Psychic Phenomena Part 4

"As you ask me to write to you of what occurred at our house at Kilburn, where we were living in 1869, with reference to the handling of red-hot coal, I will merely say that one Sunday evening in the winter of that year, I saw Mr. Home take out of our drawing-room fire a red-hot coal a little less in size than a cricket ball, and carry it up and down the drawing-room. He said to Lord Adare, now Lord Dunraven, who was present, 'Will you take it from me? It will not hurt you.' Lord Adare took it from him, and held it in his hand for about half a minute, and before he threw it back in the fire I put my hand pretty close to it, and felt the heat to be like that of a live coal.--Yours very truly, W. M. WILKINSON.[33]

44 LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, LONDON, W.C., _February_ 7, 1869."

Appendix M to the Report consists of some particulars verbally given to Mr. Myers by Mrs. Honywood, of 52 Warwick Square, London, in further explanation of her printed testimony to phenomena she had witnessed in Home's presence. She was well acquainted with him for twenty-five years, attended many seances, and took notes of them at the time. In the early part of this chapter, a statement she sent to the Dialectical Society has already been quoted. She told Mr. Myers that most of her friends were complete disbelievers in Spiritualism, and that they frequently repeated to her rumours to the discredit of Home. But she never heard any first-hand account of any kind of trickery on his part. She considered him a man of open childlike nature, thoroughly honest and truthful, and that in her opinion his utterances in the trance state were much superior in thought and diction to his ordinary talk. She said she should like to give Mr. Myers a few additional details with regard to the fire phenomena reported in Madame Home's book, "D. D. Home, His Life and Mission," on her authority. Madame Home's secretary, she said, had slightly abbreviated her words in a way which made the occurrences seem rather less wonderful than they actually were. Mr. Myers gives the following, as having been signed "BARBARA HONYWOOD, June 1889."

"As to the burning coal placed in my hand. I saw Mr. Home take this coal from the fire, moving his hands freely among the coals. It was about the size of a coffee cup, blazing at the top, and red-hot at the bottom.

While I held it in my hand the actual flame died down, but it continued to crackle, and to be partially red-hot. I felt it like an ordinary stone, neither hot nor cold. Mr. Home then pushed it off my hand with one finger on to a double sheet of cartridge paper, which it at once set on fire. I am quite certain that I was in my usual condition at the time....

"As to the hot lamp-chimney which I touched. There was a row of four or five persons sitting side by side, and Mr. Home asked us each in turn to touch the gla.s.s. When I touched it, I felt as though a wave of heat were receding before me....

"I have repeatedly taken Mr. Home in my own carriage to the houses of friends of mine who were strangers to him, and have there seen the furniture at once violently moved in rooms which I knew that he had never entered till that moment. I have seen heavy furniture moved; for instance, a heavy sofa in my own drawing-room, with myself upon it, and a heavy centre table, moved several feet away from Home, and then back again, in the light, while his hands and feet were visible. Not horse-hairs, but ropes, would often have been necessary to pull the furniture about as I have seen it pulled."[34]

A brief reference must now be made to what is perhaps the most sensational alleged event in Home's mediumistic career, the one which is most frequently spoken of by the general public, with more or less forcible expressions of scornful incredulity; his "levitation" out of the window of a room at a great height from the ground, and in at a window of the next room on the same story. In the Report by Professor Barrett and Mr. Myers, no detailed account of this is given. The Report says: "Lords Lindsay and Adare had printed a statement that Home floated out of the window and in at another in Ashley Place (Victoria Street), S.W., 16th December 1868."[35] At a meeting of the Committee of the Dialectical Society, held on 6th July 1869, a paper was read from Lord Lindsay, describing some of his personal experiences with Home. This paper makes no reference to the above case of levitation. But at the same meeting of the Committee, Lord Lindsay and others gave evidence as witnesses, and Lord Lindsay thus described this particular case:--

