“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 accordion _I held in my own hand_ with 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 my _confrere_ and 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.