTS
AND
OBSERVATIONS 353
win (June, I858), gave to the world the theory of the
variation of species by natural selection.
He himself gives the following account" of his studies in
this matter of the mysterious pyschic force :
CHAPTER X
It was in the summer of 1865 that I first witnessed any
[JUNDRY mPEEIMENTB AND OBSEPVATIONB of the phenomena of what is called Spiritualism, in the
house of a friend,- a sceptic, a man of science, and a law-
Abundant testimony as to the existence of a hitherto little yer, with none but members of his own family present.
explored psychic realm has doubtless been given in the p r e Sitting at a good-sized round table, with our hands placed
upon it, aftera short timeslight movementswould com-
ceding pages. Mediumistic phenomena proclaim the ex- mence -not often " turnings " or " tilting8 " but a gentle
istence of unknown forces. It is almost superfluous to heap intermittent movement, like steps, which after a time would
up in this place a still greater number of recorded instances. bring the table quite across the room. Slightbutdistinct
However,these factsare so extraordinary, so incompre- tapping sounds werealso heard. The following notes made
hensible, so hard to believe, that a mere increase in the num- at the time were intended to describe exactly what took
ber of cases is not without value, especially when they are place :-
" July 22nd, 1865.- Sat with my friend, his wife, and
furnished by men of incontestable skill and learning. The two daughters at alarge lootable, by daylight. In about
old law proverb Testis unus, testis nullus (" One witness is half an hour some faint motions were perceived, and some
no witness ") is applicable here. We must not verify once, fainttaps heard. They graduallyincreased; the taps be-
wemust verify a hundred times, such apparently scientific came very distinct, and thetable moved considerably, obliging
extravagances, in order to make sure they are not delusions, us all to shift our chairs. Then a curious vibratory motion of
the table commenced,almost like the shivering of a living
but sober facts.
animal. I could feel it up to my elbows. These phenomena
I n short, the whole subject is so curiou8, so strange that were variously repeated for two hours. On tryingafter-
the investigator of these mysteries is never surfeited. wards,we found the table could not be voluntarily moved
Hence, in addition to what has already been given, I shall in [Link] manner without a great exertion of force, and
select and present in this place, out of the immense collec we coulddiscover no possibleway of producing thetaps
tion of observations which I have for a long time been while our hands were upon the table."
On other occasions we tried the experiment of each person
making, those which most strike the attention and give added in succession leaving the table, and found that the phenomena
confirmation to what has preceded. continued the same as before, both taps and the table move-
In addition to th,e experiments of Crookes, it is [Link] to ment. Once. I requested one after another to leave the
add in this place those of the great English naturalist, Alfred table. The phenomena continued, but, as the number of
.Russel Wallace, also a member of the Royal Society of Lon- sitters diminished, with decreasing vigor, and, just after the
don, President of the English Anthropological Society, and
last person had drawn back, leaving me alone at the table,
well known as the scientist, who at the same time with Dar- * On Miracles and Modern spiritualism, London, 1875, French trana-
lation, Paris, 1889 (the English word spiritudism is always used here
352 in the mense of spi~itism).

Y
354 MYSTERJOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
.A.
i .
EXPERIMENTS AND ‘OBSERVATIONS 355
Fr
there were two dulltaps or blows, aswith a fist on. the .~.
-:. tively a hthat they are facts which really happened just
pillar or foot of the table, the vibration of which I could .l.
-_ !
as I have narrated them, andthatthere was no room for
feel as well as hear. , .
any possible trick or deception. In eachcase,before we
Some time before these observations I had met a gentle- began, we turned up the tables and chairs, and saw that they
i were ordinary pieces of furniture,andthatthere was no
man who had told me of most wonderful phenomena OC-
connectionbetween themand the flooor, and we placed
I .

curring in his own family,- among them the palpable motion

of solid bodieswhen no personwas touching them or near them where we pleasedbefore we sat down. Several of
them ; and he had recommendedme to go to a public ’ the phenomena occurred entirelyunderour own hands, and
medium in London (Mrs. Marshall), where I might see quite disconnected fromthe “ medium.” They were aa
things equally wonderful. Accordingly, in September, 1865, much realit,ies as the motion of nails towards a magnet, and,
I began a series of visits to Mrs. Marshall, generally . a c . it may be added, not in themselvesmore improbable or more
companied by a friend,- a good chemist and mechanic, and incomprehensible.
of a throroughly sceptical mind. The mental phenomena which most frequently occur are
I. A small table, on which the hands of four persons the spelling out of the names of relatives of persons present,
were placed (including my own and Mrs. Marshall’s), rose their ages, or any other particulars about them. They are
up vertically about a foot fromthe floor, and remained especially uncertain intheir manifestation, though when
suspended for about twenty seconds,whilemy friend, who they do succeed they are very conclusive to the persons who
was sitting looking on, could see the lower part of the table witnessthem. The general opinion of sceptics as to thest
with the feet freely suspended above the floor. phenomena is, that they depend simply on the acuteness and
2. While sitting at a large table, with Miss T. on my left talent of the medium in hitting on the letters which form
and Mr. R. on my right, a guitar which had been played the name,by the . manner in which persons dwell upon or
in Miss T’s hand slid downonto the floor,paesedover my hurry overthem,- the ordinary modeof receiving these
feet, and came to Mr. R, against whose legs it raised itself communications being for the person interested to go over
uptill it appeared above the table. I and Mr. R. were a printed alphabet, letter by letter, loud taps indicating the
watching it carefully the whole time, and it behaved as if letters which form the required names. I am going to
alive itself, or rather as if a small invisible child were by choose some of our experiments which show how impossible
great exertions moving it and raising it up. These two it is to accept this explanation.
phenomena were witnessed in bright gaslight. When I first received a communication myself I was
3. A chair, on which a relation of Mr. R.’s sat, was lifted particularly careful to avoid giving any indication, by going
up withher on it. Afterwards, when she returnedto the with steady regularity over the letters ; yet there was spelt
table from the piano, where she had been playing, her chair out correctly, first, the place where my brother died, Para;
moved away just as she was going to sit down. On drawing thenhisChristian name, Herbert;and lastly, at my re-
it up, it moved away again. After this had happened three quest, the name of the [Link] friend who last sawhim,
times, it became apparently fixed to the floor, so that she Henry Walter Bates. On this occasion ourparty of six
couldnot raise it. Mr. R. then tookhold of it, and found visited Mrs. Marshall for the first time, and my name as
that it was only by a great exertion he could lift it off the well as those of the rest of the party, except one, were un-
floor. This sitting took place in broad daylight, on a bright known to her. That one was my married sister, whoee
day, and in a m m on the first floor with two windows. 1
! name was no clue to mine.
However strangeandunreal these few phenomena may On the same occasion a young lady, a connection of Mr.
seem to readers who have seen nothing of the kind, I posi- R.’s was told that a communication was to be made t o her.
’

i
 . ... -~ " ,
.

/l

35G MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 357

She took the alphabet, and instead of pointing to the letters In thesecases it iscertainthere was no machinery under
onebyone,shemoved the pencil smoothlyover thelines the table ; and it simply remains to ask if it were possible for
with the greatest steadiness. I watched her, and wrote Mrs. Marshall to slip off her boots,seize the pencil and
down theletters which thetaps indicated. The name pro- paper with her toes, andwrite on it a name she hadto
duced waB an extraordinary one, the letters being Thomas guess at, and again put on her boots without removing her
Doe Thacker. I thought there must be an error in the latter hands from the table, or giving any indication whatever of
part; but the names were Thomas Doe Thacker, the lady's her exertions.
father, every letter being correct. A number of other names, It was in November, 1866, that my sister discovered that
places, and dates were spelt out on this occasion with equal a lady living with her had the power of inducing loud and
accuracy ; but I give only these two, because in theae I am distinct taps and other curious phenomena ; and J now began
sure no clue was given by which the names could have been a series of observations in my own house, the most important
gueesed by the most preternaturally acute intellect. of which I shall briefly narrate.
i On another occasion, I accompanied my sister and a lady
who had never been there before to Mrs. Marshall's, and we
When we sat at a large loo table [Link] a cloth, with
all our hands upon it, the taps would generally commence in
had a very curious illustration of the absurdity of imputing a few minutes. They sound as ifmade on theunder side
the spelling of names tothe receiver's hesitation and the ef the leaf of the table, in various parts of it. They change
medium'sacuteness. She wished the name of aparticular in tone and loudness, froma sound like that produced by
deceased relative to be spelled out to her, and pointed to the tapping with a needle or a long finger-nail, to others like
letters of the alphabet in theusual way, while I wrote blows with a fist or slaps with the fingers of a hand. Sounds
clown those indicated. The first threeletters were y r n. are producedalso like scraping with a finger-nail, or like
" Oh ! " said she, " that's nonsense ; we had better begin the rubbing of a damp finger pressed very hard on the table.
again." Just then an e came, and, thinking I saw what it The rapidity with which these sounds are produced and are
was, I said, '' Please go on, I understand it." The whole changed is very ,remarkable. They will imitate, more o r
was then spelt outthus: yrnehkcocffej. Thelady even less exactly, sounds which we make with our fingers above
then did not see it, till I separated it thus: yrneh kcocffej, the table ; they will keep good time to a tune whistled by one
or Henry Jeffcock,- the name of the relative she had of the party ; they will sometimes, at request, play a very
wanted, accurately spelt backwards. fair tune themselves, or will follow accurately a hand tap-
Another phenomenon, necessitating the exertion both of ping a tune upon the table.
force and intellect, is the following: The table having been Ofcourse, the first impression is that someone's foot is
previously examined, a sheet of note paper was marked liftingupthe table. To answer this objection, I prepared
privately by me, and placed witha lead-pencil underthe the table before our second trial withouttellingany one,
centre foot of the table, all present having their hands by stretching some thin tissue paper between thefeet an
upon the table. Aftera few minutes, tapsare heard, and, inch or two from the bottom of the pillar, in such a manner
on taking up the paper, I find written on it, in a free hand, that any attempt to insert the foot must crush or tear the
" William." On another occasion, a friend from the coun- paper. The table rose up as before, resisted pressure down-
try - a total stranger to the medium, and whose name was wards, as if it wag resting on the back of some animal, sunk
never mentioned - accompaniedme ; and, after receiving to the floor, and in a short time rose again, and then dropped
what purported to be a communication from his son, a paper euddenlydown. I now with some anxiety turned up the
was put under the table, and in a few minutes there was table, and; to the surprise of all present, showed them the
found written on it " Charley .T. Dodd." the correct name. delicate tissue stretched across altogether uninjured ! Find-
358 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 359
ing that this test wastroublesome, as the paper or threads Such is also the opinion of the electrician Cromwell Var-
had to be renewed every time, and were liable to be broken ley. . Neither he nor Wallace believes that there is anything
accidentally before the experiment began, I constructed a supernatural in the phenomena. Discarnatespiritsare in
cylinder of hoops and laths, covered with canvas. The table nature, as well aa the incarnate. " Thetriviality of the
was placed withinthisas in a well, and, as it was about communications ought not to astonish us, if we consider the
eighteen inches high, it kept the feet anddresses of the ladies
. myriads of trivial and fantastic human beings who every
away from the table. The latter rose without the least diffi-
culty, the hands of all the group being held above it. day become ghosts and are the same beings the day after
A small centretable suddenly moved up of its own accord their death that they were the day before."
to the table by the side of the medium, as if it had gradually Professor Morgan, the brilliant author of the Budget of
got withinthe sphere of a ~trongattractive force. After- Paradoxes (an excellent piece of work, and highly compli-
wards, at our request, it was thrown down on the floor with-
out any person touching it, and it then moved about in' a mented by the London Athenmum, in 1865), expresses the
strange lifelike manner, as if seeking some means of getting ame opinion in his work on Mind (1863). Not onlydoes
up again, turning its claws first on one sideandthen on he think that the facts are incontestable, but he also believes
the other. On another occasion, a very largeleather arm-! that the hypothesis that explains the facts by intelligences
chair which stood at least four or five feet from the medium, exterior to ourselves is the only satisfying one. He relates,
suddenly wheeled up to her, after a few slight preliminary among other things, that, in one of the séances attended by
movements. It is, of course, easy to say that what I relate
is impossible. I maintainthat it is accurately true ; and him, a friend of his (B very sceptical person), was making
that no man, whatever be bis attainments, has such an ex- a little fun of the spirits, whereupon, while they were all
haustive knowledge of the powers of nature as to justify him standing (a dozen experimenters of them) around the dining
in using the word " impossible " with regard to facts which room table, and forming the chain above it, without contact,
I and many others have repeatedly witnessed. the heavy table began to move of its own accord, and, drag-
We evidently have here facts similar to those which I o b ging along the whole group, made a rush at the sceptic, and
served in my experiments with Eusapia and with other me- pinned him against the back of the sofa, until he cried
diums. " Hold ! enough ! "

Alfred Russel Wallace continues his account by the cita- Still, does that constitute proof of an independent spirit 0
tion of cases analogous to [Link] which have been described Was ít not an expression of the collective thought of the
in this work; then s u m s up the experiments of Crookes, of company 8 And, likewise, in the experience which Wallace
Varley, Morgan, and other English scientists; doesme the has just cited, were not the dictated names latent in the brain
honor of citing my letter to the Dialectical Society which I of the questioner P And was not the little centre-table, in
have printed above ; passes in review the history of Spirit- its climbings actingunderthe physical and pyschical in-
ualism, and declares that (I) the facts are incontestable, and fluences of the medium ?
that (2), in his opinion, the best explanatory hypothesis is Whatever may be the explanatory hypothesis, the FACTB
that of spirits, or the SOU& of the disembodied -the theory are undeniable.
of " t,he unconscious " being evidently inadequate. We have here, before all, a group of substantial English
 - _ .. ..

360 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 361

scientists of the first rank, in whose opinion the denial of the ’
*. -
stances, thattheraps do not continue to makethemselves
phenomena is a sort of madness. --F&; heard, at least for some time. I need not add that the ex-
I

\
French scientists are a little more belated than their neigh- , 5 , perimenters should not onlyavoid touching the table with
[Link], I have already called attentionto some their hands, but even with any other part of their bodies,
of them during the course of this work. I should have taken
or their clothes. The contact of garments with the table
. may be sufficientto produce raps which have in them nothing
pleasure in adding the names of the lamented Pierre Curie ’ . supernormal. I t is necessary therefore to exercise great
and of Professor d’ Arsonval, if they had published the ex- care that the dresses of ladies do not come in contact
periments they made with Eusapia during July, 1905, and with the legs of the table. When the necessary precautions
March and April, 1906, at the General Institute of Psy- nre used, the raps soun: in a very convincing way.
chology. I n the case of certam mediums, the energy set. freeis
powerful enough toact at a distance. I once happened to
Among the most judicious of experimentors in psychical ‘ hear raps upon a table whichwas almost six feet from the
phenomena I ought also to mention M. J. Maxwell, a doctor [Link] had hada very shortsittingandhadleft
of medicine and (a very different function) advocate-general the table. I was reclining in an easy-chair ; the medium,
at the Court of Appeals in Bordeaux. I
standing, was conversing with me, when a series of raps
Thereader may have already noticed (p. 173) the part was made upon the table which we had just left. It was
which this ,investigator, at once a magistrate and a scientist, broad daylight in midsummer, about five o’clock in the
I evening. The raps were forcible and lasted for several
took in the experiments made at 1’ Agnelas in 1895. Eusapia minutes.
is not the only medium with whom he studied, and his ac- I have often observed facts of this kind. I happened
quaintance with our subject is supported by the best of docu- once, while travelling, to meet an interesting medium.
mentary evidence. He did not allow me to use his name, but I may say that
I t is fitting that I present to the reader a t this point the he is an honorable man, well informed, occupying an official
position. I obtained with him lively raps in restaurants
g

most characteristic factsand the essential conclusions set and in railway lunch counters. H e did not suspect that he
forth in his work.* possessed- thislatentfaculty before he had experimented
with me. To baveobserved the raps produced under these
The author has made a special examinations of raps. conditions would have been sufficient to convince anyone of
Raps (coups frappés).- The contact of hands is not their authenticity. Theunusual noise made by these raps
necessary to obtain raps. Withcertain mediums I ‘have attracted the attention of persons present and gave us much
very readily obtained them without contact. annoyance. The result surpassed our expectations. It is to
When one has succeeded in obtaining raps with contact, [Link] that the more we were confused with the noise made
one of the surest means of continuing to thus obtain them, by our raps, the more frequentthey became. One would
is to keep the hands resting on the table for a certain time, have said that somewaggish creature was producing them
thento lift them very sZowZy, keeping the palms turned and amusing himself with our embarrassment.
downward toward the table, the fingerslooselyopened, but I also obtained fine raps upon the floors of museumsbe-
not held stiffly. I t rarely happens under such circum- fore the pictures of the old masters. The most common are
those made, witah contact, upon the table or upon the floor;
’ * Lea Ph4nomdnes paychiquea. One vol. SVO. Paris, 1903.

L ...- .
-. ..

362 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES

next, those made at a distance upon various articles of furni-
ture. .
=i

I-
I the experimenters, upon damandlof the latter. A

More rarely, I have heard them on the garments of the -

Th; different rapa frequently respond to each other, and
sitters or of the medium, or upon the coverings of pieces of it is one of the prettiest experiments in which one can take
furniture. I have heard them on sheets of paper laid on the part to hear these blows, now slight and muffled, now sharp
experiment-table, in books, in walls, in tambourines, in small ' ._ and abrupt, or again soft and gentle, sounding simul-'
wooden objects, especially in a planchette used for automatic . , . taneously upon the table, the floor, and the framework and,
writing. I noticed very curious rapsin the case of a coverings of the furniture.
writing-medium. When she had automatic writing, the raps I had the good fortune to be able to study these 'curious
wereproduced with extreme rapidity at the end of her I
rappings at close range, and I believe I have reached certain
pencil ; but, the pencil itself did not tap the table. Several conclusions. The first, and the best attested, isthat the
times and very carefully I put my hand on the end of the'. raps are closely connected with the muscular movements of
pencil opposite the point, without the latter leaving fora the sitters. I will sum up my observations on this point as
single moment the paper on the table: the raps sounded in follows :
the wood, not on the paper. In this case,ofcourse, the 1. Every muscular movement,even a feebleone, is gen-
medium held the pencil. ' erally followed by a rap.
The raps occur even when I place my finger on the upper 2. The intensity of &e raps did not seem to me to be pro-
end of the pencil and when I press its pointagainstthe portional to the muscular movement made.
paper. You feel the pencil vibrating, but it is not displaced. 3. The intensity of the raps did not seem to me to vary
Inasmuch as these raps are very resonant, I calculated that it in proportion to their distance from the medium.
wouldbenecessary to give aprettystrong blow in order The following are the facta upon which my conclusions
to produce them artificially. The necessarymovement re- I'&
quires a lifting of the point from two to five millimeters, ac- I frequently observed that when we had raps that were
cording to theintensity of the [Link] the point does feeble and occurred only at intervals, an excellent means of
notseemto be displaced. Furthermore, when thewriting producing them was to form the chain upon the table, the
is going on, these raps take place with great rapidity, and hands resting upon it, and the observers putting their fingers
the examination of thewriting does not show any place in light contact. One of them, without breaking the chain
where a stop occurred. The text is continuous, no trace of (a feat he accomplished by holding in the same hand the
tapping is perceptible in it., no thickening of the strokes can right hand -of his neighbor on the left and the left hand of
be
perceived. Observations made under such conditions his neighbor on the right) moved his released hand in circu-
seem to me to exclude the possibility of fraud. lar sweeps or passes over the table, at the level of the circle
I haveobserved that these raps occur, without apparent formed by the opened hands of the observers. After hav-
cause, as far as nine feet from the medium. They manifest ing made this movement four or fivetimes, always in the
themselves as the expression of anactivity and of a will same direction,- that is to say, after having thus traced
distinct from those of the observers. Such is the appearance four or five circles over the table, the experimenter brought
of the phenomenon. A curious fact results fromall this, his hand over toward the centre at a variable height and
that not onlydo theraps occur as the product of an in- moved it down towards the table. Then he abruptly ar-
telligent action, but they also usually agree to perform as rested this movement at a distance of seven or eight inches
often as asked, and to produce definite rhythms, for example, from the top. The abrupt stoppage of his hand was tallied
by a rap in the wood. It isan exceptional case when this
 364 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES C PXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS
I 365
process does not yield taps,- that is to say, when there is a that the liberation of the energy employed depends upon the
medium in the circle capable,evenfeebly, of producing contraction of the muscles and not upon the movement made.
them. The thing which reveals this peculiarity is easy to observe.
The same experiment can be made without touching the When we are forming the chain about the table, we can set
table, butformingaround it a kind of closed chain. One up a movement without contact by mutually pressing our
of the operators then acts as in the preceding case. I’ ’ hands together with a certain force, or by pressing the feet
I have no need to recall to the minds of my readers that I .
hard upon the floor. The first of these means is much the
with certain mediums, raps are produced without any move- better of the two. The arms have only made an insignificant
ment being [Link] all mediums can obtain them movement, and one can say that the muscular contraction is
i n this way by keeping perfectly quiet and having patience. I
almost the only physiologicalphenomenon obervable. Yet
But one would say that the execution of the movement. acts it sufEces.
as a determining cause. It seems as if the accumulate& All these authenticated experiments tend to show that the
t
energy received a kind of stimulus. agent which determines movements without contact has some
Levitations.- One day we improvised an experiment in connection with our organism, and probably with our nervous
the afternoon, and I remember that I observed a very in- eystem.
teresting levitation made under these circumstances. It was Conditions of the Experiments.- We must never lose out
about five o’clock in the evening (at any rate it was broad of our sight the relative importance of the moral and intel-
daylight), in the salon a t 1’Agnélas. We took our places lectual status of the group of experimenters. Thatis one
about the table, standing. Eusapia took the hand of one of of the mostdifficult things to seize and comprehend. But
us and placed it on the corner of the table, at her right. The when the force is abundant, the simple manifestation of the
. table thereupon rose up to the height of our foreheads ; that will is sometimesable to determine the movement. F o r ex-
is to say, the top of the table rose at least as high as five ample,upon a desire to that affect being expressedby the
feet above the floor. sitters, thetable moves in the way it is requested to do.
Such experiments were very convincing, for it wasim- The phenomenaoccur as if this force were guided by an
possible for Eusapia, the circumstances being such as they Intelligence distinctfrom that of the experimenters. I
were, to lift the table by a normal act. It is enough to s u p hasten to say that I regard that only as a probability, and
pose that she merely touched the corner of the table, to find that I think I have observed a certain resemblance between
out how heavy a weight shewouldhave had to lift if she these personifications and the secondary personalities of
had made a muscular [Link], she hadnot a eomnambulists.
sufficient grip on the table to lift it. Evidently, the condi- I n thisapparent bondbetween the indirect will of the sit- .
- tions of the experiment being such, she could not make use tern and the phenomena there is a problem the solution of
of one of the fraudulent processes mentioned by her critics, which has so far completely escaped me. I suspect that this
such as straps or hooksof any kind. The phenomenon is bond has nothingsupernatural about it and I realize that
undeniably authentic. the Spiritualistic hypothesis is a poorer explanation and in-
Thebreathing seems to have a very great influence. I n adequate to meet the facts ;but I cannot formulate any satis-
the way things take place, it seems as if the sitters released, factory explanation.
by breathing, an amount of motor energy comparable to that Close observations of the relations existing between the
which they release when rapidly moving their limbs. There I
phenomena and the will of the sitters brings out other dis-
is something in [Link] very curious and difficult to explain. coveries also. I mean, in the first place, the bad affect which
The more complete analysis of the facts allows UB to t u disagreement among the experimenters produces. It some-
366 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS
AND OBSERVATIONS 367
times happens that one of them expresses the desire to p e r pockets or under her clothes any kind of a cardboard pro-
ceive a certain phenomenon. If the thing is slow in taking file. Nor can one understand any better how, unlolown to
place, the same experimenter, or another one, will ask for a us, she couldhave taken out this paper figure, mounted it
different [Link] different sitters will ask for upon a stick, or upon a wire, and so operated with it.
several contradictory things at the aame time. The con- Eusapia had not gone into a trance: she herself sometimes
fusion which reigns in the collective thought manifests itself saw the profile which appeared, and, thoroughly awake and
in the phenomena,whichthemselves become confused and conscious, took pleasure in assisting in the phenomena which
vague. * ehe wasproducing. The feeble light which the illumined
However, things do not happen absolutely as ifthe window shed was sufficientto enable us to see her hands being
Dhenomena were directed by a will which is only the shadow carefully held by the contsrollerson the right and on the left.
i r the reflex of that of the sitters. It sometimes happens '
It would havebeenimpossible for her to manipulate these
that they show great independence, and flatly refuse to yield objects. In fact, however, the profile observedseemedto
to the desires expressed. form at the top of the cabinet, at the height of about three
F o r m and Phantoms.- At Bordeaux, in 1897, the room and a half feet above Eusapia's head. I t descended rather
where we held oursittings was lighted by a very large slowly and so took its placeabove and in front of her.
window. The outside Venetian blinds of this window were Then at the end of some seconda it disappeared, only to re-
closed ; but when the gas was lighted in a little building appear some timeafterwards in the same circumkances.
which formed an adjunct to the kitchen, in the corner of Every time, we carefully assured ourselves of the relative
the court near the garden, a feeble light penetrated the room immobility of the hand and arms of the medium. Hence I
and dimly illuminatedthe windowpanes. The window regard the prodigy which I am relating as one of the most
itself formed in this way a bright background upon which certain I ever verified,so incompatible was the hTpothesis
certaindarkforms were perceived by a part of the ex- of fraud with the conditions under which we observed.
perimenters. We all saw these forms, or rather this form, I am persuaded that these facts will one day (soon per-
for it was always the same one that appeared,- a long haps) receive the stamp of scientific approval as subjects
bearded profile, with a very high arched nose. This ap- of study. They will do this in spite of the obstacles which
parition said it was head of John, a personification who al- obstinate infatuation andthe f e e of ridicule pile in the
ways appears with Eusapia.t This is a very extraordinary way.
phenomenon. The first idea which presents itself to the The intolerance of certain beings matches that of certain
mind is that this is a case of collective hallucination. But [Link], for example, considers psychicphe-
the care with which we observed this curious phenomenon - nomena a8 the work of the Devil. I s it worth while at the
present time' to combat such a theory ? I do not think
and, it seems needless for me to add, the calmness with which
-
we experimented renders thie hypothesis very unlikely. ít ís.
But this question is foreign to the psychic facts thern-
The supposition of fraudisstill lessadmissible. The
head, which we saw was of life size, measuring SR^ sixteen selves. So far as my experience permits me to judge, these
inches from the forehead to the end of the beard. It is im- phenomena [Link] Devil does not show
possible to understand how Eusapia could have hidden in her his claws in them. If the tables should announce that they
were Satan himself, there would be nothing on the face of
* ,hT said on a previous page, psychic forcee have as much reality thingEl whichwould lead us to believe they were speaking
a8 physical and mechanical ones. the trut,h. If called on to prove his power, this gran-
j-This í a the same thing that l observed at Monfort-YAmaurp. See
p. 73. diIoquent Satan would turn out, I fear, to be a sorry
 ~~ ..

EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 369

They declare that they heard scales very wellexecuted
upon 'the piano (which was an upright one), at quite a dis--
tance from the sitters ; yet none of the sitters knew how to
play on the piano, while Professor Milési'sdeceased sister,
who was called upon to manifest herself, was a very good
pianist.
Another musical phenomenon was produced : A mandolin
placed on the lid of the piano, began of its own accord to
play, balancing itself in the air until it went and fell down
(playing all the while) between the hands of the experimen-
ters who formed the chain.
Later, at intervals, the piano was lifted in its turn, falling
back noisily. It must be remarked that twomen scarcely
aufliced to lift this piano,even by one of its sides. a f t e r
the sitting, it was ascertained that the instrument had been
displaced about a foot and a half.
But here follows a résumé of the phenomena observed with
this medium.
In every séance, very vigorous raps were obtained in the
table around which were grouped the experimenters and the
medium (they together forming the chain), while the lamp
with r d light was on the table itself. " If we wished to
produce raps so sharp and strong (says M. C. Caccia, the
reporter of these séances), we had to rap with all our might
on the table with some solid object, while the kind of raps
which were produced in the séances with Politi seemed to
issue from the interior of the table with loud sounds like
explosions."
But now the table begins to be shaken. The white curtain
of the cabinet which was behind the medium, at a distance of
twenty inches, swelled out and floated in every direction, as
if a violent wind had inflated it from the other side. We
heard a chair moving wit.h a gliding motion over the floor.
It had been placed there before the beginning of the sitting
1 and was now thrown [Link]. During the course of
the fifthsitting it came clear out of the cabinet, in .the

l
?
1
-.
!
-- -."-_--
_.
- - .- -.-
-=-..&,,.Y_-_. .

I
I 370 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 371
I
i presence of everybody, and did not stop until it got near the ' Luminous phenomena were also obtained. Lights ap-
t
I
medium.
These phenomena took place by the red light of a pboto-
..
. .. .
,-. .
..._
-

:A..-.
peared and disappeared in the air. Some of them gave the
outline of a curve. They didnot show any radiation. In
I graphic lamp. I n the complete darkness which attended the the fifth séance, everyhay was able ta tëstify ta theap-
I third séance an extraordinary thing occurred,- so much the pearance of two luminous crosses, about four inches in
i more extraordinary because we had taken special measures to
forestall anyattempt at [Link] medium washeldby
' height.
Atthelast séance, the tambourine fringed with bells,
i
two sitters who, being very sceptical, had taken their places which had been rubbed with phosphorous, went circling
l
i on his rightand on his left, and were holding his handg . around the wholeroom, and in such a way that all its move-
and his feet. ments could be followed.
i At a certain moment the medium ordered the operators to During almost all the sittings, mysterious touchings were
1
lift their hands from the t,able and not to hinder its move- noticed,- among others,those produced by an enormous
I mente ; above all, notto break the chain. Whereupon a hairy hand !
i greatuproar was heard in the cabinet. The medium calls In the first, fourthand fifth séances there were " ma-

l
\
f
for light, and, to the great amazement of all of us, we dis-
cover that the table, which was rectangular in form and did
not weigh
less than thirty-nine pounds, was found turned up-
terializations. Prof. Ita10 Palmarini believed that he rec-
ognized his daughter, who had been dead three years. H e
felt himself embraced ; everybody heard the sound of a kiss.
I side down upon the floor of the cabinet. The controllers The same manifestation took place in the fifth séance. Pro-
i declared that the, medium had not stirred. It is to be re- fessor Palmarini believed that he still recognized the p e r
I marked : son of his daughter.
! l. That the table must have been lifted high enough to At the opening of each séance the medium was searched,
pass over the heads of the sitters. and was then placed in a kind of big sack, made to order for
i 2. That
it must have passedabove the group forming
the this purpose, and fastened at theneck, the wrists, and the
i chain. feet.
1
! 3. That as the opening the
incurtains of the cabinet only
measured thirtv-seven inchesacross, and the table, on its Another medium, the Russian Sambor, was the object of
shortest sidc, t,Lirty inches, there only remained free seven numerous experiments at St. Petersburg during a period of
inches for passing through this opening. six years. (1897-1902.) I t will be interesting also to
4. That the table must have come forward endwise, then
moved around lengthwise (it was three feetlong),and give a summing up in this place of the report about this
turned upside d o m , resting on the floor ; t,hat the whole of man published by M. Petrovo Solovovo.*
this difficult manœuvre wasexecuted in a few seconds in
complete darkness and without any of the sitters having In the first séances a large folding screen placed behind
touched the table in the slightest degree." the medium wasobserved to be vigorouslyshaken. The
medium's feet and hands were carefully held. A table in a
*The Italian journals reproduced a picturesquephotograph of the neighboring chamber movedof its own accord. In a metal
table lifted almost to the height of the ceiling, at the moment it had oone placed on the table,enclosing a bit of paperand a
passed over the heads of the sittere andwas turning over (see A. de
Rochas, Ext~rìoràsatiorcde la motricitd, 4th ed.). I do not reproduce it, lead-pencil, and then riveted up, there was found, when it
because it does not seem to me to be authentic. Besidee, the observers was unriveted, a ribbon, and a phrase written on the paper
declared that they did not verify this phenomenon until after ite pro-
Ankles de8 8cimces peychìque, 1902.
I I
.-i-ea~.~-~--!'-----
---__T
-. ..

-!:l.
¡\
l1 !' 372 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
in script that had to be read in a looking-glass (étriture en 1. A cedar apple, an oldcopper coin which was found to
1,
i, miroir). Other cases of the passage of matter through
'

be a 'Persian coin of 1'723, and an amateur photographic

\, matter were tried, none of which succeeded. But
further portrait of a young woman in mourning unknown to sny-
, body present we= found .(coming from nobody knew where,
on the reports relate the following experiments:
i: I n the month of February, 1901, one of Sambor's séances nor in what way), upon the table about which we were
mated.
i; place at my house, in my study, against the windows of
took
which I had hung curtains of black calico in such a way that 2. Several different objects in the room were transported
i' to the table by the mysterious force; such, for example, as a
1, the roomwas plunged in the deepest darkness. The medium thermometer, which had been hung on the wall behind the
i occupied a place in the chain. Next to the medium were
i' M. J. Lomatzsch, on his right, myself on his left. Sambor's piano at a distance of from one-half to seven feet. from the
l
l hands and feet were faithfully held the whole time in a medium ; a large lantern placed upon. the piano somewhere
way that gave perfect satisfaction. between two and four feet behind the medium; several piles
l . The phenomena soon
began to develop. I do not intend of musiobooks which had rested on the same piano; a
l

to take the time here to describe them, but I wish to men- framed portrait; and, finally, the candlesconce, the candle,
tiona remarkable case of the passage of matter through and the different parts of a candlestick belonging to the
matter. piano.
M. Lomatzsch, controller on the right, declares that some- 3. Several times a bronzebell placed on the table was
one is pulling his chair from under him. So, redoubling lifted into the air by the mysterious force and noisily rung.
our attention, we continue to hold the medium. M. I .
+ On the request of the sitters it was once carried over to the
l matzsch's chair
is soon positively lifted up, so that he is piano (against which it struck a sounding blow), and from
obliged to stand. Sometime after, he declares that some there again over to the table.
, one is
,trying to hang the chair on the hand with which he 4. Unoccupied chairs had been placed behind the medium.
is holding Sambor. Thenthechair suddenly disappears One of them was several times lifted and placed noisily on
from the arm of M. Lomatzsch, and at the same moment I the table in the midst of the sitters, and without having run
fccl a light pressure upon my Ïeft arm (I do not mean the against any of them. When upon the table, this chair several
onewhichwas in contact with the medium, but with my times moved about, fell over, and picked itself up.
ncighbor on the left (M. A. Weber) ;after which I feel that 5. One of these same chairs was found to be hung by the
i: something heavy is hanging from my arm. When the candle back upon the joined hands of the medium and M. de Pog-
was lighted, we all saw that my left arm bad been passed genpohl. Before the beginning of thatpart of the séance
through t?w back of thechair. In thia way thechair was which witnessed this phenomenon, a strip of cloth, slipped
nicely balanced upon that one of my arms which was not in over the sleeves of the medium, had been several time3
contact with Sambor, but with my neighbor on the left. I tightly twisted around the wrists of M. de Poggenpohl.
had not let go of the hands of my neighbors. 6. At the request of the sitters, the mysterious force
several times stopped the playing of the musiobox (it stood
Such an observation as this needs no commentary (says on the table around which we were seated), after which it
the reporter of this occurrence, M. Petrovo Solovovo). The began to play again.
7. A sheet of paper and a lead pencil, placed on the table,
fact is simply incomprehensible. I give here some other were thrown on the floor, and everybody distinctly heard
phenomena which were observed in May, 1902: the pencil moving over the paper with a heavy pressure and,
with a sharp tap, putting a period at the end of what had

I
 $74 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS 375
been [Link] pencil was laid on the table. ’ Richet and Gabriel Delanne heldsome famous séances in
8. Five of the experimenters declared that they had been Algiers. But is not impomible thatfraud mayhave crept
touched by some mysterious hand. into their experiments, in spite of all the precautions taken
9. Twice the mysterious force drew sounds from the by them. (The photographs of the phantom Bien-Boahave
piano. The first time, this took place when the lid of the an artificial look.) In 1906, the American medium, Miller,
piano wasopen. The secondtime, the sounds were heard
after the lid had been locked with cc key, the key remaining gave in Paris sereral séances in which it really seems as if
on the table in the midst of the circle of experimenters. true apparitions were manifested. I cannot say anything
At first the unknown force began to play a melody on the personally about it, not having been present. Among other
high notes, and two ,or three times produced trills. Then experimenters, there were two very competent ones,who
chords on the bass notes were heard at the same time with studied this medium ; namely, MM. G. Delanne and G.
the melody, and, when the piano was playing, the music-
box also began to play,both performances lasting several
’Méry. Thefirst concludes thatthe apparitions were what
minutes. they represented themselves to be (see Revue scientifique et
10. During all the phenomena which have just beende- morale du spicitirne) ; that is to say, the spirits of the de-
scribed, the medium (Sambor), seemed sunk in a profound parted. The second, on the other hand, declares in L’Echo
trance, and remained almost motionless. The phenomena du MerveiZZeux, that, “ until there is fuller information,
were not accompanied by any bustle or confusion. His hands we must be satisfied with not comprehending.”
and his feet were all the time controlled by his neighbors.
M. de Poggenpohl and Loris-Melikow several times saw some- It is not within the scope of my plan to discuss in this par-
thing long,black, and slender detaching itself fromhim ticular place, “ apparitions ’’ or “ materializations.” We
during the phenomena and moving toward the objects. may ask ourselves whether the fluid which certainly emanates
I will add, in closing (says M. Petrovo Solovovo), that from the medium may not produce a kind of condensation
this medium wasaccused of cupidity and intemperanw. able to furnish to the most interested observer of the mani-
These séances were the last he gave (he died a few months
afterward). But, to tell the truth, I have a tender spot in festation the elusive vision of an unreal personality which,
my heartforthe late M. Smbor. This Little-Russian, a besides, only lasts, as a general thing, for a few seconds. Is
former telegraph operator, polished and humanized by the it a mélange or combination of fluids 8 But it is not yet
six or seven winters that he had passed in St. Petersburg - time to make hypotheses.
can it be that blind Nature had chosen this m m to be the
intermediary between our world and the doubtful Beyond 8
-or, at least, another world of beings whose precise nature
(begging the pardon of the spirits) would be an enigma to
me, provided I positively believed in them.
It is with that word ‘‘ doubt ” (alas ! is not doubt the most
certain result of mediumistic experiments 8 ) that I end this
Report.
t To this whole wries of varied observations and experi-
menta we could still add many more. In 1905 MM. Charles
 MY GENERAL INQUIRY 371
Dreams that give Information of the Dead.
Meetings foreseen by Prmentiment.
CHAPTER X I Presentiments' realized.
Double6 of the Living.
;MY QEIYEEAL INQUIRYRESPECTINQ OBSERVATIONS OF UNEX- Communications of Thought at a Distance (Telepathy).
PLAINED PHENOMENA Instinctive Presentiments of Animals.
Calls heard at Great .Distances.
A certain number of my readers perhaps remember the Movements of Objects without Apparent Cause.
Bolted Doors Opening of Themselves.
general inquiry that I instituted in the course of the year 3aunted Houses.
1899 respecting observation of the unexplained phenomena Spiritualistic Experiments.
of telepathy, manifestations of the dying, premonitory
dreams, etc.- aninquiry published in partin my work Since my first publication of these documents, I have re
ceived many [Link] than one thousand are M a y
L'Inconnu et les problémes psychiques. I received 4280 re-
crowded into my manuscript library. They contain about
plies composed of 2456 no and 1824 yes. Among the latter
there are 1758 letters with more or less of detail. A large fifteen hundred observations which seem to me to be sincere
number of thesewere not presented in such a shape that and authentic. The doubtful oneshavebeen eliminated.
their claims could be discussed. But I was able to use 786 These narratives emanate as a general thingfrom persons
of the most important of them. They wereclassified, the who are filled with astonishment and are extremely desirous
essential matters transcribed, and summed up in the work of of receiving, if possible, an explanation of these strange
which I have just spoken. The most strikingthing in all events (often very affecting). All the narratives which I'
theseaccounts is the loyalty, conscientiousness, thefrank- have beeu able to verify have been found to be fundamentally
ness, and the sensitive refinement of the narratora, who are accurate - sometimes modified afterwards, as respects their
anxiously concerned to say only what they know, and as mere form, by a memory more or less confused.
they know it, without adding or subtracting anything. I n In L'Inconnu, I published a portion of these narra-
doing this, each becomes the servant of truth. tives. But I excluded from that work * phenomena not prop-
These 786 letters, transcribed, classified, and numbered, erly included within the limits of its main plan, which was
contained 1130 different facts or observations. My examina- to show the existence of unknown faculties of the soul.
tion of the instances recorded in the letters reveals several I excluded, I say, " m0vement.s of objects without apparent
kinds of subjects which may be classified as follows: cause," " bolteddoors opening of themselves," " haunted
" Spiritualistic experiments ;,' that is to say, the
Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dying. very cases studied in the present work, in which I hoped to
Manifestations of the Living (in Health).
Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dead. Several observations published in that work are however, connected
in subject with the presentone. For instance: a piano playing alone
Clairvoyance. (p. loa), a door opening ofitqelf (p. 112), curtains shaken (p. 125),
Premonitory Dreams. Forecast of the Future. eztravagant gambols of pieces of furniture (p. 133), raps (p. 146),
376 belle ringing (p. 168), and numerous examples of unexplained die-
tubing noises coinciding with deaths.
 ‘\
818 MYSTERJOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL INQUIRY 379
\\

‘, ..
be able to publish them. But space fails me. In my .de- conclusion that the phenomenawere produced by invisible
sire to offer to my reader! a set of records as, complete as agents, with whomhebelievedhecouldcommunicate. He
soon obtained raps, direct writing, the mysterious appearance
possible, for the purpose of giving them a firmly based opin-
offlowers,etc.
ion, I have been swamped by the abundance of material, and, After this account, he led me into a large room with bare
can. only rescue’a few of the most interesting specimens of walls, in which sevqal persons had
assembled,
among whom -\

them for presentation here. were his wife and a professor of natural philosophy at the
First of ,all, I select the following communication as hav- -
lyceum altogether, a dozen of-experimenters. I n the mid-
ing a certain intrinsic value. It was sent me by my re- dle of the m m there was a big oak table, upon which were
placed paper, a pencil, a small harmonica, a bell, and a
gretted friend Victorin Joncières, the well-knowncomposer lighted lamp. i

of music. “ The spirit announced to me a little while ago that he

would come at ten o’clockp.” said the gentleman to me. “ We
I was on a tour of inspection of the music-schools of the have a good hour before us. I am going to utilize it by
Provinces (he says), and happened to be in a city which reading to you the minutes of our meetings for a year past”
I cannot name to you for the reasons which I gave. I was He laid on the table his watch, which showed five minutes to
coming out of the branch establishment of our Conservatory, nine, and covered it with a handkerchief.
after having examined the piano-class there, when I, was For a whale hour he applied himself to reading what
addressed by a lady whoaskedme what I thought of her seemed to be very improbable stories ; but I was longing to
daughter, and whether I judged that she ought to enter upon see some of the wonders.
an artistic career. Suddenly a loud cracking sound was heard in the table.
After a rather long conversation, in the course of which M. X. lifted the handkerchief whichcovered the watch. It
I promised to go to hear the young artist, I found myself was just ten o’cloolr,
engaged to go the same evening (for I was leaving the next “ Art thou there, spirit ” said he.
day) to the house of one of their friends, a high official in Nobody was touching the table; and on his recommenda-
the state service, to take part in a Spiritualistic séance. tion, we formed the chain about it, holding each other by
The master of the housereceivedme with extreme cor- the hand
dialty, recalling the promise I had given him to keep secret A vigorous rap was heard.
his name and that of the city in which he lived. He pre- The young niece placed her two fingers against the edge
sented his niece, the mediam, to whom he attributesthe of the table and asked us to imitate her. Thereupon this
phenomenawhich take place in his house. It was, in fact, extremely heavy table ‘rose up well above our heads, in such
after the young girl’s mother had died, and she came to live a way that we were obliged to stand on tip-toe in order to
with him, that the strange occurrences began to take place. follow it in its ascent. It hung poised for somemoments
’ They began with unusual noises in the walls, and in the in the air and then slowly descended to the floor and came
floors, withthe displacement of articles of furniturethat to a stop without noise..
moved without being touched, and with the warblinge of Then M. X. went to look up a large design for a church
birds. M. X. at first believed that it was a piece of foolery window. He put it on the table and placed beside it a glass
planned either by one of his own family or by oneof his of water, a boxofcolore, and a camel’s hair brush. Then
[Link], in spite of the most vigilant watching, he put the lamp out. He lighted it again at the end of two
he could not diacover any trickery, and he h a l l y came to the or three minutes : the sketch (still damp) was painted in
 - ------

380 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL INQUIRY 381

twocolors,yellow and blue, and not a single brush mark pany the music.” At once rhythmic taps, in exact harmony
had passed beyond the t r a e d lines of the sketch. withthe double quick time,were heard in the table. The
Even if we admit that some one of the sitters might have crsckle of sounds in it died away little by little in a decres-
been able to play the rôle of spirit, how, in the darkness of cendo very skilfully timed to the last vanishing blare of the
the room, could he have so handled the brush as to precisely bugles.
follow the lines of the design ? I will add thatthe door I-
“ Give us a fine tattoo to hish,” said I, when the sounds
wasclosely shut, and, that, during the very short space of had completelyceased. The reply was a aeries of sounds
time in which the performance took place, I heard nothing like the heavy roll of drums, given with such force that the
but the sound of the water splashing in the glass. table trembled on its legs. I put my hand on it and very
Raps were next struck in the table, corresponding to the plainly felt the vibrations of the wood as it was struck by
letters of the alphabet. The spirit announced that hewas the invisible force.
going to produce a special phenomenon in order to convince I asked if I might inspect the table. I t was turned up-
me personally. side down in my presence, and I examined itz as well as
By his order the light was again extinguished. The har- the floor, very carefully. I discovered nothing. Besides,
monica then played a littlesprightly motif, in six-eight. M. X. couldnot, you know, foresee, that, during my visit,
Scarcely had the last note sounded when M. X. lighted the a military bandwouldpassby, and that I should ask the
[Link] a sheet of music-paper which had beenplaced table to accompany it by imitating the drum.
near the harmonica, the theme was written very correctly I afterwardsreturned to the city where these things oc-
in pencil. It would have been impossible for any oneof the curred and was present at other very curious &ances. I
company, in the complete darkness of the room, towrite should be enchanted, my dear master and friend, as I have
down these notes upon the ruled staff-lines. said to you, to be your guide there someday. But [Link]
Thirteen freshly cut daisies lay scattered over the table. “ high functionary ’’ absolutely insists on his incognito.
“ Hello ! ” says M. X. “ these are daisies from the flower-
pot at the end of the passageway.” These remarkable observations by my friend Joncières
As I said a momentago, the door of the room where \ve evidentply have their value, and belong here, in the train of
were met had remained closed, and no one had stirred. We all the preceding ones.
went into the passageway, and, on noticing the stems denuded I give a few others below which weowe to an attentive
of their flowers,we couldsee very plainly that the daisies
came fromthe place indicated. and sceptical observer, M. Castex-Dégrange, subdirector of
Scarcely had we entered the room,when the bell on the the National School of Fine Arts at Lyons, upon whose
table rose up to the very ceiling, ringing aa it went, but fell veracity and sincerity not the least shadow of suspicion can
abruptly back as soon a8 it touched it. rest, any more thanin the preceding instances. I owe to
his kindness a large number of interesting letters, and I will
On the next day, before my departure, I went to pay a
ask his permission to cite from them the most important pas-
visit to M. X. He received me in his dining-hall. Through
the large openwindow abeautiful June sun flooded the sages.
room with its brilliant light. The following is dated the 18th of April, 1899.
While we were conversing in a desultory way, a piece of
military music rangout in the distance. “ If there is a For the second time, I affirm upon my honor that I will
spirit here,” said I, smiling, “ it ought by rights to accom- tell you nothing that is not strictly true, and usually easy to
i
verif y.

