Chapter VI: Some Recently Observed Psychical Phenomena (1)

_An account of some recently observed Psychical Phenomena produced
in the presence of Doctor Maxwell and Professor Charles
Richet. Arranged by the Translator from notes furnished by Dr.
Maxwell._[17]

[17] It is scarcely necessary for me to certify to the accuracy
of the phenomena mentioned in this chapter, especially when I
am spoken of as having been present.—MAXWELL.

During the last two years exceptional opportunities have been offered Professor Richet and Dr. Maxwell of observing a medium—whom we will call _Meurice_—who has furnished Dr. Maxwell with many of his most important examples of psychical phenomena. I refer to phenomena spoken of on pp. 74, 81-2, 101-3, 136-7, 152-5, 160-2, 195-9, 201-2, 250.

Dr. X.—a friend of Professor Richet—who does not wish his name to be mentioned, having been present with Professor Richet and Dr. Maxwell at some of their experiments, has sent Dr. Maxwell a few notes concerning those seances at which he was present. Dr. Maxwell has authorised me to put these notes in order, and to add to them a few extracts from letters written by Dr. Maxwell to Professor Richet and myself.

These notes and letters were written either during or immediately after the seances, if I may so call the impromptu occasions on which the phenomena to be spoken of were obtained.

There is, in these notes, a miscellaneous stream of evidence, the complexity and importance of which may be presumed, when it is pointed out that a useful combination of two orders of research has been at work therein. Dr. Maxwell was chiefly interested in the study of the facts concomitant with the phenomena, whatever they might be, whilst Professor Richet devoted himself to the analysis of the personifications, and to the study of the manifestations from a purely psychological point of view.

Evidence is the touchstone of truth, and though the reading of parts of this chapter may sound more like pages out of a fantastic story than the words of savants, yet the publication of these facts has been judged necessary by Professor Richet and Dr. Maxwell, in their belief that no one is justified in setting aside facts which have been well attested. These facts have been observed—let it not be forgotten—in a spirit of pure scientific curiosity.

It is, therefore, hoped that this chapter will receive the thoughtful consideration of many; and that careful analysis will be especially given to those very parts, the unreal-like romantic nature of which seems to render them, at a random glance, unworthy of serious thought.

THE MEDIUM AND HIS PHENOMENA

An acute analysis of a medium is of primary importance in the examination and appreciation of his phenomena, therefore we will first of all dwell a little on the personality of M. Meurice, the medium in question.

He is a friend of Dr. Maxwell’s—a friend of some years’ standing.

He is a slightly built man, the reverse of robust, but endowed with remarkable vitality and recuperative powers. He is thirty-two years of age; he is unmarried. He is highly sensitive and reserved in disposition, and forms quick but lasting sympathies and antipathies. He gives one the impression of being always in a state of hypertension; his nervous system is most finely strung, and he appears to experience an irresistible need of constant physical movement. He passes easily from the extremes of joy to the extremes of sadness. Highly nervous though he be, Dr. Maxwell has never observed any signs of hysteria, or any symptoms of a lack of equilibrium in the medium’s mentality. He is not amenable to the hypnotic sleep, but Dr. Maxwell says he has sometimes thought that he might eventually succeed in inducing that state. The few attempts so far made in this direction have given no results; moreover, M. Meurice does not care to submit himself to this kind of experimentation. His cutaneous and other sensibilities are normal; his reflexes also are normal.

He suffers occasionally from violent headaches and neuralgia; and has frequent gastric attacks, notably after the production of telekinetic phenomena. Otherwise his health is good. During the production of phenomena, M. Meurice often acknowledges to a sinking sensation in the epigastric region, and says it is as though something material were being drawn out of him at such moments.

He is well read in every branch of literature, and has a most retentive memory. One has the notion that this medium, to a great extent, has under his conscious control a large range of what is generally submerged faculty.

Subliminal operation is, no doubt, constantly going on with us all, but it is most apparent in M. Meurice. One feels with him that his unconscious memory is always on the alert.

Amnesia appears to follow rapidly in the footsteps of his visions, but several things seem to indicate that this amnesia is only apparent.[18]

[18] The amnesia, which appears to follow medianic phenomena,
bears a certain relation to the amnesia which follows dreams.
It is probably due to the weakness of the links between the
conscious personality and the forgotten images. The links
exist, but are not strong enough to bind those images to the
usual stream of personal consciousness. They serve as clues,
however, and the reappearance of the images at a given moment
is due to the working of the usual laws of association.—MAXWELL.

Dr. Maxwell says he always thought he had a psychic in his friend. However, notwithstanding his medical studies, and wide range of knowledge of things in general, M. Meurice was ignorant of metapsychical phenomena, and averse to becoming acquainted with the practices of spiritism or anything of that nature. Little by little Dr. Maxwell induced his friend to take some interest in these phenomena, and one day he persuaded him to put his hands on a table with a view to seeing whether the two of them together could obtain any phenomena. Raps were immediately forthcoming; they resounded on the floor. The medium was startled by the unusual noise and quickly rose from the table. Nothing more was received on that occasion or for some time afterwards. Then, for two years, M. Meurice reluctantly and irregularly yielded to Dr. Maxwell’s persuasions to develop his medianity.

