The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-04

from the fall of 1889 till the spring of
the following year, during which time
she gave eighty-three sittings, under
the supervision of such men as Profess
sor Lodge, DR.. Walter Leap, f. w. II.
| Myers, etc. Even the famous Sir VIII
| liam Crookes, inventor of Crookes tubes
and president of the Society OF Psy-
| chical Research, studied the phenom-
| ena.
! All these great men gave forth opin-
ion, tentative rather than assertive the
only point of entire agreement being
that the woman had "supernormal
| powers"
DR.. Leap thought this supernormal
| element consisted in the ability to ac-
cept thought transference from the sit
| tiers. Professor Lodge believed that
more was involved than this could ex-
plain, and found himself forced to be-
lieve in telepathy.
But telepathy from many distant per-
sens at one and the same moment he
could not make feasible, and telepathy
from deceased persons he would not ac-
! cept but as a last resort Information
extracted from persons present he could
nor admit as possible under the super
vision exercised-where the woman was
in absolute ignorance of her sitters,
even to their names.
On Mrs. Piper'S return to America
the society sent DR.. Hodgson to Boston
to reside in order to devote himself TO
experiments begun by Professor James,
and which time would not permit that
| gentleman to continue
| DR.. Hodgson's supervision covers
| from 1891 up to the present year. The
| sittings number 500. One hundred and
thirty of these were persons introduced
to DR.. Hodgson, not by their own
names, and of whom the medium was
entirely ignorant. Furthermore, inter
! ested parties had set watch upon the
| movements of those who might bring
information from unlocked for sources.
AS a result Of his untiring studies the
| records kept and recently given by DR..
| Hodgson TO the Society of Psychical
Research Proceedings" form some of
the most curious reading ever penned.
Adopting the inductive method, DR..
Hodsson, in this report to the society,
|. omits nothing. He gives as much space
to the failures as to the successes, and
discourses on how the failures prove
even more than the successes the pres
ence OF spirits trying under difficulties
! to make themselves known.
| But perhaps the most curious point
| to the general reader is that DR.. Hodg-
son finds himself constrained to believe
| that those who die of mental disorder,
! or who suicide, cannot communicate
until, possibly, after they are a long
time In the other life. From eight cases
| of suicide, more or less known to him,
nothing could be obtained. No one was
found able to communicate Immediately
after passing out. All, however, Seem
desiroC of doing so after they come
to q sense of their environment.
At times these efforts remind one Of
telephoning, with the medium for an in
| Il HI 20 y,
ing before the earthly operator leaves
! his end of the machine.
When DR.. Hodgson began expert
ments the spirit boss-so to speak
called himself Phinuit, and claimed to
have been French physician. Much
research has failed to find a record of
| his earthly career.
In 1892 Phinult found himself obliged
to take a side seat while a new and
| dominant personality came to the