ESSAY-REVIEWS 657 



his attitude to the questions discussed by that Society. Speaking of 

 spirit-writing : 



" A discouraging feature was that attempts to improve the conditions 

 usually led to nothing. As an example, I may mention that after writing, 

 supposed to be spirit-writing, had appeared, I arranged pencils and paper 

 inside a large glass retort, of which the neck was then hermetically sealed. 

 For safety this was placed in a wooden box, and stood under the table during 

 several seances. The intention was to give opportunity for evidence that 

 would be independent of close watching during the semi-darkness. It is 

 perhaps unnecessary to say that, though scribbling appeared on the box, 

 there was nothing inside the retort. Possibly this was too much to expect. 

 I may add that, on recently inspecting the retort, I find that the opportunity 

 has remained neglected for forty-five years." 



" A real obstacle to a decision arises from the sporadic character of the 

 phenomena, which cannot be reproduced at pleasure and submitted to 

 experimental control. The difficulty is not limited to questions where occult 

 influences may be involved." 



He then goes on to give examples of similar difficulties in connection with 

 scientific matters, such as meteorites, globe-lightning, will-o'-the-wisp, etc. : 



" To my mind, telepathy with the dead would present comparatively little 

 difficulty when it is admitted as regards the living. If the apparatus of the 

 senses is not used in one case, why should it be needed in the other ? " 



" Some of the narratives that I have read suggest the possibility of 

 prophecy. This is very difficult ground. But we live in times which are 

 revolutionary in science as well as in politics. Perhaps some of those who 

 accept extreme ' relativity ' views, reducing time to merely one of the 

 dimensions of a four-dimensional manifold, may regard the future as differing 

 from the past no more than north differs from south. But here I am nearly 

 out of my depth, and had better stop." 



In this brief review only a few of the papers in the sixth volume have 

 been referred to. Other writers would probably have made a different 

 choice. The papers in this volume form a noble completion to Lord Rayleigh's 

 life's labours. Although he founded no school in the same sense as Newton 

 or Faraday or Fresnel or Maxwell, he has so enlarged our knowledge of 

 physical science in all its branches as to stand out as one of the leaders in 

 scientific achievement. 



