Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-05-23
SUPERNATURAL STORIES.
IN WHICH ARE RELATED soMR TRUE 81 o.
RrEs OF STRANGE EVENTS.

AS long ago as 1875 story was pub
lished in the Gdl0ry Magazine called
HAut Diabolu, aut Mill. About two
years ago somewhat enlarged version of
the same tale with the same title appeared
in Black Goods MdQGSiae in London.
Whether the second version was clean
steal, or whether the author of the first
himself rewrote and republished it, l do
not know; at any rate it was an uncom-
monty good story.
The gist of it was that q company of
young men of birth and education In
Paris were in the habit Of assembling Pc
riodically for certain mysterious pur-
pose. An outsider, having secretly OBJ
tanned admission, saw from his place of
concealment, behind curtain, a hand
some square room with bare, polished
floor and without furniture, brilliantly
lighted by gas Jets along the cornices.
The company Of young men in evening
dress stood around the room in a circle,
with hands joined, and chanted some
sort of an incarnation. Asit proceeded a
species of excitement was infused into
them-an electric sympathy Of viii and
definite purpose. The chant grew more
intense. At length they prostrated them
selves and, bending forward, kissed the
polished floor simultaneously. Where
upon the onlooker became aware that an
other figure was standing in the centerof
the circle. He was very tall, of stately
figure, clad, like the rest of the company,
in full dress his hair was black and crisp,
and his countenance refined, polished,
and naughty. He glanced down at his
worshipers with an expression of conde-
scension, of scorn, of satanic composure,
such as could belong only to His Diabolic
Majesty himself, until the profound, fas-
tidious wickedness of the whole perform
ance drew an involuntary exclamation
from the observer; the lights went out;
in the pitchy darkness he felt himself
seized and hurried away, and by fortu-
nate accident he lived to tell the tale.
This, l say, is an excellent story but
1t might conceivably be true. The con-
juring up of spirits is an ancient prac-
tice. Let number of persons, animated
by consensus of purpose and desire,
meet together, arrange themselves in
symbolic order and attitude, and stimu-
late and intensity their common object
by harmonizing words and gestures-and
they will presently work themselves and
one another up to pitch of expectant
attention, the effect whereof upon their
minds and senses it would not be easy to
exaggerate. The apparition evoked by
the young Parisians was nothing less
than the essence of their combined con- /.
ception of the Eni Principle. The figure
resembled them much as the composite
photographs" lately in vogue unite the
prevailing traits of the contributing in
dividuals into derivative of them all;
it would have been strangeif an objective
result had not been obtained. We may
say, of course, that the result, while
seeming to be objective, was in fact sub
iective; but what, after all, is a spiritS
Confident anticipation and concerted
action are all that is necessary to raise
the devil, or any other specter. To the
same order of phenomena belong the
manipulation of spirituaksm. In
spiritualistic circles the table becomes
the medium of sympathy or magnetic
communion between the persons who sit
around t. I have been amused by the
efforts of sceptica persons to prove that
stable tipping" is the result of prank or
of unconscious muscular action on the
part of the sitters. II believe IN God Al
mighty, said one gentleman to me quite
seriously, @and know he wouldn't come
down here to work any such nonsensel"
Neither, I suppose, would he, through the
medium OF ruffians, murder innocent
people; or cause any other iniquitous or
ridiculous act; nevertheless, the world is
fun of folly and iniquity. The gentle
mans statement had no application to
the matter in hand. The table is moved,
of course; but not by the pushing or pull
ing of hands and feet The alternative
TO physical hands and feet is not, how
ever, necessarily spirits. For my own
part, though have no particular objec-
tion to the spirit theory, it seems to me
gratuitous. If the force must have a
name, the old one of animal magnetism
suits me IS well as any. don't know
what it means; but il seems to point TO
living human beings as the source of the
phenomena, and that is satisfactory as
Tar as it goes.
Who the genius was who invented the
little table on wheels, with pencil on 1t,
/ have never heard. He deserves the
thanks Of the many people who have
been entertained by the little instrument.
A man Of an inventive turn might
doubtless greatly improve upon it. /
first heard OF planchette about 30 years
ago; but the first one I possessed was
made by my own hand out of bit of 3 |
cigar hox, in 1884. Summer visitors were
staying with ms, and there were half
dozen children always on hand. ex-
pected to anause them for IN evening or
two, but the fun lasted three or four |
months and was even renewed the fol- |
lowing year.
TIE grand initial march is that plan