The Spiritualist newspaper > No.288, March 1st 1878

100 THE SPIRITUALIST. MA&cfi 1,187&.
kinds, direct and indirect. That which we call direct is
mechanical or automatic, that is to say, it is independent of |
the conscious thought or will of the medium, and is often |
produced by other agencies than his own hand. Under this
head I would class some planchette writing, and some j
writing produced when the medium holds the pencil in the !
ordinary way; so long as the writer’s mind is unconscious of j
what is written, the writing may be considered mechanical. I
For instance, I have known Miss Florence Cook write a j
prayer while she was reading a novel; or the writing would j
be done backwards, only to be read afterwards by reflection j
in a looking-glass. The same thing happens in the case of j
Mrs. Jencken. At such times Miss Cook has told me that
she felt a grip upon her arm, and she entirely lost all control
of her hand, and almost all feeling in it. Other kinds of direct
writing are those which take place altogether apart from the
medium, though his or her presence is essential to its pro¬
duction. In the case of Mrs. Everitt and some others, the
writing is produced in the dark in an incredibly short space
of time, in minute and distinctly legible characters, a paper
and pencil being placed on or under the table for the
purpose.
In other cases slates are used—the manifestation varying
with every medium. The Baron Guldenstiibbe procured
writing by simply placing a sheet of paper and a pencil
in a box ; afterwards the paper alone without any pencil; i
later, on tombs, in various churches and cemeteries, before
witnesses, believers or sceptics. I myself lately found some
very distinct pencil marks (three particular-shaped stars) on a ,
newspaper left lying on the library table in this room while J
I was absent from it, for about a quarter of an hour; the 1
two persons remaining in the room concurring in their testi- i (
mony that no one had approached the table, or touched any j j
paper on it, during my absence ; and no pencil being on or | <
near that table. The slate-writing through Dr. Slade and j
Mr. Watkins presents varieties of handwriting, signature, J
language, and diction; yet I fail to find in this class of j
manifestation any evidence of the identity of those whose j
signatures are attached to the writing. Evidence of intelli- j
gence there certainly is ; and of a kind often very different j
from that of the medium, that I think is altogether beyond ]
dispute. Perhaps some of the most interesting cases !
on record and which are little known to English readers I
are to be found in the works of a German writer. Mr. D. ]
Hornung, entitled Neue- Geheimnisse des Tages (Leipzig, I
1857) and Neueste Erfahrungen aus dem Geisterleben (1858), j
from which I will cite a few examples. These works contain I
the history of experiments dating from the year 1853 onwards, j
and are in the highest degree entertaining and instructive, j
The origin of an instrument of communication which should I
be less cumbrous and more rapid than a table, is described !
on page 22 of the first work above-named. The idea was |
originally taken from the ordinary pantagraph used by
architects and draughtsmen, and, after some modifications
suggested by the musical director, Wagner, was called by j
him a psychograph) or soul-writer (Seelenschreiber). This j
appears to have been very much of the nature of a planchette, j
and the latter is probably a modification of the earlier-devised !
machine. With this psychograph Hornung set to work, experi¬
menting with great diligence whenever an opportunity offered, j
He carried it about with him all over Germany, sought out |
mediums of every degree, irrespective of age, rank, educa- |
tion, or sex, and, by questions, elicited a mass of communi- j
cations as curious as they are interesting. Arithmetical j
problems were often solved with great precision, and, to ]
use Hornung’s own words—u almost with the rapidity of 11
thought.” Sometimes the tables were turned, so to say, I <
and the psychograph propounded riddles, to which, after jj
unsuccessful guesses by the mortals, the psychograph, less j
mysterious or more gracious than the Sphinx, supplied its j
own answers. Mr. Hornung also drew up a list of fourteen j
“ cardinal ” questions, which he submitted to mediums in |
Munich, Stuttgart, Regensburg, Vienna, Prague, Turin, j
and other cities, in order to observe what variations would |
occur under the several different conditions. When the !
answers were found to agree in the main points, Mr. Hor- j j
nung considered himself justified in accepting them as true, j
or approximating to truth. The conditions under which the j
sittings were held, the witnesses, the age, religion, and '
\! other peculiarities of each medium are given in his book.
