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{{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued |Another Eminent Convert|3-212}} | {{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued |Another Eminent Convert|3-212}} | ||
excited, there came in at that time a long procession of delusive phenomena, which are all accepted as real by the Spiritualists. | {{Style P-No indent|excited, there came in at that time a long procession of delusive phenomena, which are all accepted as real by the Spiritualists.}} | ||
But what is the cause that provokes those ''real ''spiritual manifestations? This question has remained and remains till now a dark puzzle to me. My greatest desire was to investigate them, but I had no opportunity for it as I became convinced that for such an object as this what is of the hist necessity is to have a medium, namely, a person whose nervous system presents perhaps a very slight difference with the nervous systems of the average of us mortals; but which is still strong enough to call out phenomena, that it seems to me might be named psycho-dynamical ones. I blamed very strongly Prof. Boutleroff and A. N. Aksakoff— both of whom took a constant and prominent part in Home's seances—for not conducting the latter under strictly scientific tests, and for not changing them into a series of psychophysical experiments and investigations. In answer to my complaints I generally received such excuses as, for instance, that these manifestations were very whimsical and uncertain, that they varied, and could be subjected with great difficulty to the conditions of tests and experiments, and that long years of patient investigation were required, sometimes, in order to see something satisfactory. As a proof of that, they brought forward the investigations of the subject by the eminent chemist Crookes. I follow the progress of the latter attentively in a pamphlet called “Spiritualism and Science,” in 1872, edited by M. Aksakoff for the purpose of benefiting, by them, the Russian public. | But what is the cause that provokes those ''real ''spiritual manifestations? This question has remained and remains till now a dark puzzle to me. My greatest desire was to investigate them, but I had no opportunity for it as I became convinced that for such an object as this what is of the hist necessity is to have a medium, namely, a person whose nervous system presents perhaps a very slight difference with the nervous systems of the average of us mortals; but which is still strong enough to call out phenomena, that it seems to me might be named psycho-dynamical ones. I blamed very strongly Prof. Boutleroff and A. N. Aksakoff— both of whom took a constant and prominent part in Home's seances—for not conducting the latter under strictly scientific tests, and for not changing them into a series of psychophysical experiments and investigations. In answer to my complaints I generally received such excuses as, for instance, that these manifestations were very whimsical and uncertain, that they varied, and could be subjected with great difficulty to the conditions of tests and experiments, and that long years of patient investigation were required, sometimes, in order to see something satisfactory. As a proof of that, they brought forward the investigations of the subject by the eminent chemist Crookes. I follow the progress of the latter attentively in a pamphlet called “Spiritualism and Science,” in 1872, edited by M. Aksakoff for the purpose of benefiting, by them, the Russian public. | ||
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Camille Brediff is a professional medium, namely: one who will go anywhere for a certain sum of money. He is a Frenchman, from Paris, an ex-crockery merchant, who had seen fit, in hop0 of better results to his pocket, to benefit himself through such mediumistic gifts as Nature had very generously endowed him with. He is a young man, of slight build and stature, with rather a good looking and good humoured though somewhat vulgar face, and sharp black eyes. | Camille Brediff is a professional medium, namely: one who will go anywhere for a certain sum of money. He is a Frenchman, from Paris, an ex-crockery merchant, who had seen fit, in hop0 of better results to his pocket, to benefit himself through such mediumistic gifts as Nature had very generously endowed him with. He is a young man, of slight build and stature, with rather a good looking and good humoured though somewhat vulgar face, and sharp black eyes. | ||
Very naturally a person of such a description inspired in us very little confidence, and we agreed to keep a constant watch over his hands and feet, with a view to ascertain, beyond any doubt, that the manifestations taking place at these seances were not helped along by the said hands and feet. Therefore, | Very naturally a person of such a description inspired in us very little confidence, and we agreed to keep a constant watch over his hands and feet, with a view to ascertain, beyond any doubt, that the manifestations taking place at these seances were not helped along by the said hands and feet. Therefore, I will describe only such of the phenomena as were manifested only when this medium's hands were in strict custody of his neighbor's hands, and both his feet placed either on our knees or held under the boots of those who sat near him. I was convinced of the reality of, and genuineness of the manifestations hereinafter described by a long series of experiments under various test conditions. For instance, the table moved and tipped, though feebly—only when no one was sitting near it or touched it. | ||
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{{Style S-HPB SB. HPB note|{{Style S-Double underline|“Unseen Universe”}}|center}} | {{Style S-HPB SB. HPB note|{{Style S-Double underline|“Unseen Universe”}}|center}} | ||