,
\
\ 582 MYSTElUOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERBL INQUIRY 383
l
I
í In spite of the calling I follow, I am not at all gifted But, dear sir, I was not pushing.”
I with
imwination.
v
I have lived much in the company of .’-I put. the centretable back in its place. but the same thing
physicians, men from the nature of their professi& iittle occurred again, once, twice, thrice. I began to get impatient
l given to credulity; and, whether it is in consequence of my and said,
’

natural disposition, or byreason of the principles which I ‘‘What you are doing is not very clever. If you want to
absorbed in this kind of company, I have always been very convince me, don’t push.”
sceptical. He replied to me, “ Nobody is pushing, only you probably
This is, indeed, one: of the reasons why I abandoned my have so much fluid in you that the table is attracted toward
psychical experiments. I reached the most stupifying r e you. Perhaps you could make àt go, by yourself.’’
s d t s , andyet it wasimpossible for me to get to believe ‘‘ Oh, if I myself could make it go, that would be differ-
myself. I was thoroughly convinced that I was not seeking ent ! ”
to deceivemyself or to deceive others, and, not baing able ‘‘ Try it.”
to surrender myself to the evidence, I was always seeking They all moved back. I remained alone face to face with
some other reason than the one given by the believers. That the table. I took hold of it, lifted it, thoroughly examined
made me suffer, and I stopped. it. There was no trick about it. I made everybody go
I here end this preamble, and am going to unfold to you behind me. I was facing the windows, and had my eyes
the course of my observations. open, I assure you, I stretched my arms out as far as pos-
Bible, in order to have a good view, only placing the ends of
I was acquainted with a company of people,whowere my fingers on the table.
occupied with Spiritualism and with turning-tables, and had In a little less than two minutes it began to rock to and
made them the butt of my wit,* a little ; for, although not fro. I confess that I felt a little foolish, not wishing to
bitter or severe, I never neglected to play a good practical surrender -
joke on them when occasion served. “ Yes, perhaps it moves,” said I. “ I t is possible that an

It seemed to me ’that these worthy people, who were, more- unknown fluid isacting upon it; at any rate, it does not
over, very sincere, were all a little “ cracked ’’ (muboules), come toward me, and just now some one was pushing it.”
if I may be allowed so uncouth, or fin de siècle, an expression. “ No,” said one of the sitters, “ nobody was pushing i t ;
One day I was visiting them. The drawing-roomwas but, although you are highly charged with fluid, the assist-
lighted by two large windows. I began, as usual, by some ance of another person is needed for the production of the
pleasantries. Their reply was in the shape of an invitation phenomenon: you are not enoughby yourself. Will you
to me to take part in the experiments. allow .one of us to put a hand upon yours, without touching
“ But,” said I, ‘‘ if I take a seat a t your table it will not the table 8 ”
turn any more, because I shall not push it.” Yes.”
“ Come all the same.” Someone put a hand on mine and I watched. The table
Well, I declare upon my honor that, just for a joke, I at once began to move, and came and pressed against me.
tried it. I had scarcely put my hands on the table when it They all cried out, and claimed that they had caught a
made a rush at me. medium in me. I wasnot very much flattered with the
I gaid to the person facing me, “ Don’t push so hard.” title, which I considered as synonymous with ‘‘lunatic.”
“ YOUought to try to write,” said some one to me.
T h e word used here by M. Caetex-Degrange ie tate de Turu, a thing
like the leather-covered bags in ournasiume, and ueed in faire in (‘What do you mean by that ? ”
France, t o be pummelled by those wie& to try their atrengh- T r ~ a s . “ Why, see here. YOUtake paper and pen, let your arm
 MY GENERBL INQUIRY 385
384 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES .
by one, allthe members of his family. That was all I
lie passive, and have the wish in your mind that some un- hew about them.
known person or force shall cause you to write.” I took the pen and the Invisible wrote, “ The sufferings
I tried it. At the endoffive minutes, my armfelt as of your sister Sophia have just ended.”
if it were wrapped in a woolen blanket. Then, in spite of Now Dolard had mentally asked what had becomeof the
myself, my hand began to tram at first mere strokes, then spirit of a sister named Sophia, whom he had lost forty-two
o’s, aJs, letters of all sorts, as a schoolboy learning to write years ago, and about whom I had never heard a word spoken.
would do. Then, all of a sudden, came the notorious word 3. My principal at the School of FineArtsin Lyons,
attributed to Cambronne at Waterloo ! I assure you, my a former architect of the city of Paris, was M. Hédin. This
dear sir, that I am never in the habit of using this coarse M. Hédin had an only daughter, whosome years ago had
and dirty term, andthat there was no autesuggestion, married another architect, M. Forget, in Paris. The woman
or unconscious act of my own, in the case. I was absolutely became enceinte.
stupefied by the occurrence. One day when I was thinking of anything but her, the
I continued these experiments at my own home. aame thing occurred as before. TheInvisible wrote:
l. One day, when I was seated at my writing-desk, I Mme. Forget is going to die.”
felt the weird seizure in my arm. I let my arm remain pas- Mme. Forget was not at all ill, apart from her being in a
sive. The Unknown wrote: delicate situation. The next day morning, M. Hédin said to
“ Your friend Aroud is coming to see you. He is at this me that his daughter was in her pains ; and the same evening
moment in such and such an omnibns-office in the suburbs. he told me that his wife had just set out for Paris to be
He is asking the price of tickets and the hour of departure.” with her. Thenext day I received instructions to assume
(This M. Aroud is chief of the bureau of police, prefecture bis duties. Mme. Hédin had telegraphed to her husband to
of the Rhone.) In fact, a half-hour afterwards, Aroud made come to her. Her daughter was taken with puerperal fever.
his appearance. I told him what had taken place. When the father got there he found only a corpse.
“ It is a good thing for you that you are living in the 4. I had a cousin named Poncet (since dead) whowas
nineteenth century,” said he to me. “ A few hundred years formerly an apothecary, at Beaune (Côte-d’ Or). I had
ago you would not have escaped death at the stake.” neverbeen at his apartments. One day he came to Lyons
2. On another occasion the phenomenon occurred again, to see our aunt (she who had the vision about which I spoke
and this time also I was at my writing desk: to you). Weconversedabout these extraordinary psychical
“ Your friend Dolard is coming to seeyou.” occurrences. He was incredulous.
An hour afterward,sure [Link]. I told him “ Well then,” said he, “ try to find for me a thing which
how it happened that I was waiting for him. Although he has no particular market value, but which I laid great store
was very incredulous by nature, yet, for all that, this fact by, because it belonged to my deceased wife. I had .a little
set him to thinking. The nextday saw his re-appearance. packet of laces that she was very fond of, and I can’t put my
“ Can you get a reply to a question 1 am going to ask hand on it.”
? ” said he. The Unknown mote, *‘ I t is in the middle drawer of the
O
’’ Don’t ask,” I replied, “ think it. We will try.” aecretary àn the chamber, behind a package of visìting cards.”
I must here tell you parenthetically that I had known of My cousin wrote to his servant at Beaune, without giving
Dolard for thirty years. He was my comrade at the Beaux- her any hint of our experiment, ‘‘ Send by post alittle
Arts. I knew that he had lost an elder brother, that he packet which youwill find in [such a place] behind a package
had been married, and had had the misfortune to lose, one of visiting cards.”
 j;
,i

il:I 380 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL INQUIRY 387.

:l The laces arrived by return mail. newly married man, a highly educated veterinary doctor,
i!’
joked me about my so-calledmediumship. I, of course,
I’ You will notice, my that,dear
sir,
during the ‘experi- laughed about it and we parted the best kind of friends.
1,I I ‘ l ments, I was
and that I was
by no meansasleep or in a state of trance,
conversing in my usual manner. Some days afterward, I received a letter from my friend.
H e had himself received a letter from the young lady, who
, : I

\ i 5. One of my childhood friends, M. Laloge, the

at present
i; time a dealer in coffees and chocolates at Saint-Etienne was in a greatstate ofmind. She, had lost her wedding
!li ; (Loire), had had as his professor, as well as I, an excellent ring, and was in despair. She begged my friend to ask me
li

II man whom we most highly esteemed, and who was named to recover it for her.
Thollon.” The Mysterious Force wrote, The ringslippedfrom
“

I: M. Thollon, after having directed the education of the her finger while she was asleep. It is onone of the cleats
t:: children of thePrince of Oldenburg, uncle of the present which hold up the mattress of the bed.”
, emperor of Russia, had returned France
to and entered the I transmitted [Link] despatch. The husband put his hands
Nice Observatory. between the woodof the bed and the mattress. Thewife
did the same thing. Nothing was found. Some days after-
l We had misfortune
the to lose him shortly after. Laloge wards, having decided to change the arrangement of their
l ’ had a photograph of him but had
lost
it. He came and
begged me to try to find it. The Unknown wrote, ‘* The pho- apartments, they moved their bed into another room. Of
tograph is in the upper drawer of the secretary in the cham- course they had to lift up the mattress, in order to get it
into the other chamber. Thering was upon one of the
i ber.” cleats. They had notfound it when they were hunting
Laloge had two rooms,- one which he called the ‘‘ salon,”
! and another called the “ chamber.” for it, because it had slipped under the mattress, which did
“ There is some mistake,” said he. ‘‘ I have turned every- not adhere to the cleat in that particular place.
7. One of my friends, named Boucaut, who lived at 15
thing topsy-turvy in the place you mention and have found
1 : ;,
I nothing.” quai de la Guillotière at Lyons, had lost a letter which he
sadly wanted. H e begged me to ask where it was.
!l . I In the evening having to search for some object in the The Invisible replied in writing, IC He must remember
drawer, he saw in the middle of a package of letter-paper
II a little dark end of something sticking out. He pulled it tkat hehas an oven in, his garden.”
\
forth: it was the photograph. Before showing it to him, I began to laugh, saying that
/:l 6. Camille Bellon, No. 50 Avenue de Noailles, at Lyons, it was a joke and had nothing to do with his request. As he
‘insisted that it did, I read it to him.
li/ had three young children whose education he had intrusted
to a young governess. This person left when the children “ Why yes,” he said to me, “that agrees very well. My

1’
Ir tenant-farmer had just had his bread baked. I had heaps of
Ì‘l entered college, and, sometime after, she married a very _papers which I wanted to get rid of, to burn up. My letter
I;I
i fine
man,
whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, but must have been burned in the pile which I reduced ashes.”
which I can easily find again if there is any need of it. ‘ t o

This young womancame on her wedding trip to visit 8. One evening, in an assemblycomposed of a score of
persons, a lady dressed in black greeted my entrance with a
l! her old
employer. I was invited to go and pass a day with little dervous laugh. After the customary introductions, this
them at the château of my friend Bellon. During the course
,I lady spoke to me as follows:
t! I of this visit, we talked of spiritualistic phenomena ; and the ‘‘ Sir, would it be possible to ask your spirits to reply to a
* I had considerable acquaintance with him at the Nice Observatory, question I am going to aak you? ”
where, in 1884 and 1885, I made with himspectroscopicobservations
on the rotation of the sun.- C. F. ‘‘ In the first place, madam, I have no spirits at my dis-
888 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES -
MY GENERAL INQUIRY 389
posal ;but I should be a lack-wit indeed if I said yes. You, I was seated at my writing-desk with my head resting on
of course, don't suppose that I am unintelligent enough not my hand, and I was t,hinking of what the hereafter might
to find some kind of an answer; and,consequently, if any possibly be. I f all the work that a man had done was to be
' spirits,' as you so kindly call them should happen to re- irretrievably lost, and if the beyond existed, I was wonder-
spond, you would not be convinced, and you would be right. ing what the life might be that one would lead there. All
Writeyour request. Put it inan envelope there on the of a sudden, the phenomenonwell known to me occurred
table, and we will try. You see that I am not in a somnam- (that weird se,izure of the arm). Ofcourse, I allowed my
bulistic state, and you must believe thatit is wholly im- arm to remain passive, and here is what I read:
possible for me to know the contents of what you are going " You wish to know what our occupations are 8 We or-
to enclose in it." ganize matter, we ameliorate the condition of the spirits, and,
So said, so done. aboveaall, we adore the Creator of your souls and ours."
At the end of five minutes I assure you I was very much h G 0 .
embarrassed. I hadwritten a reply, but it was such that
I did not dare to communicate it. But here it is: In all the communications which I have obtained, every
" You are in a very bad way, and, if you persist, you
time a word representing an idea of the Supreme Being -
will beseverelypunished. Marriageis something sacred, euch as God, the All-Powerful, etc.- came under my pen,
it should never be regarded as a question of money." the writing doubled in size, but immediately after resumed
After some oratorical precautions, I decidedto read her the same dimensions as before? I t wouldbe very easy for
this reply. The lady blushed up tothe roots of her hair me to give you still more numerous examples of the strange
and stretched out her hands to seize her envelope. things that happened to me, but those I have given seem to
" Pardon me, madam," I replied, putting my hand upon it.
me quite remarkable. I shall be happy if this true account
" You began by making fun of me. Youwished a reply. can give you any assistance in your important researches.
I t is only just, since we are making an experiment, that we
know what the request was."
I tore open the envelope. Behold ita contents: The letter which my readers have just perused contains
" Will the marriage take place that I am trying to bring a series of cases of such great interest that I lost no time in
about between M. X. and Mlle. 2 8 And, i n that case, shall enteringintoregular correspondence with the author. And
1get what I have been promised 8 " first .Ithought I ought to ask him about the conclusions which
Notwithstanding this shameful exposure, the woman did hehimself had beenable to draw from his personal expe-
not consider that she was beaten. She aaked a second ques-
tion under the same conditions. rience. The following is an abstract of his replies :
Reply : " Leave me alone ! When I was living you aban-
doned me. Now don't bother me." May lst, 1899.
Upon this, the lady got up and disappeared I I told .you You ask me, my dear sir, the following questions:
she was in mourning. This last request of hers was as fol- 1. Whether I havereached absolute conviction as to__
the
lows : " What has become of the soul of my father ? " existence of one or of several spirits?
Her father had been ill for six months. Persons who were I am a person of absolute good faith. I examined
present and who were stupefied at the results, told me that
during his illness she had not paid him a single visit.
9. One day, shortly after I had lost one of my good friends,

.
890 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL 1NQUIR.Y 391
myself asa surgeon would examine an invalid. I ama part, but afterall it seems to medefensible. As to the
person of such good faiththat I have long been seeking number of the invisible beings, I believe they are legion.
(without finding him) a skilfulpractitioner who would 2. You ask me whether I have been able to establish their
consent to study in my own person the phenomenonwhile identity.
it was taking place ; to ascertain the state of my pulse, the I answer that they sign some name or other, choosing in
warmth of the skin, eta,- in a word, the apparent physical ,preference names of illustrious persons, in whose mouths
side. Furthermore, in my opinion there is no auto-sug- theysometimes put t,he most stupid sort of expressions.
gestion in this thing; and the proof is that I was absolutely Furthermore the writingfrequently ceases abruptly, as
ignorant of thethings that I was writing mechanically,- ifan electric current has just been interrupted,and that
so mechanically that, when,bychance,my attention was without any appreciable reason. Then the writing changes,
called away, whether by reading or by conversation, and I and sometimes sensible things end in absurdities, etc.
forgot to look where my hand was going, when it approached How explain thistangle of contradictions ? I was so
the edge of the paper the writing would continue backward chafed and fretted by these incoherent resulta that I had
across the sheet in reversed letters and just as fast, so that I for a long time abandoned the study of psychic forces, when
was obliged to turn the paper over in order by holding it to your alluring researches came to wake in me my old self.
the light to read what was written on it. If the unconscious doubling of the personality of the in-
So then, ifthere is neitherautesuggestion in it, nor a dividual (his externalization) can, in an extreme case,be
somnambulistic condition (I was completely awake and not sometimes admitted, it seems to me thatthereare cases
a t all hypnotized), then there must be external “ forces ” in which this explanation becomespossible.
acting upon mysenses, “ intelligent forces.” Thisis my But I will explain. If, as respects the facts which hap-
iixed and unalterable opinion. pened to mepersonally, and the authenticity of which I
Now are these forces spirits 8 Do they belong to beings afirrn to you upon my honor, there are some in which this
like ourselves ? It is evident thatthis hypothesiswould externalization couldhavebeenpossible, there are others
explainmany things, but leave quite a number obscure. in which ,it seems to me impossible.
Since I several times discovered a mental state of the lowest Yes, strictly speaking, I might havebeenable, without
kind among these “ beings,” I havereached B conclusion suspecting it,. to externalize myself, or, rather, unknown to
that it is not absolutely necessary tothinkthat they are myself, to be influenced byn1y friend Dolard when, in my
$6 men.”
own presence, he mentally asked me what had become of the
We are told that there are stars which photography alone ßou1 of a deceased sister ofwhose name and very existence
can reveal, and which,possessing a color imperceptible to I was ignorant; yes, [Link] same thing may, strictly speaking,
our eye, are invisible to us. Then there are the gases through explain the responses I made to the lady who questioned me
which a human body paises without experiencing resistence. on the subject of a marriageand her father, although it
Who will say then, that there are not around us invisible would in that case be necessary to suppose that she dictated
beings 0 to me the words that I was writing; yes, my friend Boucaud,
And look at the instinct of the child, of the woman,of whowas hunting letters, might, at. the momentwhen he
feeble beings in general. They fear darkness; isolation was asking me about them,have thought of that oven,of
makes them afraid. Thts sentimentis instinctive, irra- the existenceofwhich I was ignorant; y!s, all of that is
tional. Is it not due to an intuitive perception of the (in thelast analysis) possible, although I t wouldneed a
presence of these invisible personages, or forces, against large amount ofgood will to admit. it.
which they are helpless 1 Thatispure hypothesis on my Yes, once more I say - and always with much good will
I I
392
-a table
MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES .

may be under the unconscious domination of a

musician present, and dictate a musical phrase. But, as it
stands, it is difficult to admit the same phenomenon in the
case of Victor Hugo, whose curious séances you have just
described tothe public. Why, just look at this great poet
who, when he is asked by the table to put one or more ques-
tions in verse, and, not feeling that he is man enough, in
spite of his genius, to improvise something passable,asks
MY GENERAL INQUIRY
person produces the phenomenaof telepathy; but, in the
phenomena of which we are speaking, that explanation seems
to me more than doubtful.
I find much more simple the explanation that the phe-
nomena are caused by the presence and the act-ion of an
'independent being,- a spirit, phantasm, or elemental.
In fine what are we all seeking 8 The proof of the sur-
393

vival of the ego,of the individuality after death. To be or

i
!-
for a breathing spell to preparehis questions, and brings
them in next day !- and yet you would wish that, on this
same next day, a part of himself should. perform its f u n o
not t o be - it is all in that. F o r I frankly confess to you
if I am going to dissolve away again into the great All, I
should just as soon be annihilated. That is perhaps a weak-
tions, unknown t o himself, and compose illico, without any ness; but it cannot be helped. I hold above everything else
preparation, verses at least as fine as thosewhich he took to my individuality; not that I set a great value on it, but
an entire day to create !-versesof a pitiless logic and
the feeling is instinctive and I believe that at bottom every-
more profound than his own ! bdy is of this opinion. This [Link] is the [Link] end, which
Yetlet us admit eventhat.. You see, dear sir, that I
at all epochshas powerfully interested man and interests
have all the good will possible, and that I have the most him still to-day.
profound respect forthe scientific method. But can you One of the weightiest proofs of the survival of the indi-
explain by externalization the case of finding a lost object
when one is even ignorant of the way in which the apartment vidual being that I have ever met with is, in my opinion,
is arranged where it has been lost 8 or the ability to know, the vision which my aunt had several days after the death
two days in advance, of the death of a person about .whom
of a friend of hers who, in order to give her a proof of the
reality of her apparition, inspired in her by mental sugges-
onewas notthinking at all 8 A possiblecoincidence, you
will tell me, but at least very strange. tion the power of seeing her in the dress she had on in her
l
And those inverted [Link].ions8 and those in which we are CO&, a costume which my aunt had never seen.
Thisis one of the fine and rare arguments in favor of
obliged to skip every other letter 8
the survival of the soul, so far as my experience goes. Many
* * 8 * * 3c * things are explained by this survival,-aboveall, what is
No, I believe that weneed not giveourselves so much apparently the frightful injustice of this world.
trouble and rack our brains, for it seems to me that it is
like looking for mid-day at two o'clock in the afternoqn. I t To these important observations of M. Castex-Dégrange,
would require the labor of all the devils to explain hów this I should like to add those of a distinguished scientist, who
phenomenon can take place in our nature without the knowl-
edge of the proprietor. I do not like to see a part of my has also for a long time now devoted himself to the analysis
personality scampering away, and then housing itself again and synthesis of these phenomena. I mean M. Goupil.
without my knowing anything about it. Some of his studies are yet in manuscript form, and I am
As to what concerns the production of this externaliza- indebted to this savant for permission to usethem. Others
tion in a way which I may call [Link] -when a person have been reprinted in a curious brochure (Pour et Contre,
who feels himself dying thinks intensely about those whom Tours, 1893). Butin citing such alarge number of in-
he loves and whose absence he deplores, yes, it may be that
his will,even unknown to himself, suggesting the absent stances and experiments, I am abusing the kindness of my

t;'
394 [Link] PSYCHIC FORCES '
MY GENERAL INQUIRY 395
readers, even the most curious and the most eager for knowl- The communications whichwere obtained through me-
[Link], I will at least point out t,heconclusions 'diumistic writing in these séances extended over a period of
more than fifteen months.
drawn by M. Goupil fromhis personal experiences. They - Mme. G. had the sense of a kind of mental, rather than'.
are to be found in the work of which I have juat spoken, and auricular, psychical ratherthan physical, audition which
are as follows: dictated to her what she had to write in bits of sentences
l
one after another; and this impression wasaccompanied
Table-turning séances yield very insignificant results, re- by a strong desire to write, somewhat like the intense long-
garded as pure science obtained from the spirits ; but they ing that a woman with child experiences.
arenot lacking in interestfromthe point of view of tho' I f this medium gave herattention to the sense of the
analysis of the facts and of the science to be established in writing during the composition, the current of powerwas
accordance with the causes and the laws which govern these shut off, and everything resumed the state of ordinary com-
phenomena. position. Her condition was that of a clerk writing uncon-
I believe that I can draw the conclusion from these ph;, cernedly and mechanically under the dictation of a superior.
nomena that t,wo theories (the refles and the Hpiritualistic) It resulted from this that the writings, executed at the maxi- I

may be drawnfromthe facts. It seems to meimpossible mum speed of the subject, and generally without retardation
to maintain that an intelligent agent other than that of the or stoppage after the questions,were in one long string,
experimenters is not operative in them. What is this intel- without punctuation or paragraphs, and full of mistakes in
ligence 0 I believe it is very hazardous to express a confi- spelling, resultingfromthefact that the medium wasac-
dent opinion on this point in view of the incongruity of all quainted with the sense of the writing onlywhenshe had
these communications. read it over, at least in the case of rather long communica-
It is also undeniable that the intellects of the operatora tions.
enter into the phenomena to a great extent, and that in many The gist or substance of the writings seems very frequently
cases they alone seem to act. to be drawn from our ideas, our conversation, our reading,
I should perhaps be sufficiently near the truth if I gave Ór our thoughts; but there are certain plainly marked excep-
the following definition of the phenomenon: tions.
Functions external to the animistic principle of the opera- While Mme. G. was writ,ing, I applied myself to other
tors, andaboveall of the medium, andgoverned by their occupations,- calculations, music, etc., or I walked up and
intellects, but sometimes associated with an intellect um down in the room ;but I only examined the replies when she
knownand relatively independent of man. had stopped writing.
Experimenters have maintained that communications o b Nothing indicated that the physical and physiological con-
tainedfromthe so-called spirits through mediums never dition of the medium during these writings was in any way
show more intellectual capacity than is possessed by the most different fromthat of her ordinary condition. Mme. G.
intelligent person among the sitters. This assertion is gen-, could interrupt her writing at will and apply herself to other
erally justified, but it is not absolute. occupations or make responses about things unconnected with
I will mention, in connection with this point, some séances' the séance, and it never happened that she found herself
whichtookplace at myhouse. The medium wasMme. G., short of an answer.
whose life I had been familiar with for twenty-seven years, Thereis no parallelism between these writings and the
day by day, and consequently had an intimate acquaintance mental endowments of Mme. G., either in promptness of
with her character, her manners, temperament and education. repartee, in breadth of view, or in philosophic depth.
 -- --- -. .. . - -- - --- - -.... . . . . . .
.... . .

