584 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



observer's view. Mr. Slade, indeed, as the advices state, sometimes 

 seats himself so that his legs are to be seen ; but when this shall hap- 

 pen lies at the pleasure of Mr. Slade, not of the observer. So, in gen- 

 eral it is the medium who determines when a phenomenon shall appear 

 and whether it shall appear. The observers propose experiments, the 

 medium performs them. When a new proposal comes, the spirits an- 

 swer, " We will try it," and sometimes the attempt succeeds and some- 

 times not. Occasionally, however, the phenomena desired by the ob- 

 servers are crossed by others entirely unexpected. By this alone the 

 attention is thrown hither and thither in a way most disturbing for 

 exact observations. This, too, occurs equally by reason of purely sub- 

 jective visions, which the medium appears to have ; now there are 

 lights on the ceiling, to which he directs the attention of those present 

 and of which they see nothing ; now he falls into sudden convulsions, 

 which must necessarily distract the attention. After all this, I find 

 the expression, also used by yourself, that experiments are made with 

 or upon Mr. Slade not correct. Rather, Mr. Slade made the experi- 

 ments ; and, if they were made upon any person, then they were made 

 upon those who were present at his manifestations. 



If now, respected sir, after a consideration of all the circumstances 

 which are to be gathered from the reports of the seances with Mr. 

 Slade,- 1 place myself in that position of an unconcerned distant spec- 

 tator, which until recently you were so fortunate as to occupy, it 

 would not be to me a matter of question that I should not have written 

 the article which you inserted in the last number of your valuable 

 journal. But, as you had the goodness to remark, I do not find my- 

 self in quite that position, and must therefore finally advise you con- 

 cerning what I saw myself. The state of the case is as follows. 



There were present at the seance, as you have stated, besides my- 

 self, two of my colleagues, Herren Ludwig and Thiersch. We sat 

 with Mr. Slade around a square card-table, one person on each side, 

 our hands laid over each other upon the table. Several writings were 

 produced, in the manner often described, upon a slate, which Mr. 

 Slade held wholly or partially under the table ; once a longer writing 

 was obtained between two folded tablets joined by hinges. This 

 double tablet was gradually drawn forward under the edge of the 

 table by Slade during the experiment, so that for a short time it was 

 entirely visible ; Mr. Slade's hand, however, upon which the tablet 

 rested, was not visible in this. (This, according to my recollection, is 

 the experiment not quite correctly described in one of your notes.) 

 Most of the writings were in English, one in German, but in an incor- 

 rect German, such as would be expected from an American or Eng- 

 lishman, who murders the language. Once the experiment with the 

 pocket-knife was performed, quite in the manner you described. 

 Throughout almost the entire stance, the door of the room was in vio- 

 lent commotion, such as gusts of wind might create ; this explanation, 



