placed in any such category, many of them men of high standing in the
scientific world, whose word is still taken as positive evidence in
support of very surprising scientific statements, since they are known
to examine and test phenomena with the closest and most accurate
scrutiny. This class of observers is particularly abundant in the London
scientific world, and includes in its list such noted names as Alfred
Russel Wallace, the celebrated naturalist, Dr. William Crooks, whose
discoveries in chemistry and physics have been of a remarkable
character, and Dr. Huggins, the equally celebrated astronomer. In
America the most noted scientific observer was the late Dr. Hare, of
Philadelphia, a chemist of world-wide fame. Of those who, if not
professed scientists, have been otherwise of high standing, Professor
Wallace names, in a recent communication to the "Times," Dr. Robert
Chambers, Dr. Elliotson, and Professor William Gregory, of Edinburgh,
Dr. Gully, a scientific physician of Malvern, and Judge Edmonds, one of
the best known American lawyers. Names of similar reputation in the
scientific and professional world might be adduced from Germany and
France, prominent among them the late Professor Zöllner, of Leipsic, a
well-known astronomer; but the above-given will suffice as evidence that
the investigation of spiritualism has not been confined to the unknown,
unlearned, and credulous, but has been pursued by men of the very
highest standing for probity, learning, sound judgment, and critical
discrimination.
The results reached by these men are therefore of great weight, and go
far to fix the status of the phenomena examined. We may say here that
several of them have become acknowledged converts to the spiritual
theory. More generally, however, they have declined to express positive
opinions as to the cause of these phenomena, while positively testifying
that they are not the result of trickery, but that they indicate the
existence of some power or energy in nature which is able to suspend or
overcome the operation of nature's ordinary forces. Only two prominent
scientists, who have made any pretence to examine these phenomena, have
declared that they are _in toto_ the result of fraud. These two are
Professor Faraday and Dr. Carpenter. But the investigations made by
these noted personages were too trivial to render their decision of any
value. Faraday briefly examined the phenomena of table-tipping, and
decided that it was due to involuntary muscular movement. Dr. Carpenter
reasserted the same, years after this explanation had been shown to be
entirely inadequate, and declared that the mental phenomena were due
only to _unconscious cerebration_, or the action of memories and ideas
long since stored in the mind, when the consciousness is otherwise
engaged and the person is unaware of the activity of his mental stores.
This theory, we may also say, is utterly inadequate to explain all the
phenomena, and only applies by a strained interpretation to the
instances which Dr. Carpenter gives in illustration.
One of the most striking of these instances we may here append. A
student relates that a professor had said to his class in mathematics,
of which this student was a member, "'A question of great difficulty has
been referred to me by a banker, a very complicated question of
accounts, which they themselves have not been able to bring to a
satisfactory issue, and they have asked my assistance. I have been
trying, and I cannot resolve it. I have covered whole sheets of paper
with calculations and have not been able to make it out. Will you try?'
He gave it as a sort of problem to his class, and said he would be
extremely obliged to any one who would bring him the solution on a
certain day. This gentleman tried it over and over again. He covered
many slates with figures, but could not succeed in resolving it. He was
a little put on his mettle, and very much desired to attain the
solution. But he went to bed on the night before the solution, if
attained, was to be given in, without having succeeded. In the morning,
when he went to his desk, he found the whole problem worked out in his
own hand. He was perfectly sure that it was his own hand. And this was a
curious part of it, that the result was attained by a process very much
shorter than any he had tried. He had covered three or four sheets of
paper in his attempts, and this was all worked out on one page, and
correctly worked, as the result proved. He inquired of the woman who
attended to his room, and she said that she was certain no one had
entered it during the night. It was perfectly clear that this had been
worked out by himself."
Instances of this kind are certainly very curious, and seem to show that
the mind, when set in any train of thought by intense concentration, may
pursue it after consciousness has been withdrawn. And the result
indicates that the mind acts with innate logic when not disturbed by
distracting considerations, and can be trusted to do more correct work
when thus set going and left to run of itself than when consciously held
to its work. Yet an examination of every recorded instance of this kind
strongly indicates that no such unconscious mental action ever takes
place except when the consciousness has been earnestly directed to the
subject in advance, that no marked instances of this activity ever occur
except in the unconsciousness of sleep or trance, and that it ceases
when the mental excitement that started it has gradually subsided. There
is not an instance on record to show that the mind ever originates
unconscious action, or that any of its remote stores or powers ever
spring into activity without being aroused by sensation or conscious
thought. Thus the doctrine of _unconscious cerebration_ has been carried
much further than the facts warrant. It need hardly be said that it is
utterly inapplicable as a theory to many of the facts adduced by the
Society for Psychic Research.
