Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-10-16

too dim OF vision, or too thick OF hearing
TO perceive these embodied visitors. or
too healthy In mind and body 10 be
subject 20 these Authorizations. The COM
monplace routine OF bread and butter get
ting. to which most OF this 20 per cent.
OF Rhostless men and women are bound,
seems to afford few opportunities for
exhibitions OF psychic phenomena. and the
fatigue after honest toll is a foe TO dreams
and visions. Nor does the rush and
struggle for wealth which absorbs all
the energies and exhausts the vital forces
OF another portion of this % per cent.
Of shostless individuals help to glimpses
OF the undiscovered country" The way
In which the Society for psychicai Re-
search reaches IL conclusion, which agrees
so well with the experience OF most OF
IA, is by permissible use or the doc
trinc OF averages
Members OF that society set themselves
10 work to quiz all their friends and
everybody within reach about the wonder
ful and unexplsinable events which had
disturbed the monotony OF their lives.
or set their friends 10 cogitating. Wo-
men and men together there were 40 Of
these inquirers-2A women and lM men
and they qui22cd 1900 persons. IL took
three years to do this Qulzzing syste-
matically 10y asking 4 response from every
one OF the 1900 TO this question: Have
you ever. when believing yourself to be
completely awake had a vivid impression
Of seeing or being touched by living be-
ing or inBn.matc object. or OF hearing a
voice, which impression, SO far as you
could describe Was not due 10 any ex-
terual cause?" To this question 2272 an
Swerei Yes" but the inquirers were not
satisfied that some hundreds OF these
pretended psychical subjects had really
experienced the phenomena they described
in their replies. or that these phenomena
came within the scope OF their inquiry.
For these reasons and others the number
OF affirmative replies registered was cut
down TO 1864. or almost exactly 10 per
cent. OF the whole number Of direct and
indirect replies received.
The analysis OF these accepted replies
brings ont facts as interesting as the
replies themselves. More women claimed
10 have had these experiences than men.
and the vast majority saw the strange
things, rather than heard or felt them.
There were l,l20 visions reported, while
$50 heard mysterious voices or sounds.
and only ia were touched by the uneX-
plainablc. Angels showed themselves
rarely. only sixteen having been seen, and
SAINTS and religious appearances were
even more rare. Satan. with his arOtesque
and disagrecable satellites, was seen
sixty eight times. while spectral animals
startled the observers twenty-seven
times Where human figures were seen
the majority Of these phantoms were OF
living persons. n good many were not It.
coguized, while only ~ Of the 1900
claimed TO have seen, heard, or ieit
.magcs or phanioms Of the dead. Al
things considered. this is remarkable
result. for IL shows that the phenomena
Of reappearauce. or Of direct apparent
communication between the dead and thr
living. or what passes for such phe-
nomena, Is, at best, extremely rare.
Where could the great body OF spiritists.
who possess such familiarity with these
phenomena. have been when this question
OF the pSychical society was going its
rounds? 1t wac ssnt all over the world.
and replies came from every civilized
country from Russia % Brazil, and 1t -
u striking result that only 22 people were
found WHO would claim 10 have seen,
heard. or touched phantoms, or appear
anCes OF those Who have crossed the line
between lie and death.
still. the fact remains that these care
ful investigators Of the Psychical Re
search Society have found % such cases,
which they are willing to record and use
as material for further investigation.
The honesty OF these 90 observers seems
To be accepted as proved, and 50 does
their Intelligence and the general accu-
racy OF their accounts Of their hallucina-
uons Beyond this. the society does not
20. II assumes the scientific attitude, ana
collects and Classics the data from which
il hopes that some time the law under
which these phenomena occur may be de-
duced-aud this is about the only safe at
tijuie for any one TO assume al present
taMarl thase mysterious hapaen-nss.