PSYCHOLOGICAL CURIOSITIES OF SPIRITUALISM. 



115 



It has also appeared to me that the " spirit- 

 ualistic " production of flowers, fruits, etc., in 

 dark seances, which is now one of the commonest 

 "mediumistic " performances, should, even more 

 than the moving of tables and the production of 

 "raps," be regarded as so completely ex rerum 

 natura, as to justify the assumption that it is a 

 mere piece of jugglery, which a thorough investi- 

 gation must detect ; the fact of its non-detection 

 merely showing that the investigation has not 

 been complete. There can be only two hypothe- 

 ses about the matter : either that the fruit, flow- 

 ers, etc., have been brought into the room by the 

 " medium," or by some coufederate, or that they 

 have been dematerialized, that is, resolved into 

 their component atoms, which after passing 

 through either walls, doors, or window-panes, 

 have not only come together again in their origi- 

 nal forms, but, in the case of living bodies, have 

 renewed their vital activity. Of course, if we be- 

 lieve this possible of live eels or lobsters, we may 

 believe it also of Mrs. Guppy. But, to myself, 

 the one is as inconceivable as the other ; and even 

 Mr. D. D. Home, who has witnessed many in- 

 stances in which this " passage of matter through 

 matter " was said to have occurred, agrees with 

 me in considering that they " could one and all 

 be explained by less far-fetched theories." {Op. 

 cit., p. 351.) Yet Mr. Wallace complains of my 

 not accepting the flowers and fruits " produced " 

 in his own drawing-room, and those which made 

 their appearance in the house of Mr. T. A. Trol- 

 lope at Florence (related in the " Dialectical Ke- 

 port "), as " demonstrably not brought by the me- 

 dium." 



I shall now, with Mr. Home's assistance, in- 

 quire into the probative value of each of these 

 cases: 



" Let me give " (says Mr. Home, op. cit., page 

 352) " an idea of how the bringing fruit, fish, etc., 

 into a darkened room is often accomplished. The 

 expectant circle, we will suppose, is seated round 

 the table. The stream of harmony gushes forth 

 as usual. Presently the 'medium' (generally a 

 lady— ladies' dresses offer such facilities for con- 

 cealment) feels and announces the presence of the 

 ' spirits.' She commences to speculate as to what 

 they will bring. ' Let me see ! at our last seance 

 the dear spirits brought in some cabbages. Sup- 

 pose they were to bring lilies-of-the-valley this 

 time, how nice that would be ! Oh, dear, no ! "We 

 must not ask for lilies-of-the-valley. Let us think 

 of something else. "What would any of you like ? ' 



" Naturally a voice proceeds from some one in 

 the circle, '/would like to have lilies-of-the-val- 

 ley.' 



" The ' medium ' energetically repudiates the 

 suggestion. ' Perhaps the dear spirits could not 

 bring them. Why will you ask for such out-of- 

 the-way things ? ' > 



" ' If they bring lilies-of-the-valley, I shall con- 

 sider it a test.' 



" The next instant a scattering sound is heard. 

 A ' spirit-voice ' probably announces, ' We have 

 brought you the lilies, since you wish for them so 

 much.' And, sure enough, on a light being struck, 

 the table is found strewed with the flowers in 

 question. And the next issue of some spiritual 

 journal describes, as a ' good test,' that ' at Mrs. 



's seance, a few days ago, Mr. A wished 



for some lilies-of-the-valley, which the spirits 

 " instantly brought." ' " (Op. cit., p. 353.) 



This " suggestive " method is well known to 

 be employed by conjurers ; who can " force a 

 card " upon the most unwilling victim, or compel 

 him to select, out of a dozen or two of handker- 

 chiefs, the one suitable for his trick. The only 

 difference is, that the suggestion is conveyed oral- 

 ly in the one case, and presented visually in the 

 other. But, besides this unconscious confeder- 

 acy, there is full opportunity for the intentional 

 complicity w-hich Sergeant Cox has exposed in 

 the case of the "materialization" imposture ; 

 and not even members of the family or the most 

 intimate friends can be in strictness regarded as 

 beyond the pale of suspicion. Clever as they 

 are, however, "mediums'" are sometimes caught 

 in their own trap. 



"I recall an instance" (says Mr. Home) "in 

 which about half a pint of gooseberries were 

 thrown on a table in the dark. ' There,' cried the 

 ' medium,' ' is not that a beautiful manifestation? 

 Don't you think it is perfectly astonishing ? ' A 

 burst of indignation ensued when the two other 

 persons present ' could find nothing astonishing 

 in it.' 'What!' said the wonder, 'you think I 

 had the berries in my pocket, do you ? ' And to 

 prove the honesty of all this wrath, the said pock- 

 et was turned inside out. Alas for the result ! 

 The 'medium' had forgotten the little" withered 

 ends [of the corolla] which adhere to the goose- 

 berry. At least a dozen of these were disen- 

 tombed from the depths of that pocket." 



The " medium," however, was quite equal to 

 the occasion: "Evil spirits must have placed 

 them there ! " 



Does Mr. Wallace accept this explanation? 

 If not, why not ? It is surely just as likely as 

 the " dematerialization " itself. 



Now it will scarcely be believed that in Mr. 



1 Provided always (saya Mr. Home) they are in sea- 

 son. The " spirits" never bring flowers which are 

 out of season, or the products of distant lands. 



