contact between Mr. Home's hands and the suspended body whose weight was
to be altered was essential to the exhibition of the force; but I found
afterwards that this was not a necessary condition, and I therefore
arranged my apparatus in the following manner:--
"The accompanying cuts (Figs. 9, 10 and 11) explain the arrangement. Fig.
9 is a general view, and Figs. 10 and 11 show the essential parts more in
detail. The reference letters are the same in each illustration. A B is a
mahogany board, 36 inches long by 9-1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. It
is suspended at the end, B, by a spring balance, C, furnished with an
automatic register, D. The balance is suspended from a very firm tripod
support, E.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. CROOKES' APPARATUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10. CROOKES' APPARATUS.]
"The following piece of apparatus is not shown in the figures. To the
moving index, O, of the spring balance, a fine steel point is soldered,
projecting horizontally outwards. In front of the balance, and firmly
fastened to it, is a grooved frame, carrying a flat box similar to the
dark box of a photographic camera. This box is made to travel by
clock-work horizontally in front of the moving index, and it contains a
sheet of plate-glass which has been smoked over a flame. The projecting
steel point impresses a mark on this smoked surface. If the balance is at
rest, and the clock set going, the result is a perfectly straight
horizontal line. If the clock is stopped and weights are placed on the
end, B, of the board, the result is a vertical line, whose length depends
on the weight applied. If, whilst the clock draws the plate along, the
weight of the board (or the tension on the balance) varies, the result is
a curved line, from which the tension in grains at any moment during the
continuance of the experiments can be calculated.
"The instrument was capable of registering a diminution of the force of
gravitation as well as an increase; registrations of such a diminution
were frequently obtained. To avoid complication, however, I will here
refer only to results in which an increase of gravitation was experienced.
[Illustration: FIG. 11. CROOKES' APPARATUS.]
"The end, B, of the board being supported by the spring balance, the end,
A, is supported on a wooden strip, F, screwed across its lower side and
cut to a knife edge (see Fig. 11). This fulcrum rests on a firm and heavy
wooden stand, G H. On the board, exactly over the fulcrum, is placed a
large glass vessel filled with water. I L is a massive iron stand,
furnished with an arm and a ring, M N, in which rests a hemispherical
copper vessel perforated with several holes at the bottom.
"The iron stand is 2 inches from the board, A B, and the arm and copper
vessel, M N, are so adjusted that the latter dips into the water 1-1/2
inches, being 5-1/2 inches from the bottom of I, and 2 inches from its
circumference. Shaking or striking the arm, M, or the vessel, N, produces
no appreciable mechanical effect on the board, A B, capable of affecting
the balance. Dipping the hand to the fullest extent into the water in N
does not produce the least appreciable action on the balance.
"As the mechanical transmission of power is by this means entirely cut off
between the copper vessel and the board, A B, the power of muscular
control is thereby completely eliminated.
"For convenience I will divide the experiments into groups, 1, 2, 3, etc.,
and I have selected one special instance in each to describe in detail.
Nothing, however, is mentioned which has not been repeated more than once,
and in some cases verified, in Mr. Home's absence, with another person,
possessing similar powers.
"There was always ample light in the room where the experiments were
conducted (my own dining-room) to see all that took place.
"_Experiment I._--The apparatus having been properly adjusted before Mr.
Home entered the room, he was brought in, and asked to place his fingers
in the water in the copper vessel, N. He stood up and dipped the tips of
the fingers of his right hand in the water, his other hand and his feet
being held. When he said he felt a power, force, or influence, proceeding
from his hand, I set the clock going, and almost immediately the end, B,
of the board was seen to descend slowly and remain down for about 10
seconds; it then descended a little further, and afterwards rose to its
normal height. It then descended again, rose suddenly, gradually sunk for
17 seconds, and finally rose to its normal height, where it remained till
the experiment was concluded. The lowest point marked on the glass was
equivalent to a direct pull of about 5,000 grains. The accompanying
Figure 12 is a copy of the curve traced on the glass.
[Illustration: SCALE OF SECONDS.
FIG. 12. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF HOME.]
