2 30 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tions and took part in some sittings at wliicli no professional 

 mediums were present. Almost from the outset two ladies of the 

 circle were affected with spasmodic twitchings of the fingers and 

 arms. " Sometimes these movements were very violent, causing 

 them to slap and thump the table with such force as to seriously 

 bruise their fingers and hands. . . . With the exception of these 

 two ladies, none of the sitters were much affected on these occa- 

 sions, though at times an almost irresistible impulse came upon 

 myself to imitate their actions ; but though I occasionally allowed 

 the impulse, at the suggestion of the other sitters, to have full 

 play, it never with me took the bit between its teeth and got be- 

 yond my control. I could always stop at once any movements in 

 my limbs, or change the attitude of my mind, by an effort of 

 will." At a later sitting a dream-personality similar to that of 

 Mr. Stevenson developed itself. " I seemed to have, as it were, 

 stepped aside, and some other intelligence was now controlling 

 my organism. I was merely a passive spectator interested in 

 what was being done. My second self seemed to be a mother 

 overflowing with feelings of maternal love and solicitude for some 

 one. The very features of my face seemed to be changing, and I 

 was distinctly conscious of assuming the look of a fond and de- 

 voted mother looking down upon her child. I even inwardly 

 smiled as I thought how ridiculous I must be looking, but I made 

 no effort to resist the impulse. I now felt I wanted to caress and 

 console somebody, and the impulse was strong upon me to take 

 my friend in my arms and soothe and cheer him. I resisted the 

 impulse for some time, but finally yielded to it. In doing so I 

 had a distinct feeling of relationship to my friend. After a little 

 while I began to be myself again." At another time a lady who was 

 supposed to be sensitive to spirit influences believed that she got 

 for Mr. Tout a message from the spirit of his father who had died 

 of bronchitis and pleurisy some twenty years before. The hymn, 

 " Nearer, my God, to Thee," which had been a favorite with Mr. 

 Tout's father, had just been sung. With practice Mr. Tout seems 

 to have become more suggestible. On another occasion, he says, 

 " I was affected to an unusual degree, experiencing violent twitch- 

 ings in my limbs, and sensations of painful chilliness that made my 

 teeth chatter again. I sat, as I always did now, passively waiting 

 for what might transpire. All sorts of impulses seemed to be 

 moving me, and I noticed how susceptible I was becoming to the 

 slightest even half- realized suggestion offered by the course of my 

 own thoughts or by the chance remarks made by the other sitters. 

 I presently felt myself being drawn, as it seemed to me, toward 

 the floor on the left side of my chair. I yielded to the influence 

 and fell prostrate out of my chair on to the floor with consider- 

 able force, and, though the others thought I must have hurt 



