Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-16
MESSAGES FROM THE DEAD.
The Posthumous Letter q Scientific Test
of Possibility.
From the London Mall,


What Is really important in regard to this
very interesting question of possible COM
munications from the dead is not to ask
whether they are good or bad for mankind.
but simply whether they can be shown to
take place. And of this we are still await
ing definite and irrefragabIe proof There
are, Of course countless alleged cases in
which a message has been received from q
deceased friend or relative, whether through
q medium" or by automatic writing-with
planchette or otherwise-or in q dream or
a waking vision. But as yet none of these
has satisfied the scientific inquirer, al
though many people--like Archdeacon Col
ley-are quite honestly convinced that they
have received such communications.
In order to satisfy the test of science
such communication must fulfill two or
three simple conditions. In the first place.
there must be a definite message, capable
of permanent record. The mere apparition
of a dead friend Is not sufficient because
we can never be sure that it Is not an hal
.ldcnation due to some abnormal state Of
the witness nervous system. Secondly, the
message thus received must state some fact
which (1rsD il capable of proof. tsecond}
was within the knowledge Of the alleged
sender, (third) can be demonstrated not to
have been known to the receiver or to be
probably within the scope of fortunate
guess.
cations as to the future state OF disem-
bodied spirits which form by far the great
er part OF the recorded messages received
BY mediums. and as yet there Is no abso-
lutely convincing case In which such mes
sage has been received, though Mrs. Pi-
per's communications from "a. P" are
understood to have been satisfactory to
many investigators.
The late T. w. H. Myers was the first
to point out that the time was ripe for
experiments to be made on these lines.
why should not every deathbed." he ask
ed. 'be made the starting point of long
experiment.? He suggested that every one
who was interested In this question should
leave behind him the materials for satis-
factory test of his future ability to COM
municate with his surviving friends.
THE simplest plan" he said, rs to
write down some sentence eubodying an
idea or a name which you feel 1t probable
that you Will remember, II you remember
anything, and then to seal this sentence up
In an envelope. without communicating it
to any person whatever. Then label the
envelope Posthumous Letter. and send It,
accompanied by a letter giving name and
address. to the secretary Society for Psy-
chical Research, 20 Hanover square. Lon
don, w. The secretary will acknowledge
receipt and store the letter safely, with
others Of the kind. If. then. the writer Ut
may be many years afterward) finds him
self. capable of sending a message from
the other world, let him mention this test
sentence and try to reproduce 1t. The seal
ed envelope can then be opened, and II the
spirits message should be found to coin
eide with the words written therein there
will be as good o proof We can get that
that message has at any rate not emanated
from any living mind, and has emanated,
therefore. from some unlimited source of
knowledge, or-which will seem to most
persons more probable-from the surviving
mind of the original writer"
II Is understood that Mr.. Myers himself
carried out this plan. which might be use
fully initiated by all who take an interest
in the subject. AS yet he has not been
able to reproduce his test message. We
shall wait with interest to hear whether Dr.
Hodgson has been more successful-as the
rumors afloat seem to indicate to be the
case. A single successful eort of this KIND
would outweigh all the mass Of vague and
usually uncheckable statements which form
the bulk Of ''spiritualistic" literature.