582 The Outline of Science 



not altogether unknown to people now living is the remarkable 

 story of Peter Ibbetson by George du Maurier. 



5 



Materialisations 



But there is another and still more puzzling line of explana- 

 tion, which some are inclined to adopt, viz. the hypothesis that 

 not only can matter act on mind, but that mind can act on matter 

 without the intervention of the muscles, can extrude a certain 

 kind of organic material from the body of a so-called physical 

 medium, and can collect and form it into an actual presentation 

 of form or features such as is technically known as materialisa- 

 tion. A physical phenomenon of this extraordinary kind requires 

 exceptionally strong and cogent evidence, but it is one of the 

 phenomena that are vigorously asserted to have occurred under 

 favourable conditions; and some eminent Continental physiolog- 

 ists have, against their will, been convinced of the reality of the 

 bare occurrence. It is said to take a good deal of energy, and, 

 therefore, to be assisted by the presence of a fair number of 

 people a circumstance which evidently makes strict investiga- 

 tion more difficult. Moreover, it requires specific mediumship 

 of a certain strong, even though low, kind a kind which cannot 

 always be depended on as forthcoming at every date when a 

 competent investigator is ready and willing to examine unlikely 

 things of this sort. 



Fortunately, in the past, the combination of a strong medium 

 and a competent investigator has occurred, and has given us at 

 least a record of a remarkable series of occurrences of this kind. 

 And, again, to-day there are those who are able to testify to 

 actual physical temporary materialisations, which can sometimes 

 be seen, sometimes handled, sometimes moulded in plaster or 

 paraffin, and more often photographed. 



Furthermore, the material or semi-material fluid or sub- 

 stance or plasma is said to be able to move objects with consid- 



