Evening star., 1900-10-27
Museum of spook Curios at the
Paris Exposition.
An EPOCH IN OCCULT RESEARCH
Horrible Performances of the
Wonder-Working Aissaouas.
A REMARKABLE CONGRESS

PARIS October IS, 1900.
| Not before in civilized lands has a more
| curious gathering come together for
stranger purpose than the international
congress of spiritualists and occultists at
the exposition. Cccultists from every coun-
try in Europe from the two Americas, and
from the near east and the far east, lands
where occultism is the life-breath of re-
ligion and the atmosphere of daily life, are
mere met to exchange weird experiences
and afford to each other renewed proofs Of
the connection between the material and
the spiritual world. The United States was
represented in great numbers, and this Is
only natural, for the newest Of the great
nations, in spite of it's reputation for being
emlnently practical and matter of fact, has
the largest occult literature and the great
est number of esoteric circles of any but
the worid-old nations of the mystic east.
The cosmopolitan character of the con-
gress gave its proceedings unwonted
compre hensiveness. No question which has
ever been raised by initiates or students
anywhere, at any time, in any language,
was neglected. Hypnotism, table-turning
dreams, ghosts, the summoning of spirits
presentiments, faith-healing, astrology, al
enemy, clairvoyance, prophecy, the herme
tic mysteries, the powers Of symbols-all
these things. and many kindred to these,
were the subject of lecture and discus
sion in the light brought by representa-
tives of the different countries and schools
OF thought The big volume in which will
be published the proceedings of the con-
gress will mark an epoch in occult research
the summing up of what has been thought
and arrived at by the close Of the century,
the starting point for profounder investi-
gauon IN the future.
Evidence of Spirit Existence.
But for the normal man-the man who is
not quite sure whether he believes in any
n hn c,Nir rit
any rate, does not greatly care to trouble
himself about them except for the harmless
amusement excitement they may pro-
cure hlm-the point of greatest interest in
the building devoted from floor to roof to
1.-THE occultists was the "Musee Spirite This
splrtuallstic museum IS perhaps the first OF
It's KIND known in the history of the move
ment, 1t was certainly the largest and most
inclusive. 1t contained, long tables.
round which continually buzzed an animat-
ed crowd of devout believers, an odd col
lection Of objects, gathered from every part
of the world tending to prove the realty
OF spirit Phenomena. One was asSort-
ment of plaster casts, in which may be dim
ly traced resemblance to the imprint of a
human face, generally distorted in witch
like" expression, or of a knotted human
hand, generally having the appearance OF
clutching at some unseen object. These
molds, as the amable and perhaps slightly
credulous founder Of the museum tells one
are taken from impressions made at seances
Naples guarantees them. He explains that
whenever he had a good medium he begged
her to ask the spirits to leave a visible
token of their visit by passing their incor-
poreal faces or hands over gelatine COM
position carefully prepared for that purpose
The spirits in most cases politely obliged"
Next day the professor would go to work
ter casts from the gelatne.
Open to Doubt.
The display is certainly curious; but not,
after all, very convincing. A clever oper-
ator could readily enough fake the molds.
Besides. We are told that the medium was
Eusapia Paladino, who has been detected
more than once in the most fragrant trick
cry. 1t il true that Mr.. w. I. Stead. the
we'll known London editor and occutist, says
that, though Eusapia has sometimes cheat
ed she had also very often performed under
strict test conditions" feats which cannot
be explained away. But anything she has
to do with remains eternally open to sus-
picion. All the same, the bulk of the peo-
pie who haunt the Musee Spirite accept the
casts with child-ike faith-a fact which
makes the ordinary man feel that spiritual
lists are not always quite so careful as they
ought to be.
Curious, also, are the drawings and paint
irgs, said to have been executed under
spiritual guidance which litter the tables
and cover the walls. These sometimes rep
resent human faces and figures in various
strange poses, and with odd accompani-
ments of flaming aureoles or other fantas-
tic unhuman additions Sometimes they
consist merely Of decorative designs utterly
devoid of any apparent significance. One
of the pictures is authenticated by the
famous Princess Karadja of Stockholm, who
writes: This picture which 1 take to
represent John the Baptist, was drawn by
my hand in the dark in five minutes while
I was under the influence of the spiritual
presence who has most helped me in my
life. In my normal condition / am not an
artist" Nor, by the evidence Of the pic
ture would the princess appear to be an
artist under spiritual influence
Spooks Are Not Good Artists.
Sometimes work supposed to have been
executed under unearthly guidance has
certain strange Intensity" like work that
might be done in an opium dream, but in no
single case is 1t artistically good. In fact,
the spirits seem to have the popularity of
being able to spoil really good artist when
they get hold of him. Among the pictures
on the walls of the Musee Spirite are some
crayon drawings shown by M. Desmoulns
well known in Paris as an etcher, whose
admirable work won him his decoration as
an office. of the Legion of Honor Yet this
accomplished artist, a man Of the highest
position in the intellectual life of France
exhibits with pride at the Musee Sprite
worthless work which. he Is persuaded he
executed under spirit guidance. 1t is GER
tain that before ne took to dabbling in spr-
itualism he would have looked upon the
1eeDle Things WltH uller contempt. HIS de-
fusion reminds one of the case of Luther r.
March, the brilliant New York lawyer who
fell under the spell of the fraudulent me-
dium, who chose to call herself Madame Dis
Debar M. Desinoulins is more fortunate
than Mr.. Marsh, in that he gets his spirit
pictures without the aid of his check book
but 1t is pitiable none the less to see so able
an artist suffering from such delusions.
Guided by His Dead Son.
Most of the purely decorative designs at
the Musee Spirite are the work Of a silk
weaver of Lyons. a poor man, named Dar-
medru. who it, is said, has not had the
slightest artistic education. Except when,
as he says, the spirit moves his hand, he
himself remaining in a state of semi-uncon-
sciOusness, he cannot draw the simplest OBJ
ject or invent any decorative plan. He be-
lieves that his guiding influence" is his
son. who died at the age of twenty, while