These phenomena of percussion are sometimes produced with a most extraordinary intensity, as in the observations of Kate Fox in the house at Hydesville; these were probably only phenomena of percussion similar to those observed at Louviers, in the home of Madame Gay, under the mediumship of Francoise Fontaine, in 1591, manifestations which were then attributed to the Devil, or later to a condition of hallucinations, among the witnesses, according to thematerialistic psychologistsof the nineteenth century.
Class III.—Alteration of the weight of bodies.
The experiments made by Mr. Crookes, in regard to the alterations in the weight of bodies, enters the category of psychic phenomena examined with the most mathematical exactitude, by the aid of accurate registering apparatus. It is in these experiments that the celebrated English physician was able to witnessPsychic Forcedeveloped by hismedium.
The description and designs of the apparatus thus used may be found in the “Moniteur de la Policlinique,” of the 7th and 14th of May, 1882, and in “Le Spiritisme” of Dr. Paul Gibier, published in the year 1887.
This article is too lengthy for reproduction in this work, but we have the right to consider it as the point of departure for experimental psychology, for not only have they not been denied in France and other countries, butthey have been recognized as absolutely true, by several colleagues of Mr. Crookes, belonging to theRoyal Society of London.
Class IV.—Movements of heavy bodies at a distance from the medium.
“There are numerous instances in which heavy objects, such as tables, chairs, ropes, etc., have been moved when the medium never touched them. I will mention a few striking cases.
“My own chair turned half way around while my feet were on the floor.
“In full view of all the people present, a chair started from a far off corner and advanced slowly to a table while we were watching its movement.
“On another occasion an arm chair came from to the place we were seated, and then, on my demand, slowly returned backward a distance of three feet.
“During three consecutiveseances, a small table crossed the room under conditions I had especially fixed in advance, in order to respond victoriously to all objections that might possibly be raised against the reality of the phenomenon.
“I repeated on several occasions the experiment considered as conclusive by the “Dialectic Society,” that is to say, the movement of a heavy table in a full glare of light, the backs of chairs being turned towards the table about one foot of distance, each person being in a kneeling posture upon his chair, the hands placed upon the back above the table, but not touching it.
“On one of these occasions, the experiment took place while I walked all around the table in order to see how each person was placed.” (Crookes).
In our own seances, with Madam Rosine, L.B., we have seen, ten or twelve times at least, a small table on rollers, advance towards us as though moved by a force of attraction or repulsion.
A similar phenomenon was very often produced in my office, under the mediumistic influences of M. D. with a strength of extraordinary propulsion, which seemed to originate in brute force. The traces of violent shocks of a table against my bureau still remain to testify to the results of this occurrence.
Class V.—Chairs and tables raised from the earth without contact with any person.
“A remark usually made when cases of this kind arise is: ‘Why do these things only occur with chairs and tables? Is this a privilege solely enjoyed by pieces of furniture?’ I wish to answer this by stating that I simply observed facts and report them without pretending to enter into thewhyandhow; but, in truth, it is very evident that if any inanimate object of a certain weight can be lifted from the earth in the ordinary dining room, it could as easily be anything else than a chair or table.
“That such phenomena are not limited to furniture I have numerous proofs, as have other experimenters; theintelligenceorforce, whichever it may be, that produces the manifestations, can only operate with materials that are at its disposition.
“On five distinct occasions a heavy dining table was raised from the floor for a height varying from some inches to a foot and a half, under special imposed conditions that made fraud impossible.
“On another occasion a heavy tablewas raised to the ceiling, in full light,while I held the feet and hands of the medium.
“At another time the table raised itself above the floor, without any one touching it, but under conditions I had previously imposed in such a manner as to render the proof of the fact incontestable.” (Crookes.)
The phenomena observed in this class of experiments belong to those ofmovement without contact. Although these are difficult to obtain, I have noticed them several times; I have seen, in my own home, a massive table raised some distance from the floor ten or fifteen seconds after all contact had ceased. Dr. Gibier had the advantage of obtaining complete levitation and seeing the tableturn and touch the ceiling with its four feet, under the mediumistic influence of Mr. Slade. The Doctor affirms this fact in his own book on the subject.
In the trial of August 31st, 1591, a phenomenon similar to the one narrated befell Francoise Fontaine,i.e., the fall of an iron door on the unfortunate girl; the elevation in the air of a washtub and its being emptied in the presence of the jailer and the prisoner Aufrenille. Francois Fontaine was evidently amediumwithpsychic effects.
Class VI.—Raising human beings in the air.
“This phenomenon has taken place in my presence four times, although in obscurity. The conditions under which these movements were performed, however, were completely satisfactory; but the ocular demonstration of such a thing is necessary to prevent the effects of our preconceived opinions; for example, upon that which isnaturally possible or impossible, I shall only mention here cases in which the deductions of reason have been affirmed by the sense of vision.
“I saw, one day, in the quality of spectator, a chair on which a lady was seated raised from the floor several inches.