In the year 1869 the London Dialectical Society, an association of
cultured liberals, embracing many well-known personages, appointed a
committee to examine "the asserted phenomena of Spiritualism." The
committee divided itself into six sub-committees, each of which
submitted a report, and according to a general report, published in
1871, "these reports substantially corroborated each other." We may
therefore quote the more interesting points from the report of one of
the sub-committees:
"All of these meetings were held at the private residences of members of
the committee, purposely to preclude the possibility of prearranged
mechanism or contrivance. The furniture of the room in which the
experiments were conducted was on every occasion its accustomed
furniture. The tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables, and
required a strong effort to move them. The smallest of them was five
feet nine inches long and four feet wide, and the largest nine feet
three inches long and four and a half feet wide, and of proportionate
weight. The rooms, tables, and furniture generally were repeatedly
subjected to careful examination, before, during, and after the
experiments, to ascertain that no concealed machinery, instrument, or
other contrivance existed, by means of which the sounds or movements
hereinafter mentioned could be caused. The experiments were conducted in
the light of gas, except on the few occasions specially noted in the
minutes.
"Of the members of your sub-committee about four-fifths entered upon the
investigation wholly sceptical as to the reality of the alleged
phenomena, firmly believing them to be the result either of _imposture_,
or of _delusion_, or of _involuntary muscular action_. It was only by
irresistible evidence, under conditions that precluded the possibility
of either of these solutions, and after trials and tests many times
repeated, that the most sceptical of your sub-committee were slowly and
reluctantly convinced that the phenomena exhibited in the course of
their protracted inquiry were _veritable facts_. The result of their
long-continued and carefully-conducted experiments, after trial by every
delicate test they could devise, has been to establish _conclusively_,--
"First. That under certain _bodily_ and _mental_ conditions of one or
more of the persons present a force is exhibited sufficient to set in
motion heavy substances, without the employment of any muscular force,
and without contact or material connection of any kind between such
substances and the body of any person present.
"Second. That this force can cause sounds to proceed, distinctly audible
to all present, from solid substances not in contact with nor having any
visible or material connection with the body of any person present, and
which sounds are proved to proceed from such substances by the
vibrations which are distinctly felt when they are touched.
"Third. That this force is frequently directed by intelligence."
Of the many experiments described in this report we will quote here but
one:
"On one occasion, when eleven members of your sub-committee had been
sitting around one of the dining-tables above described for forty
minutes, and various sounds and motions had occurred, they, by way of
test, turned the backs of their chairs to the table, at about nine
inches from it. They all then knelt upon their chairs, placing their
arms upon the backs thereof. In this position their feet were of course
turned away from the table, and by no possibility could be placed under
it or touch the floor. The hands of each person were extended over the
table, at about four inches from the surface. Contact, therefore, with
any part of the table could not take place without detection. In less
than a minute the table, untouched, moved four times,--at first about
four inches to one side, then about twelve to the other side, and then,
in like manner, four and six inches respectively."
The committee further remarks that after this experiment "the table was
carefully examined, turned upside down, and taken to pieces, but nothing
was discovered to account for the phenomenon. Delusion was out of the
question. The movements were in various directions, and were witnessed
simultaneously by all present. They were matters of _measurement_, and
not of opinion or fancy. Your sub-committee have not collectively
obtained any evidence as to the nature and source of this force, but
simply as to the _fact of its existence_."
Mr. Sergeant Cox, a member of this sub-committee and a prominent member
of the English bar, relates that he experimented elsewhere in the same
manner as that above described, and with similar results, a heavy
dining-table being employed. Afterward, when all the party stood in a
circle round the table, holding hands, at first two and then three feet
distant, the table lurched four times, once more than two feet and with
great force, and moved to such an extent as to become completely turned
round. After the party had broken up, and were standing in groups about
the room, the table, which was about two feet from its original
position, swung violently back to its proper place and set itself
exactly square with the room, with such force as literally to knock down
a lady who was standing in the way putting on her shawl for departure.
Mr. Cox, after a close examination of these phenomena, offered a theory
in explanation somewhat differing from that already mentioned. He
believes that they are due to the action of some psychic force,
originating in the nervous system and analogous in character to magnetic
attraction. He relates several instances of heavy bodies moving toward
the mediums, as if attracted, and remarks, "In another experiment in my
own lighted drawing-room, as the psychic [the medium] was entering the
room with myself, _no other person being there_, an easy-chair of great
weight that was standing fourteen feet from us was suddenly lifted from
the floor and drawn to him with great rapidity, precisely as a heavy
magnet will attract a mass of iron."
Another phase of these phenomena, as observed by the committee, was the
sudden and considerable change of weight in the table, it becoming light
or heavy as desired. To prove this scientifically, a weighing-machine
was attached, and the change of weight clearly proved. "One instance
will suffice. Weighed by the machine, the normal weight of a table
raised from the floor eighteen inches on one side was eight pounds.
