ESSAY-REVIEWS 485 



Bulgaria. How far these suggestions are correct, and how far Dr. Schrenck- 

 Notzing meets them must be left to the considered judgment of the readers 

 of the book. 



The most amazing admission is, however, made in the Retrospect. " Since 

 in Munich we operated with a newly prepared cabinet, it was easy to discover 

 pin-holes, and they were regularly found at the places where the pictures 

 were exposed by rolling up the curtain. A pin was found after the departure 

 of the medium on the underside of the left arm-rest." Apparently, in spite 

 of all the elaborate searching, it was possible to introduce pins into the 

 cabinet ; it seems that the medium was more clever than the observers. Of 

 course these may have been materialised pins. The attenuous nature of the 

 teleplasm, its passage through the medium's clothing without any apparent 

 mark, and its fugitiveness in white light do not suggest that materialised pins 

 would leave pin-holes in fabric or would remain to be discovered afterwards. 

 Has Dr. Schrenck-Notzing preserved this precious pin, or did it vanish when 

 brought into the cold light of day ? 



Dr. Schrenck-Notzing's methods could be criticised in many other direc- 

 tions, but enough has been said to indicate that, in spite of his claims, they 

 are not rigid. The manifestations may be genuine, but this book is not 

 satisfactory evidence that they are so. Unfortunately, mediums hedge them- 

 selves round with so many precautions that it is almost impossible to eliminate 

 fraud. The history of spiritualism records the exposure of medium after 

 medium who for long periods were able to deceive the most acute investi- 

 gators. The scientific man, therefore, is justified in maintaining an attitude of 

 scepticism until more conclusive evidence is forthcoming. 