“On another occasion, in order to avoid being suspected of producing the phenomenon by artificial means, the lady knelt on the chair, so that the four legs of the piece of furniture were visible to every eye; then the chair was lifted from the floor three inches, remaining suspended in the air for ten seconds, when it slowly descended to the floor again.
“Another time, but separately, two children were raised to the ceiling in their chairs, under a full glare of light, under conditions entirely satisfactory to me, for I was on my knees and attentively watched the feet of the chairs in order to see that no one touched them.
“The most remarkable examples of levitation I have observed have taken place with Mr. Home. On three occasions I have seen him lifted to the ceiling of the room. On the first occasion he was seated in a chair, the second time he was kneeling on a chair, and the third experiment he stood on the chair. In all these instances I had every facility for examining the phenomena at the moment they occurred.
“Over a hundred instances where Mr. Home was raised from the floor in the presence of numerous witnesses have been published, and I have had the oral testimony of at least three witnesses to these exhibitions,i.e., Count Dunraven, Lord Lindsay, and Captain Wynne.
“To reject the numerous depositions presented on this subject would be to reject all human testimony on any other subject; for there are no facts in history, be they sacred or profane, that are supported on such a solid basis of proof.
“The number of witnesses who will testify to the levitations of Mr. Home is overwhelming. It is to be greatly desired that persons whose testimony would be accepted as conclusive by the scientific world would seriously examine with patience these facts.
“The majority of ocular witnesses of these phenomena are still living, and will most assuredly bear witness; but in a few years it will be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain suchdirect evidenceas in the case of Home.” (Crookes.)
It is to this class of phenomena that the case of Francois Fontaine belongs, the authenticated facts of which, officially recorded and witnessed, are matters of history; her levitations in the prison at Louviers cannot be doubted.
The cataleptic symptoms accompanying the ascentional movements of this woman bear witness as to the special neuropathic condition in which she was found—a condition to-day in which most mediums developpsychic force, either spontaneously or following hypnotic maneuvers.
One of the benefits to future sciencewill be the explanation given to these phenomena now considered supernatural; things that our learned Academicians refuse to believe in,although not investigating, insisting that such phenomena are hallucinations, the mere assertions of writers and those who witness them; while these so-calledsavants, who laugh spiritualism to scorn, claiming it a fraud and imposture, are themselves afraid to be convinced by scientific experimentation.[85]
Class VII.—Movement of small objects without personal contact.
“Under this title I propose to describe certain particular phenomena of which I have been a witness.
“I shall content myself to here allude to some facts all the more surprising, since those who have witnessed them did so under circumstances that rendered all deception impossible; it would be foolish to attribute these results to fraud, for the phenomena were not observed in the house of a medium, but in my own home, where any previous preparation was out of the question.
“A medium was taken to my dressing room and seated in a certain portion of the chamber under the watchful eyes of a number of attentive witnesses, and played an accordionI held in my own handwith the keys upside down; this same accordion then floated in the air, playing as it remained suspended.
“This medium could not secretly introduce to my home a machine strong enough to rattle my windows and remove Venetian blinds to the distance of eight feet; to tie knots in my handkerchief and carry it to a far-off corner of a large room; to play notes on a piano at a distance; to make a plate float around the room; to raise a water carafe from a table; to make a coral necklace stand up on one of its limber extremities; to put a fan in the usual society motions; or to start the pendulum of a clock when the time piece was sealed in glass and screwed tightly to the wall.” (Crookes.)
These same phenomena are produced by Fakirs. A certain number of fig or other leaves are perforated by bamboo sticks stuck in the ground. The charmer extends his hands, the leaves move up along the long sticks on which they are strung.
Another experiment: a vase is filled with water and spontaneously moves over a table, leans, oscillates, is raised a perceptible height, without a drop of water being spilled.
Musical instruments render sounds, play melodious airs, under the eyes of the investigator, at some distance from the Fakir and without the latter making any apparent movement. Dr. Gibier cites these phenomena, witnessed by persons entitled to every confidence.
During seances at the home of my friend Dr. Fuel, with Madam L. B., we have witnessed similar phenomena. Several times myconfrereand I have seen damask curtains at his office windows shake and open; have heard the sound of a small trumpet placed in the center of a table, in the dark, it is true, but we were holding each other’s hands in the circle and used all possible precautions not to be duped or humbugged.
Class VIII.—Luminous apparitions.
“These manifestations are weak and generally require a darkened room. I wish to recall to my readers the fact that on these occasions I have taken all the necessary precautions to avoid being deceived by light due to luminous oils (of which phosphorous might form the basis) or other means. Besides, I have endeavored in vain to imitate these lights artificially.
“I have seen under experimental conditions of the most severe sort, a solid body having its own light about the size of a goose egg float around the room without noise at a height not to be touched even by standing on ones toes, afterwards softly descend to the floor.