For some time he could not be made to see the importance of his phenomena, and Dr. Maxwell refused to give weight to his words by appealing to technical literature. He was desirous of keeping his friend in ignorance of current notions on these phenomena, thinking the results would be of greater value if the soil they sprang from were virgin.

M. Meurice has done all in his power to throw light upon his own phenomena. His co-operation has been precious, for often his fine intelligence and well-trained powers of observation have enabled him to bring into the research valuable analyses of his sensations and impressions. For this medium not only does not lose consciousness during the production of his phenomena, he is often at such moments more thoroughly ‘all there’—to use a Scotch expression—than in his unproductive moments of abstraction. True, there have been a few exceptions, but, _as a rule_, he is keenly alive to all that is going on when phenomena is forthcoming.

The passages I have indicated in Dr. Maxwell’s work will acquaint the reader with the order and degree of phenomena presented by M. Meurice, when Professor Richet made his acquaintance. Dr. Maxwell had studied, almost exclusively, the physical aspect of the facts he received, and did not encourage phenomena of an intellectual order. This scientific attitude, however, had not prevented the manifestation of the phenomenon of personification; and the ‘raps’ speedily put forth the claims common to spiritualistic beliefs—in spite of the medium’s ignorance of them. When Professor Richet began to experiment with M. Meurice, the ‘raps’ had already claimed to emanate from ‘John King,’ ‘Chappe d’Auteroche,’ a group of four entities calling themselves the ‘good fairies,’ and, lastly, from two of Dr. Maxwell’s deceased friends.

As the capital interest of this chapter lies in the intelligent aspect of the phenomena, there is a fact of paramount importance to be pointed out with emphasis.

Our medium is very amenable to influence, and his phenomena constantly show the effects of suggestion and influence. I do not, by any means, wish to infer that M. Meurice is like wax in the hands of his friends; on the contrary, if it were only a question of personal consciousness, we might say he is almost impervious to the action of extraneous influences. His ways of thinking and acting bear the stamp of independence, and if he yields occasionally to the wishes of his friends, it is out of pure friendship and with deliberation. When, however, we are endeavouring to make a psychological study of a medium, we strive to reach the lower strata at once; the surface is of little interest when we know that the secret lies below. Therefore, when I say that M. Meurice is most amenable to influence, I am bearing in mind that profound region, his general consciousness. The personal consciousness may be rebellious to influence, but the subliminal is reached by subtler means than is its grosser envelope, and is remarkably amenable to the charm of suggestion and the voice of sympathy. In all probability the reader will find sufficient evidence of the accuracy of my assertion in the phenomena to be spoken of in the course of this chapter; therefore, I will not dwell any further upon this point, although it be an important one.

When experimenting with Eusapia Paladino, Professor Richet had remarked and called attention to the synchronism which existed between her phenomena and her movements or muscular contractions. Dr. Maxwell, in his turn, also remarked it, and forthwith bent his studies in that direction. The conclusion appears to be evident that a profound and far-reaching importance lies in the synchronism between the movements of the experimenters and the phenomena. It was observed that Dr. Maxwell was indeed able to produce phenomena of raps and telekinesis [of very feeble intensity, it is true] by tapping the medium on his hands or shoulder, by firmly squeezing the hands, joined in a circle above the table, or by the simple contraction of his own muscles.

_En passant_, it may be useful to note that Dr. X. was opposed to the idea that synchronism _always_ existed between the phenomena and the movements of the experimenters, that is to say, that muscular contraction was _alone_ responsible for the phenomena. Dr. X. was so opposed to this notion, that his presence at seances where this synchronism was being demonstrated, has often been observed to cause all manifestations to cease—to nullify the results. If Dr. X. was able to exercise this power over one centre, it is highly probable that his presence would exercise a like inhibitory influence over other centres of energy, where like experiments were being conducted.

Though Dr. Maxwell had obtained not a few phenomena showing intelligence (_e.g._ raps claiming to emanate from various personifications), yet, as he says in his book, pages 26, 28, and 83, he did not feel drawn towards that order of research, and did his best to keep the phenomena on physical lines. But since Professor Richet has experimented with M. Meurice, the phenomena have developed rapidly along the lines of intellectuality: a result which may, it is true, be due to our medium’s good-nature in allowing his power to be used as was desired, or which may be the effect of influence and suggestion. We are inclined to think the latter is nearer the truth, an opinion which is supported by the fact that when Dr. X. and Professor Richet were present—that is to say, within a few days after Dr. X.’s appearance in the circle—synchronous phenomena could rarely be obtained.[19]

[19] ‘Vous voyez, cher ami, que depuis que nous avons
expérimenté ensemble, votre influence persiste et nos
phénomènes physiques s’orientent vers les messages
intellectuels.’—Extract from a letter written by Dr. Maxwell
to Professor Richet six weeks after the first series of
experiments with Professor Richet were held.