396 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL IKQUIRY 391

I n 1890, I bought Flammarion's Uranie, which Mme. G. I will add to these conclusions two short extracts from a
did not read until 1891. I found in it doctrines absolutely
letter which M. Goupil wrote me on the 13th of April, 1599,
similar to those which I had deduced from my experiments
andfromour communications. Any one who should com- and from another one on the Ist of June, in the same year.
pare these mediumistic writings with the philosophical works 1. Replyingtotherequestwhich you address to your
of the French astronomer would be led to believe that Mme. readers, I will say that I have never observed telepathic cases,
[Link] previously read them. but that I have for a long time been experimenting with the
Psychic phenomena have thispeculiarity, that identical phenomena called Spiritualistic, of wl~ichI was a simple
assertions are made in far distant places through mediums analyst. I have come to no conclusions astoexplanatory
who have never known each other,- a fact which would tend theories. However, I consider it probable thatthcre exists
to demonstratethat, running through many declarations powerful intelligences other than human that intervene un-
whichapparentlycontradict each other, thereis acertain dercertain circumstances. My opinion is based upona
uniformity of action on the part of theintelligent occult largenumber of verycuriouspersonal occurrences. In my
power. opinion, we have not in these phenomena the appearance of
I n 18901 I also read the work of Dr. Antoine Cros, The simple coincidences, but of circumstances willed, foreseen,
Problem, in which I also found astonishing agreements be- and produced by an intelligent x.
tween theideas of this author and those of our Unknown 2. Of the ensemble -of all that I have seen - there is
Inspirer,- among others this: that man himself creates his simultaneouslythe reflex action of the experimenters and
Paradises and becomes that to which he has aspired. anindependent personality. This hypothesis seems tome
Weshouldalways seek the simplestexplanation of the l
true, while I should make at the same time this reservation,
facts, without desiring to find the occult in them, and above 1
that the personality or spirit is not a finished being, with
all without looking for spirits everywhere, but also without limitations of form,suchas an invisibleman mould have,
wishing, under any circumstances, to reject the intervention going, coming and executing commissions for human beings.
of unknown agents and deny the facta when they cannot be I have glimpses of a grander and vaster system.
explained. Take a handful of the ocean, and you have water.
It is rather curious to remark that if we compare the d i o Take a handful of the atmosphere, and you have uir.
tations given by the tables and the other so-called mediumis- Take a handful of space, and you have mind.
tic phenomena with observations made in conditions of That is the way I interpret it. That is why mind is al-
natural or hypnotic somnambulism, we find the same phases ways present, ready to respondwhen it finds in any place
of incoherence, hesitation, error,lucidityandsupernormal a stimulus that incites it, and an organism which permits it
excitation of the faculties. to manifest itself.
On theotherhand,thesupernormalexcitation of the
facultiesneitherexplainsthe cases of predictionnor the i Let us confess that the problem is complex and that it is
citation of unknown facts. I n the case of manytelepathic good to compare all the hypotheses.*
or other phenomena everyexplanation limps that excludes
theintervention of external intelligences.. But it isstill * It has been m desire to give inthis place the result of the per-
monal experience o?a large number of men anxious to know the truth;
impossible to formulate a theory. There existsa gap to be above all to reply to ignorant journalists who invite their readers to
filled by new discoveries." indulge in supercilious scorn of these researchesand experimenters.
At the very momentwhen I was correcting the proofs of these last
pages I received a journal, Lo Lyon républicain, of the 25th of January,
Goupil, Pour et Contre, p. 113. 1907, which has for its leading article a quite preposterous diatribe
398 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC [Link] M Y GENERAL INQUIRY 399

From the numerous papers and documents laid out at this on tiptoe, in order not to trouble this precious rest of his,
and we sat quietly down in a corner where we were concealed
moment upon my writing-desk, I can only select a small by the curtains of the bed.
number for insertion here, although they all have their spe- The invalid could not perceive us, but we saw him very
cial interest. One is overwhelmed by the richness and vast- well, and I sorrowfullycontemplated that sufferingface
ness of the material. However, out of the material acquired which I knew I could not much longer look upon. And still,
in the course of the Inquiry of which I spoke above, let me even now, when I recall the features of my master, I see them
as they appeared to me on that evening,- the eyes closed, his
give here one piece which I should regret not to be able to finely shaped head resting upon the easy-chair, and his long,
include within the compass of the present work. thin,palehands (the paleness of the deadalready upon
The former governess of the poet Alfred de Musset, Mme. them), crossed upon his knees in a contracted and shriveled
Martelet,née Adèle Colin,-who still lives in Paris and way. Weremained motionless and silent, and the chamber,
who has just been present (in 1906) at the unveiling of the lighted only by a feeble lamp, seemed wrapped in shadows
and was filled with that peculiar mournful atmosphere that
statue of the poet (although his death dates from the year
characterizes the chamber of the dying.
1857),- has given the following account, which may be Suddenly we hearda deep sigh. The invalid had waked
added here to that of movements without contact. up and I sawhis looks go towardthe bell-cord t,hathung
near the fireplace some steps fromthe easy-chair. He evi-
An inexplicable occurrence which m y sister, Mme. Char- dentlywanted to ring, and I do not know what feeling it
lot, and myself witnessed impressed us most deeply. It took was that held me nailed to my place. Still I did not move,
place at the time of the last sickness of M. de Musset. I and my master,having a horror of solitude and believing
shallneverforget the emotion we felt that evening, and I that he was alone in his chamber, rose up, stretched out his
still have theminutestincidents of thestrange occurrence arm with the evident intention of calling someone; but, al-
stamped on my memory. ready fatigued by this effort, he fell back into the chair with-
My master, who had taken no rest during all the previous out having taken a step. It was at this moment that we had
night, had toward the end of the day, fallen into a doze in an experience that terrified us. The bell, which thesick
a large easy-chair. My sister and I had entered the chamber man hadnot touched, rang, and instinctively, at the same
against me signed "Robert Estienne." The performance shows that moment, my sisterand I seized each other's hands, each
the author does not know what he is talking about nor the man of whom anxiously interrogating the face of the other.
he is treating. " Did you hear ? "-" Did you see ? "-" He did not move
There is evidently no reason in the nature of things why the city of
Lyons should be moredisposed to error than any other point on the from his chair! "
globe. But mark the coincidence: I received, at the same time, a At this moment the nurse entered and innocently asked,
number- of L'Univeraitkcatholique, of Lyons, in which a certain Abbé " Did you ring, sir ? ''
Delfour speaks of " supernatural contemporary facts " without under-
standing a wordof the subject. This event put US into an extraordinary state of mind, and
No, the trouble is not withthe city of Lyons merely. There are if I had not had my sister with me I should have believed
blind people everywhere. Youcanread a dissertation ejusdemfarinœ,
signed by the Jesuit Lucien Roure, in Les JJtudes religieuses, published that it was an hallucination. But both of us saw, and
at Paris, with critical judgments worthy of a traveling salesman. all three of us heard. It is a good manyyears now since
In this connection, you can read in the Nouveau Catechisme du dio- allthat took place, but T can stillhearthe ominous and
&se de Nancy: " Q. What must we think of the demonstrated facts
of Spiritualism, somnambulism,and magnetism?-A. We must at- mournful sound of that bell ringing in the silence of the
tribute them to th:,devil, and it would be a sin to take part in them in chamber.
any way whatever.
 400 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL INQUIRY 401
This account, also, seems not to be devoid of value. There of being summed up here. The observers, Dr. and Mrs. El-
are undoubtedlyseveral ways of explainingit. The first liott Coues, speak out of their own personal experience.
is that which occurs to everybody.
The Frenchman,bornmalign, says Boileau, does not It is a principle of physics that a heavy body can only be
put in motion by the direct application of a mechanical force
mincematters,and, apropos of thisstory of De Musset, sufficient to overcome its inertia, and orthodox science main-
simply exclaims in hislanguage(always flashy and devoid tains that the idea of action at a dist,ance is an erroneous
of literary distinction), " What a fine p i k e of rot ! " And idea.
that is all there is to it. A few may reflect for a moment The authors of the present study assert, on the contrary,
more, and not admit that there is necessarily any invention that heavy bodies may be, and frequently are, put in mot,ion
on the part of the governess, andmaythink that she, as without any kind of direct application of mechanical force,
and that action a t adistance is a well-established fact in
well as her sister, believed that De Musset had not touched [Link] offer proofs of these propositions based on a
the bell cord, while in reality he touched it with the ends of series of experimentsundertaken forthis purpose.
his fingers. But these ladiescananswer thatthe distance We oftenrepeated these experiments, during more than
between the hand of the poet and the cord was too great, two years, with results that were convincing not only to our-
that the cord was inaccessible in that position, und that it selves but to many other witnesses.
was that very thing which impressed them, andwithout We do not understand how the scientific world has been
able to accept the idea that the expression " action at a dis-
, which there would have been no story to tell. We may also tance '' is a false one, unless those who see an error in the
suppose that the bell was rung by some external force im- assertion attach to these words a special meaning of which
pinging on it, althoughthe cord was not pulled. We may we are ignorant.
still further suppose that, in the restlessness of these hours It is certain that the sun acts at a distance upon the earth
of distress, the waiting-woman came in without having heard and the other planets of the solar system. It is certain that
a piece of anything thrown into the air falls back in conse-
anything, and that the coincidence of her arrival with the quence of the attraction of gravitation,- and that, too, at no
gesture of De Musset surprised the two watchers, who after- matter what distance. The law of gravitation, so far a8we
wardthoughtthatthey hadheardthe bell. However, to know it, is universal, and it is not yet proved that there ex-
sum up the whole thing, while we may regard the occurrence ists a ponderable, or otherwise palpable, medium which serves
as inexplicable, we mayyetadmititstruthasnarrated. to transmit the force."
This seems to me themost logical view, and the more so that We go a litt-lle farther, even, and declarethat, probably,
all action of matterisan action at a distance, especially
thegentle poet had, severaltimes in hislife,givenother since (so far as our knowledge goes) therearenot in the
proofs of possessing faculties of this kind. whole universe two particles of matter in absolute contact;
I will add here one more instance of th0 movement of ob- and, consequently, if they act the one upon the other, it must
jects without contact which is notwithout value. It was
*Newton, aa is well known, declares, in his letter to Bentley, that
published by Dr. Coues, in the Annales des sciences. psy- he can only explain gravitation by supposing the existence of a medium
chiques, for the year 1893. The views stated are also worthy which transmits it. Yet, to our senses, the ether would not be a ma-
terial thing. But, however that m n y be, celestial bodies do certainly
act at a distance one upon mother.
 -~

402 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES MY GENERAL INQUIRY. ‘403

be at some distance, this distance being infinitely small and on it in order to make it rise on the opposite side, except by
entirely inappreciable to our senses. muscular effort easily observed. Neither canthey lift the
We therefore maintain that the law of movement at a dis- table unaided with their knees, since these are at least a foot
I’ tance is a universal mechanical law and that the .idea that it away from the top and since moreover their feet never leave
does not exist is a kind of a paradox, simply a hair-splitting the floor. Finally, theycannot liftthe table by means of
their toes slipped under a foot of the table, because the table
quibble.
is too heavy.
Under these conditions, and beneath the full light of at
The two authors of thisstudy sometimes experimented
least four gas jets, the table habituallybegan to crack or snap,
together, sometimes separately, more often with one or more and produced divers strange noises quite different from those
additionalexperimenters, sometimes with four, five, six, which could be obtained by [Link] noises
seven or eight. They witnessed at different times, in full mon showed, if I may so say, some reason in their incoher-
light,the vigorous and even violent movements of alarge ence, and certain definitestrokes or rappings came to rep-
table which nobody touched directly or indirectly. The per- resent “ yes,” and “ no.” According to an arranged code of
signals, we were able toenterinto a conversation with an
sons mentioned were all friends of theirs, living, like them, unknown being. Then the table was generally polite enough
in thecity of Washington, andall sincerelydesirous of to do what it was asked. One side or another of it tipped as
knowing the truth of the matter. There was no professional we wished. It went from one sideor the otheraccording
medium. as we requested. Under these circumstances we made the
following experiments :
The scene opens in a littleparlor in our house (they The two ladies removed their hands from the table and
write). I n the centre of the room is a large heavy oak’table drew back their chairs, while still remaining seated in them
in marquetry,which weighs about one hundred pounds. at a distance of one or two feet. Dr. Coues fromhis arm
The top is oval and measures four feet and a half by three chair saw distinctly above and beneath the table. The feet
and ahalf. It hasonlyasinglesupport, in the middle, of theladies were from twelve tothirty-six inches distant
branching off into three legs, or feet, with casters. Above it from the feet of the table. Their heads and their hands were
is the chandelier, several burners of which are lighted and still farther off. There was nocontact with it. Evea their
give sufficient light for the ladies to read and work by the dresses were notwithina foot or two of [Link] these
table. Dr. Coues is seated in his easy-chair, in acorner of conditions, the table lifted one of its feet and let it fall heav-
this large room, a t a distance from the table, reading or writ- ily back. It lifted two feet to a height of from two to six
ing by the light of two other burners. inches, and, when they fell back, the blow was heavy enough
The ladies express the wish to see if the table “ will do to make the floor shake, and make the glass globesof the
something,” as they say. chandeliertinkle. Besides these energetic, even violent
The cloth is removed. Mrs. C., seated in a low rocking- movements, the. table displayed its power by means of raps
chair, places herhands on the table. Mrs. A., also seated or balancing.
in a low easy-chair, does the same, facing her at the opposite Its Yes’s or its no’s were commonly rational, sometimes in
side of the table. Their hands are opened and placed upon agreement with the ideas of the one who put the question,
the upper surface of the table. In this position, [Link]- sometimes in persistent opposition to those ideas. Some-
not lift the table by themselves with their hands: that is an times the invisible agent affirmed that he was a certain per-
entire impossibility. Neithercanthey push it by leaning son, and mnintained thatindividualitydnringanentire
404 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC FORCES I M Y GE:NEHAL I X QL n R Y 405
séance. Or possibly this character was dropped, so to speak, principal, object, of the publication of this study is to estab-
or at least ceased to appear, and another person, or another lish the truth of movement without contact.
being,took ita place, withdifferent ideas and opinions. But, having very plainly verified the fact and established
Thereupon, the raps or the movements also differed. Finally it by proofs in our possession, it might perhaps be expected
theinanimate table, which was supposed to be inert, took of us that weoffer some explanation of the extraordinary
on for the moment all the appearance of a living being pos- things that we vouch for. We respectfully reply that we are
sessing an intelligence as keen as that of an ordinary person. both too old and perhaps toowise to claim to explain any-
It expressed ibelf with as much will and individuality as thing. When we were younger, and fanciedthat we knew
our friends caused it to do by their voices and their gestures. everything, we could explain everything,- at least to our
And yet, during this whole time no one of the three persons own satisfaction. Now that we have lived long enough, we
present touched the table, the two ladies being at a distance have discovered that every. explanation of a thing raises at
of two or three feet, and Dr. Coues seven to ten feet, in a least twonew questions, and we do not feel any desire to
corner of the room, which was lighted by four gaa jets. stumble against newdifficulties ; for these multiply in
There was no other person present that one could see. If geometrical ratio, in proportion to the extent and accuracy of
this was not a case of telekinesis, or movement of objects our researches. We hold tothis principle, that nothingis
without contact, absolutely different from ordinary and nor- explained so longastherestillremains an explanation to
mal mechanical movement, we can certainly no longer put be sought. Under these conditions, we. shall do better to
trust in our aenses. recognize the inexplicability of these psychical mysteries, be-
fore, rather than after, futile theories about them.
These observations of Dr. and Mrs. Elliott Coues are
all as positively accurate and authentic as the occurrence of There you have whatis absolutely reasonable, whatever
an earthquake, the falling of a fireball from the sky, a chem- may be said of it.
ical combination, an experiment with an electrical machine. And now, after these innumerable verifications of fact,s,
The sceptics who smile at them and say that everything is and after all these professions of faith, shall I myself, have
fraud are persons in whom the sense of logic is wanting. the courage, the pretension, the pride or the simplicity of
!
As to the explanation to be given of them, that is a differ- mind, to start in search of the much desired information ?
ent question from that of t,he pure and simple authentication Whether we find it OP not, the facts nevertheless exist. It
of the facts. I
was the object of this book to convince my readers of this,-
readers who should give to the subject their close attention,
Those ta whom these descriptions of phenomena and ex- be possessed of unbiased judgment and good faith,and
periments appeal (adds the narrator) must take particular have the eyes of the spirit wide open and free from all weak-
notice that the authors of this study, alt,hough they have had ness.
occasion to speak of conversations held with the table and
to mention special tones ofvoice, and intelligible messages
imparted by pieces of inert wood, categorica2Zy r e f w e t o up-
proach the question of the source or origin of the intellìgence
thus manifested. Thatisan entirely different question,
with which w e do not meddle. The single, or at least the
i-
I
 \
!

\
E X P U N A T 0 R . Y HYPOTHESES 407
manifestations is fraud, has been so often exposed, discussed,
and refuted during the course of this work that my readers
probably consider it (at least I hope theydo) as entirely,
absolutely, and definitely decided and thrown out of the ring.
CIHAPTER XII However, I advise you not to speak too freely of these
things a t table, or in a drawing room if you do not like to
EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES - THEORIES AND DOCTRINES - havepeople making fun of you, more or less discreetly. If
CONCLUSIONS O F THE AUTHOR you air your views in public, you will produce the same
effect as those eccentric fellows of the time of Ptolemy, who
It is quite in the fashion, as a general thing, to profess daredto speak of the [Link] theearthand excited
absolute scepticism regarding the phenomena which form the
such inextinguisllable laughter in respcctable socicty that
subject of thepresent work. I n the opinion of three-quar-
the echoes ring with it still in Athens, Alexandria, and
ters of the citizens of our planet all unexplained noises in
Rome. It is only arepetition of what tookplacewhen
haunted houses; all displacements without contact of bodies
Galileo spoke of the spots on the sun, Galvani of electricity,
more or less heavy ; all movements of tables, pianos, or other
Jenner of vaccine, Jouffroy andFulton of the steamship,
objects produced in the experiments styled Spiritualistic ;
Chappe of the telegraph, Lebon of gas-lighting, Stephen-
all [Link] dictated by rapsor by unconscious
son of railways, Dagucrre of photography, Boucher de
writing;all apparitions, partial
or total, of phantom
Perthes of the fossil man, Mayer of thermodynamics, Wheat-
forms - are illusions, hallucinations, or hoaxes. No ex-
stone of the
transatlantic cable,
etc. I f we could gather up l
planation is needed. The only rational opinion is that all
all the sarcasms launched at the heads of these '' poor crazy-
" mediums," professional or not, are imposters, and the par-
wits," we should geta fine basket of venerable blunders,
ticipators in a séance are imbeciles.
moldy as a remainder biscuit after a voyage.
Sometimes one of these eminent judges consents, not to
So let us not, speak too much of our mysteries - unless
cease tipping the wink and smiling in his royal competency,
it amuses us, in our turn, to ask some questions of the pret-
but to condescend to be present at a séance. If, as only too
tiest dolls in the company. One of theminquired in my
frequently happens, no response to the command of the will
presence, yesterday evening, what the man named Lavoisier
is obtained, the illustrious observer retires, firmly convinced
did, and whether he was
dead. Another
thought that
that, by his extraordinary penetration, he has discovered the
Auguste Comte was a writer of songs and asked if any one
cheat and blocked everything by his clairvoyant intuition.
knew one of them which would suit a mezzo-soprano voice.
He at once writes to the journals, shows up the fraud, and Another was astonished that Louis XIV had not built one of
sheds humanitarian crocodile tears over the sad spectacle of the two railway stations of Versailles nearer the palace.
men, apparently intelligent, allowing themselves to be taken
Moreover, on my balcony, a member of the Institute, who
in by impostures, detected by him at the first blush. saw Jupitershining in [Link] southern sky at themeridian
This first and easy explanation, that everything in the
point, over one of tho cupolas of the Observatory, obstinately
406
40s R/LYSTEI~IOUSPSYCIIIC FORCES \

maintained in my presence that this luminary was the polar Albert de Rochas defines tl~esephenomena as all exter-
star. I did not dispute the point with him too long ! nalization of ntotiwity,” and considers them tu be produced
by the fluidic double, “ the astral body ” of the nledium, a
There are not afew people who believe at once lin the nerve-fluid able to act and perceive at a distance.
value of universal suffrage and in that of titles of nobility.
Of course,we will not force these Janus-faced wise men to Lombroso dcclares thatthe explanationmust. be sought
simply in the nervous systerrl of themedium, and that we
vote upon [Link] admissibility of psychic phenomena into the
have in the phenomena transformation of forces.
sphere of science.
Dr. Ochorowicz affirms that he has not found proofs in
But we willhenceforth consider thisadrnisiibilityas favor of the, Spiritualistic hypothesis, any more than he has
something granted, and, tossing back to the laughing sceptics, in favor of the intervention of external intelligences, and that
to the habitu6s of clubs and cliques, the gcneral opinion of the cause of the phenomena is a fluidic double detaching it-
the world, of which I have just spoken, begin here our logical self from the, organism of the medium.
analysis. Theastronomer Porro is inclinedto admitthe possible
We have had under consideration during the course of this action of unknown spirits, of living forms different from our
work several theoriesby scientific investigatorswhich are own, not necessarily the souls of the dead, but psychical enti-
ties to be studied. In a recent letter he wrote me that the
worthy of attention. Let us first of all sum these up.
theosophic doctrine appeared to him to approach the nearest
In the opinion of Gasparin, these unexplained movements to a solution.*
are produced by a @id, emanating from 11s under the action Prof. Charles Richet thinks that the Spiritualistic hypoth-
of our will. esis is far from being demonstrated, that the observed facts
Professor Tllurythinksthatthis fluid, which he calls relate to an entirely differentorder of causes, as yet very
psychode, is a substance which forms a link between the soul dificult to discntanglc and that in the present state of our
and the body; but there may also exist certain wills external knowledge no final conclusion can be agreed on.
to ourselves, and of unknown nature, working side by side The naturalist Wallace, Professor Morgan, and the elec-
with us. 4
trician Yarley declare, on the other hand, that sufficient proof
The chemist Crookes attributes the phenomena to psychic has been given them to warrant them in accepting without
force, this being the agent. by which the phenomena are pro- reserve the [Link] doctrine of disembodied souls.
duced ; but he adds that this force may well be, in certain
Prof. James H. Hyslop, of the University of Columbia,
cases, seized upon and directed by some other intelligence.
who has made a special study of these phenomena, in the Pro-
“ The difference between the partisans of psychic force and
those of Spiritualism,”he writes, “ consists inthis: we ceedings of the London Society for Psychical Research, and
in his works Science and a Future Life and lhigntas of
maintain that it is not yet proved that there exists a direct-
ing agentother thanthe intelligence of the medium and -Psychical Research, thinksthattherearenotyet enough
severely critical verifications to warrant any theory.
that presence and actions of the spirits of the dead are felt
in the phenomena, while, on the contrary, the Spiritualists The initiated know that according tothis doctrine the terrestrial
accept as an article of faith, without demanding more proofs human being is composed of five entities: the physical body; the ethe-
real double, a little lessgross,surviving the first for some time; the
thereof, t,hat these spirits are the sole agents in the produc- astral body, still more subtile; the mcntal body, or intelligence, sur-
tion of the observed facts.” viving the three preceding; and finally the Ego, or indestructible soul.

