my anxiety, saying I had reason to fear that my brother and his tutor
did not get on well together. One evening, during dinner, Chappe rapped
out the signal intimating his presence; the raps resounded on the table
close to where I was sitting, and at a distance of about three feet
from the medium. Asked if he had anything to say, Chappe dictated: _Il
faut laisser le petit en repos loin de son tuteur_. I wish to draw
attention to the last word, for it marks a curious error. When speaking
to the medium of my brother, I always made use of the word _tuteur_,
whereas, in French, I should have said _précepteur_. The two words have
quite a different meaning; my brother was not with a _tuteur_ in the
French sense of the word, but with a _précepteur_.
“Now, a short time before, my brother had shown symptoms of a cardiac
affection, and was undergoing a special treatment. Neither the medium
nor Dr. Maxwell knew of this; they thought my brother was in the best
of health, as indeed he appeared to be.
“After the last communication had been received, I asked Chappe if my
brother’s health was good. My question was: _Est-ce que sa santé est
bonne?_ The answer came: _Arythmie du cœur; séparez-le de son tuteur_.
“At the time, I myself did not know the precise nature of the weakness.
I simply knew that my brother had had two attacks of spasms of the
heart; but, I repeat, I had not mentioned this fact to any one. A
fortnight after receiving the foregoing communication, I had a letter
from the doctor charged to watch over my brother, in which letter the
term ‘arythmie’ was employed for the first time, in connection with
him.
“My family thought of sending my brother to the Pyrenees for a few
months’ rest and change. I asked Chappe if he could tell me what
was contemplated; he replied: _Peut-être ferez-vous bien de garaer
Raoul auprès de vous; dans deux mois, Paris, campagne, Hyères, Ile,
Arcachon_; all so many efforts, one would say, to read my thoughts—but
without success.
* * * * *
“A seance had been arranged for at which Dr. Maxwell, Professor Richet
and I were to be present. Much had been expected from this seance,
for there were many signs of ample force. The raps were certainly
excellent, and, with a great show of dignity, asked: _Permettez-vous à
un ami de_ (mentioning my name) _de venir_? Permission being given, it
was announced that “Georges R.” wished to speak with me.
“I know of no Georges R.; the medium, however, was aware of the fact
that R. is one of my family names.
“The raps (‘Georges R.’) continued: _Votre père a eu un accident de
voiture; foie très contusionné; soaisr chute; (soir sa chute?)_.
“No accident of any kind has happened to my father either at the time
of receiving the above message, or since.
“The rapping ceased abruptly, when this last message was given, and no
further phenomena occurred at this particular seance.
* * * * *
“At a short seance at which Dr. Maxwell and I were present, the medium
said he could see Chappe walking about the room with a lady on his
arm; the lady was dressed in mourning. Raps accompanied the medium’s
words and, the name of the lady in mourning being asked for, the word
‘Marguerite’ was dictated. Asked why she was in mourning, the raps
replied that it was for identity’s sake, because ‘Marguerite’ was
in mourning when she died. (_Signe identité—en deuil quand elle est
morte._) Asked for the name of the person for whom Marguerite was in
mourning, when she died, the raps replied: ‘Katey.’
“Now, a favourite aunt of mine died a few years ago, whose name was
Marguerite. My mother died a few weeks before my aunt; consequently my
aunt was in mourning for my mother, when she died. My mother’s name was
Kate, but my aunt always called her Katey.
“I can affirm never having spoken of these details either to Dr.
Maxwell or to the medium.
“During this seance it was Dr. Maxwell who spelt out the alphabet.”
* * * * *
I will give one more quotation from Dr. X.’s notes:—“Chappe was
rapping so noisily and abundantly one morning that, in default of
other phenomena being forthcoming, I asked him if he would kindly
tell me what was man’s occupation after death. My exact question was:
_Qu’est-ce qu’on fait dans l’Au delà?_ Very quickly and unhesitatingly
the raps answered: _On est dans ravissement profond, et occupé
uniquement de faire le bonheur de tous ceux qui sont chers et le souci
d’apporter des preuves d’une vie future._”
* * * * *
In the exposition of the few facts in this, as well as in the other
series, we are trying to throw every light in our power upon the agency
operating behind these messages. This necessitates personal details
here and there which, we hope, the reader will forgive. On every
occasion, unless the reverse has been stated, M. Meurice was thoroughly
wide-awake. It was often he who spelt out the alphabet, especially when
the observers had reason to suspect a name—or the nature of the message
to be given. He always permitted a constant and careful scrutiny of his
every movement, when the raps were produced with contact. When raps
were forthcoming without contact, they were given wherever requested,
_e.g._ on a chair, the floor, the centre of the table or under such
or such an observer’s hand; in these cases the vibration was easily
perceived. When the pencil was used, care was taken—by holding M.
Meurice’s hand and the pencil—to make sure of the fact that neither
hand nor pencil stirred, while the raps were being produced.
There can be no doubt whatever of the authenticity of the raps, which
gave the messages laid before the reader in this chapter.
All things considered, the chances seem great that these raps are not
accidental, but significant of some fact in the complex and obscure
structure of human personality—dare we say in the structure even of the
Cosmos?
B. TELEKINETIC PHENOMENA
The following is Dr. Maxwell’s _compte rendu_ of some telekinetic
phenomena, which were forthcoming on the 25th and 26th July 1903. These
notes were written immediately after the phenomena occurred.
“_25th July 1903_; 4.30 P.M.
“M. Meurice and I were working in a small study in the former’s house.
The room is about eight feet long by eight feet wide. On the NE. side
is a window; SW. a door; NW. a glass door. The window was closed, and
the shutters were half closed on account of the excessive heat and
glaring light. The furniture consists of: a writing-table in the E.
corner; a divan against the NE. wall; a low chair in the S. corner; a
rectangular table in front of the couch or divan; a small hexagonal
table near the rectangular table; a gilt cane chair in front of the
window; a wooden stool in the W. corner; a chimney-piece in the N.
corner; an armchair in front of the rectangular table; a small gilt
chair was between the latter table and the divan. It was drawn under
the table.
[Illustration]
“M. Meurice and I had been writing (correcting proof sheets) on the
hexagonal table. M. Meurice was sitting on the edge _A_ of the divan, I
was at _B_ opposite him, when raps were heard on the writing-table—with
which M. Meurice had no contact. I measured a distance of two feet
between him and the writing-table. At the same time, raps in quantity,
but of feeble tonality, resounded on the hexagonal table.
“We removed our writing materials on to the rectangular table, for the
sake of more room. The raps gradually ceased; they died out altogether
on the writing-table and began, though very feebly, to resound on the
rectangular table. We worked for an hour and then rested a while. M.
Meurice sat back on the couch, putting one of his feet on the chair
between the divan and the table. Raps immediately resounded on the
chair. I went and sat down beside my friend, and observed that the raps
_appeared_ to come from his foot; I found that they were synchronous
with our movements; they also responded correctly to my mental and
spoken request.
“I left the couch and sat on the armchair in front of the rectangular
table. M. Meurice drew his legs under him and sat on the divan,
tailor-fashion. We decided to try to move the gilt chair standing
between the divan and the table. There was a space of fourteen inches
between the divan and the chair. I sat on the armchair. M. Meurice
brought his hands towards the chair, palms facing the chair; he kept
his hands still at a distance of seven to eight inches from the back of
the chair; I stretched out my arms above the table towards the chair.
When I contracted my muscles, the arms and hands extended, the chair
moved. The amplitude of the movement was very small, scarcely a quarter
of an inch, but the movement was abrupt and decided. It was a jerk,
which took place shortly after the muscular contraction.
“This movement was reproduced three times under the same conditions.
“Then M. Meurice and I changed places. I sat on the couch in the
same way as he had sat; M. Meurice made the same movements I had
made. The chair moved twice; the amplitude of the movement was much
greater than with me; the chair was displaced an inch each time. After
the second movement was produced, M. Meurice said he felt tired; he
lifted his arms above his head and stretched himself; that is to say,
he pulled himself upwards; his feet did not go near the table. While
stretching himself, the chair suddenly—for the third time—displaced
itself a distance of an inch. The latter movement coincided with the
extension of the back, at the moment when the muscles of the grooves
and _lombo-sacré_ contracted.