Now, all unknown to Dr. Maxwell, Professor Richet had passed the previous three years in the study of these same phenomena from a psychological standpoint, and at the moment of his first visit to Bordeaux, he was particularly absorbed in the research and analysis of intelligent messages received by means of a physical phenomenon. His desire, for the time being, was to receive messages—of identity or otherwise—by means of _raps without contact_.

Already familiar with the fact of synchronism—which a little experience suffices to show is not due to self-suggestion or endosomatic activity—Professor Richet wished to get on to fresh ground; as before said, he wanted intellectuality in a physical phenomenon, and it was not long before he got what he wanted with the medium in question.

And, _à propos_, perhaps I may be allowed to briefly relate at once the first phenomenon containing intelligence, which Professor Richet obtained with M. Meurice. A short time after having made his acquaintance, the professor and Dr. X. thought they would try to obtain a ‘test.’ Supposing, for a moment, that an entity, who has several times claimed to be communicating with Professor Richet, really existed, they ‘evoked’ him, and asked him to give them a sign through M. Meurice, which would denote that he had been listening to a certain conversation held two hours previously. The medium and Dr. Maxwell were unaware that this entity had a speciality of communicating in Latin or Greek. A few hours afterwards, during dinner, raps were heard on the table and other furniture in the vicinity of M. Meurice; when the question was asked as to who was rapping, the Christian name of the entity was given, followed by the word _Confide_. No word, it appears, could have borne more directly upon the conversation in question. There was difficulty in obtaining these two words, the raps—in such abundance when not requested to ‘work’—came laboriously, as though some one were picking his steps among brambles, so to speak. The medium himself spelt out the alphabet on this occasion.

* * * * *

Dr. Maxwell has given an analysis of the raps obtained with M. Meurice, and we especially refer the reader to pages 79-82 and 250.

When raps without contact delay in coming, M. Meurice takes a lead-pencil, holds it in his hands, and presses one end against the table or on an experimenter according to desire; the raps then resound at the end touching the experimenter or the table.

Anæsthesia is observed only in the hand and arm holding the pencil. “Once or twice,” says Dr. X., “I have observed something like cramp seize the hand and arm, and extend along the shoulder blade, to the nape of the neck. On these occasions, I saw the whole arm vibrate after each rap, like the rebounding of an elastic band, and I have sometimes thought it looked as though the ‘fluid’ passed down the nerves of the arm into the pencil, as though it were flowing through a clear open channel, until it reached the point of the pencil, when a jerk of some kind appeared to force it out on to the wood; not that the pencil or arm _moves_ when the rap resounds, but one has the impression of an _interior_ jerk of some kind when, in moments of cramp, the rap is heard; this rebounding movement appears to be almost simultaneous with the rap. Though the medium keeps his personality alive, _as a rule_, it seems to me,” continues Dr. X. (whose opinion is shared by Professor Richet), “to undergo a diminution of some kind, on these occasions; ideation appears to be slower and more difficult. But, because his arm hurt him when this cramp came on, we have always begged him to cease; therefore we cannot say whether, the experiment courageously continued, complete anæsthesia would eventually set in, accompanied by psychical phenomena.”

It is of importance to point out that both Professor Richet and Dr. X. (though Dr. Maxwell does not altogether share their opinion on this point) are inclined to believe that M. Meurice can tell _when_ raps are going to be given, when phenomena will be forthcoming and when they will not be forthcoming; a conclusion which is drawn from many observations.

Some of the messages given in this chapter were obtained, when out walking with the medium. On such occasions, M. Meurice would put his hand on a walking-stick or on an umbrella; he preferred the latter. “The raps on the open umbrella are extremely curious,” writes Dr. X. “We have heard raps on the woodwork and on the silk at one and the same time; it is easy to perceive that the shock actually occurs in the wood—that the molecules of the latter are set in motion. The same thing occurs with the silk; and here observation is even more interesting still; each rap _looks_ like a drop of some invisible liquid falling on the silk from a respectable height. The stretched silk of the umbrella is quickly and slightly but surely dented in; sometimes the force with which the raps are given is such as to shake the umbrella. Nothing is more absorbing than the observation of an apparent conversation—by means of the umbrella—between the medium’s personifications. Raps, imitating a burst of laughter in response to the observer’s remarks, resound on the silk like the rapid play of strong but tiny fingers. When raps on the umbrella are forthcoming, M. Meurice either holds the handle of the umbrella, or some one else does, whilst he simply touches the handle very lightly with his open palm. He never touches the silk.

“Raps without contact appear to require more force, and are not so frequently forthcoming, as raps with contact—which seem to be always at the medium’s command; consequently—and particularly as the tenor of the messages received constituted the chief interest for the time being—the use of the pencil or umbrella has been encouraged.”

All the messages given in this chapter, except where the contrary is expressly stated, have been received by contact with a pencil or umbrella—with what Chappe, the chief personification, calls his telephone.