“This luminous globe remained visible for more than ten minutes before disappearing; it struck the table on three occasions, making the noise produced by any hard and solid body of the same size.
“During this time, the medium wasseated in an arm chair, in an apparent condition of insensibility.
“I have seen luminous sparks disport themselves above the heads of various persons.
“I have obtained response to questions by means of flashes of light, any number of times in front of my own face.
“I have seen sparks of light rise from the table and to the ceiling and fall back on the table with a distinct noise of solidity.
“I have obtained, alphabetically, a communication, by means of flashes of light, produced in mid air, before my eyes, while my hand moved around in the rays of the communicating light; I have seen a luminous cloud float up and rest on a picture.
“On several occasions, under similar conditions of severe control, a body solid in appearance but crystalline, having a light of its own, has been placed in my hand by a hand not belonging to any person present in the room. Inthe full glare of light, I have seen a luminous body fly to the top of a heliotrope placed on top of aconsole, break off a small branch of the plant and carry it to the hand of a lady present.
“I have sometimes seen similar luminous cloudsvisibly condense, assume the form of a hand, and carry small articles to people, but these phenomena properly belong to another class of manifestations.” (Crookes).
The only phenomena of this nature that I have noticed were produced under the following circumstances: One evening, after commencing some experiments with Madam L. B., in the parlor of Dr. Puel, we were obliged to cut theseanceshort owing to a convulsive hysterical attack that overcame the medium—an attack which lasted more than an hour and which was only stopped by the application of metallic plates to the thorax. Having regained consciousness, the lady, with her husband and Dr. Puel, retired to the latter’s consultation office, where I was summoned a few moments later by myconfrere. Madam L. B. was standing, supported by my two friends,[86]while from her chest arose phosphorescent vapors, which grew more dense and thick as the lights in the room were turned down. These phenomena lasted more than a quarter of an hour, during which Madam L. B. uttered long and painful groans. These vapors had the odor of phosphorus, and seemed to rise from the epigastric region.
I was called some months later to attend to Madam L. B., whom I found in a condition of profound anæmia and mental prostration, reminding me of theseance; I prescribed granules of phosphoric acid for her with excellent results.
Class IX.—Apparition of hands, either luminous or visible under ordinary light.
“One finds himself frequently touched by hands, or something having the form of hands, duringdark seances, or under circumstances which do not permit us to see these forms; butI have seen these hands.
“I shall not speak here of instances in which the phenomenon occurred in obscurity, but will simply choose some of thenumerous instancesin which I have seen the handsin the light.
“A small hand, of charming shape, has risen from the table and extended me a flower; this hand appeared and disappeared three times at intervals and gave me every opportunity to convince myself that it was, in appearance, as real as my own. This occurred in a full light, in my own room, while I held the hands and feet of the medium.
“On another occasion, a small hand and arm, similar to those of a child, appeared to play around a lady seated near me; this arm floated to my side, struck my arm lightly and pulled my coat several times.
“Another time, I saw an arm and hand tear the petals from a flower placed in Mr. Home’sboutonniereand hold the same before the faces of parties sitting near him.
“On this occasion, and with other witnesses, who saw the same manifestations, a hand touched the keys of an accordeon and played the instrument, while the medium’s hands were visible meantime, and even held at times by persons seated near him.
“The hands and fingers have always appeared solid and like those of any living person; at times, however, they appeared nebular, condensations in the form of hands.
“These phenomena were not visible to the same extent to all the persons present. For example, one person would see a flower or other small object; another person would see a small cloud of luminosity fly over the flower; another, still, would notice a nebulous hand; while others, again, would simply see the movement of the flower.
“I have seen, on several occasions, an object move with the appearance of a luminous cloud and perfectly condense into the form of a hand; under such circumstances the hand is visible to all persons present.
“It is not always a simple form, for often the hand perfectly resembles that of a living person, and has every element of grace; the fingers move; the flesh presents a human appearance, the same as though that of a living person; at the wrist or arm this form may become nebulous, and end in a luminous cloud of vapor.
“To the touch the hand appears cold, icy as in death at times; while on other occasions it feels warm and living, clasping my hand like that of an old friend would.
“I have retained one of these hands in mine,firmly resolved not to let it escape; it made no resistance nor effort to disengage itself, but appeared to gradually resolve itself into vapor.” (Crookes).
I have heard many persons affirm that they perceived hands that touched them infull light. I never had this experience, but I can testify that during eight or ten sittings I and five or six persons who assisted me felt these hands perfectly; and among these hands were those belonging to a small child, andcertainlyno small child was in the house; these baby hands were soothing and caressing. Our medium was still Madam L. B., who, during theseance, was held down tightly on a sofa by Madam P., whose scrupulous attention may be relied on wherescienceis at stake, for all our experimentations of this sort were in the dark. Several times the small baby hands were put in my sleeve, and seemed to take pleasure in pulling off my cuffs and taking them to other persons in the room. My eyeglass was also taken by the infantile fingers and carried to one of the circle.[87]
Class X.—Direct writing.