“The direction of these movements was from the table towards the couch;
the chair receded from the table, whether M. Meurice or I sat on the
couch.
“Seeing how easily these movements without contact were being obtained,
we went downstairs into the dining-room with the object of trying to
obtain some phenomena, which M. Meurice had obtained when alone the
previous day; namely, the attraction of wine-glasses.
“I took a liqueur-glass, and put it on the mantelpiece in the
dining-room. M. Meurice made some passes around the glass, then put his
two hands together meeting them at the finger-tips; he drew his hands
slowly away, the glass followed his hands by jerks.
“We then returned to the study. I sat down on the divan and prepared
to resume my writing. M. Meurice was standing near the mantelpiece. In
a few minutes I heard him say he was attracting the chessmen. I got
up and watched carefully. His hands were in the position described
above in connection with the liqueur-glass; he drew his hands slowly
backwards, and the red king followed his hands; this tiny piece is
about half an inch in height and a quarter of an inch in diameter.
The movement was slow and gliding. M. Meurice tried to reproduce the
phenomena but failed. He said he was tired and would rest a while. In
a few minutes he renewed his efforts. I stood close beside him; again
failure. After a few more minutes of rest, he tried again—I watching
him closely all the while—and, this time, succeeded in attracting
the same piece—the red king. The piece followed the direction of his
fingers, as before, slowly and smoothly.
“M. Meurice again complained of feeling tired, and I urged him not
to try for any more phenomena, but to lie down and rest. I went to
my writing once more, but M. Meurice was restless, and told me he
wanted to try to move an empty beer-bottle, which was standing on the
mantelpiece.
“He took it from the mantelpiece and put it on the wooden stool. He
knelt down in front of the stool, and made the same manœuvres with his
hands as for the liqueur-glass and the chessman. I remained sitting on
the divan, a distance of nearly seven feet from the stool. M. Meurice,
after the above-mentioned manœuvres, _i.e._ passing his hands several
times round the bottle, joined his hands together at the finger-tips,
and drew them gently backwards as before. The bottle moved four times,
each time from two to three inches.
“M. Meurice then said he felt sea-sick; and he was obliged to lie down
for a while. He soon rose up, however, and said he wanted to make
something else move. He took a piece of sealing-wax, tried several
times, but failed to move it. Thereupon I persuaded him to cease making
further attempts.”
“_26th July._
“Phenomena of attraction similar to yesterday, occurred this afternoon.
We were in M. Meurice’s bedroom. It was four o’clock, the window was
open, the shutters were ajar; the light was excellent.
“The mantelpiece is covered with plush. On one corner there is a
statuette in porcelain representing the Thorn; the child is seated
on a chair, and is pulling a thorn out of his foot; the statuette
is five inches high. M. Meurice told me that he was going to make
this statuette move. I stood near him, with one hand on his back;
I stooped down, and looked fixedly and narrowly at the statuette
during the whole operation. M. Meurice proceeded exactly as in the
preceding experiments, and when his hands—joined together at the
finger-tips—were at a distance of six inches from the statuette,
the latter swayed, bent slowly forward, and fell over. I affirm most
positively, that there was no hair or thread or normal link of any kind
whatsoever between the statuette and the medium’s hands. I passed my
hand all round the statuette, before the movement, during the movement,
and after the movement; I thus verified by touch, what my eyes were
witnessing.
“Now, after M. Meurice had made some passes with his hands around the
statuette (without touching it, be it remembered), and when, after
putting his hands together at the finger-tips, he slowly withdrew them,
I heard a slight noise, like the rubbing of a hair on the statuette;
at the _same_ time the latter swayed; this creaking sound did not
continue, and only accompanied the first movements of the statuette.
Again I affirm, that there was no hair or thread whatsoever connecting
the medium’s hands with the statuette.
“After the production of this phenomenon, we decided to have a dark
seance, for the purpose of trying to obtain luminous phenomena.
I closed the shutters and pulled down a dark blind, especially
constructed for dark seances. While I was doing this, M. Meurice
continued trying to attract various articles on the chimney-piece.
Seeing this I drew the dark blind away again and let in more light,
in order to be able to see clearly. I took a stick of sealing-wax,
broke off a piece and put it on a small mirror, which was lying on
the mantelpiece. In this case M. Meurice did not make any preliminary
passes as with the statuette, beer-bottle and liqueur-glass; he simply
joined his hands together in front of the sealing-wax; the sealing-wax
followed his hands several times, in fact every backward movement drew
the wax after the hands; he finally drew the sealing-wax to the edge of
the mantelpiece, when it fell to the floor.
“The seance which followed was unproductive. A few raps were heard,
but that was all. After the seance, we lighted up the room, opened
the window, and M. Meurice again tried to move the sealing-wax. He
succeeded with great facility, the sealing-wax following every movement
of his fingers.
“By sight and touch, I assured myself of the absence of any link
between the wax and M. Meurice’s hands. I solemnly affirm that no such
link of any kind existed.
“I desired to write a letter, and, thinking that the phenomena were
probably exhausted for the time being, I begged M. Meurice to allow
me to get off my letter. I was in the act of writing, when he said
he felt he could move another article. I watched him: he took up
another statuette, which stands a foot high; he put this statuette on
a small table which was near me; he kept his hands open, palms turned
towards the object in question. He moved his hands slowly backwards
and forwards, and I observed the statuette bend forward when his hands
receded, and bend backwards when his hands approached it. His hands
were never nearer than ten inches to the object.
“M. Meurice then complained of feeling unwell, and threw himself on
his bed. His hands touched the head of the bed, on the woodwork of
which raps at once resounded. Chappe gave his signal, and dictated:
‘B. MENAGEZ.’ Questioned as to what he meant, he said to take care
of the medium, and not to take advantage of the power. We ceased
experimenting, therefore.
“I have a few remarks to make concerning the above phenomena. When I
held my friend’s hands, I obtained nothing. M. Meurice says he saw
a thread, or rather a sheath of filaments, pass from his fingers on
to the object of experimentation. As a rule, he made passes over the
object he wished to move, as though he were putting a thread of some
kind around it. He did not always do this, _e.g._ if the object to be
moved were light and small, he made no passes over it.
“This movement would be very suspicious, if observation were
superficial; but apart from the purely scientific spirit in which
M. Meurice views his own phenomena, the severe control I exercised
demonstrated the absence of any material link whatever.”
_More Extracts from Dr. Maxwell’s Notes_
“_3rd June 1903._
“A movement without contact was forthcoming this afternoon. I placed a
table upside down upon a linen sheet. M. Meurice and I put our hands
on the sheet, some distance away from the table. The latter turned
completely over; the movement was performed slowly and gently. It was
at four o’clock, the sunlight was streaming in through the open window.
“We also obtained the movement of a heavy wooden stool with slight
contact. M. Meurice and I were sitting on a couch, the stool was near
us; abundant raps were heard on the stool. M. Meurice took up a piece
of linen, put one end on the stool, putting a framed picture on top of
it to keep it in place; he put the other end on his knees. In a few
minutes, the stool swayed about and finally moved a distance of three
inches away from M. Meurice. I watched him well and can affirm he moved
neither hand nor foot during the production of this phenomena.
“M. Meurice experienced much fatigue after this movement. It occurred
at half-past four; the light, I repeat, was excellent.”
“_11th June 1903._
“It appears that M. Meurice attracted several objects—pieces of bread,
forks, etc.—yesterday during lunch. But he could not reproduce the
phenomena in my presence. We had, however, raps and numerous slight
movements without contact—raps almost _ad libitum_. Automatic writing
followed, but contained nothing of interest; it was impossible to
obtain replies to mental questions: subjectivity.
“_P.S._—I am adding a postscript to my letter from the medium’s house;
for we have just received some fine phenomena. The raps were, as usual,
very abundant; but we also received two fine series of parakinetic
movements.
“1. I brought a small mahogany table up to the sofa on which M. Meurice
had thrown himself. I sat down beside him, taking a shawl which I threw
over him and the table. Instantly, raps resounded on the table. M.
Meurice could not possibly have touched the table without my noticing
it.
“The table swayed about, now on this side, now on that; and then
dragged itself towards me by jerks, first one side, then the other.