"_Experiment II._--Contact through water having proved to be as effectual
as actual mechanical contact, I wished to see if the power or force could
affect the weight, either through other portions of the apparatus or
through the air. The glass vessel and iron stand, etc., were therefore
removed, as an unnecessary complication, and Mr. Home's hands were placed
on the stand of the apparatus at P (Fig. 9). A gentleman present put his
hand on Mr. Home's hands, and his foot on both Mr. Home's feet, and I also
watched him closely all the time. At the proper moment the clock was again
set going; the board descended and rose in an irregular manner, the result
being a curved tracing on the glass, of which Fig. 13 is a copy.
[Illustration: SCALE THE SAME AS IN FIG. 12.
FIG. 13. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF HOME.]
"_Experiment III._--Mr. Home was now placed one foot from the board, A B,
on one side of it. His hands and feet were firmly grasped by a by-stander,
and another tracing, of which Fig. 14 is a copy, was taken on the moving
glass plate.
[Illustration: SCALE THE SAME AS IN FIG. 12.
FIG. 14. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS UNDER HOME'S
INFLUENCE.]
"_Experiment IV._--(Tried on an occasion when the power was stronger than
on the previous occasions), Mr. Home was now placed 3 feet from the
apparatus, his hands and feet being tightly held. The clock was set going
when he gave the word, and the end, B, of the board soon descended, and
again rose in an irregular manner, as shown in Fig. 15.
[Illustration: SCALE THE SAME AS IN FIG. 12.
FIG. 15. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS UNDER HOME'S
INFLUENCE.]
"The following series of experiments were tried with more delicate
apparatus, and with another person, a lady, Mr. Home being absent. As the
lady is non-professional, I do not mention her name. She has, however,
consented to meet any scientific men whom I may introduce for purposes of
investigation.
[Illustration: FIG. 16. SECOND CROOKES' APPARATUS.]
"A piece of thin parchment, A, (Figs. 16 and 17), is stretched tightly
across a circular hoop of wood. B C is a light lever turning on D. At the
end B is a vertical needle point touching the membrane A, and at C is
another needle point, projecting horizontally and touching a smoked glass
plate, E F. This glass plate is drawn along in the direction H G by
clockwork, K. The end, B, of the lever is weighted so that it shall
quickly follow the movements of the centre of the disc, A. These
movements are transmitted and recorded on the glass plate, E F, by means
of the lever and needle point, C. Holes are cut in the side of the hoop to
allow a free passage of air to the under side of the membrane. The
apparatus was well tested beforehand by myself and others, to see that no
shaking or jar on the table or support would interfere with the results:
the line traced by the point, C, on the smoked glass was perfectly
straight in spite of all our attempts to influence the lever by shaking
the stand or stamping on the floor.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. SECTION OF APPARATUS IN FIG. 16.]
"_Experiment V._--Without having the object of the instrument explained to
her, the lady was brought into the room and asked to place her fingers on
the wooden stand at the points, L M, Fig. 16. I then placed my hands over
hers to enable me to detect any conscious or unconscious movement on her
part. Presently percussive noises were heard on the parchment, resembling
the dropping of grains of sand on its surface. At each percussion a
fragment of graphite which I had placed on the membrane was seen to be
projected upwards about 1-50th of an inch, and the end, C, of the lever
moved slightly up and down. Sometimes the sounds were as rapid as those
from an induction-coil, whilst at others they were more than a second
apart. Five or six tracings were taken, and in all cases a movement of the
end, C, of the lever was seen to have occurred with each vibration of the
membrane.
"In some cases the lady's hands were not so near the membrane as L M, but
were at N O, Fig 17.
[Illustration: SCALE OF SECONDS.
FIG. 18. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 15 AND 16)
OUTSIDE HOME'S INFLUENCE.]
"The accompanying Fig. 18 gives tracings taken from the plates used on
these occasions.
"_Experiment VI._--Having met with these results in Mr. Home's absence, I
was anxious to see what action would be produced on the instrument in his
presence.
"Accordingly I asked him to try, but without explaining the instrument to
him.
