The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-11

table seance at their home in Birming-
ham and asked the spirit to give their
love to the sitters in London and to
| try to get through" the word Homo
lulu as a password Of Identification.
Those in London knew nothing about
| 1t. Later when notes were compared
II was found that the word had got
through.
A different but still more Impressive
bit Of evidence in this case was the
alleged spirits informing his family
Of group photograph Of officers, in
Guiding himself. taken in France and
OF which no copy or word had reached
England. He described his position in
the photograph. 1t proved to exist
and Tailed with what he had said.
The Famous Pink Pajamas.
A case OF cross-reference which went
the American newspaper rounds and
elected much guyinG had to do with
the pink pajamas Of William James.
Some years after DR.. Richard Hodgson
(the exposer of Nine. Blavatsky, but
whose later Investigations made him a
believer in survival and communica-
tion) had died, there came through
Mrs. Leonore Z. Piper OF Boston a
famous private medium, a message
purporting to be from him, that he
had seen Prof. James looking cute In
pink pa1amas! Prof. James, when in
formed Of it. replied that he actually
had been in such nightwear at the
| time, and thought he had looked cute"
himself. Still later, after lis death, a
message purporting to be from him
came through boy medium: II want
you to give Hyslop CDR. Hyslop was
not present at the sitting) two pairs
OF pink pajamas and a black necktie
for Christmas" There had been a real
black necktie also.
DR.. Hyslop tells OF a sort OF cross
reference In messages through two
widely separated mediums. purporting
to be from the spirit OF Mark Twain.
At one sitting the power tried repeat
eddy to spell the word Mark, jumbling
the letters, and then wrote a figure
two. After coming out OF the trance
the medium asked DIR. Hyslop If he
had ever known any one named Hanna
DR.. Hyslop concluded that Mark" had
remained in her deeper consciousness
as a rule, sincere mediums after
waking can remember nothing that
has passed during the trance-and
that by normal memory association
MARK Hanna. Of course) the name
Hanna had occurred to her.
At the subsequent sitting with the
other medium, Mark Twain again pur-
ported to communicate. and referred to
the incident thus: THE idea OF con-
fusing any one OF my hirsute growth
with a bald headed, baby faced indi-
vidual who once ruled President"
DR.. Hyslop tells OF having gone
under mask to visit one famous
medium, who gave him message pur-
porting to be from his father and
several facts. including his own name
by the mathematic laws OF chance. he
found that the chance OF the medium
having guessed all she gave correctly
was one in some 100000.
Two-Common gossip (the medium
having happened in advance, TO hear
the facts which purport to be given
supernormally.)
The most elaborate precautions to
eliminate this possibility are always
taken by leaders OF the psychical re-
search societies. The Florentine case
is one in which It does not seem TO
have existed
Three-lnformation unwarily fur
nished to the medium by the sitters.
This Is the small taking mediums"
stock In trade. 1t also is infinitely
guarded against. In some cases. II 10
said. the recipient OF fact messages has
been taken to the medium after she
entered the trance, and posted in a
position where she could not have seen
him II conscious.
Four - Information the medium,
while awake. had previously got from
the alleged communication during his
lifetime, and consciously or sub-con-
sciously stored in memory.
Here the line OF rebuttal Is about
the same as to theory two.
Nve--Information the medium had