Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17

in the other world and who transmits messages
from spirits whom he encounters.
CIR ARTHUR believed that these messages
were bona fide. He kept copious books that
contained copies of all the communications that
came from Phineas. 1t is believed by Spiritual
lists that Lady Doyle viii hear from her de-
parted husband; that he may either speak
through PhineaS or that he may supplant the
former control and communicate directly to
his widow
The ideas of spirit life that were held by
Conan Doyle were not vague conceptions. He
believed that the descriptions that supposedly
came from spirits formed an accurate concep-
ton of new life that is encountered after
death.
Within few hours after death, he believed,
the spirit finds itself in its new sphere, where
it must become accustomed to new conditions
and adjust its earthly characteristics to meet
them The spirit of an intellectual man, he
believed, would find congenial spirits with
which it could happily associate. 1t would
retain its earthly traits but with higher de-
velopment and the quickness of its adjust
ment would depend upon the state of mind
it had developed during its earthly existence.
Thus in his novel, The Land of Mist" Sir
Arthur told of ghost which haunted the
house where it had lived. It was earth
bound" spirit, weighed down by mortal sins
and worries that it was unable to find its way
TO the true sphere of happiness
These were only few of the beliefs held
by the prominent Spiritualist, and many per-
accepted his conclusions They explain
why Sir Arthur devoted his closing years to
spiritualism. To him they were not years of
sacrifice; they constituted . period of prepa-
ration. The thoughts and ideals of the world
to come, in which he believed, were Of more
Importance to him than anything mundane
Yet Sir Arthur is not the only man who
devoted his greatest efforts to investigating
SpiritualiSm and who has promised to send
back word if possible Four years ago Houdini
the famous magician, died. leaving clues that
would be recognized by his closest friends
should he be able to pierce the veil between
the world Of spirit and flesh.
Mediums have reported messages from Hou-
DIM, but all their communications have been
aSSaied and none of them has been accepted
as genuine. So far as convincing proof is
concerned no word has come from Houdini.
In life Conan Doyle and Houdini were init
mate friends, although they disagreed entirely
on spiritualism These two men represented
the antitheses in belief. To Conan Doyle spir-
itualism was a solemn reality; to Houdfni it
was a pathetic hoax.
This was a strange contrast. The man who
created Sherlock Holmes and who was consid-
cred the worlds greatest expert on deductive
reasoning believed in spiritualism. The man
who produced mysteries that the public could
not fathom denounced all mediums.
Like Conan Doyle, Houdni had his sup
acumen. They have been quite as eager to
disprove spiritualism as the associates of Conan
Doyle have been DESTROYS Of proving it.
This brings up the other side of the ques-
ton. Whatever messages may seem to come
from the famous author will be challenged
throughout by those who distrust all phases Of
mediumship.
The controversy between Conan Doyle and
Houdini is of the utmost Importance, for
among other things it involves the reputed
powers of mediumship possessed by Lady Doyle.
InaSmuch as she is expected to receive mes
sages from her husband, it is interesting to
know that Houdini not convinced of the
value of her messages.
Conan Doyle sought vainly to convince Hou-
DIM regarding spiritualsm. In his book, "Our
American Adventure" he tells the following
event which occurred in the Summer of 1926
He wrote as follows:
THE reason why I refer to my
wife's remarkable powers, which came only by
slow development, is that my friend Houdini
sat with us one afternoon and received Is
page letter from his mother which made him
very grave and thoughtful, though he II a
most difficult man to convince.
"It was q singular scene. My wife, with her
hand flying wildly, beating the table while she
scrubbed at . furious rate. I sitting opposite
and tearing sheet after sheet from the block
after it was filled up and tossing each across
to Houdini while he sat silent, looking GRIM
mer and paler every moment"
WHY was Houdini unconvinced after this
experience? Because his own version of
the story, as told in his book "a Magician
Among the Spirits" was entirely differentl
81 wanted 70 speak to my mother" wrote