Telepathic Transfer of Brain Action. 889 



in in i IK I for some time and whose presence is not expected, linvo sud- 

 den I v sprung up, and often soon been followed by the appearance of the 

 person thought about. This has happened so frequently as to give rise 

 to the honu-ly proverb. "Think of the Devil and he is sure to appear." 

 In such ctiso we may suppose the visiting person has perhaps unwittingly 

 sent before him thoughts of the friend he is going to see, and thus 

 aroused in him a reciprocal impression*. There is strong indication from 

 some of the cases to be cited, that the influence from one nervous sys- 

 tem to another is sometimes projected over a considerable distance, the 

 parallelism between nervous and electric action remaining, in this re- 

 spect, as well as in regard to the fields of force. This has been named 

 Telepathy and it may be spontaneous or purposive. 



Comparatively recent investigations b}' the Psychical Research Society, 

 and other inquirers, seem to point to this conclusion, that there is such a 

 thing as the disturbance of the cerebral conditions in one brain by the 

 activities of another, directly, without the mediation of either of the 

 five senses. If A has in his brain an organ which gives him the sensa- 

 tion of a certain fact that he wishes to communicate to B, the ordinary 

 process is like this. A current passes from A's organ down the nerves 

 to the tongue, lips and larynx, whose movement communicates motion 

 to the air which, striking on the auditory fixtures of B, creates a current 

 into his internal senses and builds up an organ similar to the one in A, 

 from which the movement started. Now this operation goes on every 

 minute in the day. We are constantly building up in each other's inter- 

 nal senses, organs as near like our own as we know how to make them 

 b} T word painting. Again, two things which are each like a third thing, 

 must be like each other. If two men see a statue, the object will differ- 

 entiate an organ in each brain, and the two organs must be much alike. 

 The same is true, if the two hear the same musical instrument or inhale 

 the same odor, or touch the same surface, or taste of the same dish. 



From the fact that these paired organs, one in one brain, and one in 

 another, were formed by nearly identical stimulations and can be re- 

 agitated by the same, it would seem antecedently credible that if some 

 element extended from one to the other to act as a vehicle, the vibra- 

 tions resulting from the activity of one might communicate a similar ac- 

 tivity to the other ; as the vibration of a string in one piano may cause 

 the vibration of its corresponding string in another. As to the vehicle, 

 we have convincing evidence that the universal Ether is universal, and 

 bridges the distance between every two brains, however long or short it 

 may be. In telegraphing to and from running trains, the air alone is the 

 conductor over a space equal to the distance of the telegraph wires from 

 the track. This is usually from 30 to 50 feet, but instances have been re- 

 ported in which the experiment was successfully conducted when this 

 distance was 400 feet. This is remarkable considering the greatness of 