This is the expression we employ to designate a writing not produced by any person present, and Mr. Crookes gives the following description of this phenomenon:
“I have often received words and messages written on paper (on which I had made private marks) under the most severe conditions of control; and I have heard, in the dark, the noise of the pencil moving across the paper. The precautions previously taken by me were so strict that my mind is perfectly convinced, as if the characters of the writing were formed under my own eyes.
“But, as space will not permit me to enter into complete details, I shall simply choose two cases in which my eyes as well as my ears were witnesses of the operation.
“The first case I shall cite took place, it is true, indark seance, but the result was none the less satisfactory.
“I was seated near the medium, Miss Fox, and there were only two persons present, my wife and a relative of ours; I held both hands of the medium in one of mine, while her feet were on top of my own. There was paper before us on the table and my hand held the pencil.
“A luminous hand descended from above, and, after hovering near me for a few seconds, took the pencil from my hand, writing rapidly on the paper, threw the pencil over our heads and gradually faded in obscurity.
“The second case may be considered and registered as a discovery. A good discovery is often more convincing than the most successful experiment.
“This occurred in the light of my own room, in the presence of Mr. Home and a few friends. Different circumstances, unnecessary to enumerate here, had shown that evening thatthe psychic power was very strong. I expressed the desire of witnessing the production of a real written message, similar to that I had one of my friends mention a short time before. At the instant this wish was uttered an alphabetical communication was given which read, ‘We will try.’
“A pencil and some sheets of paper were placed on the center of the table. Soonthe pencil stood on its point and advanced, by jerks, then fell over. It raised itself again and fell over; it tried a third time but with no better result.
“After three fruitless attempts, a smallpiece of wood which laid near on the table slid towards the pencil and raised itself some inches above the table. The pencil now raised itself anew, supporting itself against the wood, and the two made an effort to write on the paper; this did not succeed and a new trial was made. On the third attempt the wooden lath abandoned its efforts and fell back to its old position on the table; the pencil remained in the position where it fell on the paper, and an alphabetical message said to us, “We have tried to do what you have asked, but our power is exhausted.” (Crookes.)
In India, the Fakirs easily obtain direct writing; they spread fine sand on a table or other smooth surface and place on this sand a small pointed stick made of wood. At a given moment this stick rises and traces characters on the sand, which are responses to questions put by the lookers on.[88]
In the experiments made with our friend Dr. Puel, we obtained writing on over twenty slates. A bit of chalk was placed on a new slate and this slate was placed on a table at some distance from the medium, Madam L. B., the experiments being made with all the cautions possible. A previous examination of both surfaces of the slate put away all doubts as to any fraud in that respect. I, meantime, held the hands of Madame L. B., the medium, who was always in a hypnotic condition during such experiments, at which several persons usually assisted—persons who were known to be capable of observing and recording facts with coolness and deliberation.
All these communications have a signature, and many of them date 1900 as the epoch whenmodern spiritualismshall be scientifically recognized by the world.
Dr. Gibier, who made interesting experiments with Mr. Slade, like us, obtained spontaneous writing on many slates, of which he gives reproductions in his remarkable work,a book that he had the courage to write and to which his celebrated name is affixed.[89]
We do not find in any Middle Age documents such spontaneously written communications; at least Demonographers do not mention them in their writings, for if they had it would have been a most striking proof of the analogy of magic with modern spiritualism and Indian Fakirism, which serves as an intermediary in the history of Occultism.
Class XI.—Forms and figures of phantoms.
“These phenomena are rarely ever witnessed. The conditions required for their appearance seeming so delicate, and so little prevents their production, that it is only on very few occasions that I have witnessed satisfactory results. I will cite two cases:
“At twilight, in aseanceby Mr. Home, given at a private house, the blinds of a window, back of the medium about eight feet, were seen to move, then all the persons sitting near the window perceived a shadowy form that grew darker and then semi-transparent, like that of a man trying the shutters with his hand. While we gazed at this object in the twilight it evanesced and the window shutters ceased to move.
“The following example is still more striking. As in the preceding case Mr. Home was the medium. A phantom form came from the corner of the room, took an accordeon in its hand, and glided around the room playing the instrument beautifully. This phantom was visible to all those present for the space of several minutes, Mr. Home being perfectly visible at the same time. Then this shade approached a lady in the room, when the frightened woman uttered a scream and the phantom vanished.” (Crookes.)
We regret that space will not permit our giving the experiments made on Miss Cook and Katie King, spectres which became so tangible that they were photographed.
This History given by Crookes regarding spiritual photography is well nigh incredible, but Dr. Crookes has remarked concerning doubters and his personal experiments, “I do not say that it is possible, I say that it is.”