"I grasped Mr. Home's right arm above the wrist and held his hand over the
membrane, about 10 inches from its surface, in the position shown at P,
Fig. 17. His other hand was held by a friend. After remaining in this
position for about half a minute, Mr. Home said he felt some influence
passing. I then set the clock going, and we all saw the index, C, moving
up and down. The movements were much slower than in the former case, and
were almost entirely unaccompanied by the percussive vibrations then
noticed.
"Figs. 19 and 20 show the curves produced on the glass on two of these
occasions.
"Figs. 18, 19 and 20 are magnified.
"These experiments _confirm beyond doubt_ the conclusions at which I
arrived in my former paper, namely, the existence of a force associated,
in some manner not yet explained, with the human organization, by which
force increased weight is capable of being imparted to solid bodies
without physical contact. In the case of Mr. Home, the development of this
force varies enormously, not only from week to week, but from hour to
hour; on some occasions the force is inappreciable by my tests for an hour
or more, and then suddenly reappears in great strength.
[Illustration: SCALE THE SAME AS IN FIG. 18.
FIG. 19. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 16 AND 17)
UNDER HOME'S INFLUENCE.]
"It is capable of acting at a distance from Mr. Home (not unfrequently as
far as two or three feet), but is always strongest close to him.
[Illustration: SCALE THE SAME AS ON FIG. 18.
FIG. 20. DIAGRAM SHOWING TENSION IN CROOKES' APPARATUS (FIG. 16 AND 17)
UNDER HOME'S INFLUENCE.]
"Being firmly convinced that there could be no manifestation of one form
of force without the corresponding expenditure of some other form of
force, I for a long time searched in vain for evidence of any force or
power being used up in the production of these results.
"Now, however, having seen more of Mr. Home, I think I perceive what it is
that this psychic force uses up for its development. In employing the
terms _vital force_ or _nervous energy_, I am aware that I am employing
words which convey very different significations to many investigators;
but after witnessing the painful state of nervous and bodily prostration
in which some of these experiments have left Mr. Home--after seeing him
lying in an almost fainting condition on the floor, pale and speechless--I
could scarcely doubt that the evolution of psychic force is accompanied by
a corresponding drain on vital force."
Sergeant Cox in speaking of the tests says, "The results appear to me
conclusively to establish the important fact, that there is a force
proceeding from the nerve-system capable of imparting motion and weight to
solid bodies within the sphere of its influence."
One of the medium's defenders has written:
"Home's mysterious power, whatever it may have been, was very uncertain.
Sometimes he could exercise it, and at others not, and these fluctuations
were not seldom the source of embarrassment to him. He would often arrive
at a place in obedience to an engagement, and, as he imagined, ready to
perform, when he would discover himself absolutely helpless. After a
séance his exhaustion appeared to be complete.
"There is no more striking proof of the fact that Home really possessed
occult gifts of some sort--psychic force or whatever else the power may be
termed--than he gave such amazing exhibitions in the early part of his
history and was able to do so little toward the end. If it had been
juggling he would, like other conjurors, have improved on his tricks by
experience, or at all events, while his memory held out he would not have
deteriorated."
Dr. Hammond's Experiments.
Dr. William A. Hammond, the eminent neurologist, of Washington, D. C.,
took up the cudgels against Prof. Crookes' "Psychic Force" theory, and
assigned the experiments to the domain of animal electricity. He wrote as
follows:[2] "Place an egg in an egg-cup and balance a long lath upon the
egg. Though the lath be almost a plank it will obediently follow a rod of
glass, gutta percha or sealing-wax, which has been previously well dried
and rubbed, the former with a piece of silk, and the two latter with
woolen cloth. Now, in dry weather, many persons within my knowledge, have
only to walk with a shuffling gait over the carpet, and then approaching
the lath hold out the finger instead of the glass, sealing wax or gutta
percha, and instantly the end of the lath at L rises to meet it, and the
end at L is depressed. Applying these principles, I arranged an apparatus
exactly like that of Prof. Crookes, except that the spring balance was
such as is used for weighing letters and was therefore very delicate,
indicating quarter ounces with exactness, and that the board was thin and
narrow.