A marked trait in the phenomena is their spontaneity. Months will pass away without the production of a single phenomenon worth mentioning—raps through the pencil can generally be obtained, however. After the attraction of the fan (pages 357-8), nine months elapsed before another telekinetic phenomenon occurred. At other times, the energy is so abundant that while it lasts, that is to say for two or three weeks, the medium may truly be said to live in a world of phenomena in more senses than one; for, at such periods, phenomena are constantly forthcoming. Regular seances are not of much avail with M. Meurice; it is better not to seek, but to know how to receive, which means to know how to wait patiently and attentively.

* * * * *

A brief analysis of the personifications is necessary before laying bare their work. The first to manifest was ‘John King.’ Subliminal labour is very transparent herein. M. Meurice had heard not a little of Eusapia Paladino’s secondary personality, which calls itself ‘John King.’

Then the raps announced the presence of a group of four entities calling themselves the ‘fairies’—_les bonnes fées_. In fact, the latter were the first to make their presence felt by M. Meurice, though John King was the first to manipulate the raps. The fairies gave the names of Miriam, Yolande, Liliane, and Brigitte; the latter remained but a short time; she said she had to go away somewhere; she was replaced by ‘Wicki,’ who claims to be an ancestor of Dr. Maxwell’s, and to have lived in Ireland during the fifteenth century. The medium associates the odour of jasmine with the fairies. Perhaps the following may suggest a clue to the origin of these entities:—

Some years ago, before Dr. Maxwell had commenced experimenting with his friend, he was in the habit of bidding him good-bye with the words, ‘_Que les très bonnes vous protègent_.’ When the fairies—_les bonnes fées_—appeared, they at once claimed to have been the means of bringing about the meeting of Dr. Maxwell with M. Meurice, and of having fostered their friendship. As for the odour of jasmine: on one occasion, soon after experimentation had begun, the medium was talking to the doctor about good influences; and he remarked that he sometimes perceived the odour of jasmine without being able to explain it normally. The next time the doctor saw his friend, the raps dictated that the odour of jasmine was the signal of the presence of the good fairies.

The next personification to manifest was said to be S., a very dear friend of Dr. Maxwell’s (see pages 160-1). The genesis of this personification is easy to follow. S. was one of the leading men in Bordeaux, where he occupied a very prominent position; he was extremely well known—though M. Meurice did not know him, and says he never saw him. M. Meurice witnessed Dr. Maxwell’s grief when S. died, and heard the former say that he had been very fond of S. I again refer the reader to pages 160-1 for further consideration of the S. personification.

For a few months, the phenomena claimed to emanate chiefly from the fairies—John King gradually fading away. Then ‘Chappe d’Auteroche’ came on the scene, and has ever since kept the field pretty much to himself,—though he permits of the presence of the personalities already mentioned and a few others if _introduced_ by him. His first appearance took the form of a vision in the crystal. The medium saw him in a foreign land, amidst large red flowers, savage tribes and queer-looking boats on canals; he gave his name, the exact day, month and year of his death, and the cause of his death; he described what his work on earth had been—all things which M. Meurice did not _consciously_ know. Everything, which was verifiable, was found to be correct.

Some time after this, Chappe gave a long and coherent message by means of tilts of a table without contact—in daylight; on this occasion, he gave his Christian name as ‘Adhémar,’ which is, probably, an error, as biographies do not mention it.

Chappe is, doubtless, a subliminal entity; but his evolution is more difficult to explain than any of the medium’s other personifications. Perhaps M. Meurice—an _avide_ reader—has come across some articles in periodicals, concerning the measurements of the solar parallax, by means of the crossing of the sun’s surface by the disc of the planet Venus. Chappe was one of the best-known observers; he went to Siberia in 1761, and to California in 1769, to observe those passages. His name must certainly have been mentioned in the newspapers, when the last crossings took place—that is in 1874 and 1882. But on these occasions, M. Meurice was only three and eleven years old! Has he seen the biographical notice of Chappe in Larousse’s dictionary? He has no conscious recollection of having read this, nor does he remember ever having heard of Chappe the astronomer. And there, for the present, the matter must stand.

Another personification—H. B.—made its irruption towards the end of 1903. M. Meurice was certainly aware of Dr. Maxwell’s profound esteem and affection for H. B.; but for further consideration of this personification, we refer the reader to Dr. Maxwell’s notes thereon, pages 287 and following.

* * * * *

I perceive I am about to end these remarks on the medium and his phenomena without having said a word upon a vital point, one which many specialists would require to be satisfactorily settled before consenting to listen to an account of the phenomena. I mean the medium’s honesty. Professor Richet, Dr. Maxwell, and Dr. X. say that, for diverse reasons, they cannot doubt this particular medium’s honourability. As for raps and telekinetic phenomena, there can be no shadow of doubt about their genuineness; the excellent conditions of light, sight and touch which always prevail when his phenomena are forthcoming, joined to the intelligent co-operation of M. Meurice, who is as much interested in and capable of examining his own phenomena as are the observers, put mystification out of the question.