When I squeezed M. Meurice’s hand or gave him a slight tap on the
shoulder, there was a synchronous movement in the table. The latter
also moved in response to request. Then it gently raised itself up on
the two feet which were nearest to me; this side lost contact with the
floor and rose to a height of four inches.
“2. We were both carefully watching this interesting phenomenon, when I
heard raps on another table which was about a foot away from the sofa
and two feet away from the table with which we were experimenting.
This second table had no contact whatsoever either with the sofa or
with the shawl: it was isolated. Hearing the raps, I looked at the
table and saw it rise up, or to be more correct, sway about—only
three of its legs touching the ground. M. Meurice had not noticed
this phenomenon; when I drew his attention to it, he became suddenly
nervous, and complained of feeling tired. I pointed out to him how much
this sensation of fatigue was subjective and out of all proportion with
the energy expended. But new or unexpected phenomena always upset him;
he experiences a sort of anguish blended with something like fear in
presence of a new phenomenon.
“These movements of the second table lasted for several minutes; they
were synchronous with our own movements and muscular contractions, but
were also forthcoming at request. We were operating in broad daylight.
Chappe informed us, by raps, that he was the operator on this occasion.”
“_11th July 1904._
“I was obliged to make an early call on our medium this morning.
Lucky visit! for he was in a working mood and gave two fine movements
without contact. We began by sitting at a table, where we received raps
by means of the lead-pencil; the words: _Put yourselves against the
daylight_ were rapped out. We did not understand what this meant, and
ceased experimenting. We went downstairs and walked about in the garden
for a few minutes. When we went back to the study, we resumed our
seance. M. Meurice sat down on the divan and I in front of him. Raps
without contact dictated: _Lie down for a while, we want to try for a
physical effect_.
“The raps directed that I was to lie down on the sofa and M. Meurice
was to take my place. We followed these directions.
“M. Meurice said he felt ‘queer’; that his hands seemed to be full of
hair, or rather of spider’s web, and he tried to rub the feeling away.
I got up and took down from the mantelpiece the statuette of St. John,
the history of which you know.[29] He tried to attract it, but without
results. We waited, the spider’s web sensation returned, and this time
I prevented him from rubbing it off; he drew his hands together over
and then in front of the statuette and—his fingers at a distance of
five inches from the object—attracted it to him. The statuette moved
two inches.
[29] “Concerning the statuette: the medium was—two months
previous to the seance here spoken of—given the catalogue of
a sale of antiquities to be held at Bordeaux. When going to
bed he took the catalogue to glance over it; but he says he
was so sleepy, that he did not get any further than the first
page. In the night, he dreamt that he was to buy No. 256 in
the catalogue, which—he was told in his dream—was the Christ
of whom he had seen the vision a few months previously, when
Madame Stephens was with us. (See Series C, page 349.)
“When the medium awakened, he looked up No. 256, and found
that it was an ancient wooden statuette of St. John the
Baptist.”—_Note by Dr. X._
“M. Meurice felt ill after this movement, and was obliged to lie down
for a while. He soon got up, and tried again. But I stopped him,
fearing he might over-tire himself; though the statuette did not move
forward this time, it swayed about.”
“_18th July 1904._
“On Thursday morning, M. Meurice again succeeded in attracting the
statuette of St. John. He told me he felt the cobwebby sensation,
which—in his case—coincides with telekinetic phenomena; he took the
statuette in question and placed it on a table. He then proceeded as
though he were putting something behind the object, making several
passes with his hands all round it. As he was drawing his hands away
from the statuette—they had reached a distance of nine inches—I heard
something like the crackling of a hair or silken thread on the wood of
the statuette, and then the latter moved.
“The excellent conditions of light under which the experiment took
place, the control of sight and touch which I most carefully exercised,
the proximity of the statuette to my eyes, all this renders the absence
of any hair or thread most certain for me. This is the second time I
have heard this scraping sound.
“M. Meurice was extremely fatigued after the production of this
phenomenon, and fainted. On recovering himself, he insisted on trying
once more, and succeeded in making the statuette sway about.
“The day following this experience, he attracted several small
articles—wine-glasses, bread, etc.—near his reach on the
luncheon-table. I was not present, however.
“You perceive how very suspicious the phenomena sometimes _appear_ to
be. Nothing short of actual observation could demonstrate the absence
of a connecting link of some kind between the medium’s hands and the
object in movement.”
C. LUMINOUS PHENOMENA
_By Dr. X._
“For about eighteen months, Dr. Maxwell has been endeavouring to turn
the phenomena in the direction of luminosities or materialisations.
“With that object in view, he has had a light portable cabinet
constructed. This fragile apparatus consists of eight pieces of
pinewood fitting into one another by means of hooks. When put
together, there is just enough space inside the cabinet to allow of
the introduction of a small, straight-backed chair; a person sitting
thereon, finds himself in contact with the back and sides of the
cabinet, and his knees against the door. A large curtain of purple
cloth has been made, which is thrown over the cabinet, covering it
completely. The curtain is buttoned over the door.
“The luminous phenomena already obtained with this medium and spoken of
by Dr. Maxwell on pages 152-5, were sufficient grounds for hoping that
patience and perseverance might, finally, obtain happy results capable
of being repeated.
“For more than a year nothing demonstratively objective was
forthcoming. In the darkness, one often imagined one could see clouds
of vapour moving about near the cabinet; but there was nothing to prove
that this appearance was anything more than an optical illusion. On
these occasions, the medium frequently complained of a disagreeable
sensation on his hands and face, as though he were caught in a spider’s
web. He has also said, that he perceived from time to time an odour of
phosphorus or ozone in the cabinet; the medium has been the only one of
the experimenters to notice this odour, so far.
“Whenever I have been present at these attempts, I have observed that
they were accompanied by complete cessation of all other phenomena,
such as visions, raps, telekinesis. Until November 1904, this
apparently negative result was about all that was obtained at these
dark seances.
“During the first week in November, the medium being in good form,
and the ‘force’ abundant, it was decided to devote a few days, which
Professor Richet was able to dispose of, to an effort to obtain
luminous phenomena.
“Three seances in all were held. There were present, Professor Richet,
Dr. Maxwell, M. Meurice, and myself. The seances were held in a very
small room on the top floor of the medium’s house.
“The following is a diagram showing the disposition of the room in
which the three seances, of which I am giving the _compte rendu_, took
place.
[Illustration]
“The door, which was shut, leads into another room, the two doors of
which—leading into a corridor—were locked during the experiment. The
window and shutters of this adjoining room were closed, and the room
darkened, so that no light therefrom could penetrate under the door of
the seance-room.
“The seances were held between 5 and 6.30 o’clock in the afternoon.
Total darkness was obtained by closing the outside shutters and
the window, and by hanging a large black curtain—kept for the
purpose—across the window. No ray of light was visible on the sides of
the window; the position of the latter could be guessed at during the
seance—simply because we knew where it was—but could not be perceived.
The darkness was profound. A candle and box of matches were placed on
table _A_. When the experimenters were seated, the candle was blown out.
“_Results._—Tuesday, 1st November 1904. The four experimenters were
seated around the table (see diagram); the medium (who is not marked
on the diagram, because he was in the cabinet whenever phenomena
were forthcoming) was seated between Dr. Maxwell (_M_) and Professor
Richet (_R_), with his back to the cabinet: No results—nothing
whatever—neither raps nor anything else.
“The medium goes into the cabinet. After an interval of a quarter of an
hour, _M_ and _X_ think they see milky-looking clouds floating about
near the cabinet, but they are unable to affirm the objectivity of this
appearance. At the close of the seance, feeble raps are heard on the
table; the raps dictate that Professor Richet is to sit in the cabinet
on the following day.”
* * * * *
_Second Seance_
“_Wednesday, 2nd November 1904._
“Professor Richet sits in the cabinet. The medium sits at the spot
marked _M_ on the diagram; Dr. Maxwell sits at _R_. After sitting
in this way for a quarter of an hour—during which time nothing
occurred—the medium asked to be allowed to go into the cabinet.
Professor Richet then sits at _R_, and Dr. Maxwell at _M_. Almost
immediately _M_ and _X_ see a phosphorescent, milky-looking, amorphous
light, of about six inches in diameter in parts, floating about outside
the door of the cabinet. It was decidedly objective, lasted for about
one minute, and gradually disappeared.