[Illustration: FIG. 21. DR. HAMMOND'S APPARATUS.]
"Applying the glass rod or stick of sealing-wax to the end resting by its
foot on the table, the index of the balance at once descended, showing an
increased weight of a little over three quarters of an ounce, and this
without the board being raised from the table.
"I then walked over a thick Turkey rug for a few moments, and holding my
finger under the board near the end attached to the balance, caused a fall
of the index of almost half an ounce. I then rested my finger lightly on
the end of the board immediately over the foot, and again the index
descended and oscillated several times, just as in Mr. Home's experiments.
The lowest point reached was six and a quarter ounces, and as the board
weighed, as attached to the balance, five ounces, there was an increased
weight of one and a quarter ounces. At no time was the end of the board
raised from the table.
"I then arranged the apparatus so as to place a thin glass tumbler nearly
full of water immediately over the fulcrum, as in Mr. Crookes' experiment,
and again the index fell and oscillated on my fingers being put into the
water.
"Now if one person can thus, with a delicate apparatus like mine, cause
the index, through electricity, to descend and ascend, it is not
improbable that others, like Mr. Home, could show greater, or even
different electrical power, as in Prof. Crookes' experiments. It is well
known that all persons are not alike in their ability to be electrically
excited. Many persons, myself among them, can light the gas with the end
of the finger. Others cannot do it with any amount of shuffling over the
carpet.
"At any rate is it not much more sensible to believe that Mr. Home's
experiments are to be thus explained than to attribute the results of his
semi-mysterious attempts to spiritualism or psychic force?"
3. Rope-Tying and Holding Mediums.
THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS.
Ira Erastus and William Henry Davenport were born at Buffalo, N. Y., the
former on Sept. 17, 1839, and the latter on February 1, 1841. Their
father, Ira Davenport, was in the police detective department, and, it is
alleged, invented the celebrated rope-tying feats after having seen the
Indian jugglers of the West perform similar illusions. The usual stories
about ghostly phenomena attending the childhood of mediums were told about
the Davenport Brothers, but it was not until 1855 that they started on
their tour of the United States, with their father as showman or
spiritual lecturer. When the Civil War broke out, the Brothers,
accompanied by Dr. J. B. Ferguson, formerly an Independent minister of
Nashville, Tenn., in the capacity of lecturer, and a Mr. Palmer as general
agent and manager, went to England to exhibit their mediumistic powers,
following the example of D. D. Home. With the company also was a Buffalo
boy named Fay, of German-American parentage, who had formerly acted as
ticket-taker for the mediums. He discovered the secret of the rope-tying
feat, and was an adept at the coat feat, so he was employed as an
"under-study" in case of the illness of William Davenport, who was in
rather delicate health. The Brothers Davenport at this period, aged
respectively 25 and 23 years, had "long black curly hair, broad but not
high foreheads, dark eyes, heavy eye-brows and moustaches, firm set lips,
and a bright, keen look." Their first performance in England was given at
the Concert Rooms, Hanover Square, London, and created intense excitement.
_Punch_ called the _furore_ over the spirit rope-tyers the "tie-fuss
fever," and said the mediums were "Ministers of the Interior, with a seat
in the Cabinet." J. N. Maskelyne, the London conjurer of Egyptian Hall,
wrote of them: "About the Davenport Brothers' performances, I have to say
that they were and still remain the most inexplicable ever presented to
the public as of spiritual origin; and had they been put forth as feats of
jugglery would have awakened a considerable amount of curiosity though
certainly not to the extent they did."
In September, 1865, the Brothers arrived in Paris, and placarded the city
with enormous posters announcing that the Brothers Davenport,
spirit-mediums, would give a series of public séances at the _Salle Herz_.
Their reputation had preceded them to France and the _boulevardiers_
talked of nothing but the wonderful American mediums and their mysterious
cabinet. Before exhibiting in Paris the Davenports visited the _Chateau de
Gennevilliers_, whose owner was an enthusiastic believer in Spiritism, and
gave a séance before a select party of journalists and scientific men. The
exhibition was pronounced marvellous in the extreme and perfectly
inexplicable.