Is there any evidence of identity, of survival, of intelligent forces other than human, in this chapter? Each one will answer this question after his own manner of thinking. Some will say ‘No.’ If we could forget the extraordinary romance at the end of this chapter—Series C—we too might answer categorically ‘No.’ Though we have given all the leading details of the case, family reasons have necessitated the omission of much valuable material in this ‘romance,’ and perhaps readers will not see so much in it as those who watched its development. But even as it stands, it presents some baffling difficulties. It really seems to indicate that there is activity in the metethereal environment, and that the spirit can act in that environment. What matter, therefore, if it be the spirit of the living or of the dead? If one can demonstrate its independence of the body, why not the other?

_SERIES A_

VISIONS

It may be useful to give one or two of our medium’s visions. If these simple phenomena—where so much of the personal consciousness seems at play—be studied, some idea may be gained of how far, if at all, the subliminal is responsible for the production of this particular medium’s more intricate phenomena, such as intelligent messages given by means of raps without contact.

* * * * *

M. Meurice was once visiting Paris. He dined at my house on the evening of his arrival. This was the first time I met him. During dinner, an hour or so after his arrival, the medium said he saw a vision near me, and described a personage ‘dressed in white and gold-embroidered robes, who looks like a priest of ancient times.’ The only interest in this is that it corroborates what two other sensitives, unknown to our medium and to each other, have on two different occasions told me.

M. Meurice also claimed to recognise in me and this bedecked personage, two persons who figured in a dream-vision he had had, three years previous to meeting me. We give this dream chiefly for the sake of its rich symbolism.

The medium wrote an account of the dream at the time, at Dr. Maxwell’s request, the latter being struck by its oddity. Here is the vision:—

“I dreamt I was sleeping in a bed, the framework of which nearly touched the ground; the bed was raised on a kind of platform. I was in a large hall, which looked like a church. Suddenly a tall, fair woman, dressed in black, entered. A man wearing long, white, ancient-looking garments, embroidered all over in gold, followed her. Then Dr. Maxwell entered. The man in white read aloud out of the book, which the fair woman held open before him. I was suddenly overcome with emotion. I wept, and wept, and wept. My tears caused the flowers embroidered on the counterpane to spring into life; they grew and multiplied with amazing rapidity, completely covering the bed and, finally, burying me beneath their abundance and weight. The fair woman then said: ‘We must seek for him,’ and set to work to remove the flowers. During this operation, Dr. Maxwell stepped on my body; I screamed with pain and awoke.”

When M. Meurice awoke, he was suffering from colic; this fact may explain parts of the vision.

* * * * *

One day in December 1903, at the close of a seance when some fine raps at a distance had been obtained, M. Meurice wrote a few German words. He does not know German. At the same time he saw, in the crystal, the words: ‘Kolbe, chimiste, mort à Leipzig 1730.’ A few hours after this seance, the medium had a vision of the personification Chappe, who said, ‘Vous ne savez donc lire? C’est “mort à Leipzig le 25 Novembre 1884,” et pas “1730.”’

Kolbe the chemist died at Leipzig on the 25th of November 1884. This information is to be found in Larousse’s dictionary.

* * * * *

The following is an experiment in the transmission of thought which Dr. Maxwell tried with the medium:—

“I gave my hand to M. Meurice, to hold, and said to him—we had been talking, in a vague, general manner of the plurality of existences—‘Try and see how I died in my previous existence.’

“Unknown to the medium, I wrote down on paper the words:—_Fall from a horse!_

“M. Meurice answered: ‘I see your life, then you fade away into nothingness; you die from an accident; a carriage—no, a horse accident. I see you wearing a shield. You fall from your horse, he crushes you to death.’”

* * * * *

The medium very often sees the same vision repeat itself in the crystal. This is the vision of a procession of individuals clothed in flowing robes; they follow a long narrow path, which loses itself in a tunnel, into which the procession passes. The vision never varies, save that at times after the procession has disappeared into the tunnel, the path seems to be strewn with the bones of skeletons.

This vision has also been seen, in the same crystal, by our medium’s youngest sister, a girl of twenty, who is absolutely ignorant of spiritistic phenomena. She attributed her vision to an optical illusion.

* * * * *

It has been observed with M. Meurice that the last vision sometimes precedes veridical hallucinations.

This and other facts would lead one to think that very probably, for a medium, there is no test which can discriminate between falsidical and veridical hallucinations. The psychological process appears to be the same, viz. dramatisation and concrete images, instead of abstract concepts or ideas.

Mediums, as a rule, possess parasitic personalities which act in the same way as the normal personality; this feature of hallucinatory phenomena is difficult to analyse, and introduces into the problem a number of unknown factors.

In the case of the medium in question, the secondary personalities are weak. They are always felt and objectived by the normal personality, which is never expelled from the scene—a circumstance which is precious for the observer as the visions are sometimes vivid to a degree. With M. Meurice the unknown factors, though existing, are reduced to a sort of minimum, and the psychological analysis is perhaps less difficult than in the generality of cases. In this fact lies the value of his intellectual phenomena, though it is a drawback indeed from another point of view, the persistency of the normal consciousness, of the normal will, and even of the normal powers of attention, being probably the cause of the impurities which so frequently stain his intellectual phenomena.

