"SPIRIT" WRITING. 515 



filling my expectations. This is curiously shown in the emo- 

 tion it displays. It will twist violently about, pound on the table, 

 bruise my fingers, break my pencils, and show every sign of the 

 greatest excitement, while I, the spectator, survey it with the 

 coolest and most skeptical curiosity. But it will do this only 

 when such emotion seems to me appropriate, just as the persons I 

 see in my dreams may manifest an emotion which I do not share. 

 My hand sometimes abuses me, especially for my skepticism, and 

 sometimes reproves my faults in a very embarrassing manner. - It 

 has frequently urged me, upon very plausible grounds, to do 

 things which I would not dream of doing. In every case save one 

 the reasons given were untrue, and in that one I am satisfied the 

 coincidence was due to chance. On two occasions my hand wrote 

 a short stanza with little hesitation. I have never done such a 

 thing myself, but the verses were so incoherent and so atrocious 



*f*iG $ *& XT' A 4**6 <&. trtr j/7 njs F% 



Figs. 9 and 10. 



that I have no doubt they were developed successively, each being 

 based upon the suggestions of the preceding in the manner above 

 described." 



I can see no reason for ascribing B 's writing to subcon- 

 scious states. It was never intelligible unless B allowed him- 

 self to " read " it. If he persistently distracted his attention or 

 refused to wonder what his hand was trying to write, it would 

 make marks resembling writing, but never "wrote sense." It 

 was highly suggestible. If he wondered why it did not print, it 

 would instantly try to print; and if, while trying to print, he 

 refused to wonder what it said, it produced strange characters 



I resembling some unknown language. Fig. 9 is a facsimile of a 

 few of these ; they were written as rapidly as the hand could fly. 

 Fig. 10 is a facsimile of some writing executed by a Dr. Mayhew, 

 October 5, 1853 (Neueste spiritualistische Mittheilungen, Berlin, 

 1862), and purports to be an account written by a spirit from the 

 planet Saturn of the Saturnian mythology. In this case the spirit 

 kindly wrote a "translation" giving the general sense, and in 

 B *s case, had he for a moment believed that the writing was 

 