These apparitions of forms and figures of phantoms were more common to the Middle Ages than at the present day, if we are to believe the numerous cases cited by Pierre Le Loyer.[90]
This celebrated author in fact, will not admit that there is any doubt on this subject; a matter he has thoroughly studied, for he says in this preface of his work—“Aussi est traicte des extases et rauissements: de l’essence, nature et origine des Ames, et de leur estat apres le deces de leurs corps; plus des Magiciens et Sorciers, de leur communication avec les malins esprits; ensemble des remedes pour se preseruer des illusions et impostures diaboliques.”
In analyzing passages from this curious document, we will immediately see the correlation that exists between what was called in other times sorcery or magic, and spiritualism. In speaking of these spectres which form in the air, and under our eyes, Pierre Le Loyer writes: “We know them by the coldness of their touch and their bodies, which are soft, their hands receding from ours like soft cotton when pressed, or a snow-ball squeezed in a child’s hand. They tarry no longer than it pleases them, returning again into their element.”
Further along, Le Loyer adds: “A bad spirit questioned by a sorcerer why his body was not warm, responded that it was not in his power to give it heat.”
But, meantime, he attributed these apparitions to evil spirits and demons; finally, our author seeks to explain “what is this body seen and touched of these demons, so to speak, of the air, water and earth?”
“These devils appear indifferently to all persons; they themselves affect the society of certain, individuals some much more than others.”
“To these sorcerers and witches (mediums), they ordinarily show themselves in a visible form, and will come to those who call them.”
“As to persons subject to these sort of things, they are usually those young and tender of age, cold and imperfectly organized beings; by such we can speak with power; old men and eunuchs, and withal melancholy persons.”
“All those these devils dominate over, are estranged from their natural, beings, and not infrequently become maniacs.”
Our author in his chapter on the essence of souls, affirms, that “that the ancient oracleswere only the Oracles of the souls of men,” and to be specific, he gives a long list of names. He remarks, “there were in Greece, temples known to be psychomantic, and in such places were received responses from the souls of different men. It was for this reason too, that the souls for the same reason watched over the places where the bodies of generous and noble barons had been burned.”
Further along Le Loyer mentions the origin of thepower that the spirits possess of manifesting themselves to us, but our authordisagrees with the modern theories that makes them derive their power from the medium, for he remarks that the spirits can act “through their own powers,” and are governed only by their own intelligence. “They are not off so far,” adds he, “and the distance between us and the spirits is so slight that we may easily communicate;” however, he says, meantime: “They are commanded by God and conform to his will.”
Finally, he considers man as an inferior being to the spirits of the dead—in fact, he states: “The soul appears to derive nothing from another, and, as an invisible spirit, it acts with us as a passive agent, being too proud to control that which is inferior; and I deny,” says he, “that the true souls of the dead obey either charms or magical words.”
Of the future of the soul after death he remarks to one of his opponents, whose opinions he refuted, that “this soul, whatever it may be, in a state of health or not purged, comes by degrees and not at one bound into the full fruition and happiness of God;” and these degrees, according to Le Loyer, are like prisons where the penalties for misdeeds done in the flesh are to be satisfied. He admits, however, that some spirits make more rapid progress than others. These, to his mind, are the judgments of God after death, and the fire mentioned in Scriptures. Such is the manner in which he explains away the ideas of the images of Paradise and Hell, the promises to the virtuous and the wicked. He cites (aproposof manifestations before courts of justice) houses “where spirits have appeared and made all manner of noises, that disturbed the tenants at night.”He speaks of Daniel and Nicholas Macquereau, who rented a house for a term of years. “They had been living there but a short time when they heard the noises and hubbub made by invisible spirits, who allowed them neither sleep nor repose.” The court cancelled the lease, thusadmitting that there were places haunted by spirits.”[91]
Class XII.—Particular examples which seem to indicate the intervention of a superior intelligence.
“It has already been demonstrated that these phenomena are governed by an Intelligence; an important question is to know what is the source of this Intelligence.
“Is this the Intelligence of themediumor some one else present in the room? Or is this Intelligence exterior? I do not wish to commit myself on this point at present in a positive manner. I will say that I have observed several circumstances which appeared to demonstrate that the will and the intelligence of the medium have a great influence on the phenomena. I have likewise observed others which seemed to prove in a conclusive manner the intervention of an intelligence entirely independent of all persons found in the room where theseancewas given.
“Space will not permit me to give here all the arguments that might serve to prove these propositions, but I will briefly mention one or two circumstances chosen from among a number of others. I have several times seen phenomena take place simultaneously, some of them being unknown to the medium. I have seen Miss Fox write automatically a message for a person present, while a message for another person was given alphabetically by means ofraps, and during all the time of these manifestations she conversed on a subject entirely different from the two others.
“The following case is, perhaps, still more astonishing. During aseancewith Mr. Home, a small wooden lath, that I have previously mentioned, came across the table to me, in full light, and gave me a message by striking lightly on my hand; I repeated the alphabet and the lath struck me at the proper letters; the other end of this wooden stick was some distance off from the hands of Mr. Home.