The Parisian press was divided on the subject of the Davenports and their
advertised séances. Some of the papers protested against such performances
on the ground that they were dangerous to the mental health of the
public, and, one writer said, "Particularly to those weaker intellects
which are always ready enough to accept as gospel the tricks and artifices
of the adepts of sham witchcraft." M. Edmond About, the famous journalist
and novelist, in the _Opinion Nationale_, wrote a scathing denunciation of
Spiritism, but all to no purpose, except to inflame public curiosity.
The performances of the Davenports were divided into two parts: (1) The
light séance, (2) the dark séance. In the light séance a cabinet, elevated
from the stage by three trestles, was used. It was a simple wooden
structure with three doors. In the centre door was a lozenge-shaped window
covered with a curtain. Upon the sides of the cabinet hung various musical
instruments, a guitar, a violin, horns, tambourines, and a big dinner
bell.
[Illustration: FIG. 22. THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS IN THEIR CABINET.]
A committee chosen by the audience tied the mediums' hands securely behind
their backs, fastened their legs together, and pinioned them to their
seats in the cabinet, and to the cross rails with strong ropes. The side
doors were closed first, then the center door, but no sooner was the last
fastened, than the hands of one of the mediums were thrust through the
window in the centre door. In a very short time, at a signal from the
mediums, the doors were opened, and the Davenports stepped forth, with the
ropes in their hands, every knot untied, confessedly by spirit power. The
astonishment of the spectators amounted to awe. On an average it took ten
minutes to pinion the Brothers; but a single minute was required for their
release. Once more the mediums went into the cabinet, this time with the
ropes lying in a coil at their feet. Two minutes elapsed. Hey, presto! the
doors were opened, and the Davenports were pronounced by the committee to
be securely lashed to their seats. Seals were affixed to the knots in the
ropes, and the doors closed as before. Pandemonium reigned. Bells were
rung, horns blown, tambourines thumped, violins played, and guitars
vigorously twanged. Heavy rappings also were heard on the ceiling, sides
and floor of the cabinet, then after a brief but absolute silence, a bare
hand and arm emerged from the lozenge window, and rung the big dinner
bell. On opening the doors the Brothers were found securely tied as
before, and seals intact. An amusing feature of the exhibition occurred
when a venturesome spectator volunteered to sit inside of the cabinet
between the two mediums. He came out with his coat turned inside out and
his hat jammed over his eyes. In the dark séance the cabinet was dispensed
with and the spectators, holding hands, formed a ring around the mediums.
The lights were put out and similar phenomena took place, with the
addition of luminous hands, and musical instruments floating in the air.
Robert-Houdin wrote an interesting brochure on the Davenports, ("Secrets
of Stage Conjuring," translated by Prof. Hoffmann) from which I take the
following: "The ropes used by the Davenport Brothers are of a cotton
fibre; and they present therefore smooth surfaces, adapted to slip easily
one upon another. Gentlemen are summoned from the audience to tie the
mediums. Now, tell me, is it an easy task for an amateur to tie a man up
off-hand with a rope three yards long, in a very secure way? The amateur
is flurried, self-conscious, anxious to acquit himself well of the
business, but he is a gentleman, not a brute, and if one of the Brothers
sees the ropes getting into a dangerous tangle, he gives a slight groan,
as if he were being injured, and the instantaneous impulse of the other
man is to loosen the cord a trifle. A fraction of an inch is an invaluable
gain in the after-business of loosening the ropes. Sometimes the
stiffening of a muscle, the raising of a shoulder, the crooking of a knee,
gives all the play required by the Brothers in ridding themselves of their
bonds. Their muscles and joints are wonderfully supple, too; the thumbs
can be laid flat in the palm of the hand, the hand itself rounded until it
is no broader than the wrist, and then it is easy to pull through. Violent
wrenches send the ropes up toward the shoulder, vigorous shakings get the
legs free; the first hand untied is thrust through the hole in the door of
the cabinet, and then returns to give aid to more serious knots on his own
or his brother's person. In tying themselves up the Davenports used the
slip-knot, a sort of bow, the ends of which have only to be pulled to be
tightened or loosened."