The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-04-05

you ask it a question which seems to neces-
state particular answer; planchette re
phes from quite another standpoint and
and current of thought, and its reply is a
surprise. In pursuance of the theory of
unconscious centration,' you explore your
mind and memory for the source of plan
chette's remarks, with no very satisfactory
results. Besides, admitting that the con-
tents OF your memory, and the springs of
your character, lie open to planchette, to
make therefrom such selections and combi-
nations as 1t chooses-how does it do it.
How do the contents of your mind get into
the piece of tobacco box, and how does it
ccntrive to write them!
have spoken of the attraction of a mag
net. Ii you hold small piece of iron close
TO strong magnet, you feel slight pull.
The pull the planchette gives to your fin
gers, when it proceeds on its perigrinations,
is very similar to this. But in writing out
a word, it pulls in dozen different direc-
tons within the space Of few seconds.
The effect is not like that Of a machine,
however complex, or of a body obeying
liked and inevitable laws, but of an indie
pendent personality, endowed with iDtelli-
gence, purpose and memory. For it re-
members what is has said and done in the
past, and knows what it is about TO do. Our
gested by its own answers, related to US, in
daily installments extending over three
weeks, a long story comprising upwards of
ten thousand words. 1t was so good a story
that it was afterwards accepted and pub
lished by leading periodical, word for
word as 1t was originally written down, and
from beginning to end there was not an in
consistency. Nor was it all written
through the mediumship of one pair of peo-
| n or ra51t
times, sat down to the work, and the tale
proceeded uninterrupJedly In short, the
complete story must have been stored up
in planchette's ''nindn before it began to
to write it.
After we have become accustomed to the
thing, and familiar with it's ways many
queer peculiarities are noticed. Planchette
has no morality, and no regard for truth.
IL we ask 1t question as to a matter of
fact, or about something in the future, its
reply is always ready and generally very
explicit, but never true save by accident.
| BY far the best method is to let 1t take the
lead in the conversation. evil you write,
planchetteln Yes" ''Well who is writ
ing!" "John Smith" (or any other imagi-
nary person.. You now proceed to ques
ton John Smith on any Imaginable detail
OF his person, his life, death, occupation, de-
| slres, reccollections, purposes and senti-
ments. By and by, John becomes human
and recognizable individual to you and you
are even able to tell, by the preliminary
sensation in the nerves. whether it is John
or someone else who is about to write tht
next sentence. Planchette never confesses
its own drdmGtiS perSOnde. Sometimes
three or four different persons Ito call then
that) will each write sentence one after
another: but the sentences are all chaIac
teristic in style and conception. Occasion
ally | have seen two communicates contend
for the possession of planchette, jerking i
away from each other, tripping up eaci
others writing, fighting, in a word, Jik,
two angry children, and in one instanc,
breaking the pencil in their struggle. Plan
Ghetto often betrays faults of temper, van
ity, mirth, cynicSm, scorn-all manner O
human foibles. "Tell Mary" it once sud
denly wrote, breaking in upon some yar1
1t was spinning, THAT she had better shu
up" Now Mary did not have her hands OF
planchette, but she was sitting at tn
table, distracting our attention by makint
frivolous remarks. Planchette Away
wants the whole attention of everybody il
sight, and is apt to grow sulky or abusiv
if this is not accorded.
1t only does its best work, in fact, whel
the general interest and curiosity of thu
spectators is at its height. We also fount
that other things being equal, it wrote bet
ter on warm day than on a cold one, an,
that the hands of those who are working
should be warm. The best wood to make
out of was of the resinous varieties. Th
proper shape was that of the heart (on
playing card and the dimensions, sevel
inches by i've. Wheels are not necessar
on the legs, it writes more steadily withou
them.
1t will do other things besides write. LIE
some one hide an object, say key or a GLOW
somewhere in the room and let two other
who don't know where it is hidden take u
a planchette and let it rest on their RICH
and left hands respectively, the forefnge
hooked on the legs of the instrument Nov
tell il to find the object and you win imme
diately find slight pressure of the leg
, against your fingers indicating the direc
ton in which planchette wishes to go
You step in this direction carefully heedin
and obeying the pressure Sometimes Their
will also be an upward and downward pres
sure. Thus you will be led all round tn
room and in three cases out of five perhap
the object will be found.
If one take it out doors, it will act lik
the witch hazel of tradition; it will dl
very perceptibly in passing over certai
= places. Whether, underneath these places
} there was water, or gore, l never made il
Vestigation; but the movement was AWAY
repeated at the same spot. Planchette wi
perform such feaus, however, only after
has become thoroughly domesticated, so /
say; and of course one of the persons hanc
ling the instrument must be medium
what ever that may mean. About one pei
J son in five, according to my observation
; has more or less of this faculty; and on
{ out Of twenty will have it in a marked d.
gree.
; Having thus in some measure prepare
the way, 1 shall relate, next time, an e,
perience of our own with planchette whic
is, so far as know, unprecedented.
JULIAN HAWTHORNE