“The blows were so distinct and clear, the wooden lath was so evidently under the invisible power that governed its movements, that I said: ‘Can the intelligence that governs the movements of this lath change the character of the movement and give me a telegraphic message by means of the Morse alphabet, by blows struck on my hand?’
“I had every reason for thinking that the Morse alphabet was entirely unknown to all the other persons present, and I knew it only imperfectly myself.
“Immediately after I had said this the character of the raps changed and the message was continued in the manner I demanded. The letters were given too rapidly for me to catch but a word now and then, consequently I lost the message; but I had heard sufficient to convince me that there was a good Morse operator at the other extremity of the line, no matter what place it might be in.
“Another example: A lady wrote automatically by the aid of Planchette. I sought to discover the means to prove what she wrote was not due tounconscious cerebration. Planchette, as it always does, affirmed that, although the movements were made by the hands and arms of the operator, there was an intelligence coming from an invisible being, who played on her brain like an instrument of music and thus put her muscles in motion.
“I then remarked to this Intelligence, ‘Can you see what is contained in this chamber?’ And Planchette answered, ‘Yes.’ ‘Can you read this journal?‘ said I, placing my finger on a copy of theLondon Timesthat happened to be back of me on a table, but which I could not see. ‘Yes’ responded Planchette. ‘Very well,’ said I, ‘write the word now covered by my finger.’ Planchette commenced to move and the word ‘however’ was slowly written. I turned around and saw that theword ‘however’ was covered by the end of my finger. I had not looked at the paper when I attempted this experiment, and it was impossible for the lady, had she tried, to see any word in the journal, as she was seated at a table and theLondon Timeslay on a table back of me with my body interposed.” (Crookes.)
In the experiments in typtology at which I have assisted, to all the demands addressed topsychic forcethe responses have always presented a particular character independent of that of the assistants.[92]
I have sometimes tried to concentrate my will upon the answer awaited, and have always failed in my attempts at mental pressure.
1 have likewise determined that these answers cannot be dictated by the mind of the medium, whose scientific and literary knowledge were not always equal to the message received. This observation coincides with the facts observed among pretended Demonomaniacs, who had in their attacks the gift of language, responding in Latin to the exorcists, making entire discourses in this language, of which they knew not the first elements.
Under the name ofphenomena of ecstasy, Dr. Gibier described, after his experiments with the medium Slade, his displacement by a stronger spirit to that of his usual control. Says Gibier, the phenomena produced from thence were “a certain discoloration of the medium’s face, which became red, a sort of grin contracting the muscles of the visage, the eyes were convulsed upwards, and after some nystagmatic movements of the ball of the eye the eyelids closed tightly, gritting of the medium’s teeth was heard, and a convulsive sign, indicating the commencement of hispossessionby a strange spirit. After this short phase, which was painful to behold, the medium’s face fell into a smile and the voice, as well as the attitude, was completely modified to that of a different person. Slade thus transformed to his regular control, saluted all our party most graciously.”
Among the experiments made by Dr. Gibier to control this condition ofincarnation(the English call ittrance), we might cite that of a comparison of the dynamometric force of the medium in his natural condition and thetrancestate. In the first case, by reason of two previous attacks of hemiplegia, Slade’s muscular force gave 27 kilos to the right and 35 kilos to the left. In the second state there were 63 kilos to the right and 50 kilos to the left. Meantime, Dr. Gibier, no more than ourselves, deems it proper to consider the trance state other than a hypothesis, “a foreign element, introduced in the scene, and like it present in the experiences of suggestion and catalepsy.”
If we cannot give a scientific explanation of these phenomena, it is our duty to examine them as others and retrace their history, especially seeking those points of coincidence with the proofs furnished by the history of demonomania and diabolic possession of the Middle Ages; for we are convinced that these phenomena were dominated by the same unknown force, interpreted differently by reason of the philosophic and religious ideas of the epoch at which they were studied.
Class XIII.—Varied cases of a complex character.
Under this title Mr. Crookes cites facts that cannot be classed otherwise by reason of their complex character. As an example, he reports two cases: one being an experiment in typtology between himself, Miss Fox, and another lady. He proved that a bell that belonged in his business office was brought to the table, as a proof announced by the intellectual force, that communicated with him,of its strength. The chamber in which this was done was separated from the office by a door which he previously securely locked with a key, and he was absolutely positive that the bell in question was in his office.
“The second case I desire to report,” says Mr. Crookes, “took place one Saturday night under a full glare of light, Mr. Home and my family being the only persons present.
“My wife and I, having passed the day in the country, had brought home flowers with us that I had gathered; on arriving at home we had given them to a servant to put in water. Mr. Home came shortly after and we went into the dining room. At the instant we seated ourselves, the domestic brought the flowers, arranged in a vase; I placed them in the center of the table, which was not covered by a cloth. It was the first time Mr. Home had seen these flowers.