11 The questions bear for the chief part on the nature of the
| influences exhibited through mediums, and on the method
I and process of their externalisation. I will give two ex-
j amples. Question V.—By what means is. the indicator of the
j ] psychograph enabled to givey letter by letter) correct answers to
j questions) when the medium does not know how to answer them ?
| Answer (2)—By increasing the power of the medium;
j otherwise spirits will often give foolish answers. Be
| careful never to call on such, for their influence is dangerous
| to body and soul.” (The medium for this answer was a
Roman Catholic lady, who, with her husband, did not believe
in the spiritual origin of modern manifestations.) Answer
(6)—“ All inanimate objects can only receive life from the
magnetic power of a spirit, or of an earthly being. You
have, therefore, a clearer and more convincing proof of the
presence of a spirit when questions are answered, the in¬
sight into which does not lie within the domain of human
knowledge. It is true that the words of invisible super¬
natural beings are things incredible by the human under¬
standing, because man cannot feel and grasp their personal
existence; and yet he can give no satisfactory reason for
doubting their existence.” This answer was procured
) through the joint mediumship of three young girls, who
| combined in holding the same pencil.
Question VI.—Certain reasonable persons assert that the
spirit-guides and guardian-angels of mediums are only a
| fiction of their imagination) in which they firmly believe) though
| no such spirits are personally present; how can one refute this
) opinion? Answer (1) —u When a man asserts that the
( medium speaks only from his own imagination, and that
; every man has not a protecting spirit, then it is he who is
following his own imagination ; for God has so ordered it in
His wisdom that every man has a good being who leads and
I directs him. If any one doubts my words, let him reflect on
them in connection with some accident or dangerous event
| in his life from which he has been happily delivered.” This
was given by a child of thirteen years old, of evangelical
I belief. Answer (4)—“Both are true. What the mind
! dwells upon as possible, becomes at last possible, and
appears finally as a phenomenon. If another steps in to
speak, I do not hold myself called upon to do so.” The
medium for this answer was a government official, a man of
ripe age, who had accepted the spiritual hypothesis. Taking
the answers as a whole, we find this hypothesis predomi¬
nating throughout, and the direct action of disembodied
| spirits asserted, though in cases of clairvoyance it is
| generally granted that the medium’s own spirit (or soul) is
] alone concerned. In his concluding chapter Mr. Hornung
1 expresses his opinion that the collective highest thought of
| the persons operating is the chief factor in the manifesta-
| tion; “ the echo of our own soul, our higher spirituality,
j the divine unknown, the hidden prophet, the universal
j spirit.”
I will now cite the instance given by the Baroness von
} I Vay, in which she received through her own hand, com-
! | munications from a cousin engaged in the Austro-Prussian
[j war in 1866, every particular thus communicated being
! afterwards verified. This is a case of the action of an em-
1 bodied human spirit, whose identity (as we understand
| identity) can be proved beyond dispute. I will quote from
| my review of the Baroness’s work Studien iiber die Geister-
| welt) in The Spiritualist newspaper, May 22, 1874.
A cousin of the authoress, called W , who was in the campaign,
professed continually to give accounts of himself through the hand of
| the medium while his body was asleep, which accounts always agreed
| with subsequent letters received from him. On the 4th July W ’s
I spirit wrote—“ We have had a great battle. I am well, but so tired.”
] On the 6th a letter came from W , dated July 2nd : “ We expect a
| decisive battle to-morrow. I have a feeling that I shall not escape, but
do not fret about me; my trouble will soon be over.” A day or two
afterwards W ’s name appeared among the list of those slain in the
battle of K6nigratz (Sadowa), which took place on the 3rd July. On
j the 9th W ’s spirit again wrote: “ I assure you I am not dead. I
I came safely through the fearful battle of Konigratz. Do not doubt my
j words. I will write you a letter in the flesh shortly.” Three days
| later the Baroness received a letter from her cousin, dated July 11th :
“ God and the good spirits protected me in that frightful carnage ;
] thousands fell; 450 privates in our battalion, and two officers.”
Another interesting case of an intelligence apparently
1 altogether apart from the medium communicating between