NOTES ON THE PERSONIFICATION ‘H. B.’

_By Dr. Maxwell_

“H. B. died at a very advanced age. He was a man of great kindness of heart, and of deep intelligence. He had received a solid, classical education. He was born in a foreign country, went, when a young man, to a North American state, where he lived for some time. He married, and finally came to Bordeaux—a town to which his wife and all her family belonged. H. B. lived for many years at Bordeaux; but during the last six years of his life he was paralysed. He died at a time when the medium was twenty years of age, and was pursuing his studies in a hospital at Bordeaux. H. B. lived a very retired life, confined to the house because of his infirmity.

“There is every probability that M. Meurice had never heard of H. B. Although I had known my friend for some time before the irruption of this personification, I had been extremely careful to avoid giving him the slightest detail concerning H. B. He had, however, heard me say that H. B. had been one of my dearest friends.

“I had been experimenting for about two years with M. Meurice, when the personification H. B. first manifested. His emergence took place on the 2nd October 1903, in the form of a vision, which my friend had as he was going to bed. On the following day—during a dark seance we were holding in the hopes of obtaining luminous phenomena—M. Meurice described his vision of the previous night. His description vividly recalled H. B. to my mind. I was careful to say nothing, however. During the seance, the personification Chappe signified his presence by means of abundant and loud raps; at the same time M. Meurice told me he saw a face, and certain letters written above it; these letters formed a name, which indicated to me the presence of H. B. Thereupon I asked M. Meurice to give me the Christian and surnames of the vision he claimed to be looking at; in reply, the surname was instantly spelt out by raps without contact; the Christian name was given in French first of all, then it was correctly given in H. B.’s maternal tongue.[20]

[20] H. B.’s Christian name finds its equivalent in French in
the name which had been ‘rapped out’ in the first instance. Dr.
Maxwell explained this fact to the rapping force, whereupon the
name was correctly given.

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._

“H. B.’s first appearances occurred in M. Meurice’s bedroom. From the indications given, I said I had quickly recognised H. B. Unfortunately, under the necessity in which I find myself placed of not bringing H. B.’s family into view, I am unable to mention the principal details. May it suffice to say that I recognised H. B. I may also add that the description of the hair, eyes, beard, stature were exactly and unhesitatingly given.

“I may also mention one important detail: M. Meurice described the vision he saw as being seated in an armchair with a blue plaid shawl—with a long fringe—wrapped about his legs. I did not recognise the chair—though I well remember the chair in which H. B. passed the last six years of his life—but the shawl was absolutely correctly described. This is a detail which, I affirm, M. Meurice could not possibly have known; and I consider it highly improbable that fraud could have found it out.

“So much for the first appearance of this personification.

“The visions continued. M. Meurice saw H. B. at different periods of his existence, at times infirm, at other times younger and standing upright. When he appeared young, he wore his beard in a certain fashion; when he appeared aged, he wore his beard differently; these details were correct.

“The vision at first did not speak, and simply looked kindly at him, said M. Meurice.

“The hallucination used to build itself up in the following manner: the medium saw a bluish cloud floating about near a particular armchair in his bedroom; the cloud or shadow remained ill defined, ‘as though several veils were being successively removed’; and only one feature at a time—at a vision—seemed to be distinctly shown, _e.g._ at one time, the eyes were well shown, the rest of the vision being very indistinct; at another time, the nose was the prominent feature, or the mouth, the hair or the beard, etc.; as though the personification wished to impress one thing at a time upon the medium’s perception.

“Finally on the 6th October 1903, in a short journey which M. Meurice made one day to Arcachon, H. B. appeared to him in broad daylight, in an avenue of the forest through which the medium was driving.

“M. Meurice saw, on the roadway a short distance ahead, a person walking very slowly and peculiarly: ‘he limped as though the right leg was shorter than the left.’ He was a stout man with a round, clean-shaven face. He had a peculiar mark near one of his eyes. He was wearing a tall straw hat, a high collar, the ends rising and meeting in points under the chin, a yellowish walking-stick, the handle of which was made of ivory and fastened to the stick by a silver band; the personage was reading a newspaper, the title of which was in Gothic lettering ‘like the _Matin_.’ He was wearing a thick gold chain and trinkets. M. Meurice thought he was looking upon a real individual, and it was not until the carriage had driven past, and my friend saw the supposed man suddenly disappear, leaving but a ‘whitish blur on the ground,’ that he recognised H. B. and the hallucinatory character of his perception.

“I saw M. Meurice about five hours after he had had this vision, when he gave me the above details; I recognised the following as being correct:—

“1. The walk.

“2. A peculiar mark near one of the eyes.

“3. The newspaper; H. B. took in the _Temps_, the title of which is in Gothic lettering like the _Matin_.

“4. The walking-stick, every detail being exact.