“_R_ did not see the light.
“[From an experiment made on the following day, we have all three
reason to believe, that Professor Richet did not see the luminosities
at this seance because of his position. Let it be borne in mind that
_X_ was in direct line of vision with the door of the cabinet, and that
_M_ was also favourably placed for observation. These facts did not
strike us until the seance was over, and _R_’s inability to see what
_M_ and _X_ affirmed were objective lights was incomprehensible at the
time being.]
“When the medium took Professor Richet’s place in the cabinet, he said
the latter appeared to him to be all lighted up; when Dr. Maxwell and I
saw the light outside the cabinet, the medium declared he was in utter
darkness. During the production of this phenomenon, M. Meurice was
heard to breathe heavily; he said he did not know why he felt obliged
to do this; he complained of feeling suddenly very cold; at the same
time, a cold perspiration broke out on his forehead. He also said that
he felt the need of stretching himself and yawning.
“An interval of ten minutes now passed. Then _M_ and _X_ saw an
amorphous luminosity gradually form in front of the cabinet, and
make slight movements in the direction of the table at which the
experimenters were sitting. _M_, by the light of this luminosity, sees
the curtain slowly open, and close again as the light disappears.
“_R_ sees nothing definite. He thinks he sees a cloud-like substance,
but is not sure of its objectivity (because of his position?).
“As in the case of the first luminosity, so for this second one, M.
Meurice declares that the cabinet is lighted up within, becoming dark
when _M_ and _X_ see the light. He has the same sensations of cold. In
addition, he says he feels tired, and asks to be allowed to discontinue
the seance.
“No odour of phosphorus was perceptible, although the lights we
observed had something of a phosphorescent appearance; but I think it
would be more correct were I to compare what I saw on this occasion
with the Milky Way; in fact, these luminosities presented an appearance
almost exactly similar to that presented by the Orion nebulæ, when seen
through the telescope.
“The medium looked pale and tired, when we closed the seance, but he
quickly recovered his vitality, and during dinner—scarcely an hour
later—some fine telekinetic movements of a heavy walnut dining-table
were forthcoming in, of course, full light. Seeing the table move,
apparently of its own accord, we joined hands two feet above the table,
and succeeded in making it follow the direction our hands took: now an
inch to the right, now three inches to the left, etc.; we had, finally,
a strong, rotatory movement of six inches. The medium’s knees and feet
were under Professor Richet’s observation, while these movements were
being produced.”
_Third Seance_
“_Thursday, 3rd November 1904._
“For this seance, because of Professor Richet’s inability to see the
lights, which were visible to _M_ and _X_ at the preceding seance, the
experimenters change their places, and sit in the following manner:—
[Illustration]
“Professor Richet goes into the cabinet at the medium’s request,
the latter takes _R_’s place at the table. After an interval of ten
minutes, the medium goes into the cabinet and _R_ takes his new place
at the table.
“Almost immediately, lights are seen moving about on the door of the
cabinet. _R_, _M_, and _X_ all see these lights. _M_ does not see the
first two lights, which _R_ and _X_ mention seeing. He moves closer
to _R_, and then sees distinctly. _R_ has the impression that a ray
of light from twelve to eighteen inches long, and varying from one to
three inches wide, is placed at the opening in the curtains; he thinks
he sees the curtains held open, so to say, by the light.
“The ray of light appears broader to _X_ than to _R_ and _M_. _X_
says he distinctly sees the curtains move, and open; he has the same
impression as _R_, namely that of the light holding the curtains apart.
“This luminous ray was shown six times, at intervals of a few seconds
only. Its duration varied from ten seconds to a minute. In form, it was
constantly changing, though the long ray remained. _R_, _M_, and _X_
had the impression that the luminosity was forming around the ray. A
long, vertical streak of light was shown first of all; the succeeding
lights appeared to be built up around this ray, which always remained
the centre of luminosity; _i.e._ the light, strong in the centre, died
away to right and left, leaving no distinct outline to the luminosity
which, besides being amorphous, was extremely mobile, though in a
sense, fairly stationary. _R_, _M_, and _X_ saw slight differences
in the shape of the lights, a fact which was perhaps due to their
relative positions; but all three agreed as to the vertical ray and the
_general_ shape the luminosity appeared to be assuming.
“From time to time, M. Meurice complained of an oppressive, suffocating
sensation, and said that he felt he must open the curtains, for a few
seconds. Whenever he opened the curtains, _no lights were visible_. _M_
and _X_ took hold of his hands when he opened the curtains, and closed
the latter themselves, when M. Meurice said he felt better.
“At this seance, as before, the medium prepared us for each phenomenon,
by announcing beforehand, that his cabinet was suddenly illuminated,
and as suddenly darkened; the darkness inside corresponded to a
luminosity outside the cabinet.
“The six lights above mentioned were very distinct, and very luminous
(phosphorescent).
“The phenomena ceased for a few minutes. M. Meurice then asked to be
allowed to change places with _X_. This is done; _X_ remains a quarter
of an hour in the cabinet, during which time M. Meurice says he sees
an oval-shaped light, about three times the size of an egg, floating
about on the curtains of the cabinet. _R_ and _M_ see nothing. The
medium returns to the cabinet, and _X_ resumes his seat. _Immediately_,
large triangular-shaped luminosities are seen by _M_ and _R_ outside
the cabinet. _X_ has suddenly fallen asleep.
“_M_ and _R_ then see very mobile, amorphous lights, varying from
three to nine inches in diameter, floating about _X_’s head for a few
seconds; their luminosity is less great than that of the lights seen on
the curtains, but is sufficiently pronounced to light up _X_’s forehead.
“The phenomena again cease. _X_ awakens. M. Meurice asks Dr. Maxwell
to change places with him. The doctor remains in the cabinet for ten
minutes: no phenomena; M. Meurice returns to the cabinet, and _M_
resumes his place at Professor Richet’s left.
“Very quickly, the same phenomena as before occur. The luminous ray
assumes a broad, oval-shaped appearance; it measures about ten or
twelve inches by about fifteen inches; it advances a few inches towards
the table, and then disappears, to show itself, a few seconds later,
larger, rounder in shape, and more brilliant. _M_ and _X_ think they
can distinguish the outlines of a human face in this luminosity, but
_R_ says it appears amorphous to him.
“Shortly after this, _M_ and _X_ see a faintly luminous ball of
about six inches in diameter, form outside the cabinet,—on the
curtain—approach and float over the table above the experimenters’
hands. _R_ sees this also, but compares it to a luminous fog. _R_
cannot affirm the correctness of his last perception.
“Thereupon the seance terminated.
“During the production of these phenomena, M. Meurice complained of
excessive cold; we heard him shivering, and his teeth chattering.
He yawned frequently, and stretched himself repeatedly; he breathed
heavily, and constantly complained of feelings of oppression and
sea-sickness.
“When the seance was over, he complained of intense thirst and drank
several glasses of water.
“The weather on these three days was very fine, dry, and fresh.
“The conclusions arrived at by those who were present at these three
seances, are:—
“1. That the above-described luminosities were decidedly objective.
“2. That no oversight, no error of observation can explain them.”
The above _compte rendu_ was drawn up by Professor Richet, Dr. Maxwell
and Dr. X. at the end of the seances.
_SERIES C_
_By Dr. X._
The reader will, perhaps, kindly forgive a few probably uninteresting
but necessary details, before we enter upon the last series of these
psycho-physical phenomena.
Many reasons, chiefly of a family nature, have rendered a substitution
of names imperative. In other respects, and as far as the phenomena
themselves are concerned, this series, like the foregoing, adheres
most strictly to the facts as they occurred.
Early in 1903 a gentleman, whom we will call Mr. Stephens, a man
occupying a high official position in Europe, wished to marry a young
Swedish girl. Mr. Stephens’s parents having, it appears, made other
matrimonial arrangements for their son, were most strongly opposed to
his wishes. Mr. Stephens decided to follow his own inclinations, and
was quietly married to Miss Marie H. in the beginning of the year 1903.
He did not inform his family of the step he had taken, trusting to time
and events for the strained relations between himself and his people to
disappear.
