Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-05-23

ten minutes of silence and immobility.
you are tempted TO give the thing a sec
ond jerk on your own account, and YOU
are morbidly suspicious of your partner
in the transaction. All of q sudden
planchette, with faint preliminary
crash, starts OF and makes q long, swing-
ing, sidelong movement, marked by the
pencil with a straight dash. It takes
you by surprise, and you know you are
innocent in the matter; but you are con-
WINGED your partner is guilty. He meets
your glance, and you see in his eyes his
own corresponding conviction regarding
you. No, you are both alike blameless.
But then, what made planchette mcvei
confess this question interests me
more than any ghost story ever heard.
A more curious sensation than this move.
ment beneath your hand of thing which
Is not alive. and which you are not your
self propelling, is seldom experienced by
mortal man. We see iron filings move
about the poles of a magnet, or bits of
paper fiutter to piece of rubbed ceiling
wax, but this is different, for planchette
moves in no fixed direction toward a GER
tain objective point, but in all directions
impartially; and moreover, il moves i1-
telligently. 1t writes, draws. and does
other things which l shall presently de-
scribe. Barring certain habits that it
falls into, its manifestations certainly
contradict expectation; it does not do
what some think it is going to do. In
vain you ask it a question which seems
to necessitate particular answer; plan
chette replies from quite another stand
point and current of thought, and its re-
ply is surprise. In pursuance of the
theory of unconscious centration, You
explore your mind and memory for the
source of planchettes remarks, with no
satisfactory results. Besides, admitting
that the contents of your memory and
the springs of your character lie open to
planchette, to make therefrom such So
lections and combinations as it chooses
how does it do it? How do the contents
of your mind get into the piece of TO-
bacco box, and how does it contrive to
write them outr
! have spoken of the attraction of a
magnet. If you hold small piece of
iron close to a strong magnet you feel
slight pull. The pull the planchette gives
to your fingers, when it proceeds on its
peregrinations, is very similar to this.
But, in writing out word, it pulls in a
dozen different directions within the
space of a few seconds. The effect is not
like that of machine, however complex,
or of body obeying fixed and inevitable
laws, but of an independent personality,
endowed with intelligence, purpose, and
memory. For it remembers what it has
said and done in the past, and knows
what is is about to do. Our planchette,
in answer to questions suggested by its
own answers, related to US, in daily in
stallments extending over three weeks, q
long story comprising upward of TO-
600 words. It was so good story that il
was afterward accepted and published
by leading periodical, word for word as
it was originally written down, and from
beginning to end there was not an incon-
sistency. Nor was it all written through
the mediumship Of one pair of people; a
dozen different couples, at different
times, sat down to the work, and the tale
proceeded uninterruptedly. In short, the
complete story must have been stored up
in planchette's amind before it began to
write it.
After we have become accustomed to
the thing and familiar with its ways
many queer peculiarities are noticed.
Planchette has no morality and no re-
gard for truth. If we ask it question
as to matter of fact orabout 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 it take the lead in the conversation.
@Will you write, Planchette?" SYes.
well, who is writing2" John Smith"
(or any other imaginary person). You
now proceed to question the said John
Smith on any imaginable detail of his
person, his life. death, occupation, de-
sires, recollections, purposes, and senti-
ments. BY and by John becomes
human and recognized individual TO you,
and you are even able to tell, by the pre-
hminarg sensation in the nerves, whether
it is John or some one else who is about
to write the next sentence. Planchette
never eonfesses its own dramatis persona.
Sometimes three or four different per-
sons Ito call them that will each write
sentence one after another, but the SEN
tences are all characteristic In style and
conception. Occasionally have seen
two communicates contend for the posses
sion of planchette, jerking it away from
each other, tripping up each others
writing-fghting, in word, like two
angry children, and in one instance break
ing the pencil in their struggle Plan
chette often betrays faults of temper,
vanity, mirth, cynicism, scorn-all man
ner of human foibles. -TelI Mary, n il
once suddenly wrote, breaking in upon
some yarn it was spinning, that she had
better shut up. Now Mary did not have
her hands on planchette, but she was sit
ting at the table, distracting our attention
by making frivolous remarks. Planchette
always wants the whole attention of
everybody in sight, and is apt to grow
sulky or abusive if this is not accorded.
1t only does its best work, in fact, when |
the general interest and curiosity of the |
spectators is at its height. We also found |
that, other things being equal, it wrote |
better on warm day than on sold one,
and that the hands of those xho are
working it should be warm. The best |
wood 20 make it out of was of the resin- |
ous varieties. The proper shape was that |
of the heart ION playing carD and the |
dimensions inches by 3. Wheels are
not necessary on the legs; it writes more
steadily without them.
It win do other things besides write. |