In making a categorical reply to the question which forms the title of his paper, Mr. Taylor replies—"No"—and gives various "surmises" to account for recognisable likenesses having been obtained. At the end of his paper Mr. Taylor says:—
"The influence of the mind of the medium in the obtaining of psychographs might be deduced from the fact of pictures having been obtained of angels with wings, a still popular belief of some, as ridiculous in its conception as it is false in its anatomy, but still no less true in its photo-pictorial outcome. This does not in the slightest degree impair the genuineness and honesty of the medium, but it inspires me, a disbeliever in the wing notion, with the belief that spirit-photographs are not necessarily photographs of spirits.
"A concluding word: A medium may, on passing through a picture gallery, become impressed by some picture which, although forgotten soon after, may yet make a persistent appearance on his negative on subsequent occasions. My caution is that if such be published as a spirit photograph, care must be taken that no copyright of such picture is infringed. I have cases of this nature in my mind's eye, but time does not permit of this being enlarged upon, else I could have recited several instances."
It would be extremely interesting if we could have had these "several instances" recited. At all events, what Mr. Traill Taylor says is suggestive, and is well worth being borne in mind by any one investigating the subject. Some careful experiments have been made of late years, mostly, so far as I have heard, with inconclusive, or discouraging results. But I am not aware of any serious sustained study of the question by any English photographer since Mr. Traill Taylor's death.
CHAPTER XI
THE SUMMING UP OF THE WHOLE MATTER
In the preceding chapters the chief endeavour has been to present the scientific evidence in favour of the reality of a mass of alleged phenomena, so far unrecognised by science as facts. The chief object is to arouse interest, and to excite inquiry and investigation. It is difficult to imagine a more attractive undiscovered country than that which lies just outside the realm of recognised science, in the direction of such phenomena as have been under consideration. It is a country teeming with wonders, and with miraculous occurrences of endless variety. Miraculous to us, inasmuch as they are not subject to any "Laws of Nature" which we have discovered. The marvel is that there is not a rush of explorers into fields incomparably more fascinating than North or South Pole can present, and containing more treasure than gold-fields or diamond mines can ever yield.
The two chapters devoted to phenomena occurring in the presence of D. D. Home and W. Stainton Moses demand special reference. It is difficult to imagine two men differing more widely in almost every respect. Mr. Myers describes the even tenour of Mr. Stainton Moses' "straightforward and reputable life" as "inwoven with a chain of mysteries, which ... make that life one of the most extraordinary which our century has seen."[66] He was a scholar, a literary man, and a clergyman of the Church of England. He had no worldly ambition or fondness for what is called "Society." Mr. D. D. Home, on the contrary, does not appear to have been a man who could have been termed a religious character, or spiritually-minded, nor did he give evidence of intellectual talent. But he had gained access to some of the highest society in Europe. And yet both men were "mediums" for these curious phenomena, to a wonderful extent, both as regards the amount and the variety of the manifestations. Although the two men were so different, there is a parallelism in the phenomena in so many respects, that a similar origin or source seems inevitably suggested. There were peculiarities special to each, but untouched movements of heavy articles, "levitations," lights, and sounds, were phenomena common to both. From whence does this "chain of mysteries" come? Is the source to be sought for in undiscovered powers and faculties of the men themselves, or in the action of other intelligences? That is a problem which must be left. It is outside the scope of this inquiry, which deals solely with the establishment of physical facts. But where can any other field be found of equal interest? Difficulties and perplexities meet the explorer in abundance. But they exist in order to be overcome by the same steady persistence which has attained its reward in many another direction.
With regard to two other chapters I desire also to make a special remark—those on "Materialisations" and "Spirit Photography." Both are physical phenomena. But I desire to make it plain that no claim is made of being able to present evidence with regard to either of these subjects which should satisfy the reasonable demands of science. It may be asked—Why then introduce them at all? For two reasons: (1) Because the evidence in favour of both is only just outside the boundary of scientific demonstration. (2) Because of the extreme interest of the phenomena themselves.
As to "Materialisations." Out of an immense mass of testimony, most of it of no evidential value, one case has been selected where more than ordinary care seems to have been taken. But the phenomenon is so marvellous, especially in its more perfect alleged phases, when the "materialised" form is scarcely distinguishable from a living breathing human being, that the inquirer is bound to hold his judgment in suspense until the last possible moment.