“5. The description of the collar was correct.

“6. H. B. used to wear a straw hat.

“7. ‘A stout man with a round, clean-shaven face’ applies to H. B. before his infirmity made an invalid of him.

“The watch-chain and trinkets were imaginary.

“A few remarks about details 1 and 2: H. B. had twice broken his right leg; the right leg was, as a result of these two accidents, shorter than the left leg. He had therefore a very peculiar and characteristic walk. When M. Meurice was relating the above vision to me, he imitated the walk to perfection. Let it be remembered that H. B. had not walked a step for six years previous to his death; when he was attacked by paralysis, M. Meurice was but fourteen years of age, and was not then living in Bordeaux.

“2. H. B. had a small and peculiar skin mark near his left eye. Now, when M. Meurice related his vision, I told him that he had not localised this mark accurately enough. Thereupon, raps resounded simultaneously on his chair, on the floor, and on a table standing a foot away from M. Meurice and myself; while these raps were resounding M. Meurice said he saw H. B., and remarked that he was pointing to the sign in question. M. Meurice then correctly localised the mark.

“Further, I told M. Meurice that he had made a mistake when speaking of a gold watch-chain and trinkets. The next vision my friend had of H. B., the latter showed himself with a black silk ribbon attached to his watch; this, I recognised as correct. H. B. always wore a black silk ribbon for a watch-chain.[21]

[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._

“In subsequent visions, H. B. showed the medium successively certain correct details in his costume, notably:—

“1. Cravats, dark blue with white spots.

“2. Shoes of a peculiar make, without heels and with elastic sides.

“3. White stockings.

“M. Meurice tells me he feels that H. B. very often tries to make himself visible to him; when he fails to do so, he hears him say impatiently: ‘Thut! thut! thut!’—a curious coincidence, for this was a most characteristic habit of H. B.’s when impatient.

“From that time the personification H. B. has continued to mingle actively in our medium’s life. His intervention is manifested daily. It would be impossible to give a full account of this personification’s manifestations; I will simply confine myself to indicating the principal. It is to be pointed out, first of all, that H. B. appears literally to ‘haunt’ M. Meurice’s house, especially the room above the latter’s bedroom.[22]

[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._

“The phenomena are of several kinds:—

“_A._ Sonorous phenomena.

“1. Footsteps.

“(_a_) A loud, quick, decided footstep, which M. Meurice attributes
to the personification Chappe.

“(_b_) An unequal step, as though one leg rested more heavily than
the other; the imitation which M. Meurice made before me of
this step recalled to my mind H. B.’s step.

“(_c_) A slow step as of a person who dragged his feet along: a
movement attributed by M. Meurice to, and which I recognised
as characteristic of, one of my deceased friends.[23]

“(_d_) A quick, light step, like the step of a big bird.

[23] See page 160.

“These footsteps are heard in the corridor of the second story of the house; a story which is not inhabited. Then the door of a bedroom, immediately above M. Meurice’s bedroom, seems to open and the footsteps resound in the room. M. Meurice has often got up—these noises occur at about two o’clock in the early morning—but he has never seen anything or any one.

“The same noises are also heard in M. Meurice’s own bedroom.

“2. The opening of doors and windows.

“Before hearing footsteps in the bedroom on the second floor, M. Meurice hears the door of that room open. The noise of the opening of the door is always preceded by a noise similar to that made by a hand searching in the dark for the door handle.

“M. Meurice hears the same sounds on his bedroom door. There are three doors to M. Meurice’s bedroom: one leads into a dressing-room, one into a clothes-room, the third into a study; it is at this third door that the above-mentioned phenomena occur.

“Sometimes M. Meurice hears the window of his own bedroom, as well as that of the room upstairs, open and shut. He has got up repeatedly, and gone upstairs to see what was happening, but has always found the door closed, which he fancied he had heard being opened. Whenever, on returning to his bedroom, he left the door of the room upstairs open, the noise of footsteps would begin again as soon as he had left, but without the sound of the opening and shutting of the bedroom door.

“3. Noises as of furniture being moved about. The medium hears the chairs and tables of the room above him move about; his faculties of observation are well developed, and he believes he recognises:—

“(_a_) Accompanying the noise of the displacement of chairs and
tables, Chappe’s footstep.

“(_b_) H. B.’s footsteps, on the contrary, are accompanied by the
noise a heavy person might make when sitting on a bed. The
medium hears the mattress creaking.

“(_c_) Lastly, he hears a noise similar to what would be produced
by a person lying back in an armchair.

“4. Noises of material objects other than furniture: these noises are like:—

“(_a_) A bag of corn or nuts emptied on to the floor of the bedroom
upstairs.

“(_b_) Something hard striking the floor: these sounds are given
rhythmically upon request.

“(_c_) Wings beating the air. M. Meurice compares these sounds to
the flapping of the wings of a turkey.

“(_d_) The rubbing of paper.

“5. Diverse human noises:—

“(_a_) Sighs.

“(_b_) Heavy breathing.