Desired to be light, the index fell to five pounds; desired to be heavy,
it advanced to eighty-two pounds. And these changes were instantaneous
and repeated many times."
The most remarkable evidence adduced by scientific observers is that
presented by Professor Crooks. He is a chemist of high reputation, the
editor of the "Chemical News" and for many years of the "Quarterly
Journal of Science," the discoverer of the metallic element thallium,
and of recent years noted for his remarkable discoveries in the
conditions of matter in highly-exhausted vacuum-tubes. In 1870 he
undertook the investigation of Spiritualism, with the full expectation
of exposing it as a compound of trickery on the one side and of
credulity and self-deception on the other. In January, 1874, he
published, in the "Quarterly Journal of Science," a brief compend of the
notes of his investigations during the four years preceding. Some of the
phenomena here recorded are so extraordinary that they would not be
worthy an instant's attention but for the attestation of a witness of
such standing, and one accustomed to the employment of the severest
scientific tests.
The phenomena recorded, as he declares, with few exceptions, all took
place in his own house and in full light, at times appointed by himself,
"and under conditions that absolutely precluded the employment of the
very simplest instrumental aid." In all cases only private friends were
present besides the medium. The mediums employed were the noted D. D.
Home and Miss Kate Fox, of Rochester-rappings notoriety. Of the simpler
phenomena observed were the movement of heavy bodies with contact, but
without mechanism or exertion, percussive and other sounds, etc. He
remarks,--
"I have had these sounds proceeding from the floor, walls, etc., when
the medium's hands and feet were held, when she was standing on a chair,
when she was suspended in a swing from the ceiling, when she was
enclosed in a wire cage, and when she had fallen fainting on a sofa. I
have had them on a glass harmonicon. I have felt them on my own shoulder
and under my own hands. I have heard them on a sheet of paper held
between the fingers by a piece of thread passed through one corner. I
have tested them in every way that I could devise; and there has been no
escape from the conviction that they were true objective occurrences,
not produced by trickery or mechanical means." Intelligence is
manifested by these sounds, "sometimes of such a character as to lead to
the belief that it does not emanate from any person present."
He records numerous instances of the movement of heavy bodies when not
touched: "My own chair has been twisted partly round while my feet were
off the floor. A chair was seen by all present to move slowly up to the
table from a far corner when all were watching it; on another occasion
an arm-chair moved to where we were sitting, and then moved slowly back
again (a distance of about three feet) at my request."
"On five separate occasions a heavy dining-table rose between a few
inches and one and a half feet off the floor, under special
circumstances which rendered trickery impossible.... On another occasion
the table rose from the floor, not only when no person was touching it,
but under conditions which I had prearranged so as to assure
unquestionable proof of the fact."
As to the power of overcoming gravity, he tested it by the use of a
weighing-machine specially constructed and very delicate in its
operation, being so arranged that its extremity could not possibly move
downward without external pressure. Yet it did so move downward when the
medium's fingers were held over it without touching it. This experiment
was conducted in a way that renders it absolutely certain that some
force beyond those visible to the persons present was in operation.
He also describes the lifting of human bodies without visible external
aid: "On one occasion I witnessed a chair, with a lady sitting on it,
rise several inches from the ground.... At another time two children, on
separate occasions, rose from the floor with their chairs, in full
daylight, under (to me) most satisfactory conditions; for I was kneeling
and keeping close watch upon the feet of the chair, and observing that
no one might touch them."
Among other strange manifestations, he positively declares that his
library-bell was brought into a room in which he was sitting with the
medium, with locked doors, both he and his children having seen and
handled the bell a short time before in the library. Also a piece of
China grass was taken from a vase on the table, and before his eyes
seemed to pass through the substance of the table. Observation showed
that there was a crack in the table through which it had apparently
passed. But this crack was much narrower than the diameter of the grass,
yet the latter showed no signs of abrasion or change of shape.
As to the intelligence manifested by this strange power he gives the
following instance. A lady was writing with a planchette. "I asked, 'Can
you see the contents of this room?' 'Yes,' wrote the planchette. 'Can
you see to read this newspaper?' said I, putting my finger on a copy of
the 'Times' which was on the table behind me, but without looking at it.
'Yes,' was the reply of the planchette. 'Well,' I said, 'if you can see
that, write the word that is now covered by my finger, and I will
believe you.' The planchette commenced to move. Slowly and with great
difficulty the word 'however' was written out. I turned round, and saw
that the word 'however' was covered by the tip of my finger. I had
purposely avoided looking at the newspaper when I tried this experiment,
and it was impossible for the lady, had she tried, to have seen any of
the printed words, for she was sitting at one table, and the paper was
on another table behind, my body intervening."
