The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-28
%OCCULTISTS IN PARIS:
ovgER COLLECTION or SP00H
CTRIOS on EiHIBITION.
s.,,u,,l,.,s Of All Kinds Prom Al Parts Of
IN. world Plaster Casts and Pictarss
Made bv sp~Irits-stranEe Exhibition OF
,,,s,c by Als,aouas from Upper Egypt.

HaHtC W hlsNaVbsS
p,,,s oct, is.-Never In a civilized land
IN. q more curious gathering come together
o.. . stranger purpose than the International
congress NJ Spirituallsts and Occuitlsts at the
r,po.ition. Occultists from every country In
Tnrope, from the two Americas and from the
near Fast and ,he far East are here met to eN-
coo,ce weird experiences and give one another
nav procfs Of the connection ieiNt'n lie
material ana the spiritual world, The United
States we're represented In great numbers.
The cosmopolitan character Of the congress-
ga~n its proceedings an nnwonted compre-
henslveness. No question which has ever been
raised by initiates or students anywhere AZ
my time In any language was neglected. Hyp-
noti.m. table-turning, dreams, ghosts. the
summonirg Of spirits. presentiments, faith
healirg. astrology, alchemy clairvoy-
ance. prophecy, the hermetic mysteries, the
powers Of symbols-all these things and many
kindred TO these we're the subject OF lecture
and discussion. The big volume In which viii
be published the proceedings Of the congress
will mark an epoch In occult research-the
summing up Of what has been thought and
arrived AZ by the close Of the century, the start
ing point for investigation in the future.
Put for the normal man the man who Is
not quite sure whether he believes In any
pf the splritualiatlc theories, ard at any
rate does not greatly care 10 trouble himself
about them except for the harmless amusement
or excitement they may procure him the point
OF greatest interest In the building devoted
TO the occultiats was the Musee Spirite. This
spiritualistio museum Il perhaps the first of
It's kind known In the history Of the movement.
il was certainly the largest and most inclusive
II contained. on long tables. round which con-
tinuplly huzzed an animated CROWD or devout
believers. an odd collection Of objects, gathered
from every part Of the world, tending to prove
the reality n spirit phenomena
one was an assortment NJ plaster casts. In
which NAV be dimly traced resemblance 70
the human face. generally distorted in n witch
Ike EXPRESSION, or a knotted human hand,
Renerally having the appearance OF clutching
NJ some unseen object These moulds, as the
amiahle and perhaps slightly credulous founder
Of the museum explains, are taken from I'M
pressions made AZ seances by spirit presences
prof Chiala Of Naples uarantees them Pc
e,nlalns that whenever he had a goot medium
he begged her TO ask the spirits TO leave a vtsi-
he token Of their visit by passing their in
corporeal faces or hands oveT n Nelattne COM
position carefully prepared for that purpose
The sni1ts In most cases politely obliged. The
next dav the professor would 60 10 work in MS
laboratory making casts rom the %gelatine.
Tho dIsplav is certainly curious. but not.
after all. very convincing. A clever operator
could readily enough faket the monlds. Besides
We are told that the medium was the notorious
Fusapia Pala dino. who has cen detected moro
than once In the most fragrant trlcfery. 1t
Ia true that " 7. stead says that though Erlsa-
pia some lines cheated, she has also very often
reformed under strict test conditions feats
which cannot be explained away. But any
thing she has to do with remains oren 70 sus-
ricion. All the same, the bulk Of the people
who haunt the Mlsae Spirite accept the casts
with childlike faith-a fact which makes the
ordinary man fee that spiritualists are not
ALWAYS quite so careful rs they ought 10 be.
Curious also are the drawings and paintings
said to have been executed under spiritual
guidance. which litter the tables and cover
the wall :. These sometimes represent human
faces and figures in various strange poses
and with odd accompanimentS ~ flaming
aureolas or other fantastic unhuman additions
Sometimes they consist merely Of decorative
designs utterly devoid Of any apparent sig
nifcance. One Of the pictures is authenti-
Gated by Princess Karadia Of stockholm, who
writes: This picture. which ! take 10 rer-
resent John the Baptist. was drawn by my hand
IN the dark In five minutes while | was under
the influence Of the spiritual presence who has
most helped me in my lifc. In my normal con-
OltlOu L aul TIC AZ hlNle' N'i' W Wv ~
dence Of the picture. would the princess appear
10 be an artist under spiritual influence.
Sometimes work supposed to have been
executed under unearthly guidance has a GER
tain strange intensity. like work that miRht
be done in an opium dream. but in no single
case ia Ii artistically good. In fact, the spirits
seem 10 have the popularity Of being able to
spoil a really good artist when they get hold OF
him. Among the pictures on the walls Of the
MusAe Spirite are some crayon drawings shown
bv NJ Desmoulins, well known In Paris as an
etcher, whose admirable work won him his
decoration as an officer Of the Legion OF
Honor. Yet this accomplished artist, exhibits
with prldo at the Musee Spirite worthless work
which, he is persuaded, he executed under
spirit guidance II Is certain that before he
took 10 dabbllng In spirltuallsm he would have
looked upon the feeble things with utter con-
tempt His delusion reminds one Of the case
Of Luther II Marsh, the brilliant New York
lawyer who fell under the spell OF the fraudu-
lent medium, who chose to call herself Madame
Diss Dollar VI. Desmoulins Is more fortunate
than Mr.. Marsh. in that he gets his spirit pic
lures without the aid Of his check book, but
II l. pitiable none the less to see so able an artis'
suffering from such delusions
Most 81 the purely decorative designs al
the Musee Spirite are the work Of a silk weaver
OF Lyons, a poor man, named Darmedru, who
II is said. has not had the slightest artistic
education Except when, a. he says, the
spirit moves his hand, lie himself remainlns
In a state OF eml-unconsciouSne~s he cannot
draw the simplest object or invent any deco
rative plan He believes that his guiding in,
fuence is his son, who died at the age Of q
while a student at the City Art Schools. The
young man, according to the father and mother
sends them every day communication from
the other world. both by means Of table anc
by guiding the mothers hand TO write Mime
Darmedru is a woman Of ordinary public schoo
education. she finds a certain difficulty in com
posing a letter on the ordinary affairs Of ife
but when her dead son, a. she believes. guide
her hand she fills sheet after sheet withou
difficulty. These messages consist mostly 0
spiritual instruction and advice and affection
ate "reminiscences
In connection with the congress there wer'
given various saanoes exhibiting phases o
practical occultism One Sunday there wa
a mass meeting Of all the sections in the vas
general assembly hall to witness a demon
~stration Of thaumaturgy by a troupe Of Ais
saouas from the Exposition These are mem