A short time after his marriage, he received a peremptory call to a
foreign country. It was impossible for his wife to accompany him, for
three excellent reasons: 1. Mr. Stephens was not supposed to have
a wife. 2. The spot he was ordered to is not a spot for a woman to
visit—not being as yet civilised in the European sense of the word.
3. Mrs. Stephens had reason to believe she might become a mother.
Moreover, Mr. Stephens did not anticipate a longer absence than that of
six months.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephens had passed the interval between their marriage
and the former’s departure for abroad in Paris. They lived very
quietly, and had trusted their secret to no one. In the dilemma into
which this foreign mission plunged them, Mr. Stephens decided to make
a confidant of a particular friend, certain as he was that his secret
would be in safe custody. This friend was Professor Richet.
* * * * *
Dr. X. writes:—“Mr. Stephens was anxious not to leave his wife alone
in Paris, during his absence, and knowing that Professor Richet
intended making a long series of experiments with Dr. Maxwell at W., he
decided, for diverse reasons, to send his wife to the same locality.
Thus it came about that Mrs. Stephens was invited by Professor Richet
to join the investigating circle, a circle which it had been intended
should be strictly limited to Dr. Maxwell, Professor Richet, the medium
[M. Meurice] and myself. _No_ one, save Professor Richet, knew of the
foregoing details.
“When Mrs. Stephens arrived—her husband came with her, but only
remained a couple of days—we saw a tall, slight, fair woman
of twenty-two or twenty-three years of age,—a quiet, gentle,
refined-looking woman. As she was, curiously enough, a spiritist, and
even possessed ‘intuitive’ faculties of a pretty marked character,—she
had had several veridical hallucinations, and occasionally indulged
in spectrum gazing with fair results—her addition to the circle was
looked upon by the other three members as having been decided by
Professor Richet, because of her nascent psychical powers. No suspicion
of her situation—of which even Mrs. Stephens herself was as yet
uncertain—ever dawned across our minds. She was an early riser, a good
walker, and apparently enjoyed the best of health. The most practical
medical eye could have detected nothing abnormal in her health.
“Very much had been expected from this particular series of
experiments; but, for reasons which are beyond our comprehension,
comparatively little was received. There was every evidence of abundant
force, and the medium was, at times, almost unnerved by our systematic
lack of success.
“Throughout the whole of this particular series, more than ever did the
agency manipulating the energy act like an independent intelligence,
giving striking evidence of power when it cared to do so and, when not
disposed to communicate, shutting off all communication most decidedly
and completely.”
We propose setting forth succinctly, but in detail, the results, both
mediocre and superior—_and just as they occurred_—of these few
weeks of experimentation, leaving it to the reader to bestow an acute
analysis upon them in his own guise. It was only as the time allotted
this series drew to a close, that the phenomena took a personal turn,
and bore so directly, and so intimately, upon Mrs. Stephens’s life.
The notes which are quoted in this series by Dr. X. are, without
exception, Professor Richet’s.
* * * * *
_First Seance. Time 8 to 10.30 p.m._
“Before sitting down,” continues Dr. X., “Dr. Maxwell had placed on the
table a small cardboard box, in which were two amethyst crystal balls.
“The small table was six inches away from M. Meurice, and three inches
away from Professor Richet. Contact had been purposely established
between the two tables by means of a small white cloth—which did not
interfere in any way with the control of eyesight. A bright, electric
light was burning.
“Several visions were described; they offered little interest. Then
the small table moved abruptly; it approached the seance table in
jerks, covering, in this manner, a distance of two and a half inches.
It was verified that no contact whatever existed, save that with
the white cloth; the latter was not touched by M. Meurice. Then for
nearly an hour there was complete cessation of all phenomena, with the
exception of perpetual rapping without intelligence. Thinking nothing
more would be forthcoming, Dr. Maxwell and Professor Richet rose
from the table, and went out on to the balcony of the room in which
the seance was being held. Mrs. Stephens, the medium, and I remained
at the table. I asked M. Meurice how he proceeded when he wished to
attract articles—up to that moment I had not witnessed this interesting
phenomenon. He replied, ‘I have an odd sensation in my fingers, and I
do this’—accompanying his words by certain hand movements; that is, he
drew his hands together in front of and quite close to the cardboard
box still lying on the table; he withdrew his hands—joined together
at the finger-tips—very slowly, and, when the tips of his fingers
were at a distance of six inches from the box, the latter began to
move. It moved slowly and smoothly, without any jerking whatsoever,
exactly as though it were being dragged across the table by a cord. I
thought I perceived a tiny ray of light—something like a dewy spider’s
web with the sunlight gleaming through it—connecting M. Meurice’s
fingers with the box, but this was probably an illusion, as there was
nothing palpable to the touch. I passed my hands around the box, and
all over the medium’s hands and arms, but there was no thread of any
kind whatever. M. Meurice said he had not seen the box move, though I
observed he appeared to be gazing fixedly at it during the operation,
and though the box travelled a distance of six inches.
[Illustration]
“Without leaving my seat I called in Dr. Maxwell and Professor Richet,
and told them what had happened. M. Meurice was asked to try again,
while Professor Richet put out some of the lights, thinking thus to
help the force, which might have been too severely tried by its last
efforts. I take the following extract from Professor Richet’s notes:—
“‘The same phenomenon was reproduced in my presence, but with less
light—quite sufficient, however, to see everything, and every movement
distinctly. The box, slowly and without any apparent jerking, followed
the medium’s fingers. I saw the box slowly displace itself, and drag
itself over the plush-covered table, for a distance of nearly five
inches. There was absolutely no contact of any kind whatsoever, either
mediate or immediate. A strong gastric attack, quickly over, seized the
medium after this experience.’[30]
[30] This phenomenon may be considered of such importance as
to necessitate Professor Richet’s exact words being given; I
therefore append them:—
‘Un autre phénomène d’attraction très remarquable. Une petite
boîte en carton carrée de 0.02 de côté environ est attirée,
d’abord en pleine lumière devant Dr. X. Le même phénomène
s’est reproduit devant moi avec beaucoup moins de lumière....
La boîte était lentement et sans secousse, pendant 2 à 4
secondes, attirée par les doigts du médium et je l’ai vue se
déplacer ainsi lentement, en traînant sur la peluche jusqu’à
12 centimètres environ. Il n’y a absolument aucun contact, ni
médiat ni direct. (Crise gastrique forte et passagère du médium
à la suite de cette expérience.)’
“On resuming the seance the raps were asked, ‘Who is rapping?’
“Reply: ‘Antion.’ ‘Is it Antoine?’
“Reply: ‘Yes, Antoine Br.’ We arrested the communication at the letter
r, understanding it to mean Antoine B. of _A Complex Case_, p. 214. The
raps then predicted the death of Madame B.’s second husband to take
place in March 1904.”
[This premonition was not realised. The gentleman in question is
in remarkably good health to-day, April 1905; but, at that time,
Professor Richet was anxious about him. Dr. L. was utterly prostrated
by the sudden death of his wife Madame B. Neither Dr. Maxwell nor the
medium knew that Antoine B.’s widow had married a second time; nor
were they aware of Professor Richet’s anxiety concerning Dr. L.’s
health.[31]—_Note by the Translator._]
[31] ‘Since the above was written, Dr. George L.’s son,
Olivier, a youth of nineteen, has been killed in a railway
accident (see p. 234). Notwithstanding the errors, there is
a certain interest in the fact that the rapping force seemed
to sense some near tragic occurrence to some member of the
family. The raps first of all gave the surname L. of the person
destined to die shortly; it was only after much hesitation that
the name of George was given. The raps at first refused to give
the date, but, after much pressing, dictated March 1904.
‘Professor Richet did not tell any one that Madame X. had
already predicted the early death “of one of the sons.”’—_Note
by Dr. X._
“The communicating intelligence, purporting to be Antoine B., was then
asked: ‘What was the nature of Madame B.’s illness?’ Reply: ‘Ness,
foie.’ (The doctors who attended Madame B. when she died have not been
able to agree as to what the malady was, though they think it was
probably of a tubercular nature.)