“Immediately a message came, given by the rap alphabet, which said, ‘It is impossible for matter to pass through matter, but we will show you that we can do it.’ We waited in silence, and soon a luminous apparition was seen floating over the bouquet of flowers, and then, in full view of all my family at the table, a branch of China grass, fifteen inches in length, which ornamented the middle of the bouquet, slowly rose from the bunch of flowers, descended from the vase and moved across the table, and my wife saw a hand stretched out from under the table and seize the flower; at the same moment she was struck three times on the left shoulder and the noise made by the slaps was so loud we all heard it; then the luminous hand dropped the China grass to the floor and disappeared. Only two persons of my family saw the hand, but every one at the table noticed the different movements of the plant stalk, as I have before described them.
“During the time that this phenomena lasted we all saw Mr. Home’s hands on the table, where they rested motionless, and they were at least eighteen inches from where the plant stalk disappeared.
“It was a dining-room table that opened in folds, it did not lengthen,” etc.
As a contribution to the facts mentioned in this class, I may report the famous experiments with the bracelet made by Dr. Puel—experiments that I have witnessed a dozen times at least—as well as numerous other persons. A bracelet made of brass, without opening or solder, cut by a machine out of a solid piece of metal, was placed on the forearm of Madame L. B. The lady’s hands rested flat on the table, or were held in the hands of those experimenting. At a given moment, often in the middle of a conversation, Madame L. B. uttered a piercing cry and at the same instant the bracelet would fall on the floor, or on some piece of furniture, with great force. Several times, under the same circumstances,—that is to say, when the lady’s hands were firmly pressed down on the table by those experimenting,—I have seen the braceletpass from one arm to the other.
So, in opposition to all laws of physics, it appears that matter can pass through matter; I affirm the reality of this, and others, who are no more victims to hallucination than I, can also testify to the truth of this statement. And no matter what may be the consequences to my professional reputation, and utterly without regard for anything that may be said by critics, I boldly maintain, as if under oath, that my senses lead me to this imposed conviction. Besides, I am far from being alone in believing what I have seen, whether or no it be “in harmony with our acquired knowledge;” to the names of French, English and GermansavantsI have cited, there are experimenters in all countries who have the courage to believe the evidence offered by their own senses, as witness that celebrated English geologist, who, after ten years of investigation with the phenomena under control,declared spiritualism to be true, drawing from his experiments the following conclusions: “Who shall determine the limits of the possible, limits that science and observation accumulate each day? Let us examine, let us doubt, but not be so daring as to deny the possibility of such occurrences” (Barkas).
If now we have established the balance-sheet of facts attributed to the Demonomania of the Middle Ages, and compared them to the experiences of experimental psychology, we are not only led to recognize a striking analogy between them, but also to interpret them by the hypothesis of an intelligent force of an intensity proportionate to certain nervous pathological conditions. It is necessary to remember, in fact, that, according to the Ritual of the Roman Catholic Church, the phenomena necessary to recognizepossessionamong Demonomaniacs were:
1. The faculty of knowing thoughts, even though they are not expressed.
2. Intelligence in unknown languages.
3. The faculty of speaking foreign tongues which are unknown to the party speaking them.
4. A knowledge of future events.
5. A knowledge of what is transpiring in far-off places.
6. Development of superior psychal force.
7. Suspension of persons or bodies in the air for a considerable space of time.
No less interesting is it than to compare these phenomena to those observed by the thirty-three members of the commission appointed by the “Dialectic Society of London.” The following was this committee’s report, after eighteen months’ investigation:
1. Noises of varied nature, apparently arising from the furniture, floor or walls of the room, accompanied by vibrations which are often perceptible to the touch, are present without being produced by muscular action or any mechanical means whatever.
2. Movements of heavy bodies occur without the aid of mechanical apparatus of any sort, and without equivalent development of muscular force on the part of persons present, and even frequently without contact or connection with any one.
3. These noises and movements are produced often at the moment wished for and in the manner demanded by persons present, and, by means of a simple code of sounds, respond to questions and write coherent communications.
4. The response and communications obtained are, for the most part, hackneyed and commonplace, but sometimes they give facts and information only known to one person in the room.
5. The circumstances under which the phenomena are present vary, the most striking feature being that the presence of certain persons seems necessary to their production, and that the presence of some people serves as a check; but this difference does not seem to depend on the belief or the unbelief of those present as to the nature of the phenomena.
The testimony, oral and written, received by the commission affirmed the reality of phenomena much more extraordinary still, such as heavy bodies rising in the air (men in certain cases floated through the atmosphere) and remaining in suspension without tangible support; apparitions of hands and forms belonging to no human beings, but seemingly alive, judging by their aspect and motions.
This report was signed bysavantsof the first order, as sceptical before commencing their investigations as the most positive Materialists of our academies of science. Let us cite, among the celebrated names of men known throughout the world for their learning and scientific veracity, those of the great naturalist andcollaborateurof Darwin, Russell Wallace, Professor A. Morgan, President of the Mathematical Society of London and Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society; F. Varley, Chief Engineer of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Company and member of the Royal Society of London.
