< My Experiences in London and Brussels (continued from page 3-177) >
audibly and visibly. Peter’s voice is quite different from that of King, who speaks in a deep bass and very quickly. These voices suggested that we should have a cabinet seance. We lighted a candle for a few minutes, while Williams placed himself behind the curtain. We had formerly bound his hands together with tape, which was passed round his neck, and fastened to nails which we had driven in the wall for the purpose. In these last sittings our precautions were taken even more securely; we screwed an iron staple into the wall; a long tape was fastened round the medium’s neck, and another piece was passed three times round the wrists, which were drawn together and securely tied. The long ends of both tapes were then threaded through the iron staple, and drawn across to our table, where I held them all through the sitting with my left hand. After each sitting the tapes were found intact throughout their length; the last time the three bands round the wrists were found to be flat and clean, and I was able, while holding the tapes, to feel the slightest motion on the part of the medium. Only at the beginning did Williams draw in his hands a little, apparently as he was passing into the mediumistic sleep. Later on, while the phenomena were taking place, he did not stir in the slightest degree. We two sat at the table, on the side furthest from the cabinet, with our faces turned towards it, at a distance of about three feet from the curtain.
I will relate a few characteristic occurrences of the last sitting. After the light was put out, we again heard the voices of Peter and John. These voices were usually heard and appeared to come from various parts of the room; at one moment they were close to us, at another further off, and often on the side opposite to that on which the medium sat. Presently phosphorescent lights were floating in the air, and immediately the form of John King became visible. This apparition is accompanied by a greenish phosphorescent light, which increases in brightness, lighting up John’s bust. It is then seen that this light comes from a luminous substance, which the form holds in its hand. The manly face, with a thick black beard, is tolerably distinct; the head is draped with a white turban, and the upper part of the body with white garments. The form was outside the cabinet, and near to us. We only saw it for a moment at a time, the light vanished, and the form retreated into the darkness, but reappeared again as quickly. The voice of John comes from the spot where the figure stands, generally, but not always, while the form is invisible. John asked us what he should do for us. M. Aksakof begged that he would rise to the ceiling and say a few words to us in that position. Accordingly we saw the form appear just over our table, and then gradually rise upwards to the ceiling, which became visible in the light proceeding from the luminous object in the hand of the figure. While up there, John called out to us—“Will that do?” (Ist es so recht?)
Peter, in the meantime, although invisible, was busy and loquacious in the darkness, moving various objects through the air and touching us with them. As before mentioned, we sat on the side of the table furthest from the curtain; behind our backs, about four feet distant, stood the washstand, on which were a water-bottle and glass. Suddenly we heard the ringing of glasses over our heads, as if two pieces were being struck together. Then followed a rapid pouring of water into the glass; the glass was handed to M. Aksakof, the bottle to myself. As it stood in my hand, I felt sensibly that another hand was holding it above. At this moment we heard the medium move and groan, and the voice of Peter exclaiming that he wanted to give “his medium” something to drink. The water-bottle floated away from my hand, we heard the movement and inarticulate murmuring of the awakening medium, mingled with the voice of Peter; then the gurgling of water from the bottle, and in another instant I received the bottle back into my hand. During all that I have described, and indeed throughout the sitting, we were satisfied—so far as our hearing could perceive—that Williams remained in his corner, while the voices of John and Peter were speaking near to us outside the cabinet; occasionally also the sounds proceeding from the medium, and the speaking of John and Peter, were almost simultaneous.
In conclusion let me remark that it is quite natural if other Russian inquirers regard these phenomena with suspicion. Owing to the scarcity of mediums in our country they have had at present few opportunities of observing them; nevertheless they have not held back altogether, but took up the investigation so soon as some of their colleagues announced seriously that they had really witnessed the manifestations. On the whole American and English men of science have furnished the most remarkable examples of prejudice and obstinacy. It is easy enough for them to inquire and observe, and to convince themselves of the objective reality of the phenomena; they have powerful mediums always at hand, and yet with a few honourable exceptions they prefer to deny or to ignore the existence of these facts, and to treat as unworthy of attention or credit the testimony of such men as Hare, De Morgan, Wallace, Crookes, Varley, and others. In no far-off future such conduct as this will be pointed at as a glaring example of scientific prejudice and scientific superstition. I am aware that these words can hardly be allowed to appear in conjunction; the adjective u scientific,” however, does not here refer to true science, which knows neither prejudice nor superstition, but only to such men who may belong to its ranks on the one hand, but who do not work in the true spirit of science so long as they pretend to serve the cause of human knowledge by a system of ignoring facts.
May the scales soon fall from their eyes, and may they soon enter on the only path to truth, namely the path of experiment!
St. Petersburg, 2-14 December, 1875.
I feel constrained to add my testimony to that of my valued friend, Professor Butlerof, in respect of the manifestations which we witnessed in the presence of Williams, Besides this, I can testify to having received the confirmation of the appearance of John King from Mr. Crookes in his own house, Mrs. Crookes’s hand being on Williams’s II shoulder, while he was asleep behind the curtain; also that in the house of Mrs. Makdougall Gregory the curtain behind which Williams was placed, was nailed over the embrasure of a window so closely that the medium was in a niche almost hermetically sealed; and that yet John King appeared above the table, round which the company were assembled, in front of the curtain! Williams’s reputation as a medium is the best-established of any I have met in England.
Shakspear`s Inspiration
In Indian Wisdom, by Monier Williams, is the following translation from Bhantri-haeri, a Hindoo poet, who lived a thousand years before Shakspear:—
“Now for a little while a child; and now |
Shakspear can hardly be supposed to have understood Sanscrit and to have made a free translation of the above lines in bis Seven Ages; but that he was inspired most people will confess, though they would be, for the most part, sorely put to it to explain what they mean by that term when it is applied to the great poet. Spiritualists, however, have no such difficulty, and will at once point to the now well-known processes of spirit writing as the more than probable means whereby the above extraordinary coincidence occurred. Some of the spirit-writings of modern times, at any rate some of the direct writings have been proved to be extracts from works existing in the British Museum, or even selected from ancient numbers of the Times newspaper; and this, certainly, throws a very suggestive light, not only on the above coincidence of the two—we must call them both—great poets, but very strong presumptive evidence with respect to the probable source of all Shakspear’s best plays, certainly the essentially spiritual ones, which are, in fact, the best. Indeed, how many more like helps from Hindoo and other sourcen may have accrued, we cannot guess; we, at any rate, now know of one.
It has been asserted that there are fifteen thousand words to be found in Shakspear; while in the Bible there are but five thousand, six hundred and forty-two; and eight thousand words in Milton’s works. Now, where could this stupendous vocabulary of Shakspear have come from, when we consider his early antecedents and opportunities? And where the leisure hours for attaining it in the days of his manhood, when he combined the author and the actor? And whence his wondrous knowledge of human nature, if he had net been prompted by some powers greater than his own? The Spiritualists, I think, cannot doubt that Shakspear was a powerful medium; and that his specialty was that of a writing medium we have the strongest reason for believing. While, if he were also clairaudient, he at any rate, showed a preference for the former gift.
Editor's notes
- ↑ Shakspear`s Inspiration by unknown author, Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 15, December 14, 1876, p. 166
Sources
Spiritual Scientist, v. 4, No. 15, December 14, 1876, p. 166