“We asked Antoine B. for another sign of identity, and received the
word ‘Carlos.’ (Professor Richet considers it highly probable that
every one present knew that Antoine B. called him by that name.)
“‘When the raps dictated the name of Antoine B., the medium said he
saw standing near me a young man of about thirty years of age; he had
very soft blue eyes, and a short pointed beard. As far as it goes, this
applies to my friend Antoine B.’, says Professor Richet.
* * * * *
“This first seance gave some fair results. We were now destined
to pass several weeks without receiving a single phenomenon worth
mentioning. We cannot account for this; though Dr. Maxwell is inclined
to think, that the energy was spent in efforts made to obtain psychic
photographs. The weather was excellent, every one was in good, even
exuberant, health and spirits; the circle was very homogeneous; no _a
priori_ conditions had been laid down. Great things had been promised,
but the great things were not forthcoming; and the ‘force’ did not
deign to explain why, though it gave occasional signs of being to the
fore, and ready to work if it cared to do so. For example, it would rap
out as many airs and rhythms as requested, but took refuge in complete
silence, or disorder, or pleaded fatigue, if asked for telekinetic
phenomena or intelligent messages. It acted like a lazy child asked to
accomplish a possible but difficult task.
* * * * *
“Photography was tried, but without success. On one of these occasions,
when M. Meurice was re-entering his room after having sat for
photography, he heard footsteps beside him, and had the vision of a
form which interposed itself between himself and the door, as though
desirous of preventing him from entering his room. He heard the words:
‘Pardon, je n’ai qu’un moment, vous avez déjà entendu parler de moi; je
suis Antoine. Je viens voir mon fils.’ ... He then perceived the form of
an old man, clean-shaven save for short whiskers; he was wearing the
crimson robe of a magistrate. The hallucination quickly disappeared.
“No one, save Professor Richet, knew that this day was the anniversary
of the death of his maternal grandfather, whose father’s name happened
to be Antoine. But we were all aware that Professor Richet had received
various communications purporting to emanate from these two ancestors
of his. It was also known that his grandfather had presided over the
law-courts at Paris.
* * * * *
“On one occasion, we had all five made an excursion into the country:
and here I quote from Professor Richet’s notes:—‘Coming home—it was
moonlight, and still twilight—we got down from the carriage—a private
omnibus—to walk a while. Dr. Maxwell and M. Meurice lagged behind,
and Dr. X., Mrs. S., and I got into the carriage again, before they
had caught us up. As she was stepping in, Mrs. S. told me she felt as
though a woman were running behind her, and were helping her into the
carriage; seated, Mrs. S. continued to perceive this vision; it was
wearing a hood on its head, and a cross on its breast; the vision
bent its head over Mrs. S.’s hand, pressing its teeth on it “as though
to show she had died in agony, stabbed to death,” said Mrs. S. When
Dr. Maxwell and M. Meurice rejoined us, the former told me, in an
undertone, that M. Meurice had just had a vision of a woman running
behind Mrs. S.; the vision was wearing a hood on its head. M. Meurice
and Mrs. S. continued to see this vision for above five minutes longer,
when they both saw it disappear into a clump of trees. M. Meurice
and Mrs. S. communicated their impressions to Dr. Maxwell and myself
respectively.
“‘A few minutes afterwards, they both had another simultaneous vision.
Mrs. S. saw a man astride one of the carriage-horses; M. Meurice, with
an identical description of dress, saw a man not seated on, but running
beside, the same horse holding the reins. He thought it was Chappe.
Then everything disappeared.
“‘Neither visionary communicated their impressions to the other.’
* * * * *
“Exception made of the attractions of the box and table, the foregoing
results will probably be considered as demonstrative of nothing in
particular. We were now to receive something more interesting.
“Let it be said, _en passant_, that Mrs. Stephens never once saw the
medium alone. There had not been the slightest break in her reserve.
And all, save Professor Richet and herself, continued to think she
had been invited by Professor Richet solely because of her psychical
powers. M. Meurice sometimes remarked, seeking a reason for the
inexplicable failure of the experiments, that he believed the cause
lay in a super-abundance of power, that the psychic force was too
great, that Mrs. S. gave forth too much power, etc.
“Now, early one morning, three weeks after we had begun this series,
Mrs. Stephens remarked to Professor Richet that [I again quote from
Professor Richet’s notes] ‘during the night she had been thinking a
great deal about the Christ, and had said to herself, if the spirits of
the deceased can appear to man, why not the Christ? And she said she
had asked for a sign to be given her that this could be. Mrs. Stephens
had scarcely pronounced these words, when Dr. Maxwell came into the
sitting-room and said: “I have just seen M. Meurice, he had a vision
while I was conversing with him. He said he perceived the form of a
man with short hair and beard; a halo of light behind him, a circle
of gold on his head; he was dressed in white; M. Meurice says it was
the Christ. With an imperious air, the form showed him a thick yellow
manuscript—a papyrus—covered with writing. As M. Meurice was trying
to decipher the characters for me, the vision disappeared. M. Meurice
was suddenly exhausted, and had a fit of weeping before recovering his
normal condition.”
“‘A few mornings afterwards the medium had another vision. This time
it was Chappe who came, it appears, to tell him that it was not _the_
Christ whom he had seen, but _a_ Christ.’[32]
[32] See note, p. 329.
* * * * *
“I must pause a while. It seems that Mrs. Stephens did not care about
returning to Paris during her husband’s absence; and—in the event
of her hopes being well founded—had expressed to Professor Richet
her great desire of passing the rest of the year near Biarritz, a
place for which she had a great liking. She begged Professor Richet
to write for her to a house agent to procure her a villa in that
town. It seems also, that Mrs. Stephens—though her manner had never
betrayed this—had taken a fancy to the medium and his family; one of
his sisters is an experienced hospital nurse, and Mrs. Stephens was
wondering—in quiet conversation with Professor Richet only—if it would
be possible to persuade her to come and live with her at Biarritz. Upon
this conversation Professor Richet obtained the address of an agent,
and wrote to him according to Mrs. Stephens’s wishes. He showed the
letter to Mrs. Stephens. The latter said [again I quote from Professor
Richet’s notes]: ‘Since I spoke to you about Biarritz, Chappe has told
me something. He wants me to go to Bordeaux. Do not post that letter
yet, let me wait a little while; if my intuition be correct, if the
idea of Bordeaux really came from the spirits, they are quite capable
of finding a way of indicating it to M. Meurice and Dr. Maxwell. I do
not wish to speak of it myself to M. Meurice; this must come from the
spirits themselves....’
“[We are endeavouring to give a faithful account of what actually
occurred, and beg to be forgiven the unscientific language, which is
occasionally unavoidable, if we are to convey a correct notion of the
physiognomy of the phenomena.]
“Now the morning (a Thursday) following the day on which the above
conversation had taken place, Mrs. Stephens came to Professor Richet,
and told him she had passed a very strange and perturbed night. She
said that, towards eleven o’clock, she was suddenly awakened by a
sensation that some one was in her room; she was filled with fear. She
turned on the light, but saw nothing. She kept the light burning, but
still felt unaccountably frightened. She heard raps on the head of
her bed. Gradually her fear quieted down, and she said she began to
feel as though there were a host of spirits in her room, and a Great
Presence was among them. ‘And she imagined,’ writes Professor Richet,
‘that a voice spoke to her in these terms: “A powerful spirit is here,
be not afraid; it is the child’s guide; your child will be a boy; he
has a great destiny before him, he will be a reformer. We counsel you
not to force his inclinations, to choose no career for him, but to let
yourself be guided by the child himself, when the time comes to think
of his education.”
“‘Mrs. Stephens was still speaking of her night’s experience, when Dr.
Maxwell came into the room, and handed me,’ continues Professor Richet,
‘some verses which, he said, had just been written by M. Meurice—a
kind of quasi-automatism—in a state of semi-somnolence. He could not
understand what it meant, and simply stated the fact without offering
any comment on it.’”
Here are the verses. For the sake of brevity we omit five of them,
they are in the same strain as those given. We believe the reader will
prefer to see these verses in the original:—
Quand un enfant vient au monde,
Vient au monde d’ici-bas,
Il faut qu’un ange en réponde,
Et le suive pas à pas.
