APPENDICES
TO
CHAPTER VIII
VIII. A. Some early experiments in thought-transference through table-tilting were published by Professor Richet in the Revue Philosophique for December 1884. A critical discussion of these by Gurney appeared in the Proceedings S.P.R., vol. ii. pp. 239-64, and a briefer report in Phantasms of the Living, vol. i. pp. 72-81. I quote from the latter a description of the method used:—
The place of a planchette was taken by a table, and M. Richet prefaces his account by a succinct statement of the orthodox view as to "table-turning." Rejecting altogether the three theories which attribute the phenomena to wholesale fraud, to spirits, and to an unknown force, he regards the gyrations and oscillations of séance-tables as due wholly to the unconscious muscular contractions of the sitters. It thus occurred to him to employ a table as an indicator of the movements that might be produced by "mental suggestion." The plan of the experiments was as follows. Three persons (C, D, and E) took their seats in a semi-circle, at a little table on which their hands rested. One of these three was always a "medium"—a term used by M. Richet to denote a person liable to exhibit intelligent movements in which consciousness and will apparently take no part. Attached to the table was a simple electrical apparatus, the effect of which was to ring a bell whenever the current was broken by the tilting of the table. Behind the backs of the sitters at the table was another table, on which was a large alphabet, completely screened from the view of C, D, and E, even had they turned round and endeavoured to see it. In front of this alphabet sat A, whose duty was to follow the letters slowly and steadily with a pen, returning at once to the beginning as soon as he arrived at the end. At A's side sat B, with a note-book; his duty was to write down the letter at which A's pen happened to be pointing whenever the bell rang. This happened whenever one of the sitters at the table made the simple movement necessary to tilt it. Under these conditions, A and B are apparently mere automata. C, D, and E are little more, being unconscious of tilting the table, which appears to them to tilt itself; but even if they tilted it consciously, and with a conscious desire to dictate words, they have no means of ascertaining at what letter A's pen is pointing at any particular moment; and they might tilt for ever without producing more than an endless series of incoherent letters. Things being arranged thus, a sixth operator, F, stationed himself apart both from the tilting table and from the alphabet, and concentrated his thought on some word of his own choosing, which he had not communicated to the others. The three sitters at the first table engaged in conversation, sang, or told stories; but at intervals the table tilted, the bell rang, and B wrote down the letter which A's pen was opposite to at that moment. Now, to the astonishment of all concerned, these letters, when arranged in a series, turned out to produce a more or less close approximation to the word of which F was thinking.
VIII. B. The correspondent, Mr. G. E. Long, was known to Dr. Hodgson.
From Proceedings S.P.R., vol. ix. p. 65.
Jersey City, N. J., October 22nd, 1888.
...I think I wrote you once that about two years ago I had received what was said to be a most convincing test of spirit-return, convincing to all except myself. A young lady, a Spiritualist and medium, though not a professional, nor one that ever received one cent in pay, by means of a lettered board and toy chair, she holding one leg of the chair and I another, while a third leg of the chair served as a pointer, gave the following by means of the chair:—
First the chair spelt out my name and showed a disposition to get in my lap; then it spelled out "CARY," and when I asked for the name of the "spirit" it spelt out "George (my name), you ought to know me as I am Jim." But I didn't, and said so. Then, without my looking at the board, it spelt out "Long Island, Jim Rowe," and "Don't you remember I used to carry you when you were a little fellow," or words to that effect. I had to acknowledge the truth of it and also to say that as he was an ignorant man he possibly intended "Cary" for carry. I must own I was puzzled for the moment. To make sure of his power I asked that he count the pickets in the fence outside of the house and I would go out and confirm his statement. Somehow he couldn't agree to this, and even the medium objected. As a last resort I asked how long he had been in the spirit land and the answer came, between thirteen and fourteen years.
Now to the sequel. First it occurred to me a day or two after, that while all the incidents given were correct, the name should have been given as ROE instead of ROWE. Second, I was upon Long Island this summer, and the matter coming to my mind I inquired how long Jim Roe had been dead, and was informed he died last winter; so when I received this test so convincing to the believers the man was not dead.