Morning journal and courier., 1889-01-29

I udV6
 no doubt that on the first trial I had, quite
 unwittingly, rested longer on the letters
 which interested me, from forming part of the name which I had in my mind. What ever the nature of the distinction, and how ever slight it may have been, it was quite enough for the keen eyes of Mrs. K, sharp ened as they were by incessant training.
 But the interpretation of the signs uncon- sciously given by the investigator is only one- half of the mediums work. The other is to notify that interpretation by the "raps." Mrs. Ks Spirits" did their work admirs- bly. The raps were loud and abundant, and the company declared that they came from some who maintained their persistence in the house for days afterward. At any rate, the suggestion that the particularly quiet woman who sat easily talking at the head of the table could be all the while making these
 wonderful noises seemed at first sight outra- geous. Drive 1t away as would, however, the suspicion, the offspring, no doubt, of
 basely materialistic philosophy, kept coming
 back-took shape as theory, and finally,
 by dint of patience and perseverance, em-
 bodied itself in practice. From that time forth I became the master of two spirits
 quite as efficient as those of Mrs. X., and
 verify believe of the same nature. My
 "delicate Ariels" reside in the second toe of
 each foot. The method of evocation is sims
 plIClby ltscl1 ! u0fO AAOAOly VO DCdN eAO uOC
 and then suddenly straighten it. The result
 is sharp rap on the sole of my shoe, which
 by practice may be repeated very rapidly,
 and rendered forte or piano at pleasure. To produce the best effect it is advisable to have thin socks and roomy, hard-soled boot, moreover, it is we'll to pick out thin place in the carpet, 50 as to profit by the resonance of the floor. The upper leather of the boot should be kid rather than patent, as a bright surface may betray slight movement. By skillfal modification of the force of the
 blows and conversational misdirection of
 peoples attention (by the methods familiar
 to conf jurors and ventriloquists1 the ordinary
 intelligent and we'll educated member of so-
 ciety-who is about as competent to deal
 with these matters as 8 London street boy
 with dairy farm-may be made to believe
 anything as to the direction of the sounds.
 Sc long as no one is allowed to touch the
 foot of the operator detection is impossible.
 When was in good practice I could stand
 talking on wsll-fghted floor while the by-
 islanders, who knew that I caused the raps, could not divine how they were produced.
 And, at one time, I got so much into the habit of rspping that used to catch myself doing it involuntarily, as man in @ brown study may rap with his fingers.
 But my particular black art is by no means the only efectual method of raising spirits. Some years after Mrs. Ks performance I happened to dine at the castle in Dublin.
 After dinner Lord Carlisle, who held the viceregal office at that time, turned the cons
 versation spiritualism, and I showed of the prowess of my familiars. But a young
 aide-de-oamp who was present completely
 outshone me. His ''raps" as he stood on the
 hearthrug were like the cracks of small
 whip. He told me they were produced by
 Skipping tendon" behind the outer ankle;
 but as I could not examine the operation
 closely confess I was not much wiser for
 the explanation. The important point is
 that his method would have been still more
 difficult of detection-especially in femi-
 nine medium-than mine.
 learned something else which interested
 me that evening. One of the guests conf ded to me that, some time before, he had met Mrs. X. at country house. In the course of seance my informant was told that the spirit of his deceased sister Mary desired to communicate with hin, and, with gravity beftting the circumstances, he took his share in the interesting, and indeed touching, conversation which followed. At the end of the seance the company broke up l into groups. Mrs. x. and my friend hap ! pened to stroll away from the rect toward 6 bay window, whereupon this brief but preg-
 nant dialogue took place: She-Did you ever have a sister Mary: He-No. She-1 ! thought not.
 Any one could discern, on very short ac- uuaintance, that my friend was a kind. | hearted, chivalrous gentleman; but it Is not everybody who would have perceived SC shrewdly that Irish wit had for once been | too much for Yankee 'cuteness, and that the l only chance for the culprit was to throw her self on the mercy of the court. Fraud is often genius out of place, and I confess that have never been able to get over certain sneaking admiration for Mrs. x. But as to the other two media whom have tried, they were merely male and female specimens of hA Ind feni1y-who1lv nt hle- clumsy creatures, with no faculty save boundless impudence.
 No one deserves much blame for being de- ceived in these matters. We are all intel lectually handicapped in youth by the inces- sant repetition of the stories about posses sion and witohoraft in both the Old and the New Testament. The majority of us are taught nothing which will help us to observe accurately and to interpret observations with due caution. Very few of us have the least conception how much more difficult it Is to make such observations and interpretations in room full of people, stirred by the ex- pectation of the marvellous, than in the calm seclusion of laboratory or the solitude of g tropical forest. And one who has not tried it cannot imagine the strain of the mind in volved in sitting for an hour or two in g dark room on the watch for the dodges of 8 wary stmedium." A man may be an excel lent naturalist or chemist, and yet make 8 very poor detective. But in these investiga- tions those who know are aware that the qualities of the detective are far more useful than those of the philosopher.
 had no intention when I sat down tc write so long letter. But I have for many years watched, not without anxiety, the re. crudeseence in our times, and under respec table sanction, of that belief in mans powe, of evoking spirits from which the bssest and cruellest superstitions of bygone ages 1ogi- cally enough took their origin; and perhaps l the expression of my views may be of use. l at least to those who have not yet topple6 l over the edge of common into the l spiritualistic puddle. Those who hav' l seemed to be past praying for.
 I T. H. HUXLEY, F. R. s.