C’
 .r
EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 411 i
410 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES \ .

Can we explain the observed phenomena, or at least any

Dr. Grasset, a discipIe of Pierre Janet, does not admit
displacement of objects, or levitation, or the greater part of portion of it? It isourduty to try. For this purpose I
the facts described in this book as proved, and thinks what shall classify them in the order of increasing difficulties. It
is called Spiritualismis a question of medical biology, of is always advisable to begin with the beginning.
" the physiopathology of the nervous centres," in which a cel- May I hope that the reader will have got a clear idea in
ebrated cerebral polygon with a musical conductor named O, his mind of theexperiments and observations set forth in
plays an automatic rôle of a very curious description.
the previous pages of this work ? It would be a little insipid
Dr. Maxwell concludes fromhis observations thátthe to refer every time to the pages where the phenomena have
greater part of the phenonlena, the reality of which cannot
be doubted, are produced by a force existing in u , that this been described.
force is intelligent, andthatthe intelligence{manifested l. KOTATIONOF TIIB TABLE, with contact of the hands of a
comes from [Link] experimenters. This would be a kind of col- certain number of operators.
lective consciousness.
This rotation can be explained by an unconscious impulse
M. MarcelMangin does not adopt this " collective con- given tothe table. Allthatis necessary isthat each one
sciousness," and declares that it is certain that the being, in push a little in the same way, and the movement will take
the séances, who asserts that he is a manifestation is " the place.
subconsciousness of the medium."
2. MOVEMENT
OF THE TABLE, the hands of the experiment-
The foregoing are some of theprincipal opinions. It ers resting upon it.
would take a whole book to discuss in writing the proposed The operators push and the table is led along without their
explanations, but that is not my object. My aim was to focus knowing it, each one acting in a greater or less degree. They
thequestion on what concerns THE ADMISSIBILITY OF TIIE think they are following it, butthey are reallyleading it
along. W C have in this only the result of muscular efforts,
PHENOMBNAINTO THESPHERE O F POSITIVE BCIEXCE.
generally of a rather slight nature.
However, now that this is done,we cannot but ask o u r
selves, what conclusions may be drawn from all these ob- 3. LIPTING OF THE TABLE on the side opposite to that upon
which the hands of the principal actor are placed. l
aervations.
If we wishto obtain, after this mass of verifications, a Nothing is more simple. The pressure of the hands upon
a centre-table with three legs suffices to produce t,he lifting
satisfactory rational explanation, it seems to me we must of the leg the farthest removed, and thus to strike all the
proceed gradually, classify the facts, analyze them, and only letters of the alphabet,. The movement is less easy in the
admit them in proportion to their absolute and delnonstrated case of a table with four legs; but it can also be obtained.
certainty. We live in a very complex universe, and the most These three movements are the only ones, it seems to me,
singularconfusion has arisen among phenomena which are which can be explained without t,he least mystery. Still, the
third is only explicable in case the table is not too heavy.
very distinct one from another.
As I said in 1869, at the tomb of Allan Kardec, " The 4. IMPARTING LIFE TO THE TABLE..
cau~es inaction are of several kinds, and are more numer- Several experimenters being seated around the table, and
ous than one would suppose." forming the chain with t,he desire of seeing it rise, the waves
 . ..

31% MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC [Link] EXPLANATORY
HYPOTHESES 413
of a kind of vibrations (light at first) are perceivqd lo'be my hand near a thermometer, and ascertain that something
passing through the wood. Then balancineare noticed, invisible is escaping from my hand, and, at a certain re-
some of which may be due to muscular impulses. But al- move, making the column of mercury rise. This something
ready something more is now mingled in the process. The else is heat; that .is to say, aërial waves in movement. Then
table seems to be set in motion of itself. Sometimes it rises, why might not other radiations emanate from our hands and
no longer as if moved by a lever, or by pressure on one side, from ourwhole being 8
but underthehands, as if it were sticking to them. This But, nevertheless, there is a very [Link] scientific fact
levitation is contrary to the lawof gravitation. Hence we to be established.
have here a discharge of force. This force emanates from This physical force is greater than that of the muscles, as
our organism. There is no sufficient reason to seek for any- I am going to prove.
thing [Link], what we have detected is a thing 6. LIFTINGOF WEXGHTS.
of prime importance.
A table is loaded with sacks of sand and with stones weigh-
5. ROTATION WITHOUT OXT TACT. ing altogether from 165 to 1'76 pounds. The table lifts each
The table being in rapid rotation, we can remove our hands of its three legs several times in succession. But it suc-
from it, and see it continue the movement. The velocity or cumbs under the load and is broken. The operators ascer-
momentum acquired may [Link] the momentary contin- tainthattheir muscular force would not havesufficed to
uation of this movement and the explanation given in the produce the observedmovements. The will acts by a dy-
case of No. l may suffice. But there is more in it than this. namic prolongation.
Rotation is obtained by holding the hands at a distance of 7. LIFTINGSWITHOUT CONTACT.
someincheaabove the table, without any contact. A light
layer of flour dusted over the table is found to be untouched The hands forming the chain some inches above the side
by a single finger. Hence the force emitted by the operators of the table which is to be lifted, and all wills being concen-
must penetrate the table. trated on the one idea, the lifting of each of the legs in suc-
The experimenta prove that we have in us a force capable cession takes place. The liftings are more readily obtained
of acting a t a distance upon matter, a natural force, gener- than rotations without contact. A n energetic will seems to
ally latent, but developed in different degrees in different be indispensable. The unknown force passes fromthe ex-
mediums. The action of the force is manifested under con- perimenters tothetable without any contact. If the table
ditions as yet imperfectly determined. (See pp. 81, 248 et is dusted over with flour, as I said, not the slightest finger-
8eq.) We can act upon brute matter, upon living matter, touch is seen to be imprinted on it.
upon the brain and upon the mind. This action of the will Thewill of the sitters is in play. The table is ordered
is shown in telepathy. It is shownmore simply still by to make such and such a movement and it obeys. This will
means of a well-known experiment : at the theatre, in church, seems to be prolongedbeyond the bodies of the operating
when hearing music, a man accustomed to the exercise of will- experimenters in the shape of a force that is quite intense.
This power is developedbyaction. The balancings pre-
power, and sitting several rows of seats behind a woman, parefortherisingandthelatterfor complete levitation.
say,compels her to turn around in lesa than a minute. A
force emanates from us, from our spirit, acting undoubtedly 8. REDUCIXG
THE WEIGHT OF THD TABLE OB OTHER OB-
by means of etherwaves, thepoint of departure of which JECTS.
is a cerebral movement. A quadrangular table is suspended by one of its sides to a
Andthere is nothing very mysterious in this. I bring dynamometer attached to a cord which is held above by some
 .

414 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLIANATORY HYPOTHESES 415

kind of a hook. The needle of the dynamometer,which, from the floor, for somesecondsonly, and then falls back.
in a state of rest, indicates 35 kilograms, gradually descends It moves up in a balancing, undulating, hesitating way, with
to 3, 2, l, O kilograms. effort, and then fallsstraight down. Whileresting our
A mahogany board is placed horizontally, and hung by one hands upon it, we have the sensation of a fluid resistance, as
end to a spring balance. This balance (or scales), has a of it were in water,- thekind of fluid sensation we ex-
point whichtouches a pane of glass blackened by smoke. perience when we bring a piece of iron into the field of force
When this pane of glass is put in movement, the needle of a magnet.
traces a horizontal line. During the experiments, thisline A table, a chair or other movable article sometimes rises,
is no longer straight, but marks reductions and increments of not merely a foot or so, but almost to the height ofone's
weight, produced without any contact of hands. In the ex- ,head, and even as high as the ceiling.
mriments of Crookes we eaw that the weight of a board in- The force brought into play is considerable.
&eased almost 1% pounds.
The medium places his hands upon the back of a chair and II. LE,VITATION OF HUMAN BODIES.
lifts the chair. This case is of the same order as the preceding. The me-
9. AUGMENTATION
OF THE WEIGHT OB A TABLE OB OTHEP dium may be raised with his chair and placed upon the table,
0BJECTS.- PRESSURES EXERTED. sometimes in unstable equilibrium. He mayalso be lifted
alone (without the chair)."
The dynamometric experiments that we have just recalled In this case the Unknown Force does not seem to be simply
themselves go to show this augmentation. mechanical: intention is mingled with the act, and ideas of
I havemore than onceseen, in other circumstances, a precaution, which, however may proceed from the mentality
table become so heavy that it was absolutely impossible for of the medium himself, aided perhaps by that of the sitters.
two men to lift it from the floor. When they succeeded in This fact seems to us to contravene known scientific laws.
doing so, in a measure, by means of quick jerks, it still
seemed to stick to the floor as if held by glue or india Tubber, These observations may be compared with a little social diversion
which is rather popular, andisparticularly described in one of the
which immediately pulled it back to the floor after it had first works of Sir David Brewster (Letters t o Walter8cott upon Na-
been slightly displaced. tural Magic) in the following terms:
" The heaviest person of the company lies down on twochairs, the
I n all these experiments, there is proof of the action of an
shoulders resting on one and the legs on the other. Four persons, one
unknown natural force emanatingfrom the chiefexper- - a t each shoulder and one a t each foot, try to lift him, and a t first find
imenter or from the collective powersof the group, an organic the thing difficult to do. Then the subject of the experiments gives two
force under the influence of the will. .It._ is not necessary to signals by clappinghishands
fourothersinhale
twice. Atthe first signal, he andthe
deeply. When the five persons arefull of airhe
suppose the presence of superhuman spmts. gives the second signal, which is for the lifting. This takes place with-
outtheleast difficulty, a s if the person lifted were as light as a
IO. TH^ CDMPLIGE LIFTING UP, OE LEVITATION OF THX feather."
TBBLE-4 I have frequently performed the sameexperiment upon a man in a
eittingposture by placing two fingers under his legs and twounder
As there may be confusion in applying the word lifting '' hie arm-pits, the operators inhaling all together uniformly.
to a table which only rises on one side at a certain angle, I This is undoubtedly a case of biological action. Butwhatisthe es-
sentialnature of gravitation ? Faraday regarded it asan '' electro-
while still touching the floor, it is expedient to apply the magnetic '' force. Weber explains the movement of the planets around
word " levitation '' to the case in which it is completely sep- the sun by " electro-dynamism." Thetails of comets, always turned
away from the sun, indicate a solar repulsion coincident with the at-
arated from the floor. traction. We know no more to-day than in the time of Newton what
Generally, in levitation, it rises from six to eight inches gravitation really is.
'l
I
I
 416 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 417
I t is the samecase as that of the cat whichknows how to rapped. Therapsare heard. Well-known airsare accom-
turn of itself, without any outside support or leverage, when panied by raps beaten in perfect time with them and iden-
it falls from a roof, and always ,falls on its feet, a fact c0.n- tifiable as the counterpart of the airs. When bits of musi0
trary to the principles of mechanics taught in every univer- are played, the accompaniment is rapped out. Thingstake
' sity in the world. place as if an invisible being were listening and acting. But
how could a being without acoustic nerve and without a tym-
12. LIFTINGOF VIGRY HEAVP PIECEEIOF FURNITURE. panum hear ? The sonorous waves must strike something in
A piano weighing more than 750 pounds rises up off of order to be interpreted. I s this a mental transmission ?
Its two front legs, and it. is ascertained that its weight varies. These rapsare made. Who makes them ? And how ?
The force with which it is animated arises from the prox- The mysterious force emits radiations of wavelengths inac-
imity of a child eleven years old, but it is not the conscious cessible to our retina, but powerful and rapid, without doubt
will of this child which acts.- A heavy oak dining-table may more rapid than those of light, and situated beyond the ultra-
rise so high that its under side can be inspected during the violet. Besides, light impedes their action.
levitation. In proportion as we advance in the examination of the
- 13. DISPUCEMENT OF OBJECTS WITHOUT CONTACT.
phenomena, the psychic, intellectual, mental element is more
and more mingled with the physical and mechanical element.
A heavy easy-chair moves about of its own accord in the In the case we are considering we are forced to admit the
room. Heavy curtains reaching from the ceiling to the floor presence, the action, of a thought. I s this thought simply
are forcibly swelled out aa if by a gust of wind, and envelop that of the medium, of the chief experimenter, or the result-
as with a hood the heads of persons seated at a tablf, at a ant of the thoughts of all the sitters united ?
distance of three feet and more. A centre table persists in Since these raps or those made by the legs of the table, on
the endeavor to climb upon the experiment-table - and gets being interrogated, dictate words and phrases and express
there. While a sceptical spectator is bantering the " spir- ideas, there is something more in the matter than a simple
its," the table about which the experiments are taking place mechanical action. The unknown force, the existence of
makes a move towards the incredulous person, drawing the which we have been obligedto admit in the preceding observa-
sitters along with it, and pins him to the wall until he begs tions, is in this case at the service of an intelligence. The
for mercy. mystery grows complicated.
As in the preceding cases, these movements may represent It is owing to this intellectual element that I proposed (be-
the expression of the will of the medium, and may not nec- fore 1865 ; see p. xix) to give the name " psychic " to this
essarily indicate the presence of a mind external to his own. force, a name proposed anew by Crookes in 1871. We saw
Nevertheless -? also that, as early as the year 1855, Thury had proposed the
14. RAPS AND TYPTOLOQY. name " psychode " and '' ecteneic " force. From this on, it
would be impossible for us in our examination not to take
In tables, in pianos, and other pieces of furniture, in the into consideration this psychic force.
walls, in the air, raps are heard, and their vibrations per- Up to this point, Gasparin's fluid might suf6ce, just as un-
ceivedby the touch. They somewhatresemble the sounds comcious muscular action sufficed for the first three classes
obtainable by tapping against a piece of wood with the joint of facts. But starting from thisfourteenth class, the psychic
of the bentfinger. The question arises,Whence come these orderplainly manifests itself (and even in the preceding
noises ? The question is askedaloud. Theyare repeated. class we begin already to divine its presence).
The request is made that acertain number of strokes be'
418 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATOR,Y IlYPOTHESES 319
15. M~LET-BLOWS. 18'. A P P ~ T I O N
OFSHANDS.
I have heard -as have all other experimenters -not only The hands are not always invisible. Sometimes semi-lu-
sharp light raps upon a table, like those of which I have just minous ones are seen to appear in the dim light,- hands of
been speaking, but mallet-blows, or blowsof the fist upon a men, hands ofwomen, hands of children. Sometimes they
door, capable of knocking down a man if he had received have clear-cut outlines. Theyaregenerally firm and moist
them. Generally, these tremendous blows are a protestation to the touch,sometimes icy cold. At times they melt away
against a denial on the part of one of the sitters. There is in in the hand. For my part I was never able to grasp one.
them an intention,a will, an intelligence. They may also It was always the mysterious hand t,hat tookmine,- often
be due to the medium, who is indignant, or who is amusing feeling through acurtain, or sometimes by nude contact,
himself or herself. The action is notmuscular; forthe or pinching my ear, or running its fingers through my hair
hands and feet of the medium are held, and the rapping may with great rapidity.
occursome distance away from him or her.
19. APPAIUTIOMS OF HEADS.
16. TOUCHINQS. For my part, I have only seen two : the bearded silhouette
Fraud can explain those which take place within the reach at Monfort-l'Amaury, and the head of a young girl with high-
of the medium's hands, for they only occur in the darkness. arched forehead, in my drawing-room. In the case of the
But they have been felt at a certain distance beyond this first I had believed that there was a mask held at the end
reach as if the hands of the medium were prolonged. of a rod. But at my own home, there was no possibility of
an accomplice, and at present I am not less sure of the first
17. ACTXON
O,FINVISIBLE HANDS.
instance than of the [Link]. Moreover, the testimony of other
observers is so precise and so often given that it isimperative
An accordion in an open-work case, or cage, which keeps that it be classed with my own.
any other hand from touching it, is held in one hand by the
end opposite the keys. Presentlytheinstrument begins to 20. PHANTOMS.
lengthen and shorten of itself and plays various melodies. I have never seen any of these nor photographed them, but
An invisible hand wit.h fingers (or something likethem), it seems to me impossible to be sceptical about that. of Katie
must therefore be acting. (Experiment of Crookes with ,King, observed for three consecutive years byCrookes and
Home.) As the reader has seen I repeated this experiment others who experimented with the medium Florence Cook.
withEusapia. One can scarcely doubt, also, the reality of the phantoms seen
Another time, a musicbox, [Link] handle of which was turned by the commit,tee of the Dialectical Society of London. We
by an invisible hand, played in perfect time with the musio have seen that trickery plays a frequent rôle in this sort of
movements that Eusapia was making upon my cheek. apparitions ; but, in the experiments just mentioned, the ob-
An invisible hand forcibly snatched from my hand a block servations were really conducted with such perspicacity that
of paper which I was holding out with extended arm at the they are safe from a11 objection, and have on them the stamp
height of my head. of a purely scientific character.
Invisible hands removed from M. Schiaparelli's head his These phantoms, like the heads and the hands mentioned,
spectacles (furnished with a spring), which were firmly fas- seem to be condensations of fluids produced by the powers of
tened behind his ears, and that so nimbly and with such light the medium, and do not prove the existence of independent
touch that he did not perceive it until afterwards. spirits.
420 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 421

When the hand is stretched out, the rubbing of a beard can 23. MANIBESTATIONS DIBJWTED BY AN INTELLIGENCE.
be felt upon it. This happened to me, as well as to others. These have been already glimpsed in a certain number of
Did the beard really exist, or was it only a case of tactual and the preceding cases. The forces in action here are of the
visual sensations 8 The case here immediately following psychical a8 wellas the physical class. The question is to
pleads in favor of its reality. know whether the intellect of the medium and of the sitters
is sufficient to explain everything.
21. IMPEESS~ONS OF HEADS AAD OF HAXDS. In all the cases I have previously mentioned, this intellect
seem to suffice, but only by attributing to it occult faculties of
The heads and the hands formed are sufficiently dense to
leave a mould of their features and shape imprinted in the prodigious potency.
putty or the clay. Perhaps the most curious thing is that it In the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible for
u8 to understand the way in which mind, conscious or un-
is not necessary that these weird formations, these forcers, be
visible in order to produce impressions. We have seen a vig- conscious, can lift a table, make raps in wood, form a hand
or a head, stamp an imprint. The modus operandi is abso-
oroua geature imprint itself at a distance in clay.
lutely unintelligible to us. Future science will perhaps dis-
22. PA8SING OF MATTEB THROUGH MATTER.- TRANSFE~, cover it. But all these actions never overpass the limits of
man'scapacities, andlet us admit, the capacity required
OR T H E BRXNGINGC I N O F OtBJECTS.
is not an extraordinary one.
A book hasbeenseen passing through a curtain. A bell The hypothesis of spirits of another order than that of
has passed from a library-room, lockedwit.h a key, into a living human beings does not seem to be necessary.
drawingroom. A flower has beenseen passing perpendic- The hypothesis of the doubling of the psychic personality
ularly downward through a dining-roomtable. Some have of the medium is the most simple. Is it sufficient to entirely
thought they had ocular proof of the mysterious appearance satisfy us 8
of plants, of flowers, of fruits, and other objecb, which (as Hard blows on the table like those of a fist, contrasting
the claim went) had passed through walla, ceilings, doors. with gentle taps, may have this origin, in spite of appear-
Thelatter phenomenontook place several times in my ance.
presence. But I wasneverable to get certain proof of it It is the same with apparitions of the hands, of heads, of
under unimpeachable conditions ; and I have ferretedout spectral forms. We cannot declare this origin of the phe-
nomena to be impossible ; and it is more simple than to as-
aume that they are due to wandering spirits.
another Aoden ring, a string tied at the two ends making The conveying of objects over the heads of the experiment-
a knot, etc.) would, of course, be a thing of exceptional in- ers in complets darkness, without touching either chandelier
terest if the medium Slade had not the bad reputation of be- or heads, is scarcely comprehensible. But do we understand
ing just a skilful prestidigitator,- a reputation probably any better how a spirit canhave hands ? And if it did,
only too well merited. I should thinkthatthere is good might it not amuse itself thus ? Spectacles are taken from a
reason to suppose that the experiments of Crookes are au- face without the act being perceived ; a handkerchief is re-
thentic. moved from the neck, then snatched from between the teeth
Has space only three dimensions 8 We will set this ques- that are holding i t ; a fan is transferred from one pocket to
tion mide. another. Do latent faculties of the human organism auf-
 422 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 323
fice to explain these intentional actions ? It is right for us In mediumistic experiments things happen as if an invisi-
neither to affirm nor to deny. ble being were present, able to transport the different objects
through the air, usually without striking against the heads
I have thus passed in review the whole series of paenomena of the persons who are sitting in various parts of the room in
to be explained, at least all those within the limits of the almost complete darkness ; capable also of acting upon a cur-
plan of this work. tain like a strong wind, pushing it far out, able to fling this
A first, and obviously safe, conclusion is that man has curtain over your head, giving you a Capuchin hood or
in himself a fluidic and psychic force whose nature is still coiffure, and pressing strongly against your body, as if with
unknown, but which is capable of acting at a distance upon two nervous arms, and touching you wit,h a warm and living
matter and of moving the same. hand. I haveperceived these hands in the most unmistak-
This force is the expression of our will, of our desires; ble way. The invisible being can condense itself sufficiently
I mean as it appears in the first ten cases of the preceding to become visible, and I have seen it passing in the air. To
classifications. For the other cases we must add the uncon- suppose that I, as well as other experimenters, was the dupe
scious, the unforeseen, wills different fromour conscious of an hallucination is an hypothesis which cannot be main-
wills. tained for a single moment and would simply show that those
The force is at once physical and psychical. I f the me who entertained the idea were far more likely to have an
d i m puts forth a force of twelve or fourteen pounds to lift hallucination than we were, or else that they entertained the
a table, his weight undergoes a corresponding increase. The most inexcusable prepossession and prejudice. Wewere in
hand which we see forming near him is able to grasp an ob- the bestpossible condition for observing and analysizing
ject. The hand really exists, and is then reabsorbed. Might any phenomena whatever and no sceptic will make us b e
we not compare the force which brings it into existence with lieve anything different on this point.
that building-force of nature, which reproduces a claw for the There is certainly an invisible prolongation of the organ-
lobster and a tail for the lizard 1 The intervention of spirits ism of the medium. This prolongation may be compared to
is not all indispensable." \
the radiation which leaps from the loadstone to reach a bit
It is not indispensable, even in certain cases i n which it seems t o be of iron and put it into movement.
eo. Let us take an example. At a s h n c e in Genoa ( 1906), with Eu-.
sapia, M. Yourihich, general secretary of the Psychological Institute of We can also compare it with the effluvium which emanates
Paris, besought the spirit of his father, who asserted that he was pres- &om electrified bodies."
ent before him in ghostly form, to give him a proof of identity by
producing in the clay an impression of his hand, and above all of a blessing, and he perceives a hand which makes the sign of the cross be
finger the nail of which war! long and pointed. The request was made forehim (in the Russianstyle, thethree fingers together) upon the
i n Russian, which the medium did not understand. Now this impres- forehead, the breast, and the two sides. Thesameexplanation is ap-
sion was sure enough obtained several months after, with the mark of plicable here.
the nail referred to. Doea this fact prove that the soul of the father It was a mistake to say that this ghost and his son conversed to-
of the experimenter actually performed the act with his hand ? No. her inthe Russian tongue, as the published account said. M.
The medium received the mentalsuggestion for producing the pheno- f k i 6 v i c h only heard some unintelligible sounds. People always ex-
menon! and did in fact produce it. The Russian language did not make rggerate, and these exa gerations work the greatest possible harm t o
any difference. The suggestion was [Link], thehandwas the truth. Why ampli&? Is therenot enough of the unknown in
much smaller than that of the man whose spirit was evoked. these mysterious phenomena ?
The experimenter next asks his deceased fatherto give him his In certaincountries(Canada,Colorado), a gas-jet can be lighted
by holding out the finger toward it. ,

h
424 MYSTERIOUS PSYC€IIC FORCES EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 425
I also comparedit some pages backto calorific waves. of gliding momentarily out from the body of the medium (for
When a medium makes a gesture of striking the table his presence is indispensable).
with his closedfist,. but stops short at a distance of from How can this double, this fluidic bodyhave the consist-
eight to twelve inches, and when, at everg gesture, a sonorous ency of flesh and of muscles ? Wedo not understandit.
stroke of the fist echoes in the table, we see in that the proof But it would neither be wise nor intelligent to admit only
of a dynamic prolongation of the arm of the medium. that which we can comprehend. It must be remembered
When she pretends to imitate on my cheek the rotation of that, for the greater part of the time, we imagine we compre
the crank of a musicbox, and when this box keeps time with hend things because we can give an explanation of them; that
the imitated movement, stops when the fingers stop, plays is all. Now this explanation rarely has any intrinsic
the tune faster when the finger accelerates its circular trac- value. It is only a framework of wordstackedtogether.
ings, goes slower when it goes slower, etc., we.>havehere sgain Thus you fancy you understand why an apple fallsfrom
proof of dynamic action at a distance. the top of the tree, because you say that the earth attracts
When an accordion plays of its own will, when a bell b e it.
Thisis
pure simplemindedness. Forin what does
gins to ring of itself, when a lever indicates such and such theattraction of theearth consist!? You know nothing
a pressure, there is a real force in action. about it; but you are satisfied, because the fact is a common
We must therefore admit, first of all, this prolongation of one.
the muscular and nervous force of the subject. I am keenly When the curtain is inflated as if pushed out by a hand,
sensible of the fact that this is a bold proposition, almost in- and when you feel you are pinched in the shoulder by a hand
credible, most strange and extraordinary ; but after all the at the moment the curtain touches you, you have the impres-
facts are there, and whether the matter irks us or not is a sion that you are t,he dupe of an accomplice hidden behind
small matter. the curtain. There is some one there who is playing a prac-
This prolongation is real, and only extends to a certain tical joke on you. You draw aside the curtain. Nothing ?
distance from the medium, a distance which can be measured, Since it is impowible for you to admit a trick of any kind,
and which varies according to circumstances. But is it suffi- because YOU, and you alone, hung that curtain between the
cient to explain all the observed phenomena ? two walls ; and since you know that there is no person behind
We are forced to admit that this prolongation, usually in- it because you are close by it and have not lost it out of your
visible, and impalpable, may becomevisible and palpable ; sight; and since the medium is seated near you with his, or
take, especially, the form of an articulated hand, with flesh her, hands and legs held, you are forced to admit that a tem-
and muscles ; and reveal the exact form of a head or a body. porarily materialized being has touched you.
The fact is incomprehensible; but after so many different It is [Link] that these facts may be denied and that they
observations, it seems to me impossible to see in this curious are denied. Those who have not personally verified them are
phenomenon only trickery or hallucination, Logic lays its excusable. It is not a question of ordinary events which take
laws upon us and commands our respect. place every dayand whicheverybody can observe. I t is
A fluidic and condensable double bas therefore the power evident, as a general proposition, that, if we admit on13
 -I-

