This detail of the Christian and surnames is not demonstrative as identity, because (1) the remarks made by Dr. Maxwell were sufficient to have ‘fixed’ any one who had the slightest knowledge of the language in question; (2) because the medium already knew the surname of Dr. Maxwell’s friend. We must not forget, however, that the raps were given without contact.—Note by the Translator.
[21] M. Meurice was aware of the fact that H. B. had bequeathed many things to Dr. Maxwell. He knew, for example, that the latter wears a watch which was given him by H. B. And as Dr. Maxwell also wears, attached to his watch, a gold chain and trinkets, normal mental activity might here have been at work.—Note by the Translator.
[22] M. Meurice’s house bore the reputation of being haunted before he took it. He was unaware of this, until the neighbours told him of it some months after he was settled in the house.—Note by the Translator.
[24] Among Dr. Maxwell’s notes is the following account, written to Professor Richet, of a seance at which the doctor was present; and of some subsequent phenomena which he did not witness, but which the reader may consider interesting, nevertheless:—
19th March 1904.—‘Yesterday afternoon I obtained some automatic writing with our medium. Chappe and H. B. were said to be communicating, and giving me their views about the war. We then used the commodious Chappe telephone—my stylograph on this occasion. The raps were excellent. The weather was good, fairly cold, but dry. When the last word of a message was being spelt out, Meurice suddenly threw away the pen and broke up the seance, without going through the usual formalities of good-bye. He rose up from his seat, complained of feeling dizzy, and fainted. He quickly came to, however, and when I left him he appeared quite well again. But soon after I had left the house, he went into his sister’s room, and again fainted.
‘Now, I had often told him not to break off the communications so abruptly. I think the fatigue he sometimes experiences after phenomena—fatigue often out of all proportion with them—is due to his brusquerie. On this occasion I am sure there was some link between him and the table on which the rapping occurred. Unfortunately, friendship mastered science, and I rose up instantly to look after my friend, without stopping to ascertain if there were any trace of exteriorised sensibility in the table. It is very probable that such was the case, because I repeatedly assured myself, during the course of the seance, that there was absolutely no sensibility whatever in the hand which was holding the stylograph—the rapping implement.
‘During the seance Chappe had dictated that his medium was going to give “displacements of objects,” and he bade him take heed thereof. M. Meurice’s house is, this week, filled with visitors—his sister and her children among others. For want of room, he has taken his young nephew, a child of seven years old, into his room to sleep with him. Now, last night he was awakened towards midnight by his bed moving about. His sister, sleeping in the next room, also heard these noises; thinking her brother was ill, she got up and went into his room. She saw a curious sight: the bed was gliding, of its own accord, towards the window! She sat down on a sofa and watched; the room was lighted up by the light of one candle. The bed moved up to a table near the window, i.e. a distance of three feet; the carpet was not disturbed. The bed returned slowly to its former position. The child did not awaken. The sister is not aware of her brother’s powers; if she were told, she would probably be much distressed, as she puts all such phenomena a priori down to charlatanry or to superstition. She was alarmed at the manifestation, ascribed the movements to “ghosts,” and firmly believes that the house is haunted.’ (This sister does not live in Bordeaux, and has never been told of the reputation the house enjoyed before her brother took possession of it.)
[25] The reader may care to see Dr. Maxwell’s detailed report to Professor Richet of the above incident:—
‘On Sunday morning Meurice was out driving. A short distance from Bordeaux his carriage collided with a milk-cart; the shafts of the latter crashed through one of the carriage windows. At the same time an electric tram, unable to pull up in time, struck the carriage in the rear. The coachman was thrown from his seat on to the ground, where he lay unconscious. He was wounded near the left eye, ... his face was covered with blood.