The morning call., 1893-12-22
WHAT is TELEPATHY?

This new word. which is beginning tc
appear quite frequently in books ana pa
pers. is defined in the Century Dictionary
to mean "the direct communication of one
mind with another otherwise than in
ordinary and recognized ways" Further
explanation of the thing meant by the word
is given in volume recently published BY
Thompson Jay Hudson. under the title OF
1.-The Law of Psychic Research" 1t may
be promised that Mr.. Hudson is man OF
hard science, who is not in the least IN
clined to make any allowance for the
supernatural in sublunary concerns.
Mr.. Hudson's idea is that the mental
organization Of mankind is sort of twin
screw machine, one-haIf of which will
work when the other is quiescent In
other words. he holds that every man has
two minds, each endowed with separate
and distinct attributes and powers. and
each capable, under certain conditions, of
independent action. One of these is Gesig-
mated as the objective mind and the other
as the subjective mind. The subjective
mind Is constantly amenable TO control by
suggestion. and when il is controlled IL is
independent of its own objective partner
and obeys the orders Of some other object
i've mind, which may be far away. This is
what modern students OF psychic phenom-
ena call telepathy. The theory will be
clarified II 1t is studied in connection with
the latest expositions of the convoutions
of the brain by specialists. None OF them,
so far as we know, have gone so far as to
assume the existence OF a dual brain, but
they have certainly demonstrated that
some cOnvolutions may be active while
others are inert, and that the influence of
volition upon mental operations may vary.
They are not Inconsistent with the notion
that part of the brain may in fact De SUBJ
jective and part objective.
The experiments on mental suggestion
made by the late Professor Denton, the
geol0gist, are interesting. The professor
was very learned man, hard headed and
utterly incredulous of the supernatural.
His wife was a bright, intelligent woman
He was in the nabit of taking specimen
from his geological collection, wrapping
it in paper, placing it on his wife's head,
and, without telling her what the parcel
contained, requiring her 10 give history
of its contents. Without hesitation she
would describe the condition in which the
specimen existed al the creation of the
world, trace Its existence through the
various geological ages till It was found in
a mine. was dug out and finally drifted
into her husbands collection. Whether
she was familiar enough with science to
furnish such biography of any specimen,
she certainly knew nothing of this partic-
ular specimen; yet her account was ac-
curate and exact. The professor knew all
about 1t; and, unconsciously to him and to
her, his objective mind suggested to her
subjective mind the thoughts which she
expressed.
According to Mr.. Hudson telepathy may
be conducted through inanimate objects,
and impressions set aflOat by objective
minds may be stored in boards, walls and
furniture, as electricity is stored In jars.
lady who had never taken interest in
art, and who had passed her first youth.
was suddenly seized with an intense
longing to study music. The longing be-
came irresistible, she took lessons and
attained considerable proficiency. She
afterward discovered that the house she
had moved Into before the longing broke
out had been for years the home of dis
tinguished composer. Another lady, OF
cheerful, merry disposition. moved into
new lodgings, and could not account for
the depression Of spirits which overlook
her. She fell into profound melan choly.
A shrewd physician made inquiries aud
found that the house she was in had been
occupied by lady whose husband had i'll
treated her and had finally deserted her
under circumstances of peculiar atrocity.
We're the walls of these houses store
houses of the thoughts that had passed
through the minds of their former occu-
nants2