426 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLAN,ATORY HYPOTHESES 421

what we have ourselves seen, we shall not get very far. We Note also that, in important manifestations, the medium
admit the existence of the Philippine Islands without having suffers,complains, groans, loses an enormous amount of
been there, of Charlemagne and of Julius Caesar without force, exhibits an astonishing nervous energy, experiences
having seen them, of total eclipses of the sun, volcanic erup- hyperæsthesia, and at the apogee of the manifestation, seems
tions, earthquakes, etc., as facts of which we have not our- foraninstantto be absolutely prostrated. And, intruth,
eelves been eye-witnesses. The distance of a star, the weight why should not his mind as well as his fluidic force be haled
of a planet, the composition of one of the heavenly bodies, out of his body and be exhausted in external work ? The
the most marvelous discoveries of astronomy,do not excite psychical force of a living human being is able, then, to
scepticism, except in the minds of wholly uncultivated create " material " phenomena -organs, spectral figures.
persons,becausepeople in general appreciate the value of But what is matter 8
astronomic methods. But undoubtedly, in these psychical My readers know that matter does not exist as it is per-
matters, the phenomena are so extraordinary that one is ex- ceivedby our senses. These only give us incomplete im-
cusable for not believing them. pressions of an Unknown Reality. Analysis shows us that
Nevertheless, if anyone will give himself the trouble to matter is only a form of energy.
reason he will positively be compelled to recognize that, in In the work called A Propos d' Eusapia Paladino, which
following on this trail, he is inevitably brought to a stand in sums up his experiments with this medium, M. Guillaume
face of the following dilemma: eitherthe experimenters de Fontenay ingeniously tries to explain the phenomena by
havebeen the dupes of the mediums,whohave uniformlx the dynamic theory of matter. It is probable that this ex-
cheated, or else these stupefyingfactsactually exist. Now planation is one of those that make the nearest approach to
since the first hypothesis is eliminated, we are forced to ad- the truth.
mit the reality of the occurrences. According to this theory, the quality whichseems to us
A fluidic body is formed at the expense of the medium, characteristic of matter - solidity, stability - is no more
emerges from his organism, moves, acts. Whatis the in- substantial than the light which strikes our eyes, or the sound
telligent force that directs this fluidic body and makes it act which enters our ears. We see ; that is to say, we receive
in such or such a way ? Either i t is the mind of the me- upon theretinarays whichaffect it. But aroundand on
dium, or it is another'mind thatmakes use of this same fluid. every side of the retina undulate countless other rays that
There is no escape from this conclusion. I may remark that leave no impression upon it. It is the same with the other
the meteorologicalconditions,fine weather, agreeable tem- fienses.
perature, cheerfulness, high spirits, favor the phenomena ; Matter, like light; like heat, like electricity, seems to be
that the medium is never wholly out of touch with the mani- the result of a species of '[Link] what 0
festations, and frequently knows what is going to take place ; Of the primitive monistic substance, quickened by manifold
that the cause escapes the mental grasp and is fugitive and vibrations.
capricious ; and that the apparitions fade away like a dream Most assuredly, matter is not that inert thing thatwe com-
as silently as they are formed. monly suppose.
 428 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPL4NATORY HYPOTHESES 429
A comparison willaid in comprehending this. Takea complicated organism, is a special kind of movement, a move-
carriage-wheel. Place it horizontally on a pivot. While ment determined and organized by adirecting force. Ac-
the wheel is motionless, leta rubber ball fall between its cording to this theory, momentary apparitions wouldbe
spokes. This ball will almost always pass through between less diflcultto accept andto comprehend. Thevital force
the. epokes. Now give aslight movement tothe wheel. of the medium might externalize itself and produce in a
The ball will be pretty often hit by t,he revolving spokes, point of space a vibratory system which shouldbe the counter-
and will rebound. I f we increase the rotation, the ball will part of itself, in a more or less advanced degree of visibility
now no longer pass through the wheel, which will have be- and solidity. These phenomena can with difficulty be
come for it a wholly impenetrable disc. reconciled with the old hypothesis of the independent and
We can try a similar experiment by arranging the wheel intrinsic existence of matter: They better fit that of matter
vertically and shooting arrows through it. A bicycle-wheel as a mode of motion -in a word, simple movement, giving
will serve the purpose verywell,owing to the slenderness the sensation of matter.
of its spokes. When not in movement, the arrows will pass There is, of course, only one substance, the primitive sub
through it nine times out of ten. In movement, it will pro- stance, which antedates theoriginal nebula - the womb
duce in the arrows deviations more or less marked. With from which all bodies in the universe have issued. The s u b
increase in the speed, it would be made impenetrable, and stances which the chemists take to be simple bodies -oxygen,
all the arrows would be broken as if against the steel plating hydrogen,azote, iron, gold, silver, etc.-- aremineral el*
of an armored ship. L/
ments which have been gradually formed and differentiated,

I’ These comparisons allow us to understand how matter is just as, later, the vegetable and animal species were differ-
really only a mode of motion, only an expression of force, a entiated. And not only is the substance of the world one,
manifestation of energy. It will disappear (it must be but it also has the same origin as energy, and these two forms
t
borne inmind) on analysis, which ends by takingrefuge aremutually interchangeable. Nothingis lost, nothing is
ín the intangible, invisible, imponderable, and almost im- created, everything is transformed.*
material atom. The atom itself which was regarded as the The unique substance is immaterial and unknowable in its
basis of matterfifty years ago, has now disappeared, or essence. We see and touch only its condensations, its aggre-
rather has been metamorphosed and reappears as a hypothet- gations, its arrangements ; that is to say, forms produced by
ical, impalpable vortex. movement. Matter, force, life, thought, areall one.
I will allow myself to repeat here what I have said a hun- I n reality, there is only one principle in the universe, and
dred times elsewhere : The universe is a dynamism. it is at once intelligence, force, and matter, embracing all
The difficulty we have in explaining to ourselves appari- thatis andall that possibly can be. That which we call
tions, materializations, when we try to apply to them the matter is only a form of motion. At the basis of a11 is force,
ordinary conception of matter, is considerably lessened the dynamism, and universal mind, or spirit.
moment we conceive that matter is only a mode of motion. See what I formerly wrote on this subject in Lumen, in U r d e , in
Life itself, from the most rudimentary cell up to the most ì%ella, and in my Discours sur l’uité de force et l’unit6 &e subhnce,
published in l’drcnuaire du Cosmos, for 1866.
 EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 431
Visible matter, which stands to us at the present moment been studying. The question at present resolves itself into
for the universe, and which certain classic doctrines consider this: Does this dynamism belongwholly to the experi-
as the origin of all things -movement, life, thought - is menters 8 We have so little real knowledge of our mental
only a word void of meaning. The universe is a great organ- nature that it is impossible for us to know what this nature
ism controlled by a dynamism of the psychical order. Mind is capable of producing, even in certain states of unconscious-
gleams through its every atom. nem -infact especially in these. Thedirectingintelli-
The environment or atmosphere is psychic. Thereis gence is not always the personal, normal, intelligence of the
mind in every thing, not only in human and animalkre, but experimenters or of any one whatever among them. We ask
in plants, in minerals, in space. . the entity what its name is, and it gives us a name which is
It is not the bodywhich produces life: it is rather life not ours ; it replies to our questions, and usually claims to
which organizes the body. Does not the will to live increase be a discarnate soul, thespirit of a deceasedperson. But
the viability of enfeebled persons, just as the giving up of if we drive the question home, this entity finally steals away
the wish to live may abridge life and even extinguish it 8 without having given us sufficient proofs of its identity.
Your heart beats, night and day, whatever be the position There results from this the impression that the “ medium,”
of your body. It isa well-mounted spring. Who or what or principal subject of the experiment, hasresponded for
adjusted this elastic spring 8 himself, has reflected himself, without knowing it.
The embryo is formed in the womb of the mother, in the Moreover, this entity, this personality, this spirit, has his
egg of the bird. There is neitherheartnor brain. At a individual will, his caprices, his cantankerousness, and some-
certain moment the heart beats for the first time. Sublime times acts in opposition to our own thoughts. H e tells us
moment! It will beat in the child, in the adolescent, in the absurd, foolish, brutal,insane things, and amuseshimself
man, in the woman, at the rate of about IOO,OOO pulsations withfantastic combinations of letters, real head-splitting
a day, of 36,500,000 a year, of 1,825,000,000 in fifty puzzles. It astonishes and stupefies us.
years. Thisheart that has just been formed is going to What is thisbeing 8
beat a thousand millions of pulsations, two thousand millions, Two inescapable hypotheses present themselves. Either
three thousand millions, a number determined by its in- it is wewho produce these phenomena or it is spirits. But
herent force ; then it will stop and the body will fall into mark this well: these spirits are not necessarily the souls of
ruins. Who or what wound up this watch once for all 8 the dead ; for other kinds of spiritual beings may exist, and
Dynamism, the vital energy. space may be full of them without our ever knowing any-
I What sustains the earth in space ? thing about it, except under unusual circumstances. Do we
Dynamism, the velocity of its movement. not find in the different ancient literatures, demons, angels,
What is it in thebullet that kills 8 gnomes,goblins, sprites, spectres,elementals, etc ? Perhaps
Its velocity. these legends arenot without some foundation in fact.
Everywhere energy, everywhere the invisible element. It Then we cannot but remark that, in our [Link] studies
is this same dynamism that produces the phenomena we have and experiments, in order to succeed we always address an

I
-.
.
- .-L-
432 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATORYHYPOTHESES 433
invisible being who is supposed tohear us. I f thisis an power, distinctfrom our dominant reason. We are on the
illusion, it dates from the very origin of Spiritualism, from point of pronouncing words that are not a part of our habit-
the raps produced unconsciously by the Fox sisters in their ual vocabulary, and ideas suddenly traverse and arrest the
chambers at Hydesville and at Rochester in 1848. But onm course of our thoughts. During the reading of a book which
more, this personification may pertain to our own being or it seemed interesting to us) our soul spreads her wings and flies
may represent a mind external to ourselves. to other realms, while our eyes continue in vain the mechani-
In order to admit the first hypothesis we must admit at cal act of reading. We are discussing certain projects in our
the same time that our mental nature is not simple, that tE&e mind, as if we were so many judges ; and then, one would like
are in us several psychic elements, and that one at least of to know in all simplicity, whence comes this distraction 8
these elements may act unknown to ourselves, make raps in a In his tireless researches, the great investigator of psychic
table, move any piece of furniture, lift a weight,touch us phenomena, Myers, to whomweowe synthetic studies upon
thesubliminal consciousness,reached the conviction, with
with a hand that seems real, play an instrument, create a
Ribot, that “ the me is a co-ordination.”
spectral figure, read hidden words, answer questions, act with
a personal will -and all this, I repeat, without our own These supernormal phenomena (writes this competent and
knowledge. learned inquirer) are due not to the action of the spirits of
This is tolerably complicated ;but it is not impossible. deceased persons, as Wallace believes, but, for the most part,
That thereare in us psychicelements,obscure, uncon- to the action of an incarnate spirit, either that of the sub-
scious, capable of acting outside of the sphere of our normal ject himself or of some agent or other.*
consciousness, this is something we can notice every night in The word “ subliminal ” means what is beneath the thresh-
old (limen) of the consciousness,- the sensations, the
our dreams ; that is to say, during a quarter, or a third part thoughts, the memories,which remain at the bottom, and
of our life. Scarcely has sleep closed our eyes, our ears, all seem to represent a kind of sleeping me. I do not pretend
our senses, than our thoughts begin to work just the same as to affirm (adds the author) that there always exists in us two
during the day, though without rational direction, without me’s correlative andparallel: I denote rather by the s u b
logic, under the most incoherent forms, freed from our custo- liminal me thatpart of the me which ordinarily remains
latent, and I admit that there may be not merelyco-oper-
mary conceptions of space and time, in a world entirely ation between these
two quasi-independent currents of
different from the normal world. The physiologists and thoughts, but also changes of level and alternations of per-
psychologists have for centuries been trying to determine the sonality.? Medical observation (Félida,Alma) proves that
mechanism of the dream without having yet obtained any there is in us a rudimentary supernormal faculty, something
satisfactory solution of the problem. But the proved fact which is probably useless to us, but which indicates the exist-
that we seesometimes, inour dreams, occurrenceswhich ence, beneath the level of our consciousness, of a reserve of
latent unsuspected faculties.$
take place at a distance, proves that we have in u8 unknown What is it that is active in us in telepathic phenomena ?
powers.
The E m a n Personality, p. 11.
Again, it is not rare for each of us to experience, sometimes t Id., p.23.
(all our faculties being on the alert), the play of an interior $Id., p. 83. -
 - .- _,

434 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPUNATORY HYPOTHESES '435

act, perceive,organize, and think without the collaboration
We may recall the case of Thomas Garrison (8ociety for
ofmuscles,organs,senses and brain. It isnothing less
Psychical Research, VIII, p. 125) who, while sitting with than theuplifted sub-conscious portion of our being. It
his wife at a religious service, suddenly gets up in themiddle constitutes, in truth, an externalizable sub-conscious nature,
of the sermon, goes out of the church, and, as if impelled by existing in the me with the normal conscious nature."
an irresistible impulse, walks twenty miles afoot to go to see
This sub-consciousnature does not seem to depend upon the
his mother, whom he finds dead on his arrival, although he
organism. It is probably anterior to it, and will survive ït.
did not know that she was ill and although she was relatively
It seems to be superior to it, endowed with powers and ac-
young (fifty-eight years). I have a hundred observati@
quirements very different from the powers and acquirements
similar to this in writing before me. It is not our normal
of the normal, supernormal, and transcendent consciousness.
habitual nature that is in action in such a case a8 this.
Assuredly, there is in t-his view of the case more than one
There is probably in US, more or less sentient, a subcon- mystery still, were it only the feat of performing a material
scious nature, and it is this which seems to be at work in act at a distance, and that (not less strange) of apparently
mediumistic experiences. I am pretty much of the opinion having nothing to do with that kindof an act.
Myers expresses in the following paragraph :* The first rule of the scientific method is first to seek expla-
Spiritualists attribute the movement and the dictations at nations in the known before having recourse to the unknown,
their séances to the action of disembodied intelligences. But and we should never fail to comply with this rule. But if
if 8 table executemovements without being touched, there this method of sailing dqes not bring us to port, it is our duty
is no reason to attribute these movements to the intervention to confess it.
of my deceased grandfather, rather than to my own proper I very much fear that that iswhat is the matter here. We
intervention ; for if I do not SM how I could have done it
are not satisfied. The explanation is not clear, and is float-
myself, it is not clear to me how the effect could have been
produced by the action of my grandfather. As for dicta- ing a little too much at random in the waves - and the wav-
tions, the most plausible explanation seems to me to be for ering uncertainty -of the hypothesis.
us to admit that they do not come from the conscious me, At the point at which we have now arrived in this chapter
but from that profound and hidden region where fragmen- of [Link] are precisely in the position of Alexander
tary and incoherent dreams are elaborated. Aksakof when he wrote his great work, Animism und 8 p i d -
This explanatory hypothesis is held, with an [Link] uaZism, in reply to the book of Dr. von Hartmann on 8pi~it-
modification, by a distinguished savant to whom also we owe ualkm. Hartman claimed to explain all of these psychical
long and patient researches into the obscure phenomena of phenomena by the following hypothesis.
normal psychology ; I mean Dr. Geley, who thus sums up his
A nervous force producing, outside of thelimits of the
own conclusions: human body, mechanical and plastic effects.
Acertain amount of the force, intelligence, and matter Duplicate hallucinations of this same nervous force, and
of the body may perform work outside of the organism,- producing also physical and plastic effects.
The &&conscious Nature, p. 02.
* The Human Personality, p. 313.
436 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
A latent somnambulistic consciousness,capable (the sub Nevertheless, the agents seem sometimesto be independent.
ject being in his normal state) of reading in the inte!lectual Crookes mentions having seen Miss Fox write automatically
background of another man, his present and his past, and
being able to divine the future. a communication for one of her sitters while another com-
munication upon another subject wasgiven to herfor a
Akaskof tried to see if these hypotheses (the last of which second person bymeans of the alphabet and by raps, and
is a pretty bold one) are sufficient to explain everything, and all the while she was chatting with a third person upon an-
heconcludes that they are not. Thatis alsomyopinion. other subject totally different from the other two. Does this
Thereis something else. This something else, this residue remarkable fact prove with certainty the action of a spirit
at the bottom of [Link] crucible of experiment, is a psychic ele other than that of the medium ?
ment, the nature of which remains still wholly hidden from The same scientist mentions that, during one of his séances,
us. I think that all the readers of this book will share my a little rod crossed the table, in' full light, and came and
conviction. rapped his hand, giving him a communication by following
Anthropomorphic hypotheses arefar from explaining the letters of the alphabet spelled out byhim. The other
everything. Besides, they are only hypotheses. We muat not end of the rod rested on the table at a certain distance from
hide from ourselves that these phenomena introduce us into the hand of the medium Home.
another world, into an unknown world, one that is still to This caseseems to me, as well as to Crookes,more con-
be explored in its whole extent. clusively in favor of an exterior spirit, so much the more
As to beings different from ourselves,- what may their since t,he experimenter having asked that the rapsbe given by
nature be ? Of this we cannot form any idea. Souls of the the Morse telegraphic code, another message was thus rapped
dead 8 This is very far from being demonstrated. The in- out. I also remember that the learned chemist mentions that
numerable observations which I have collected during more the word " however " hidden by his finger, upon a news-
than forty years all prove to me the contrary. No satisfac- paper, and unknown even to himself, was rapped out by a
tory identification has been made.* little rod.
The communications obtained have always seemed to pro- Wallace also mentions a name written upon a piece of
ceed fromthementality of the group, or,whenthey are paper fastened by him under the central leg of the experi-
heterogeneous, from spirits of an incomprehensible nature. ment table ; Joncières, a watercolor correctly painted in com-
The being evoked soon vanishes when one insists on pushing plete darkness, and a musical theme written with a pencil ;
him to the wall and having the heart out. of his mystery. M. Castex Dégrange, the announcement of a death, and the
And then my greatest hope has been deceived, that. hope of place where a lost object might be found. We have also seen
my twentieth year, when I would so gladly havereceived sentences dictated either backwards or in such a way that
celestial light upon the doctrine of the plurality of worlds. every other letter only must be read to get the sense, or else
The spirits have taught us nothing. by strange combinations showing the act-ion of an unknown
intellect. We have a thousand examples of this kind.
* See my remarke in The Unknown, pp. 290-294. But if the mind of the medium may liberate itself and
438 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPUNAT0R.Y HYPOTHESES 439

appear in an extra-noma1 state, why might it not be this cannot be explained and resign ourselves to waiting for an
mind which acts P Do we not have several distinct person- extension of our knowledge. Thereis intelligence, thought,
alities in our dreams ? I f they could dynamically appear, psychism, mind, in these phenomena. There is still more in
would they not act somewhat in this way ? certain communications. Can the observations be confirmed
We ought not to lose sight of the fact thatthese phenomena and justified by assuming the mind of the living merely as
are of a mixed character. They are at once physical and the active agents ? Yes, perhaps, but only by attributing
psychical, material and intellectual, are not always produced to US unknown and supernormal faculties. Yet it must be
by our conscious will, and are rather the subject of observa- remembered that this is only an hypothesis. The Spiritual-
tion than experiment. istic hypothesis of communication with the souls of the dead
It is expedient to insist on this characteristic. I onqday, remains also as a working hypothesis.
(January 31, 1901) heard E. Duclaux, memberof the In- That souls survive the destruction of the body I have not
stitute, director of thePasteurInstitute, express the fol- the shadow of a doubt. But [Link] they manifest themselves
lowing confused idea (an idea held by so many physicists and by the processes employed in séances the experimental met,hod
so many chemists), in a company which was yet quite com- has not yet given US absolute proof. I add that this hypothe-
petent to discuss these phenomena : “ There is no scientific sis is not at all likely. I f the souls of the dead are about us,
fact except a fact which can be reproduced at will.” * What upon our planet, the invisible population would increase at
a singular reasoning ! The witnesses of the fall of a meteor the rate of 100,000 a day, about 36 millions a year, 3 bil-
bring us an aërolite which has just fallen from the sky and lions 620 millions a century, 36 billions in ten centuries,
been dug up, all hot, fromthe hole it had made -in the etc.,- unless we admit reincarnations upon the earth itself.
ground. “ Error I illusion ! ” we ought to reply : ‘‘ We shall How many times do apparitions, or manifestations occur 8
only believe when you repeat the experiment.” When illusions, auto-suggestions, hallucinations, are elimi-
They bring to us the body of a man killed by a stroke of nated, what remains ? Scarcely anything. Suchan excep-
lightning, stripped of his clothes, and shaved as if with a tional rarity as this pleads against the reality of apparitions.
razor. “ Impossible ! ” we ought to reply ; “ pure invention We may suppose, it is true, that all human beings do not
of your deluded senses.” A womansees appear before her, survive their death, and that, in general, their psychical en-
her husband, who has just died nearly two thousand miles tity is so insignificant, SO wavering,so ineffectual, that it
away. We are asked to believe that this is not SO, and will almost disappears in the ether, in the common reservoir, in
not be so until the apparition appears a second time. the environment, like the souls of animals. But thinking
This confusionbetween obsemation and experiment is a beings who have the consciousness of their psychical existence
very strange thing as coming from cultivated men. do not lose their persona ‘ty, but continue the cycle of their
h psychicalphenomena there is a voluntary, capricious, evolution. It would seem natural therefore to see them
incoherent, intellectual element. manifest [Link] undercertain circumstances. Persons
I repeat, We must learn to comprehend that everything condemned to death, in consequence of judicial errors, and
executed, should they not return to protest their innocence P
See Bulletin of the Psychologàcal Inetàtute, Vol. I. pp. 25-40.
 \
“u) MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES ESPLIKATORY IIYPOTIIESES 341
:Would it not be reasonable to suppose that persons put to death But why are thcrc nlanifcstat,ions the result of the group-
in such a way that violence was not suspected’ would return ing of five or six persons aroundthe table ? That this
to accusetheassassins ? Knowing the characterg of Robs- should bo a sine qua non is not a very likely thing either.
pierre, of Saint-Just, of Fouquier-Tinville, I should like to It may be, it is true, that spirits exist around us, and
have seen them revenge themselves a little on those who tri- that it is normally impossible for them to make themselves
umphed over them. The victims of ’93, should they not have visible, audible, or tangible, not being able to rcflcct rays of
[Link] to disturb the sleep of the conquerors 8 Out of the light accessible to our retina, or to produce sonorous waves,
twenty thousand citizens shot by fusillades during the time or to effecttouches. Therefore, certain conditions present
of the Commune of Paris I should like to have seen a dozen ín mediums might be necessary for their manifestation. No-
unceasingly harassing the Hon. M. Theirs, who was really body has the right to deny this. But whyho many puzzling
too puffed up and vain-glorious over his having first per- incoherences and solecisms ?
mitted the organization of that insurrection and then pun- I have on a bookshelf before mc several thousand communi-
ished it. cations dictated by ‘‘ spirits.” In the last analysis, a dim
Whydo not children whose death is lamented by their obscurity remains hanging over the causes. Unknown psy-
parents ever come to console them ? Why do our dearest chic forces :fugitive entities;vanishing figures ;nothing solid
attachments seem to disappear forever ? And how about last to grasp, even for the thought. These things do not yield us
wills and testaments stolen away, and the last will of the dead the consistency of a definition of chemistry or of a theorem
ignored and their intentions purposely misinterpreted ? in geometry. A molecule of hydrogen isagranite cliff in
“ It is only the dead that do not return,” says an old prov- comparison.
erb. This aphorism is not of absolute application, perhaps ; The greater part of the phenomenaobserved,-noises,
but apparitions are rare,very rare, and we do not understand movement of tables, confusions, disturbances, raps, replies to
their precise nature. Are theyactualapparitions of the questions asked,- are really childish, puerile, vulgar, often
dead ? It is not yet demonstrated. ri,diculous, andrather resemble the pranks of mischievous
Up to this day, I have sought in vain for certain proof of boys than serious bona-fide actions. It is impossible not to
-

peraonal identity through mediumistic communications. [Link] this.

