1158 The Relations of Mind and Matter. [ December, 
person thought of at thousands of miles away. We shall give, 
further on, an instance of this kind. The psychic rays may be 
viewed as preserving the record of their source at any distance, 
as in the star beams we can read the story of the physical con- 
stitution of the star, however enormously distant. 
Another less common phase of this action is the tendency for 
two persons to speak simultaneously of the same thing. This is 
of various strength in various cases. One lady tells me that she 
formerly had a girl for companion in whose presence she did not 
dare to think of anything she wished kept secret, for the girl was 
exceedingly apt to speak of anything the instant she had thought 
of it. The power to make a person turn by fixing a steady gaze 
upon him is of this same general character. Numerous instances 
of these more ordinary phases of psychic intercommunication 
might be adduced, but we shall here mention them only in this 
brief manner. 
One thing is evident, even in these phases of the subject, that 
there are great differences between the emissive and receptive 
power of different persons. This becomes much more marked in 
special cases of psychic influence. It may be to some extent, a 
question of transparency and opacity. We know what very 
great differences exist in the conductive powers of different sub- 
stances for electricity. Psychic radiations may find like varia- 
tions in the physical conditions of different individuals. From 
one mind they may flow out as through a transparent. In others 
they may be more or less resisted by the matter of the body. In 
some cases the resistance may be complete. Reception may pre- 
sent the same variations, a sensitive or medium being one who is 
unusually receptive of these vibrations. Such an idea would 
explain the vigorous mesmeric controlling power of some minds 
and the ready yielding to mesmeric control of others. And on 
the principle that nerve currents flow most easily along a familiar 
channel, we may understand the special rapport between cer- 
tain operators and sensitives. In this case the body substance 
of the sensitive has grown specially transparent to the psychic 
_ emanations of the operator, while it may be more or less ‘opaque 
to the emanations of other minds. ; 
As to the evidence of a more decided character than that 
3 e of psychic intercommunication, a vast volume of in- 
ıt be offered. the great sum of these lack the 