Pas à pas il faut qu’il guide
La petite âme en chemin,
La petite âme timide,
Qu’il doit prendre par la main.
Et les anges se querellent
Autour des bébés naissants,
S’ils sont de ceux-là qu’appellent
Vers la Clarté les Puissants.
Dans la foule qui l’assaille
La petite âme choisit;
Elle est émue et tressaille,
Et la crainte la saisit.
Il faut qu’autour de la mère,
De la mère qui l’attend,
Seuls les anges de lumière
Guettent le petit enfant.
“During the course of the day, Professor Richet said to Mrs. S. that it
would perhaps be well if she spoke to the medium about his sister; but
Mrs. Stephens answered: ‘No. Wait a little longer. I would have spoken
to M. Meurice, had I been encouraged to do so by the spirits; but I
think it better to let the spirits tell them.’
“Thursday passed away without any further incident, and nothing was
said to Dr. Maxwell concerning Mrs. Stephens’s experiences in the
night, or the concomitant nature of the automatic script with those
experiences.
“On Friday morning, Dr. Maxwell told Professor Richet that he had
just obtained more automatic writing through M. Meurice. This writing
purported to be a communication from Chappe. The communication
concerned Mrs. Stephens, said Dr. Maxwell, but was not to be given to
her for the time being. Chappe asked that a sitting might be arranged
for on the same afternoon, as he had something to say. The sitting
took place; it lasted from two to six o’clock, during the whole of
which time Chappe did not once make use of his well-known subterfuges
of ‘fatigue,’ ‘silence,’ ‘no power,’ etc.; and, though as the seance
wore on M. Meurice was very visibly fatigued, the operating agency
manifested absolute indifference to such fatigue. It was as though
Chappe had indeed something to say and meant to say it. The messages
were given by means of raps without contact to begin with, but in order
to diminish the chances of fatigue to the medium, we begged him to use
the pencil as a rapping instrument. The light was strong,—an afternoon
summer sunlight shining into the room; the pencil did not move when
the raps were heard. The latter were given with force and without any
hesitation; they were as strong at the end of the seance as at the
beginning.”
(In order to afford the reader every assistance in his appreciation and
analysis of these messages, we will give them in the original.)
“Chappe gave his special signal intimating he was present.
“Observer: ‘You wish to speak with us, Chappe?’
“Chappe: ‘Je veux demander à vos amis la permission de vous parler de
ce qui vous intéresse.’
“Acting on the advice of Chappe, we then traced the ‘magic circle’
in order to prevent, as Chappe said, the intervention of too many
influences, and to preserve purity in the phenomena.
“Observer, after an interval of ten minutes: ‘Are you ready, Chappe?’
“Much confusion in the raps, and impossibility of obtaining an
intelligent answer; after half an hour of confusion came the
laboriously spelt out message:—
“Chappe: ‘Peut-être que vous êtes isolés.’
“Observer: ‘Why?’
“Chappe: ‘Parce que vous les avez renvoyés, cercle magique.’
“We were led to understand by this that the magic circle had had too
good an effect, and prevented even Chappe from communicating with
his companions. Once more we followed his instructions, inviting our
‘friends’ into the circle. It was then announced that Robert, one of
Mrs. Stephens’s deceased relatives, was present and wished to speak.
When asked what he had to say, we received:—
“Robert: ‘Bonnes fées qui entourent et qui m’empêchent de vous
rejoindre.’
“We begged the ‘good fairies’ to be so kind as to allow this friend to
communicate. The raps indicated that the favour was accorded, and that
our friend could now communicate with us.
“Robert: ‘VOS ESPÉRANCES SONT REÇUES AVEC JOIE PAR TOUS.’
“Observer: ‘What do you mean? Give one significative word.’
“Robert: ‘ENFANT PRÉDESTINÉ À FAIRE SCIENTIFIQUEMENT DE GRANDES CHOSES.’
“Mrs. Stephens: ‘What child?’
“Robert: ‘Le vôtre; il arrivera, il faut être heureuse, vous aurez tant
de bonheur.’
“Observer: ‘Have you anything more to say?’
“Robert: ‘Appelle ton enfant Chétien Alexandre.’
“Observer: ‘Is Chétien Alexandre correct?’
“Robert: ‘Alexandre Chrétien.’[33]
[33] “The medium has frequently said that if he ever had
a son, he would call him Chrétien. The name Alexandre was
also constantly on our lips, for two personifications, who
frequently claimed to be communicating, were called Alexandre.
“Observer: ‘Can you predict on what day he will be born?’
“Robert: ‘Oui. Épiphanie.’[34]
[34] “Mrs. Stephens had a preference for the Epiphany, and she
told us, after the seance, that she had mentally asked her
child might be born on that day—the 6th of January.”—_Note by
Dr. X._
“Mrs. Stephens: ‘Do you know who the child’s guide is?’
“Robert: ‘Oui.’
“Mrs. Stephens: ‘What is his name?’
“Robert: ‘Réponse plus tard.’
“Observer: ‘Have you anything more to say?’
“Robert: ‘Prudence.’ For whom? ‘Marie’ (Mrs. Stephens). ‘Au revoir.’
“At the end of the above seance Dr. Maxwell handed Professor Richet the
automatic script he had received in the morning. It read: ‘... (Mrs.
Stephens) est en voie de famille. Elle désire aller à Biarritz et que
(the name of the medium’s sister) l’accompagne. Mais dites lui d’aller
à Bordeaux, où elle sera mieux soignée et où les influences sont
bonnes.’
* * * * *
“A few days after the above messages had been received, the raps again
signified their desire to communicate. The following conversation then
took place.
“Observer: ‘Who is here?’
“Reply: ‘Robert. Ménagez Marie. Marie ... Aesotheu ...’ (change of
tonality, and Chappe’s signal was given).
“Chappe: ‘Restez un moment tranquille. Il y a trop de monde.’
“(Another change of tonality in the raps, followed by C. R.’s
signal—Professor Richet’s grandfather.)
“C. R. ‘Quelque force mauvaise m’empêche de vous parler.’ (Confusion
for some time; raps of various tonalities and in great number resound
on the woodwork of the foot of the medium’s bed—we were holding the
seance in his room by Chappe’s express desire.)
“Chappe: ‘Je ne veux pas qu’on se serve de cette chambre.’
“Observer: ‘Why?’
“Chappe: ‘Parce que Meurice y couche.’
“Observer: ‘Where shall we go then?’
“Chappe: ‘Où vous voudrez.’
“This was not by any means the first time we had held a seance in M.
Meurice’s room, no objection had ever been made to this proceeding
before, which, in fact, had been recommended by Chappe.
“It was impossible to obtain another sign of any nature whatsoever.
Professor Richet, Mrs. Stephens, and I went out of the room, leaving
Dr. Maxwell and the medium alone. We had scarcely left when the latter,
it appears, turned to Dr. Maxwell and said: ‘I see Professor Richet
tearing up some printed matter and burning it. I think it is the bad
influence Chappe was speaking about.’
“We three alone, commenting upon these messages, laid stress upon
the excuse of ‘bad influences,’ and thought it was probably one of
Chappe’s tricks to avoid working, when it did not suit him to work.
But suddenly Professor Richet remembered a piece of newspaper which
he had put into his inner breast coat-pocket early that same morning,
and on which was the name of a man who had been drowned the previous
week—drowned before our eyes. This event had left a great impression
on us all, every one had made strenuous efforts to save the man, and
the medium in particular had striven hard to restore life. Professor
Richet, coming across the man’s name in a newspaper, had cut it out,
and put the slip into his pocket-book, for reference sake, in case
the phenomena should turn upon the drowned man. No one was near or
could possibly have seen Professor Richet do this; he also took
the precaution of destroying the paper from which he had taken the
announcement.
“Now Professor Richet took the cutting out of his pocket-book, tore it
up and burnt it before Mrs. Stephens and myself, laughingly saying:
‘Let us see if that will destroy the bad influence.’
“It was not till some hours afterwards, that he was told of what M.
Meurice had said relative to the ‘burning of printed matter,’ etc.