And then one does not see why spirits, if they exist around Why should the souls of the dead amuse themselves in this
us, should have need of mediums at all, in order to manifest way ? The supposition seems almost absurd.
themselves. They surely must form a part of nature, of the We know that an ordinaq man does not change his intel-
universal nature which includes all things. lectual or moral value f q m day to day, and, if his spirit con-
Nevertheless, it seems to me that the Spiritualistichypothe-
sis should be preserved by the same right as those I have plead in its favor than otherwise (Bulletin of the society for Psychical
Studies of Nancy, Nov.-Dec., 1906). Out of the eleven instances men-
summed up in the immediately preceding pages, for the dis- tioned, the first and the second may have been taken from a cyclopedia,
the third and the fourth from public journals; but, in the case of the
cnssions have not eliminated it.” seven others, the admission of the identity of apparitions withthe
originals they purported to represent is surely [Link] best explanatory
Quite recently I saw an account of some phenomena yhich rather hypothesis.
442 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 443
tinues to exist after the deat.h of his body, we may expect to As reflpects explanatory hypotheses, I repeat, the field is
find it such as it was before. But why so many oddities and opento all. It is tobe noted that communications dictated
incoherences 1 are closely related to the condition of mind, the ideas, the
However these things may be, it behooves us not to have opinions, the beliefs,[Link], and eyen the literary
any preconceived idea, and our bounden duty is to seek to culture, of the experimenters. They are like a [Link],
prove the facts as they present themselves to us. L or counterpart, of this ensemble of ideas and faculties.
The unknown natural force brought into play for the lift- Compare the communications noted down in the house of
ing of a table is not the exclusive property of mediums. In Victor Hugo in Jersey, those of the Phalansterian Society
different degrees it forms a part of all organisms, with dif- of Eugéne Nus, those of astronomical meetings, those of re-
ferent coefficients, IO0 for organisms such as those of Home, ligious believers,- Catholics, Protestants, etc.
or Eusapia, 80 for others, 50 or 25 for less favored individ- I f the hypothesis were not so bold as to seem unacceptable
uals. But I should hold it as certain that it never drops in to us, I should dare to think that the concentration of the
any case to O. The best proof of this is that, with patience, thoughts of psychic experimenters creates a momentary in-
perseverance, andthe exerciseof the will, almost allthe tellectual being who replies to the questions asked and then
groups of experimenters who have seriously occupied them- vanishes.
selves with these researches have succeeded in obtaining, not Reflection, refies action? Thatis perhapsthe true ex-
merely movements, but alsocomplete levitations, raps, and pression. Everybody has seen hiqimage reflected in amir-
other phenomena. ror, and nobody is astonished by it. However, analyse the
The word " medium " scarcely hae any longer a reason for thing. The more you look at this optical being moving there
being, since the existence of an intermediary between the behind the mirror, the more remarkable the image appears
spirits and us is not yet proved. But still the word may be to you. Now suppose looking-glasses had not been in-
preserved, logic being the rarest of things in grammar and in vented. If we had not knowledge of thoseimmense mir-
everything else that is human. The word " electricity " has ao. The rotation of a table, its tipping, its levitation, the displacement
had no connection for a long time with amber ( @ E K q m v ) , of a piece of furniture, the inflation of a curtain, noises heard-all
a r e caused by a force emanatingfromthisprotagonist of the com-
nor the word " veneration " with the genitive case of Venus pany, or from their collective powers. We cannot really suppose that
(Veneris), nor the (at first astrological) term " disaster )' there is always a spirit present ready to respond to our fancies. And
the hypothesis is so much the less necessary since the pretended spirits
with aster (star), nor the word " tragedy " with gout-song do not impart any new facts to us. For the greater part of the time,
it is undoubtedly our own psychic force t h a t is [Link] chief per-
( ~ p r l y o s , $Sf). But t,his does nothinder thesewords from sonage andprincipal actor in theseexperiments would be more ac-
being understood in their habitual sense." curately called a, dynamogem, since he *(or she) creates force. It seems
t o me that this would be the best term to apply in this case. It ex-
presses that which is proved by all the observations.
As a, forestalling of judgment on what is yet to be demonstrated, I have known mediums very proud of their title, and sometimea found
the word " medium '' is a wholly improper term. It takes i t for granted them a bit jealous of their fellows. They were convinced that they had
that the person endowed withthesesupra-normal psychic faculties is beenchosen by Saint Augustine, SaintPaul,and even Jesus Christ.
an intermediary between the spirite and the experimenters. Now while They believed in the grace of the Most High and claimed (not without
we may admit that this ie sometimes the case, it is certainly not always reason too) that, coming fromother hands, thesesignatures were to
be suspected. There is no sense in these rivalries.
 -_..- .--.. . .. ---~-~._......_-l_ ..,.

344 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES - - E X P U N A T 0HRY. Y

POTHESES 446
rors which reflect whole apartments and the visitors *in'them, sensations expressed by the animals,- by dogs, by cats, by
if we had never seen anything of the kind, and if someone horses,- plead in favor of the unexpected and impressive
should tell us that images and reflections of living persons presence of invisible beings or agents. But,asa faithful
could thus manifest themselves and thus move, we should not servant of the experimental method, I think that we ought to
comprehend, and should not believe it. exhaust 'all the simple, natural hypotheses, already known,
Yes, the ephemeral personification created inSpiritual- before having recourse to others. c

istic séancessometimes recalls the image that we see in a Unfortunately, a large number of Spiritualists prefer not
mirror, which has nothing real in itself, but which yet ex- to go to the bottom of things, or analyse anything, but to be
ists and reproduces the original. The image fhed by the pho- the dupes of nervous impressions. They resemble certain
tograph is of t9hesame kind, only durable. The potential worthy women who tell their beads while believing that they
image formed at the focus of the mirror of a telescope, in- havebefore them Saint Agnes or Saint Filomena. There
visible in itself, but which we can receive on a level mir- is no harm in that, says some one. But it isan illusion.
ror and study, at the same time enlarging it by the micm Let us not be its dupes.
scopeof the eyepiece, perhaps approaches nearertothat If the elementals, the ézémentaires, the spirits of the air,
which seems to be produced by the concentration of the psy- the gnomes, the spectres of which Goethe speaks (following
chical energy of a group of persons. We create an imaginary Paracelsus in this), exist, they are natural and not super-
being, we speak to it, and in its replies it almost always r e natural. They are in nature, for nature includes all things.
flects the mentality of the experimenters. And just as with The supernatural does not exist. It is then the duty of sci-
the aid of mirrors we can concentrate light, heat, ether-waves, ence to study this question as it studies all others.
electric waves, in a focus, so, in the same way, it seems some- As I have already remarked, there are in these different
times as if the sitters added their psychic forces to those of phenomena several causes in action. Among these causes the
the medium, of the dynamogen,condensing the waves, and ones that supposes the action to proceed from disembodied
helping to produce a sort of fugitive being more or less ma- spirits, the souls of the dead, is a plausible hypothesis which
terial. ought notto be rejected without examination. It seems
The subconscious nature, the brain of the medium, or his sometimes to be the most logical ; but there are weighty ob-
astral body, the fluidic mind, the unknown powers latent in jections to it, and it is of the highest importance to be able
sensitive organisms, might we not consider these as the mirror to demonstrate it with certainty. Its partisans ought t o be
which we have just imagined ? And might this mirror also the first to approve the severity of the scientific methods
not receive and reproduce impressions, or influence, from a which we apply à n our studìes of the phenomena, for Spirit-
soul at a distance 8 ualism will receive thereby so much the more solid a found-
But we must not generalize partial conclulsions which we ation and will have so much the more value. The illusions
have already had much trouble in defining. and the artless faith of simple souls cannot give it any more
I do not say [Link] spirits do not exist: on solid and substantial basis. The religion of the future will
havereasons foradmittingtheir existence. be the religion of science. There is only one kind of truth.
 T___-..._
. ... -- .. -..
-..--...-___.
. . - ._ . . ,.. - .-

446, MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES J

EXPLANAT0R.Y HYPOTHESES 447
Sometimes authors are made to say that which they have more advanced the day after death thanthe day before ?
never said. For my part, I have had frequent proof of this, Why should death bestow upon them any perfection ? Why
notably in the caseof Spiritualism. I should not be sur- should it make 8 genius out of an imbecile ? How could it
prised if certain interpretations of the pages which precede make a good man out of a bad one? Why should it turn
should come to light, shaped into the opinion that I do not be- an ignoramus into a wise man 8 How could it make a shin-
lieve in the existence of spirits. Yet it will be impossible to ing light out of an intellectual nobody ?
find any affirmation of this kind in this work, or in any other These unconscious souls,- that is to say, the multitude,-
published by me. What I say is that the physical phenomena do they not disappear at death into the mrrounding ether,
studied in t-hese pages do not prove the existence of spirits, and do they not constitute a kind of psychic atmosphere, in
and may probably be explained without them,- that is, by which a subtle analysis can discover spiritual as well as ma-
unknown forces emanating from the experimenters, and es- terial elements ? I f the psychic force performs an action
pecially from mediums. But thesephenomena indicate, at in the existing orderof things, it is m worthy of consideration
the same time, the existence of a psychical atmosphere or as the different forms of energy in operation in the ether.
environment. Without, then, admitting the existence of spirits to be dem-
I
What is this environment? It is indeed very difficult to onstrated by the phenomena, we feel that thesedo not all
get a true idea of it, since we are not able to apprehend it by belong to a simply material order,- physiolFica1, organic,
any of our senses. It is also very difficult not to admit it in cerebral,- but that there is something else involved,some-
view of the multitude of psychical phenomena. I f we admit thing else inexplicable in the actual state of our knowledge.
the survival of individual souls, what becomes of these souls P But a something else of the psychical order. Perhaps wo
Where are they ? I t may be replied that the conditions of shall be able to go a little farther, some day, in our inde-
space and of time in which our material senses exist do not pendentimpartial researches, guided by the experimental
represent the real nature of space and time, that our esti- scientific method, denying nothing in advance, but admitting
mates and our measures are essentially relative, that the 80~11, whatever is proved by sufficient observation.
the spirit, the thinking entity, does not occupyspace. Still,
i we may consider also that pure epirit does not exist, that To s u m up : In the actual state. of our know2edge it is im-
it is attached to a substance occupying a certain point. We possible t o give a complete, total, absolute, final explanation
may also consider that all souls are not equal ; that there is of theobserved phenomena. TheSpiritualistic hypothesis
a superior and inferior class; that certain human beings are ought not to be dismissed. Still, we may admit the survival
scarcely conscious of their existence ; that superior souls, be- of the soul without necessarily admitting a physical cornmu- I

ing self-conscious, as well after death asduringlife, pre- nication between the dead and the living. But then all the
I
serve their entire individuality, have the power of continuing observed facts leading up to the affirmation of this communi-
I
their evolution, of voyaging from world to world and adding cation are worthy of the most serious attention of the philos*
totheir moral and intellectual growth by sucagsive rein- pher.
l
carnations. But the \others, the unconscioussouls, a r ~they One of the chief difficulties in the way of these communi-

i
I’
,

i /
 ~- .. . .. . .

448 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES - EXPLANATORY HYPOTEEESES it48

cations seems to be the condition itself of the soul freed mentisof the heavenly bodies by holding to the idea of the
from bodily senses. It would have other ways of perceiving-/ immobility of the earth ; or Galileo explaining the attraction
It would not see, hear, touch. How then can it enter into re- of amber by the rarefaction of the surrounding air; or La-
lation with our senses ? - voisier seeking (with the common people) theorigin of
There is a whole problem in that which is not to be neg- aërolites in thunder storms or denying their existence ; or
lected in the study of any psychical manifestations whatever. Galvani, who saw in his frogs a specid organic electricity.
We take our ideas to be realities. This is a mistake. For I put my physiologists in good company, surely, and they
example, to our senaes the air is not a solid body ; we pass have nothing of which to complain. But whodoes not feel
through it without effort, while we cannot pass through an that this natural propensity to explain everything is not jus-
iron door. The converse is true of electricity: it passes tified, that science progressesfrom age to age, that what is not
through iron, and finds the air to be a solid impassible body. known to-day will be known later, and that we ought some-
To the electrician, a wire is a canal leading electricity across times to know how to wait?
the solid rock of the air. Glass is opaque to electricity and The phenomena of which we are speaking are manifesta-
transparentto magnetism. The flesh istransparenttothe tions of the universal dynamism, with which our five senses
X-rays, while glass is opaque, etc. put us very imperfectly in relation. We live in the midst
We feel the need of explaining everything, and we are of an unexplored world, in which the psychical forces play a
driven to admit only the phenomena of which we have had an rôle still very insufficiently investigated.
explanation; but that does not prove that our explanations These forces are of a class superior to the forces usually
are valid. Thus for example, if someone had affirmed the analyzed in mechanics, in physics, in chemistry : they are of
possibility of instantaneous communication between. Paris the psychical order, have in them something vitaland a
and London, before the invention of the telegraph, people kind of mentality. They confirm what we know from other
would have regarded the assertion as utopian. Later it would sources,- that the purely mechanical explanation of nat-ure
not have been admitted, except on condition of the existence is insufficient and that there is in the universe something else
of a wire between the two stations, and any communication than so-called matter. It is not matter that rules the world:
without the medium of an electric wire wouldhavebeen it is a dynamic and psychic element.
declared [Link] that we havewireless telegraphy What light will the study of these still unexplained forces
we can apply this discovery to the explanation of the phenom- shed upon the origin of the soul and upon the conditions of its
ena of telepathy. But it is not yet proved that this explana- survival ? That is something that the future has to teach us.
tion is the true one. The truth that the Bou1 is a spiritual entity distinct from
Why do we wish to explain these phenomena at all hazards ? the body is proved by other arguments. These arguments are
Because we naïvely imagine that we are able to do 80 in the not made for the purpose of injuring this doctrine ;but while
present state of our knowledge. '
confirming it and while putting in clear light the applica-
The physiologists who claim to see daylight in this mat- tion of psychic forces, they still do not solve the great prob
ter are like Ptolemy persisting in accounting for b e move lem by the material proofs that we should like to hava
I

# - ..? '.__ - .
 . .

i.t
k
l!
450 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
However, if the study of these phenomena has not yet
J
EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES 351
Virgil ha,s written in the Bneid (Book VI) these admir-
yielded all that is claimed for it, nor all that it ,will in the I able verses which are known to everybody:
future yield, we still cannot help recognizing that it has con-
siderably enlarged the sphere ofpsychology, and that; the Principio coelum ac terras camposque liquentes
knowledge of the nature of the soul and of its faculties has Lucentemque globum LunaeTitaniaqueastra
Spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus
been once. for all expanded under grander and deeper skies MENSAGITAT MOLEM, e t magno se corpore miscet.
and wider horizons.
There is in nature, especially in the domain of life, in the Martianus Capella, like alltheauthors of the first cen-
manifestation of instinct in vegetables and animals, in the turies of Christianity, mentions this directive force,also
general soul of things, in humanity, in the cosmic universe, oalling it the fifth element, and furthermore describes it un-
a psychic element which appears more and more in modem der the name “ ether.”
[Link], especially in researches in telepathy, and in the ob- A Roman emperor, well known to the Parisians, since it
servation of the unexplained phenomena which we have been was in their city (in the palace built by his grandfather near
studying in this book. This element, this principle, i e still the present Themes, or old Roman -baths) that he was pro-
unknown to contemporary science. But, as in so many other claimed emperor in the year 360 (I mean Julian, called the
cases, it was divined by the ancients. Apostate), celebrates this fifth principle in his discourse in
Besides the four elements fire, water, air and earth, the honor of the “ The Sun, the Monarch,” * styling it sometimes
ancients admitteda fifth, belonging tothematerial order, the solar principle, sometimes the soul of the world, or in-
which they named animus, the soul of the world, the animat- tellectual principle, sometimes ether, or the soul of the phys-
ing principle, ether. “ Aristotle ” (writee Cicero, Tuscul. ical world.
Quaest. I. 22), “ after having mentioned the four kinds of This psychical element is not confounded by the philose
material elements,believes that we ought to admit a fifth phers with God and Providence. In their eyes, it is some
kind from which the soul proceeds ; for, since the soul and thing which forms part of nature.
the intellectual faculties cannot reside in any of the material
elements, we must admit a iifth kind, which had not yet r e One more word before closing. Human nature is endowed
ceived a name and which he styles entelechy; that is to say, withfacultiesasyet little explored, that the observations
eternal and continued movement.” Thefourmaterial e l e made with mediums, or dynamogens, bringtolight -
ments of the ancienta have been dissected by modern analysis. such as human magnetism, hypnotism, telepathy, clair-
The fifth is perhaps more fundamental. voyance, and premonition. These unknown psychic forces
Citing the philosopher Zeno, the same orator adds that this’ are worthy of being embraced within the scope of scientific
wise man did not admit this fifth principle, which might be analysis. At present they have been almost as little studied
compared to fire. But,fromallthe evidence, fire and as in the time of Ptolemy, and have not yet found their Kep-
thought are two distinct things. * See the Complete Works of the Emperor Jzcliarz, Paris, 1821. Vol.
I. p. 375.
 /
452 MPSTERJOUS PSPCHÍC FORCBS EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESES ;a53
ler, and their Newton, yet fairly obtrude themselves upon ment the essential nature of which is still hidden from us.
our notice, and cry out to be examined. I shall be happy for my 'part, if I have helped to establish
Many another unknown force will be revealed. The earth by these twoworks the above important principle, exclu-
and the planeta were circling about the sun in their harmo- sively based upon the scientific verification of [Link] ph*
nious orbits while astronomical theories saw in them only a nomena studied by the experimental method.
complicated whirl of seventy-nine crystalline shells. Mag
netism was encircling the earth with its currents long before
the invention of the mariner's compass which reveals them
to us. The waves of wireless telegraphy existed long before
they were arrested intheir flight. The seawas moaning
along its shores ages before the ear of any being had come
tohear it. The stars were darting their rays through' the
ether before any human eye had been raised to them.
The observations set forth in this work prove that the con-
scious will, or desire, on the one hand, and the subliminal
consciousness on the other hand, exert an influence, or per-
form work,beyond the limits of our body. The nature of
the human soul is stilla deep mystery to science and tophilos-
ophy.
It seems rather remarkable thatthe conclusions drawn
from my labors here are the same as those of my work The
Unknown, which were founded upon the examination of the
phenomena of telepathy, apparitions of the dying, copmuni-
cations at a distance, premonitory dreams,etc. Indeed, the
following deductions were drawn at the close of that volume:
l. The soul exists a8 a mal entity ifidependent of the body.
2. I t is endowed with faculties still unknown to- science.
3. I t is able to act at a distance, without the intervention
of the senses.
The conclusions of the present work concord with those of
the former, and yet the subjects studied in this are entirely
different from the subject-matter of that.
I may sum up the whole matter with the single statement i
that there exists in nature, in myriad activity, a psychic ele-
 I

INDEX
Academy of Sciences, its scepticism xvi, 19, investigates Angelica Cottin,
224 et seq.
AcousticMediumistic Phenomena,- Cases of, 71,73,89, 96, 112,121,
144,163,167, 183, 274,292,299,369,373,374,378,380.
Aksakof,Alexander, 03, 151, 178; cited, 55, 66, 188, 435; his ac-
count of alleged spirit communication regardingsatellites of
Uranus, 50-52.
Albert the Great, xxi.
Alcofribaz Naeier, anagram signature of Rabelais, q.”.
Alterationsinweight of bodies in mediumistic phenomena (including
variations in scaleswithoutcontact), 88,153,173,109,354,413,
414.
Animism va. Spiritism, 187 e t aeq.
Antoniadi, M., report on E. Paladino, 109-111.
Apparitions, 419. Bee also, Materializations.
Apports(objectsbroughtin from outsidethe sCance room), 99,112,
186,187,292,373,378,380.
Arago, 178; investigates Angelica
Cottin, 223; alleged spirit com-
munication from, 389.
Aristotle, quoted, 450.
Armelin G., report on E. Paladino, 103-109.
Ascensi M., 143.
Astral body, 166.
Astronomical discoveriea, xvì.
Automatic writing and drawing, theories of, 26-30, 58 et seq.;- methods
of, 28; by Victorien Sardou, 25, 46;- by Camille Flammarion, 26,
47-49; reflect thethoughts of the experimenter, 49 e2 seq.; by
children, 274; other cases, 384-387.
Azam, Dr., 141;- Felida’s case, 59.

