ESSAY-REVIEWS 



THE GHOST-HYPOTHESIS: on Spirit Experiences, by Charles A. 

 Mercier, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. [Pp. 54.] (London : Watts & Co. 

 19 19. Price gd. net.) 



The psychological formation which may be called Anglo-Saxon Conglomerate or 

 Puddingstone extends from Deal to San Francisco, and consists of good stone 

 embedded in friable alluvium or sandstone, useless for constructional purposes ; 

 but here and there we find outcrops of the finest crystalline granite, of which our 

 most enduring monuments have been made. Science has long hoped to con- 

 gratulate itself that Dr. Charles A. Mercier ' was of the very best grade of the 

 latter kind of rock. Combining the clean cleavage and logical hardness of a 

 Huxley with the sparkle and invention of, let us say, the two Samuel Butlers, he 

 has been for a long time, we think, the best of our writers on the scientific side — 

 great because, unlike our wits of journalism, politics, and literary criticulism, he 

 deals only or chiefly with great things which really matter. For years he has 

 stood for truth and straight thinking, like a cromlech in the crumbling plains of 

 Puddingstone around him. But now we buy his last book, rub our eyes, and fear 

 that even he has fallen ! 



Here is the full title : " Spirit Experiences : the Conversion of a Sceptic 1 

 Startling and astonishing experiences of a seeker after truth — Unprecedented 

 marvels — Telepathy — Levitation — Communications with the dead — Telergy — A 

 completely novel experience — Substitution." Oh, dear ! On opening the book we 

 find that it begins with an apology for his previous book called Spiritualism and 

 Sir Oliver Lodge. He admits that he was wrong, and that his eyes were opened 

 by a review in the Times which said, " Objectors [to spiritualism] must study the 

 subject as closely and carefully as the devotees. Otherwise they necessarily come 

 into court convicted in advance of the sin of amateur criticism." The very same 

 evening Dr. Mercier had an opportunity for testing this dictum. He thought 

 that his pudding at dinner was burnt. But his cook denied it and said, " It cannot 

 have been burnt, for I cooked it over the gas." He stood convicted of amateur 

 criticism — for he had never cooked a pudding. The pudding, therefore, was not 

 really burnt at all : and he summarises his conversion in the apothegm that " the 

 proof of a pudding is [not in the eating but] in the cooking." 



Nevertheless we do not agree with the dictum of the Times reviewer as a 

 universal truth. There is such a thing as a priori improbability. For example, 

 if a man were to tell us that on measuring a thousand triangles he had found that 

 two sides of a triangle were together less than the third side, we should — well, try 

 to change the subject. If he were to persist and to demand that we should 

 measure another thousand triangles together with him, in order to convince our- 

 selves of the truth of his statement, well, we (busy men) would decline to waste 

 our time over such a foolish undertaking. 



Statements and demands equally absurd have often been actually made, even 

 in connexion with scientific work : but let us now consider a less extreme case. 

 Suppose a man were to tell us that he had seen Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Asquith 



1 We regret to say that Dr. Mercier died on September 2nd. 



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