“Are these sonorous phenomena subjective? I have never been in the house at the hour, when these sounds are said to be heard; and the noises I have heard from time to time are not sufficiently pronounced for me to be able to form any conclusion. I have assured myself that no water-pipes exist in the upper stories of the house; the latter is isolated, but any loud noises made in a neighbouring house can be heard in M. Meurice’s house.

“No one sleeps in the second story. A domestic, who occupies a room on the same floor as M. Meurice, has heard the noise of footsteps, and has often got up out of bed and gone upstairs to see who was moving about. Never finding any one, the domestic attributes these sounds to rats: an insufficient explanation. Moreover, a close examination of the house, repeated on several occasions, has revealed to me no signs of rats.

“A sister of M. Meurice’s frequently pays him visits; she then occupies a room on the same floor as her brother. On three different occasions she has been awakened out of sleep by sounds of footsteps, and a fumbling noise on the door of her room, as though some one were feeling for the handle. She has got up, gone into her brother’s room, thinking it was he, searched about the house, but has never seen anything which could explain the noises, neither has she heard the noises while thus moving about.[24]

[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.)

“She has also heard the flapping of birds’ wings, in the daytime, in different parts of the house.

“_B._ Phenomena of touch.

“M. Meurice sometimes feels a hand gently stroke him on the head. On one occasion, when he was suffering from a violent headache, he felt a hand move about on his head and forehead; the pain went away, and he fell asleep.

“_C._ Visual phenomena.

“Sonorous and tactile phenomena nearly always precede an apparition, which is generally that of H. B., either alone or with the Chappe personification.

“The following are a few examples of the visions relating to H. B.:—

“1. On the 31st October 1903 M. Meurice returned home from a visit to the neighbouring village—Arcachon, the same village, near which H. B. had appeared to him (p. 290). When he entered his bedroom, he perceived H. B. seated in a chair, holding on his arm a mortuary wreath made of black beads.

“On the morrow—All Souls’ Day—M. Meurice related this vision to me. I was surprised—but concealed my surprise; for, as a matter of fact, I did not understand what a wreath of black beads could mean. At certain epochs I am in the habit of laying a wreath on H. B.’s tomb, but it is always composed of what were his favourite flowers. M. Meurice began to write automatically; he wrote: ‘Bring me what you are in the habit of bringing me; the other wreath was for T. Bring him one too, for his family have almost forgotten him.’ (I understood T. to be the initial letter of a great friend of H. B.’s.) My surprise did not diminish, because I know for a fact that T.’s family cherish his memory profoundly.

“However, following my usual custom, I treated the personification H. B. as he desired to be treated and executed his commission. I then made the following discovery: T. is buried in a vault over which lies a sort of platform. The vault belongs to his own family and the family of a near relation. There were fresh flowers on the side of the vault belonging to his relations; there were none on the side reserved for his family.

“I believe this circumstance, as well as the friendship which existed between H. B. and T., was unknown to M. Meurice; but I am obliged to admit that my belief rests upon no proof.

“Let me add, in order to finish at once with the T. incident, that, on the eve of my visit to T.’s tomb, I had asked M. Meurice to give me the Christian and surnames of the person about whom H. B. was supposed to be talking. The surname was given; a curious mistake was made before the Christian name was correctly given: the name of T.’s son was given, and then came T.’s own name. These indications were obtained in broad daylight, by means of raps without direct contact. The raps resounded upon a table on which I had placed a shawl, one corner of which was held by M. Meurice.

“2. A few days afterwards a seance was held in M. Meurice’s bedroom. A portable cabinet had been used, which M. Meurice had not taken the trouble to remove before going to bed. During the night he was awakened by taps on the head; he heard diverse noises, and saw the door of the cabinet open. H. B. appeared, leaning on two of the ‘fairies’; the two other ‘fairies’ followed. These personages presented the appearance of living people, said M. Meurice the next day when describing the vision to me. They rolled an armchair into the middle of the room; H. B. sat down in it; the _fairies_ placed a shawl over his knees, and two of them sat down on the arms of his chair; the other two sat down on chairs. H. B. spoke about my health, and then bade M. Meurice tell me that I would be able to find all necessary documents on the history of religions in my cousin Y.’s library. The Christian names were correctly given, the surname approximately; but the approximation was such (the initial letter of the name being the only incorrect one) that I had no difficulty in recognising the name.

“It is exact that my cousin Y. possesses documents on the history of religions. M. Meurice knew that the question interested me; but it is extremely improbable, that he should have known of the existence of my cousin Y., who lives in the strictest seclusion; it is still more improbable, that he should have known the contents of his library. I cannot, however, affirm these two points, but I can at least affirm that M. Meurice does not know my cousin Y.

“The personification H. B. shows a spirit of fatherly protection towards M. Meurice; for example:—

“The medium was once out driving; a rather serious accident happened, in which his carriage was caught between a cart and a tram; the coachman was thrown from his seat and wounded. As the tram struck the carriage, M. Meurice felt himself seized by the arms, and carried out of the carriage on to the footpath by H. B.[25]