Those who explain these things by denying their existence, were at least excusable thirty, or even twenty, years ago, but since the carefully sifted and authenticated and recorded evidence of recent years, especially that gathered by the Society for Psychical Research, the makers [pg 155]of such explanations simply put themselves in the category of those who, in Schopenhauer’s day, denied the telopsis which is now quite generally recognized. He said their attitude should not be called skeptical, but merely ignorant. This brings to mind an excellent very practical friend who read the first number of this Review, and praised it, but said: “Don’t fool any more with Psychical Research and Simplified Spelling.” We refrained from saying that we had not known that he had ever studied either, and we would not say it here if we were not confident that his aversion from the subject will prevent his reading this.
To return to the manifestations: here are some other cases where Foster identified himself with a personality of his vision. (Bartlett, op. cit., 93.)
From Sacramento Record, December 8, 1873:
Foster at one time seized A.’s hand, explaining, “God bless you, my dear boy, my son. I am thankful I at last may speak to you. I want you to know I am your father, who loved you in life and loves you still. I am near to you; a thin veil alone separates us. Good-by. I am your father, Abijah A——”
“Good heavens!” exclaimed A——, “that was my father’s name, his tone, his manner, his action.”
“And,” said Foster, “it was a good influence; he was a man of large veneration.”
The above indicates what we will provisionally call Possession. But it is not possession to the extent of complete expulsion of the original consciousness, as in the trances of Home, Moses, and Mrs. Piper.
And which is the following? (Bartlett, op. cit., 103):
[Letter to editor, written Nov. 30, 1874]
New York Daily Graphic: … He told me he saw the spirit of an old woman close to me, describing most perfectly my grandmother, and repeating: “Resodeda, Resodeda is here; she kisses her grandson.” Arising from his chair, Foster embraced and kissed me in the same peculiar way as my grandmother did when alive.