* * * * *
“The next day, M. Meurice gave a fine phenomenon of attraction in
presence of Professor Richet and Dr. Maxwell. It was two o’clock in
the afternoon; the two latter were playing chess; M. Meurice was lying
on the floor reading; a fan was on the floor near him. He said: ‘I
begin to feel the cobwebby sensation in my fingers; let us see if I can
attract this fan.’ Dr. Maxwell and Professor Richet left the table,
and knelt down on the floor beside M. Meurice; the latter proceeded,
first of all, as though he were enveloping the fan with something;
then, meeting his hands at the finger-tips, he drew them back very
slowly. When his fingers were about six inches away from the fan, the
latter moved, and slowly followed his fingers for a distance of five
inches. Professor Richet and Dr. Maxwell assured themselves by sight
and touch, that the fan was not normally connected with the medium. The
latter had a violent gastric attack immediately after the production of
this phenomenon.
* * * * *
“Professor Richet’s birthday occurred during these investigations,
and, when the day arrived, we ventured to express a hope that he might
be favoured with some good phenomena. We tried, and received abundant
signs of energy in the shape of raps. Chappe was asked if he had not
something to say or offer Professor Richet as a birthday present.
“Reply: ‘Depuis votre naissance vous avez grandi! Vous aurez des
communications plus intéressantes, que celles que vous avez reçues.’
“At this point some one asked the medium if he felt tired, and Chappe
at once dictated:—
“‘Il faut pour un moment se reposer si on est fatigué.’ However, no
notice was taken of this advice.
“Prof. R: ‘Why has my mother never communicated?’
“Chappe: ‘Parce que vous ne l’avez jamais appelée.’[35]
[35] “True; but then neither was C. R. nor Antoine B. nor any
other personification ever evoked.”—_Note by Dr. X._
“Here the raps indicate that ‘C. R.’ wishes to communicate.
“C. R. (Prof. Richet’s grandfather): ‘Je suis très content d’être avec
vous.’ Much confusion and meaningless rapping. ‘Ici.’
“Chappe: ‘G. ne vous reverra pas.’
“Prof. R.: ‘Can you tell me my mother’s name?’
“Chappe: ‘Je pourrai le dire quand je le saurai.’
“There was a brief silence, during which Chappe was supposed to be
asking C. R. for the desired name.
“Chappe: ‘Adèle.’ Wrong. But it was known that this was a family name.
“C. R.: ‘Veux-tu voir ta mère? Fais attention. Cette nuit elle
t’apparaîtra en rêve.’ This promise was not fulfilled.
“Prof. R.: ‘Try again for my mother’s name.’
“C. R.: ‘A—o—a—m—e; Marig; Antoine; ther.’
“There was no approach to the desired name. There was plenty of
energy, and the raps flowed quickly and without hesitation in certain
instances, such as ‘Veux-tu voir ta mère?’
“Chappe: ‘Prudence.’
“Observer: ‘Why?’
“Observer: ‘Can you now give the name of the child’s guide?’
“Chappe: ‘Plus tard. Adieu.’
“The communicating intelligence frequently manifests—a fact which was
particularly noticeable during this series of experiments—a supreme
indifference to scientific aspirations, to furnishing proofs of
identity or of any desire to meet the investigator halfway, and help
him in his researches.
“Since the communications concerning Mrs. Stephens had been received,
whenever it was intimated that ‘they’ had something to say, that
something was generally the word ‘Prudence’ or terms of a like
signification.
“The agency at work allowed it to be clearly seen that—for the time
being at least—it interested itself in no one save in Mrs. Stephens.
This solicitude was continued up to the last; time after time the word
‘Prudence’ was uttered, so often in fact as to lose all meaning from
sheer force of repetition; and no out-of-the-way heed was taken of the
advice.
“This series of experiments came to an end.
“Mrs. Stephens took a villa on the outskirts of Bordeaux, where the
medium’s sister joined her.
* * * * *
“It appears that Mrs. Stephens looked forward with unusual joy to the
coming event, and was much opposed to the idea of a wet nurse. I was
now at Bordeaux; I often saw Mrs. Stephens, and it is highly probable
that M. Meurice, like myself, knew of Mrs. Stephens’s very legitimate
desire. Now Chappe had, for some time, given no sign of his presence;
but one day, when M. Meurice, Mrs. S., and I were out walking, sharp
raps suddenly resounded on the medium’s walking-stick. Mrs. S. begged
him to touch the handle of her umbrella—which was open; raps were then
given on the outstretched silk. With loud decided raps, Chappe quickly
dictated: ‘Retenez bien ceci, il ne faut pas laisser Marie allaiter.’
We asked the wherefore, but the silence was complete; do what we would,
not another rap could be obtained.
“On another occasion, when raps were forthcoming, we asked Chappe for
a word which would portray the state of mind of those present, and
received the very appropriate reply: ‘Paix absolue.’ This message was
given on the silk of the open umbrella, M. Meurice lightly touching the
handle only.
“As the 6th of January drew near, Chappe began to get nervous about
the fate of the prediction, and, by means of automatic writing, he
indicated that we were to remember, that it was not he, but Robert,
who had predicted that the birth would take place on the 6th January.
Thereupon, he added that the event would not occur before the 15th of
January—that it would take place on the night of the 14th-15th January.
During the last fortnight this was often referred to by Chappe, by
means of automatic writing—which perhaps gives more scope for the play
of the subliminal. Chappe washed his hands, so to say, of Robert and
his doings.
“Towards the 20th of December, Mrs. Stephens received news that her
husband was on his way home, but was feeling rather unwell. In the
letter, the word ‘néphrite’ was made use of. Mrs. S. did not mention
this to any one; she said, however, that her husband had a slight
kidney worry. The next day, the following communication, bearing upon
Mr. S.’s anticipated arrival in Bordeaux, was received from Chappe by
raps through the pencil:—
“‘Il faut que vous l’empêchiez de se mettre en route pour Bordeaux.’
“Why? ‘Maladie sérieuse s’il avait froid.’ What is he suffering from?
‘Néphrite. Recommandez repos absolu; bonsoir.’
“On another occasion, always referring to the same subject, Mr. S.’s
indisposition, Chappe said: ‘Pas sage de faire le trajet de Londres à
Bordeaux. Rassurez-vous. Maladie pas grave.’
“The child—a boy—was born at 2.15 on the afternoon of the 5th January,
that is, on the eve of the Epiphany—and not on the Epiphany as was
predicted (page 355).[36]
[36] “On the 4th January, Mrs. Stephens was particularly
anxious about her husband, and insisted on driving into
Bordeaux and personally sending him a telegram. Without a
doubt, the anxiety and physical restlessness of the previous
few days hastened the event.”—_Note by Dr. X._
* * * * *
“Mrs. Stephens desired to add the name of Quentin to the names of
Alexandre Chrétien. I happened to mention this to M. Meurice, and by
so doing awakened Chappe and a salvo of raps. He would not say what he
wanted, and M. Meurice remarked: ‘We are to go into Mrs. Stephens’s
bedroom.’ We were admitted. M. Meurice stood near the head of the bed,
but did not touch it. The raps resounded on the wood of the bed. Chappe
dictated: ‘Il ne faut pas appeler Quentin.’ The force was abundant,
and this message had been given quickly and with decision; yet, when
we asked why the child should not be called Quentin, we could get no
reply. It was for all the world as though a distinct intelligence was
behind those raps, one, who, like ourselves, knew, on occasion, how to
say: ‘I have said; let that suffice.’
“For a week, all went well with mother and child. Seven days after the
child’s birth, Mrs. Stephens was seized with a violent and inexplicable
fever. The following day, a thoughtless servant handed her a telegram;
the telegram announced the death of her husband. The fever regained
possession, and Mrs. Stephens died the same night.
“Perhaps in conclusion, and as our only comment on this history, it
may not be out of place to recall to mind Chappe’s oft-repeated word,
‘Prudence.’”
* * * * *
And now, lest in the relation of the foregoing experiences, say
rather in this simple registration of a few ascertained facts, we be
reproached for a language which carries associations from which certain
minds of a scientific bent may shrink, may we be permitted to say that
there is more appearance than reality in our backsliding—if backsliding
there be. We have given an exposition of facts, touching upon unknown
forces and arduous problems; the magnitude and complexity of which we
realise but too deeply—problems which cannot be solved by academic
methods. Time and patient constancy of research are needed to bring
them to a successful issue.