The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-13

says: There does not exist q professional
medium OF any note who has not been
convicted OF fraud and triokery.'
Another expert in legerdemsin, who ID
the more worthy Of attention since he
also in the end proves TO be a spiritualist'
Mr.. Hereward Darlington. declares as
the result OF years Of study: Fully W
per cent. Of the phenomena, both mental
and physical. are fraudently produced
In regard to the remaining 2 per cent. ne
Is a believer but not on a very substantial
ground, we venture to think. "A counter
felt implies a genuine" he says. and q
shammer something to sham Now one
Of the manifestations which most thor
oughly convinced Prof. Zollner and his
associates was "the broken screen incl
dent as to which Mr.. Darlington asks:
what proof have we that the tearing
apart was not lone before the seance. n
the two pieces merely tied together by
a thread which could be pulled Oh laterF
There was plenty Of time apparently tor
Slade to fix anything he liked before.
hand Asimilar phenomenon has passed
for one of the most convincing incidents
Of Paladino's performances; but II any
argument is to be based on originality
Slade was the first In this case.
In regard both to SLATE writing n
spirit Photography it Is oy
%spiritualists who are acquainted with the
elements of prestidigitation that We have
mo real evidence for the genuine mani
festations Of supernormal power; mat
the record displays -one long or practi-
cally unbroken series OF exposes OF trick
cry"
Yet we must recognize that OF some OF
these feats there Is evidence not easy to
disregard. MIR. Rider mentions the me-
diums Daniel Home and Mr.. Piper as
the only two who have never been de-
tected in cheating. Eusapia Paiadino.
who occupies 30 large a space in the MIS-
tory of modern s~piritualism. was thus
detected by English inquirers; but never
theless she subsequently reestablished her
repute for genuine performances. IN
doubleday there nave been strictly tested
manifestation which no unprecedented
mind can honestly disregard. Sir William
Crookes asserts about DAME Home:
There are at least a hundred recorded
instances OF his rising from the ground IN
the presence OF as many separate wit
nesses." MIR. Darlington asserts OF these
feats that -the quality and quantity OF
the evidence are both good and
1t is not easy in fact to deny 1t. Take
this narrative from the Earl OF Crawford.
fully supported by his friends who wit
messed the weird occurrence. The scene
OF it was his ancestral castle in Scotland:
Il was sitting with Mr.. Home and Lord
Adare and a cousin Of his Capt. Wynne).
Mr.. Home went into a trance. n in that
state was carried out Of the next 7 o
where we were and was brought in at
our window. The distance between the
windows was about seven feet six inches.
and there was not the slightest foothold
between them. We heard the window in
the next room lifted up and almost imme-
diately after we saw Home floating In
the air outside the window. The moon
was shining into the room; my back was
to the light and l saw b shadow on the
wall of the window sill and Homes
feet about six inches above 1t. He
remained in this position for a few
seconds and then raised the window
and glided into the room, feet foremost.
Lord Adare her went into the next room
to look at the window from which he had
been carried. 1t wa raised about eighteen
inches, and he expressed his wonder that
Mr.. Home had been taken through 30
narrow an aperture. Home, still en-
tranced, said: i will SHOW you and h
with his back to the window leaned back
and was shot out Of the aperture, head
first, with the body rigid, and then re-
r-ol -.tatlyy Tho winHnU in QhOuf
seventy feet from the ground Home
also, as credibly reported, ould elongate
himself an extra foot or 30.
Eusapia Paladino, severely controlled
by half a dozen Italian professors Of the
exact sciences, has done 'stunts' no less
marvellous. For instance, while her bod
lily limbs were held fast by the professors.
mysterious hands and legs. suspected Of
being astral have manpuvred about
the room. "A great black hand" appeared
at a distance from Eusapia and seized
Bottazzi, a highly respected professor Of
anatomy, -by the nape OF the neck" He
clasped it and felt a hand neither hot
nor cold, with rough bony fingers, which
dissolved under pressure What We
would remark, however, is that Prof. Bot
taZZl n nb COuoASucS Will nave uOtu-
ing to do with a supernatural explana-
ton OF these odd performances. .More
probably they say, 'the explanation 10
purely biological; We have to do hero with
hitherto unsupported powers OF the bodily
organism, very wonderful and important.
but not at all mystical or in any respect
spiritual
To return to that argument from au-
thority.' We find Mr.. Rider presenting q
list OF notabiliies who are -professed
believers in the reality Of sp~iritualisio
wherein. however. several
researchers appear who in the popular
sense are not believers in s~piritualistic
phenomena at all. For instance. Prof.
Richet OF the University of Paris. who
has probably had as much practical ex-
p~erienoe OF abnormal mental states a.
any man living, figures in this list. Yet
Prof. Richet expressly declares that sur
vival after death is improbable Thus, |
on the main theme OF the book. Arc the
dead alivel" he is fatly negative He
also says that he looks forward TO a time
when I'VE will have other hypoth&ses than
that Of spirits and angels to explain the
tipping OF tables and materialiled bodies
He accepts professionally the genuinensss
OF these phenomena. but he is the oppo-
Of a .spiritualist' as commonly under
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