The most remarkable phenomena attested by Professor Crooks, however, are
those classed as luminous appearances, and particularly as luminous
hands. Some of the most striking of those may be here quoted:
"Under the strictest test-conditions I have seen a self-luminous body,
the size and nearly the shape of a turkey's egg, float noiselessly about
the room, at one time higher than any one present could reach standing
on tiptoe, and then gently descend to the floor. It was visible more
than ten minutes, and before it faded away struck the table three times
with a sound like that of a hard, solid body. During this time the
medium was lying back, apparently insensible, in an easy-chair."
"I have had an alphabetic communication given by luminous flashes
occurring before me in the air while my hand was moving about among
them. I was sitting next to the medium, Miss Fox, the only other persons
present being my wife and a lady relative, and I was holding the
medium's two hands in one of mine, while her feet were resting on my
feet. Paper was on the table before us, and my disengaged hand was
holding a pencil. A luminous hand came down from the upper part of the
room, and, after hovering near me for a few seconds, took the pencil
from my hand, rapidly wrote on a sheet of paper, threw the pencil down,
and then rose up above our heads, gradually fading into darkness."
"In the night I have seen a luminous cloud hover over a heliotrope on a
side-table, break a sprig off, and carry the sprig to a lady; and on
some occasions I have seen a similar luminous cloud visibly condense to
the form of a hand and carry small objects about."
These hands he claims to have frequently seen, sometimes in darkness,
sometimes in light. On one occasion "a beautifully-formed small hand
rose up from an opening in a dining-table and gave me a flower; it
appeared and then disappeared three times at intervals: this occurred in
the light, in my own room, while I was holding the medium's hands and
feet."
The hand often seemed to form from a luminous cloud. "It is not always a
mere form, but sometimes appears perfectly life-like and graceful, the
fingers moving, the flesh appearing as human as that of any in the room.
At the wrist or arm it becomes hazy and fades off into a luminous
cloud.... I have retained one of these hands in my own, firmly resolved
not to let it escape. There was no struggle or effort made to get loose,
but it gradually seemed to resolve itself into vapor, and faded in that
manner from my grasp."
We should not venture to quote these most remarkable statements but for
the fact that they are made by a gentleman of such high standing for
accuracy of observation, who knew perfectly well that he was imperilling
his position in the scientific world and exposing himself to the
contumely and accusation of loss of sanity that followed. In regard to
this point it need only be said that his most valuable scientific work
has been done since that period, and that his statements on scientific
subjects are received everywhere to-day as unquestionably accurate and
important. That he saw what he believed to be luminous hands there can
be no doubt. Whether he was deceived is another question.
As to the producing cause of these manifestations Professor Crooks
offers no theory. Whether the power and the intelligence displayed came
from some one present or from some disembodied spirit he makes no
suggestion, but simply presents the facts as evidence that there are
mysteries in nature transcending any that have yet been weighed and
measured, and which must engage the attention of the science of the
future.
Of the other scientists named, Professor Wallace openly accepts the
spiritualistic explanation of these phenomena. He has not, so far as we
are aware, published any detailed statement of his investigations,
though we have been told that they consisted in part in what is known as
"spirit photography," or the taking of photographs of persons known to
be dead, by his own private apparatus and in his own private rooms. As
to the character of the results obtained by him, however, we are unable
to make any statement.
Professor Zöllner also became a believer in Spiritualism, mainly through
experiments with the American medium Mr. Slade. He published a work on
the subject, in which he advances the theory, which has of late
attracted so much attention, of a fourth dimension in space; that is,
that, in addition to length, breadth, and thickness, bodies may have a
fourth dimension, beyond the powers of human observation. The untying of
knots in sealed ropes, passage of matter through matter, etc., he
attempts to explain as possibly done by agents capable of working in
this fourth dimension of matter. Science, however, is as little inclined
to accept this theory as to accept that of spirit communication.
Of the American scientific observers Professor Hare is far the most
noted for his critical discernment, his accuracy of observation, and his
obstinate determination not to be convinced that there was anything
occult in these phenomena. He was remarkably skilful in the making of
scientific apparatus, and he tested the phenomena received by a series
of instruments of delicate construction and capable of exposing the
least attempt at fraud. Those who were present at the circles with him
declare that he would frequently make his appearance with a new
instrument and a face full of grim expectancy that he would now baffle
the powers that had baffled him on previous occasions, and that he would
retire with a countenance of settled despondency as the unseen
_something_ set at nought his deep-laid plans and secret hopes. It will
suffice to say here that his experiments ended in his accepting the
spiritual explanation of the phenomena and publishing a work on the
subject.