The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-08-07
GIuite Mistellattll I.
MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH PLANCHETTE.

There is an incessant little mystery
| which goes upon three legs, aad is call
| cd stPlanchette. Who Invented it no.
body can tell, and opinion is divided as
| to whether it is or is not humbug.-
| One is very sure that it moves with a.
| larming readiness. The heart-shaped
| bit of wood sways to every motion; the
| castors turn with the slightest breath of
influence; the pencil point marks lines
and words on the smallest provocation.
Il is natural for us to think that mo-
tion has always an intelligent cause, and
that SO light an object as this will be de-
pendent upon something more real than
magnetism.
Now, have had my own experience
with Planchette, and have reached my
cwn conclusions, agreeing doubtless
with those of other observers and ex-
perlmenters. 10 me, just at present,
there is little mystery in the matter,
but in its place has arisen strong in
terest. For l verify believe that this
curious toy, if rightly handled will in
form us of certain laws which the ssturn-
ing tables" were too clumsy to tell.-
And as AL truth is best in the concrete,
/ have decided to write down exactly
what l think, and how came to my
conclusions, asking no pardon of any,
body but myself for the frequent use of
the personal pronoun.
So far as am aware, the earliest men,
tion of Planchette is in an anonymous
novel, Who Breaks, Pays, republished
among the Tauchnitz volumes in 1861
as standard book. The description is
accurate, though short. The little heart
shaped table, with its two pentagraph
wheels and its pencil-leg, Is just like
our own familiar friend. It writes
.'now" aud ssLilian," "tnd adds cross
at the end OF the name-a thing, let me
say, which shakes my faith in the au-
thor knowledge, since I never knew
Planchette to make cross, for the SIM
pie reason that Il cannot take up its pencil
point, and must always write a running
hand.
The later literature of the subject COW
sists of two articles, one entitled :.Plan-
chette," and the other "a Three-Leg-
ged Impostor,' and both republshed In
Euery Saturday during the past winter.
The first of these two accounts piqued
my curiosity, and as it contained an en-
craving OF the proper character to work
from, very soon had possession of am
pie means for experiment. This origi-
nal Planchette lies before me as l write,
Just as it often lies to me and others
1t is precisely eight inches long by seven
wide, and not quite third of an inch
thick. 1t has two brass pentagraph
wheels, which are an inch and three
quarters in height, and whose rollers
are aarro,r and very sensitive. With
this have conducted at one time and
another a number of tests, whose re-
suits am about to condense in this pa
per.
When one sits with his fingers resting
lightly on the wood lin this case SET
soned ash, unvarnished,) there runs
through his arms and those of his part
her, If they are proper mediums, a sense
of electrical force. The tingling ex-
tends from the tinger-ends up the arms,
meeting at last through the shoulders
or prieking its way across the forehead;
and after such sensations Plarchette is
usually very active. The hands are
drawn hither and thither by the mag
netic force; and although they barely
touch the wood it follows their direc-
tion and writes intelligibly.
A lady who is fine "medium," but
who was then ignorant of the fact,
placed her hands ON Planchettee with
me one evening, aud without mo-
ment's hesitation it wrote "Ellie," and
afterwards the name of another friend.
When charged with the fact she admit
ted that these persons were in her mind.
On another occasion the question was
asked, "What is the name of those nuts
on the sideboard ?" and the answer was
most singular. One partner thought
tsShellbarks"-the other "Hickory-
nuts For several letters there could
be seen the effort to write both, but at
last, when shis was impossible, it follow
ed the stronger will and wrote "Hicko-
ry-nuts.' And until the whole word
was written, neither knew how much
the thought had affected the language.
A gentleman, great skeptic, having
his hands touching mine, inquired:-
''Did l settle at the bank tonight Pr
For my part did not know, and so re-
manned pasSiue; and as he did, the an
swer was correct, much to his astonish-
mant.
By placing my hand above those of
two tyros, have made Planchette
seribble off whatever I wished; and by
taking their hands, while their other
hands were upon the instrument, have
drawn it to me or sent it from me. IL
will occasionally do tolerably well for
single person, but l have found that
without any muscular. action ] can in
yarablY compel it to 1r,ite what | wish