Babinet, M., 266; report on AngelicaCottin, 224-227; de Gasparin’s

criticisms of, 260-265.
BaclB, Louis (“ Louis Elbe ”), 368.
Baschet, Rene, 34,98,101,103, 128; arms partial materialization, 131.
Baailewska, M. and Mme., 98,101.
Bianchi, M., 147.
455
456 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INDEX 457
Dariex, Dr., 63,173,218, 368; cited, 3, 210; his opinion of fraud in
Binet, Alfred, 188.
mediums, 203-205.
Bisschofsheim, Mme., 101.
Blech family, hold sittings with E. Paladino, 63-84, 173. D’Arsouval, Prof., 360.
Darkness as a factor in psychical phenomena, 10-13,68, 89.
Bloch, Andre, 84,93,101.
Davenport Brothers, the, xi, xiii, xiv, xxi.
Bois, Jules, 84, 103,128,203.
Boisseaux, Mme., 173. Delanee, G., 84,98,101, 375.
Boissier, Edmond, 27’ Delfour, Abbe, cited, 398.
Delgaiz, Raphael,Husband of Eusapia Paladino, 67.
Bourrer, M., 141.
Boutigny, M., 114. Desbeaux, Emille, 173.
B r a i f , C., medium, 196. Dialectical Society of London, its organization, 280; its experiments in
psychical research, 291-302; Huxley declines to join, 200; Flam-
Brisson, Adolphe, 95,08, 101, 103, 114, 128, 200, 203; report on E.
Paladino. marion’s letter to, 302-304.
Brisson, Mme. A., 03, 95, 101,103,114. Divination of Numbers, 240,249 et seq.
Buffern, Prof., 151. Double Personality, an hypothesisfor spiritistic communication, 58 et
seq.; Dr. Pierre Janet’s studies in, 60.
Buguet, medium, 196.
Burot, 141. Drayson, Gen. A. W., on solution of scientific problems by Spirits, 50
et seq.; errors of, 53, 55.
Cactoni, M. and Mme., 368. Duclaux, E., 438.
Calonne, xvi. Du Prel, Dr. Charles, 151.
Costex-Degrange, M., 437 ; reports of mediumistic phenomena, 381-393. Dusart, Dr., 289.
Charcot, Dr., 4. Dynamictheory of matter, 427.
Chardon, Dr. Beaumont, notes on Angelica Cottin, 223.
Chevigny, Countess de, 101. Eglington, medium, 196.
Chevreul, M.,266. Ephrussi, M., 101.
Chiaia, Prof. E., first obtains impressions in clay through Paladino, 78; Ermacora, Dr., 151.
challenges Lombroso to investigate Paladino, 136.
Faith not a necessity in psychic phenomena, 279.
Cicero, quoted, 450.
Claretie, Jules, 45, 98 ; report on E. Paladino, 98-101. Faraday, 188,259,262,266.
Coleman, Benjamin, 334. Felida, case of double personality, 50.
Cook, Florence, medium (afterwards Mrs. Elgie Corner),remarkable Finzi, M., 151.
caw of materialization, 334; investigated by Crookes, 335-347. Flammarion, Camille, Rome scientific researches of, vi ; early writings
Cottin, Angelica, the Electric Girl, 219; Dr. Tanchou’s report of, 220- on Unknown Natural Forces, xi; experiments withEusapiaPala-
222; notes of M. Hebert, 222 ; Dr. Beaumont Chardon, 223 ; Acad- dino, 5-23, 63-134; acquaintance with AllanKardec, 24 et seq.;
emy of Sciences investigates, 224-227. autohatic writing by, 26 ; delivers funeral oration of Kardec, 30;
Coues, Dr. and Mrs. Elliott; report on mediumistic phenomena, 401405. experiments with Mme. Huet, 36 et seq.; letterto London Dia-
Crookes, Sir William, 65, 121,196,297,305, 368; his experiments in
lectical Society, 302-304; his “ General Inquiry ” concerning unex-
psychical research, 306-347 ; his mechanical contrivances for test- plained phenomena, 376; some specimen cases, 377405.
ing such phenomena, 308,318,319,322, 323; his views in 1898, Fluidic action, theories of, 166,179,253,258,282,422,427.
347-351; his theory regarding such phenomena, 408. Fluidic projection of limbs, etc. See Materializations.
Crystal vision, 292. Fontenay, Guillaume de, 3,21,84,95, 368; participatesinPaladino
Cumberlandism, 171. sittings, 89-83, 123; his dynamic theory of matter, 427431.
Curie, Pierre, 360. Foucault, M.,264.
Daguerre, an anecdote of, 11. Fourth dimension, 420.
Fourton, Mme., 03, 85, 98,101,103,114,128,202.

f
t
 ‘450 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INDEX 459
Fox eistere, case of the, 34. Impressions in plastic substances, 420; photographs of, 76, 138; cases of,
Fox, Mies, automatic communication br, 437. 22,74-78,158,163,194.
Fraud in mediums, 194, et reg. Institute, its disregard of papers on table-movements, 263.
Frauenhofer, cited, 19. lnvisible hands, action of, 418. see also, Acoustic phenomena, and
Fremy, M., cited, xir. Materializations(tactile).
Fresnel, 190. Intelligence manifested in mediumistic phenomena, 421.
Fulton’s invention of etearnboat, xd
James, Prof. William, 305.
Gagneur, Mme., 98, 101. Janet, Dr. l’ierrc, 60, 188.
Galileo, alleged spiritistic communication from, 26, 4 7 4 9 ; his erroneous Joncic‘res, Victorin, 437, reports nleciiumistic phenomena, 378-381.
theoryforfrictionalattraction, 188,189. Joubert, M., 37, 42.
Galvani’s experiments in electricity, xvi. Joufrroy’s invention of t h steau~boat, svi.
Gasparin, Count Agenor de, 305; experiments with moving tables, 229- Julinn the Apostate, cited, 451.
253; his hypotheses, 253-258, 408; his rejoinder to Babinet’s nega- Jupiter, Sardou’s drawings of landscapes in, 25, 45.
tiom, 258-285; Prof. Thury’s comments on, 268,273, 276, 279,
282 et seq. Kardec, Allan, his society for spiritualistic study, 24; death of, 30; his
Celey, Dr., his hypothesis of subliminal conscioumess, 434. funeral oration by Flammarion, 30-32.
Gemosa, Prof., 161. Kepler, 55.
Gigli, M., 143. King, John, alleged spirit control of E. Paladino, 71, 78, 141, 169; a
Girardin, [Link], 61. psychic double of Paladino, 166.
Gramont, Count de, 173. King, Katie, a materialized spirit, 141 ; appears to Florence Cook and
Grasset, Dr., his opinion on pysohical phenomena, 409. others, 334 ; investigated by Crookes and other scientist, 335-346 ;
Grove, quoted, xix. Home’s opinion of her, 343.
Guerronnan, A., 173.
Gully, Dr., 334. Labadye, Countess de, 103.
Lacroix, medium, 196.
Hallucination, collective, does not matiefactorily account for pbemomenal Laplace, 51.
130, 179. Lateau, Louise, stigmata of, 20.
Harrison, William, 334. Laurent, M.,101.
Hartman, Dr. von, 436. Lebel, M., 218.
Hebert, M., note on Angelica Cottin, 332. Le Bocain, M., 114; report on E. Paladino, 116-118.
Berachel, William, 60. Le Bou, Dr. Gustave, report on E. Paladino, 101-103.
Herechel, Sir John, cites, 60. Lemerle, M.,368.
Hodgson, Dr. Richard, 306. Leverrier, 213.
Home, DanielDunglas, 195, 437; experimenta with an accordion, 121; Leymarie, Paul, 218.
Crooke’e investigation of, 307-322; 324-334; declsree Mise Cook Levitations, 5-8, 33,79, 80, 118, 414-416; photographs of, 6, 83, 156,
an impostor, 343. 368; denied by one sitter, 132; the flour test of 1. without contact,
Huet, Mme., mediumistic experimentcl with, 36 et eeq. 247, 248; cases of, 6,17,70,73,74,83, 88, 91, 93,94,96,99,104,
‘ Hugo, Leopoldine, alleged spirit communication of, 212, et mq. 105, 111, 113,114,144-147,154-156,160,164,167,174,180,183-87,
Hugo, Victor, 61, 212,443. 204,229, 232, 236,238,239,240-248,292,354,357,364,368-370,
Hueeon, M?,263. 373,379,380, 403.
Huxley, T. H., his letter declining t o join, in psychicd research, 290. .Uvy,Arthur, 200; report on E. Paladino, 86-92.
Hyelop, Prof. Jeme6 H., 306 ;hie opinion on phenomena, 409. Levy, Mme. A., 200.
Levy, J. H., 289.
 -- -

a60 MYSTERIOUS
PSYCHIC
FORCES INDEX it61
Lewes, George Henry, 290. psycho-physical nature, 166; hypothesis of fluidic double (astral
Lifting of weights, etc., 413. 8 e e ako, Levitation. body), 166, 179;fraud in, 194 e t seq.; agency is in the person, not
Lamoncelli, M., 147. in the object, 254; mechanical tests of, by Prof. Thury, 269 e t seq.;
Lodge, Sir Oliver, 63, 65, 305; his opinion of Paladino’s phenomena, 167. by Sir William Crookes, 306 e t seq.; unconscious muscular action
Lomatsch, J., 372. considered, 280; no indications of electricity in, 281; experiments
Lombroso, Cesare, 63, 151, 178, 188; Prof. Chiaiainvites examination of London Dialectical Society, 201-303; Sir William Crookes’ ex-
of Paladino, 136; investigatesPaladino, 143-150; hi6 theoriesre- , periments, 306-347; his opinions of, 347-351; investigations of
garding the phenomena, 150, 409. AlfredRussel Wallace, 353-359; of Dr. J. Maxwell, 359-368; of
Louie XIV, a fable of, 43.. other scientists, 368-375; popular ignorance of, 406 e t seq.; re-
Lubbock, Sir John, 289. capitulation of scientist’s theories regarding, 408 ; re-
Luminousmediumistic phenomena, cases of, 74, 97, 105, 108, 125, 148, capitulation of phenomena with Flammarion’s comments, 411-423
186, 198, 371. e t seq.; subliminal consciousness as a factor in, 433 e t aeq. Dr.
Luxmore, Mr., 334, 336. von Hartmann’s hypothesis, 435; Aksakof’s reply, 435 ; of mixed
Luys, Dr., 4. character, 438. See also, Acoustic phenomena, Alteration i n
weight, Apparitions,Apports,
Automatic writing,
Fluidic Ac-
Mairet, M., 98. tion, Impressions, Invisiblehands,
Levitations,
Luminous phe-
Mangin, Marcel, 162, 173, 218; his opinion on psychical phenomena, 410. nomena, Materializations, Movement of objects, Ordeals, Predictions,
Marcianus Capella, cited, 461. Raps, Solid passingthrough solid, Spirit communications, Spirit-
Marks produced a t a distance, 167. ualism, Thermal radiations, Typtology, Touchings, Writing pro-
Mars, discovery of satellites of, 55. duced a t a distance.
Martelet, Adele, relates an incident of Alfred de Musset, 398. Mcry, Gaston, 84, 95, 375.
Materializations, theory of fluidic projection of limbs, etc., 121 et seg., Miller, American medium, 375.
166, 198, 208. Cases of: Mildi, Prof., 368.
( a ) TACTILE:- of hands or arms, 71, 72, 89, 97, 98, 101, 106- Mind, action of, upon matter, 283 et seq., 365.
108, 111, 113, 116-118, 124, 148, 148, 160, 167, 174, 181, 186, 292, Moliere, xiv., quoted, 264, 265.
371, 374; of heads, 73, 89, 115, 161, 177, 187, 371. Montaigne, 1.
(b) VIBIBLE:- of hands and arms, 10, 73, 116, 159, 175, 185, Morgan, Prof., 297-359; accepts Spiritistic theory, 409.
292; of heads and busts, 21, 72, 115, 128, 177, 185, ofcom-
366; Morselli, Prof. Enrico, 188; investigatesE. Paladino, 177-192.
plete figure, “ Katie King,” 334-346. Mouchez, Admiral, 197, 213.
Mathieu, Georges, 93, 101, 200; report on E. Paladino, 111-114. Mouzay, Countess de, 211.
“ P. F., 37. Movements of natural objects, in mediumistic phenomena, 411-416; cases
Matter passing through matter, see Solid. Of, 9, 17, 10-74, 88, 90, 91, 93, 95-99, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111-114,
Maxwell, Dr. Joseph, 63, 172, 173. Extractsfromhis investigations, 125, 126, 144, 147, 148, 156, 157, 163, 165, 167, 175, 176, 181-183,
360468; his opinioni, 410. 185, 187, 234, 237, 271, 274, 275, 293, 295, 207, 299-301, 353, 354,
Mediums, cheating of professional, 3, 207; their conscious and uncon- 358, b59, 369, 370, 371, 373, 370, 382, 383, 398, 399, 403.
scious deception, 4; use of the word, 5; their will andhealthas Musset, Alfred de, 398.
factors, 14; pecuniary temptations of, 157. Bee aho, Bredif, Flor- Myers, F. W. H., 63, 162, 305, 350,on Subliminal Consciousnesa, 433,
ence Cook, Angelica Cottin, Davenport brothers, Eglington, Fox sis- 434.
ters,Daniel D. Home,Mme. Huet,Allan Kardee, A. Politi, E.
Paladino,Anna Rothe, Sambor, Slade, Mrs. Williams, Mme. X. Newton, cited, 19.
Mediumistic Phenomena, a chapterin physics, 2; effects of antipathy NUS, EugGne, 81, 443.
of by slanders, 15; genuineness of, 21, 184;reflections uponthose
of Paladino, l18 e t seq.; experiments with an accordion, 121 e t sep..; Ochorowicz, Dr. Julien, 63, 162, 188;his studiee of Eusapie Paladino,
conflrmatory of magnetism rather than hypnotism, 166; always of 76-78 ; his conclusion%,166, 409
; condemns the rejection of Paladino
462 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES INDEX 4621
byEnglishscientists, 168; his explanation of hersubstitution of (e) Alteration in weight of bodies and variation in weighing appa-
hands, 170. ratus without contact, 88, 153, 173, 191.
Ordeals, 292. ( f ) Thermalradiations, 115,117,125,186.
Ostwald, Dr., arranges seance with E. Paladino, 15. - ( g ) acoustic phenomena (sounds other than raps q.v.), 71,73,89,96,
112,144,163,167,183,209,210.
Paladino, Eusapia (Mme. Raphael Delgaie), 2, 3 ; her exhaustion after ( h ) writing and marks produced at a distance, 167.
phenomena, 7 ; her fraud (conscious and unconscious), 10; i d u e n c e ( i ) impressions in plastic substances, 22,74-78,158,163, 184; photo-
of her health on experiments, 15; darkness demanded for beet re- graphs of, 76.
sults, 10, 68, 89 ; her personality and history, 67,86,87, 140; Flam- ( j ) luminous phenomena, 74,97,105,108,125,148,186,199.
marion’s estimate of the comparative authenticity of her phenom- ( k ) trance speaking, 71, 160.
ena, 79; unknown natural forces evidenced, 80, 152; investigated (1)Materializations.
by Flammarion, 6-23, 63-134; by Lombroso, 143-150; by Enrico ( I ) Tactile,- of hands and arms, 71, 72, 89,07,98,101, 106-
Morselli, and François Porro, 177-192; by other scientists, at Milan, 108, 111, 113,116-118,124,146,148,160,167,174,181,
151 e t seq.; at other places, 162 et seq.; M. Antoniadi considers her 186; of heads, 73,89,115,161,177,187.
phenomena fraudulent, 109-111 ; unsuccessful attempt to photograph (II) visible,-of hands of arms, 10, 73,116,159,175, 185;
fluidic hand, 123; M. Ldenies levitations, 132; Professor Chiaia of heads and busts, 21,72,115,128,177,185,366.
challenges Lombroso to investigate, 136; photographs of facial im- ( m ) a solid passing through a solid substance, 107,128. .
prints, 76, 136; her Spiritualistic education, 141; her symptoms dur- (n) cases apparently produced by fraud, 200.
ing the production of phenomena, 142 ; her sensations, 143; Ochoro- Palotti, M., report on E. Paladino, 114-116.
wicz’s apparatus to control feet, 164; results of sympathetic trance Palotti, Mme., 114.
of a sitter, 165 ; detected in fraud at Cambridge, 168 ; an incident Pelletier, M.,220.
at Ochorowicz’s home, 168 et seq.; her deceptions, their reasons and Penta, Dr., 147.
their relevance t o phenomena, 194-211; Dr. Dariex’s opinion of Phaedrus, quoted, xx.
them, 206; her sensitiveness to suggestion, 207. Reports on her Phalansterians, the, 61,443.
phenomena by Dr. Julien Ochorowicz, 76-78, 166; by Prof. Phantoms, 419, see also Materializations.
Chiaia, 78, 136-140; by Arthur Levy, 86-92; Adolph Brisson, Plautus, xiv.
93, 94; VictorienSardou, 95-98; Jules Claretie., 08-101; Gustave Politi, Auguste, mediums, his phenomena, 368-371.
Le Bon, 101-103; G. Armelin, 103-109; M. Antoniadi, 109-111; M. Poggenpohl, M. de, 373,374.
Mathieu, 111-114; M. Palotti, 114-116; M. Le Bocain, 116-118 ; Porro, François, report on E. Paladino, 177-192; his theories, 409.
A. de Rochas, 140-143,174-176; M. Ciolfi’s account of LOmbroso’B Predictions, 293,384,385.
s&mces, 143-150; the Milan scientists, 151-161; M. de Siemradski, Psychical research, utility of, v, viii, 2, 30-32; the sceptic’s attitude to-
163,164; Sir Oliver Lodge, 167; Sully-Prudhomme, 176; Francois ward, vii; ignorance of critics of, xii, xv; scientists unwilling to
Porro’s reports of seances with Morselli, 177-192. recognize phenomena, 18-20; value of cumulative testimony in, 191;
Recorded cases of her phenomena. necessity of eliminating fraud in, 194; socicty for, 305.
(a) Raps (including typtologicalcommunications), 8, 13,17,70,75, Psychological Institute invites E. Paladino to Paris, 3.
80,105,114,144,145,147,175,203.
(b) Movements of natural objects (see ubo (a) apports), 9,17, 70- Rabelais, 1; alleged spirit communications from, 38-40.
74,
88,
90,
91,
93,
95-99,
105,106,
108,109,
111-114,
125,
126, Radioculture, vi.
144,
147,
148,
156,
157,
163,
167,
175,176,
181-183,
185,
187- Raps (see uZso, Typtology) , their connection with sitters, 22; hypotheses
203,209,210. for, 35; Dr. J. Maxwell’s Studies of, 360-364; recapitulation of,
(c) Levitations, 6,16, 70, 73, 74,83,88,91,93,94,96,99,104,105, 416-418; cases of, 8,13,17,75,105,144,145,147,175,232,244,
111, 113,114,144-147,154-156,160,164,167,174,180,183- 292,297-301,353,357.
187,204,804. Ravachol, alleged spirit communication from, 213.
(n) ‘Apports (objects brought in from outside the room), 99,112,186, Regnard, quoted, 101.
187.
 k64 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC1 FORCES INDEX it65
Bibero,.Md, 218. 8ubliminal consciousness, Myers on, 433, 434; Dr. Geeley’e hypothesis,
Richet, Dr. Charlee, 3, 63, 05, 84y 93, 95, 151,162,178, 202, 305; hie 434 ; does not depend upon organism, 435.
experiments in Algiers, 376; hie theory, 409. Bully-Prudhomme, 173.
Rochas, Count Albert de, 63, 84, 95, 162, 203, 260, 368; Cited, 3, Byamour, Mme., 101.
l3ljY 179,188, 198; his theories, 400,
Rodiere, Mme., medium, 196. Table movements, 411413. Nee aZso, Levitation und Movementa Of
Rothe, Ama, medium, 217. Natural Objects.
Rothschild, Ed. de, 101. Taine, quoted, 68.
Roure, Lucien, cited, 398. Tamburini, M., 144.
Tanchou, Dr., report on Angelica Cottin, 219-232.
Sabatier, A., 63,173. Tapp, Mr., 345.
Sambor, Rusaian medium, his phenornena, 371-374. Taton, Y.,368.
Sardou, Victorien, 178,203, 208; early mediumistic experiencee of, 25; Telekinesis, 61.
letter to Jules Claretie, 45; report on E. Paladino, 95-98; partici- Thermal radiations (sensations of heat or cold in mediumistic phenom-
pates in Paladino sittings, 123,124. ena), 115, 117, 125, 186.
Sap-Wittgenitein, Prince, 334. Thury, Marc, his researches into physical phenomena, 206-287 ; his
Schiaparelli, 4, 03, 82, 151, 178, 194; letter regarding E. Paladinoa 64. experiments, 269-278 ; his theories, 276-287, 408.
Secondary personality, 8e6 Double Personalitxe Touching8 i n mediumistic phenomena, 418. He6 aZso, Materializations
Serginss, M. de, 101. (tactile).
bxton, Dr., 334. Trance epeaking, cases of, 71, 160, 293.
sidgwick, Prof. Henry, 306. Typtology(intelligible communications by raps), code for, 8; results
Siemiradeki, M. de, 162; quoted, 163. generally talIy, knowledge of the experimenters, 14,37, 57; appar-
Simmons, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin, 368. ently an extension of hand and brain, 33; received through Mme.
Sivel the al5ronaut, alleged spirit communication from, SIS, Huet, 37 et seq.; answers to unknown questionsevidentlyguess-
Glade, Henry, medium, 66, 420; hie fraud, 196. work, 240; specimens of, 38-43, 70, 80, 114,147, 203, 212,237,
Socrates, vii. 292,293,297-301, 355, 356, 380, 403,437. Bee aZso, Raps.
Solid passing through a solid, cases of, 107, 128, 372;--0 natural
parallel, 130. Unknown natural forces, v, xvii, 1-23, 2, 18; extracts from Flam-
6 O h w v o J PetrOVO, describea Sarnbor’e phenomena, 371-374. marion’s monograph on, xi-xxi ; evinced in E. Paladino’s phenom-
6OUI, the, XX, 82, 178, 188, 439, 452. ena, 80, 192; hypotheses regarding, S1, 406 et seq.; danger of too
Spirit communications, 384-3693 erroneous, 51, 52, 57; see &&o, auto- great scepticism against recognition of, 188 e t seq.; not t h e ex-
matic writing, Rape, Trance-speaking. clusive property of mediums, 442.
$piritualism (spiritism), 194; its immateriality in psychical research , Uranus, the satellites of, spiritistic communicationsregarding, 50-57.
XX, 80; has never taught anything new, 26, 436; not proven by
Paladino phenornena, 166; dilemma between animism and, 188, 435; Vacquerie, Charles, 213.
Porro% opinion of its relation t o Paladino, 190 st eeq.; de Gas- Varennes, M. and Mlle. de, 95.
parida arguments against, 285; Thury’s comments on, -285 et 8eq.; Varley, Cromwell F., 291, 297, 359; accepts spiritistic hypothesis, 305,
epiritistic hypothesie accepted by Cromwell Varley, 305,409, by 409.
Wallace, 409, by Prof. Morgan, 409 ; epirits not necessarily souls Vignon, Louis, 98, 101.
Of dead, 431; still a working hypothesis, 439, 447; arguments Virchow, cited, 20.
against ita probability, 439 et seg. Virgil, quoted, 451.
~ u a n q u a r i l l o ,Joseph, 388. Viziali, M.,143.
Stewart, [Link], 306, Voltaire, 1.
B ~ & JGbrP6, 60.
466 MYSTERIOUS PSYCHIC FORCES
Wagner, Prof., 182.
Wallace Alfred Russel, 65, 290, 297, 437 ; accepts spiritistic theory, 409.
Watteville, Baron de, 63, 173, 218;- his 'investigations of mediumistic
phenomena,353-359.
Weber, A., 372.
Wellemberg, M., 218. .
Will, the, its influenceuponphenomena, 273 et seq., 365.
Williams, Mrs., medium, 218, 219.
Wolf, M., 218.
Writing and marks produced at .a distance, 167, 356, 371, 373, 370.

X;, Mme., mediumistic seance with, 211-216.

Zeno, cited, 450.
Zöllner, Prof., 68, 178, 196, 420.