Mr. Morgan does not fear to add to the report the following lines: “I am perfectly convinced, from what I have seen and heard, in a manner that renders doubt impossible, thatSpiritualists, without doubt, are upon a track that will lead to the advancement of the psychal sciences; their opponents are those who seek to trammel all progress.”
Mr. Varley writes to the celebrated Professor Tyndall: “I am obliged to investigate the nature of the force that produces these phenomena, but, up to the present time, I have been unable to discover anything save the source from which thispsychic forceemanates,i.e., from the vital systems of the mediums. I am only studying, however, a thing that has been the object of investigation for two thousand years; brave men, whose minds are elevated above the narrow prejudices of our century, seem to have sounded the depths of the subject in question,” etc.
This opinion of the learned English physicist proves, once more, that we are right in connecting Demonomania to the magic of antiquity and to modern spiritualism. One must be perfectly blind or of poor judgment not to see the connecting links that unite these various phenomena. And if our men of science dare no longer say that these facts are worthy of credit, although refusing to investigate the same, it is because they lack courage, it is because they dare not brave the criticism of pretended strong-minded men and the jests of the ignorant. If thevulgum pecus, the amorphous matter that stuffs the superior element of society, contest the value of the works of Crookes, Wallace, Morgan, Varley, Gibier, Zoellner, Mapes, Hare, Oxon, Sexton, and others, they can only be included in the same class of people who ridiculed Galileo, Harvey, Jenner, Franklin, Young, Davy, Jussieu, Papin, Stephenson, and Galvani, with all the authors of great discoveries and scientific truths, who have invariably been combattedby the pseudo-scientific and half-fledged goslings whose names adorn our so-called colleges and other mutual admiration societies.[93]
Why, then, longer refuse to studya forcerecognized by some of the most eminent men among modern civilized nations and by the modest pioneers who first studied these phenomena in France? If the number of experimenters named be not sufficient to convince sceptics, let them enter into a full study of present-day psychology, and find a host of the greatest modern neurologists.
Nine years of study has led Mr. Oxon, Professor at the University of Oxford, to formulate the following propositions onPsychic Force, which corroborate the results obtained by his colleagues in England, Germany, and America, and which still constitute another proof of the identity of the phenomena:
“1. A force exists which acts by means of a special type of human organization, a force that we callpsychic force.
“2. It is demonstrated that this force is, in certain cases, governed by an intelligence.
“3. It is proved that this intelligence is often other than that of the person or persons through whose influence it acts.
“4. This Force, thus governed by an exterior intelligence, at times manifests its action, independent of other methods, by writing coherent phrases, without the intervention of any known mode of writing.
“5. The evidence of the existence of this force governed by an intelligence rests on
“(a) The evidence observed through the senses.
“(b) The fact thatthe forceoften uses a language unknown to the medium.
“(c) The fact that the subject matter treated is very frequently superior to the medium’s knowledge or education.
“(d) The fact that it has been found impossible to produce the same results by fraud under the conditions in which these phenomena are obtained.
“(e) The fact that these special phenomena are not only produced in public and by paid mediums, but likewise in a family circle where no strangers are admitted.”
Without writing to prejudice the question, I believe, in my turn, that I can solemnly affirm that this force has intimate connection with the soul, the mind or the ministerial part of our being, as it is called; that it acts on our ideas as well as on our physiological functions, and it is to my mind the destiny of humanity to investigate its essence and study its phenomena, its manifestations and all its sensible effects by all our senses and means of investigation.
It is high time that secular boasting of the materialistic scientists be checked, and that they should recognize the fact that force does not arise from matter alone but exists independent of it and primarily submits to its laws.
Starting, then, with the proposition that an unknown force exists, to whose influence we unconsciously submit, science should investigate this force, isolate, and control it, if it be in our power so to do.
Instead of opposing an ignorant skepticism to modern discoveries inpsychic force, our learned Academicians should investigate the acquired facts for inspiration in future work, remembering that good thought of Laplace: “We are so far from knowing all the agents of Nature and their different modes of action, that it is not philosophical to deny the existence of phenomena simply because they cannot be explained in the actual condition of our present knowledge.”[94]
Such are the conclusions I believe I have a right to draw from my historical studies on the Demonomania of the Middle Ages. Let me briefly recapitulate my personal views on the subject:
1. There exists a psychic force, intelligent, inherent to humanity, manifesting itself, under determined conditions, by various phenomena, with an intensity more or less great.
2. Certain human beings, known as mediums, who are very sensitive to the action of magnetism, facilitate the production of these phenomena, considered as supernatural in the actual state of our present scientific knowledge, and in apparent contradiction with all known physical and physiological laws.
3. In certain nervous conditions, natural or provoked, this Force can possess the human organism and bring about, temporarily, either a change in one’s personality or an alteration in one’s sensations and in the intellectual and moral faculties.