The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-05-01

Men of Science Guarded Against De-
coption and Went Away Mystified.
Paris, April a4-Two women, Mile
Eusapia Paladino and Nine. e'Esrer-
ance, have given the scientists of Europe
| a problem to solve over which they are
still puzzling. The theory of what is
known as action at distance seems to
have bean proved beyond peradventure.
Caesare LON broso and NJ. Su1ly Prud-
homnie, men Of worldwide fame, are
among the natabls savants who believe
these women to be oil that they have
claimed. 1t Is mystery sintsnslfled. It
is.a scientific problem which after the
closest observation by the shrewdest of
men seems to utterly fail of solution.
Paris, France, for that matter all soien-
tito Europe is agog over the achievements
of these two demonstrators Of the occult.
IT I'll ere is fraud in their actions, there
has been none SO clever or SO carefully
| concealed. To deceive the ignorant is
who have made the natural forces and oc-
cnltism the studies of their lives, and
who are quicker to suspect fraud than to
believe truth, ia totRlly different. Tue
fret of these women, Eusapia Paladino,
is by birth a Neapolitan. Her fatherewas
slain by bandits and the child, retaining
vivid recollection of that fact, was con-
stantly on the watch for danger from the
same cruel hands. directed toward herself.
AS she grew in years, it was noticed that
she was different from others in her
moods and in her tastes. She seemed to
have Authorizations. Nature had besn
generous to her in point of attractive
ness, but she seemed inclined to live her
life to herself. just to what extent she
differed in those earlier years. there. Ia no
absolute record. But at ths age OF
twenty -thres-she TELLS her own story
she suddenly discovered that mysterious
influences operated through her. She
found herself capable of influencing OBJ
jects at distanc. The ordinary tabls tip
ping, such as all Francs talks of today,
became to her an almost matter of fact
occurrence. Being possessed Of a keen
mind, which all now admit she saw that
10 rice above mere vulgarsm she s.suss
call the attention Of science to her actions
and look to the savants for the explana-
ton thereof. Nile. Faladino Travelled
from city TO city and country to country,
giving demonstrations of her strange
powers before the most notable men
with whom she could gain audience. 1t
appeared to be the cass that her motive
force escaped from her body which WAS
powerless to oonflne it, and this "fight
of the soul" impressed material objects.
moved furniture, ngitated curtains and
created forms. She con WINGED Professor
Alexander Aksakof, the Russian Coun-
oillor of State, that her pow ers were
genuine. She has proved the same the
satisfaction, of M. Charles Richet, creator
of the Society of Physioloa ieal Psychology
this [ cling attested by the signatures of
well known men.
Wagner, the famous zoologist, wit
messed a trial Of her powers and believed
At Varsovis, she succeeded in removing
the doubts of M. Ochor owicz, one Of tie
promoters Of the doctrine of mental sug-
aestion. She has, in fifty-two days,
give forty exhibitions of the mystery
that controls her, each of which was
witnessed by from twenty to twenty five
persons of this city. She lighted lamps
at distance. She drew resonant music
from the tambourine without touching
it. She removed the spectscles from tbs
ey es of parsons without touching either.
She sounded trumpet though it was
far from her lips. She played on an nc
.csrdson that was not near her at all. A Il
these things she did whila her hands and
ieet were under strict surveillance.
Although the Society for Psychical
Research of England wa1 inclined to
touhu her ability to honestly perform
what she claimed to demonstrates, ths
French sayants one after the other, ssy
they have proved her to he genuine. The
most notable of the recent tests were
made under the charge of committee
consisting of SIX men of recognized posi-
ton. These were NJ Darieux, Editor Of
the Annales DIES Sciences Psyohiquss;
C0uHb Q6 Scls u6 hOCDHS, IA.
Sabatisr, the Baron de VAUDEVILLE, and
NJ. Maxwell, lawyer of Limoges. This
test took place in q drawing room at Col
de Rochas's villa. M. Saba,ier, who is a
skeptic of skeptios, stood behind Mile.
Paladino, holding %her hands firmly in
his own. He allowed her finger tips only
to project beyond his own.
Under these circumstances, ,Eusapia
was asked if she could affect ty the sim
ple position of hands without contact,
small weighing achine which NJ
5abatier had brought with him. She
then 1oined in n point the fingers of both
her hands. She placed them first to the
right and thea to the left of the machine
at a distance of one and one fifth inches
Then she seemed TO concentrate her will
upon the point she had formed with her
hands. She indicated BY slight motion
a movement downward. Although she
was not touching the SCALE it went down
and then rose. There was no movement
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