"I saw the levitations in Victoria Street, when Home floated out of the window; he first went into a trance, and walked about uneasily; he then went into the hall; while he was away, I heard a voice whisper in my ear, 'He will go out of one window and in at another.' I was alarmed and shocked at the idea of so dangerous an experiment. I told the company what I had heard, and we then waited for Home's return. Shortly after he entered the room, I heard the window go up, but I could not see it, for I sat with my back to it. I, however, saw his shadow on the opposite wall; he went out of the window in a horizontal position, and I saw him outside the other window (that in the next room) floating in the air. It was eighty-five feet from the ground. There was no balcony along the windows, merely a strong course an inch and a half wide; each window had a small plant stand, but there was no connection between them. I have no theory to explain these things. I have tried to find out how they are done, but the more I studied them, the more satisfied was I that they could not be explained by mere mechanical trick."[36]

There is one episode in the career of D. D. Home which, although it does not affect the reality of the phenomena alleged to have taken place in his presence, claims a brief mention. The gift to Home by Mrs. Lyon of a large sum of money, the subsequent lawsuit, and the judgment in accordance with which the money was returned to its original owner, excited much attention at the time. Public opinion frequently takes up sensational occurrences in a most illogical and unscientific manner. But a permanent effect may thus be produced, which is extremely difficult to eradicate, even if shown to be unjustifiable. This episode with Mrs.

Lyon has probably had more effect than any other circ.u.mstance in causing the feeling of aversion with which large numbers of people regard Home and all his doings. He is looked upon, and spoken of, as if he were an unprincipled adventurer, convicted of fraud, and of obtaining money under false pretences.

The remarks at the end of this chapter are based mainly upon Appendix III. to the Report by Professor Barrett and Mr. Myers, and which deals with the case of Lyon _v._ Home.[37] The Appendix commences thus: "Our colleague, Mr. H. Arthur Smith [barrister-at-law], author of 'Principles of Equity,' has kindly furnished us with the following review of the case of Lyon _v._ Home." The following are a few extracts from this review:--

"I have looked carefully into the case of Lyon _v._ Home as reported in the Law Reports (6 Equity, 655), ... and perhaps the following comments may be useful to you.

"It is certainly the fact that the judge discredited the evidence of Mrs. Lyon. He said: 'Reliance cannot be placed on her testimony.... It would be unjust to found on it a decree against any man, save in so far as what she has sworn to may be corroborated by written doc.u.ments, or unimpeached witnesses, or incontrovertible facts.'

"Having, then, eventually decided against Home, it follows that the judge must have considered that her evidence was corroborated in some or other of the ways mentioned."

Mr. H. Arthur Smith further says: "There was also an admitted letter from Mrs. Lyon to Home, in which she stated that she presented him with the 24,000 as an '_entirely free gift_.' This, she said, was written by her at Home's dictation, under magnetic influence."

Mr. H. Arthur Smith proceeds to discuss the "corroborative evidence which led to the judge's final opinion." He then remarks:--

"Now it must, I think, be admitted that considering the extraordinary character of Mrs. Lyon's conduct, and the swiftness with which she reached her decision to transfer her property to Home, such evidence as the above may reasonably be deemed corroborative of her a.s.sertion that she was induced to act as she did by the effects of Home's spiritualistic pretensions.... There was sufficient ... in my opinion, to establish the plaintiff's case. It is not then true that 'Home was made to restore the money, because, being a professed medium, it was likely that he should have induced her in the way he did.' The Court held the law to be that such transactions as those in question cannot be upheld, 'unless the Court is quite satisfied that they are acts of pure volition uninfluenced.' ...

There was evidence of considerable weight, that as a matter of fact ... Home did work on the mind of Mrs. Lyon by means of spiritualistic devices, and further that he did so by suggesting communications from her deceased husband. Whether this is to Home's discredit or not of course will be decided according to one's belief in Spiritualism and the reality of her husband's interference....

H. ARTHUR SMITH.

1 NEW SQUARE, LINCOLN'S INN, _October_ 19, 1888."

In order that this episode should have its rightful effect, and no more, it is needful that several things should be borne in mind. In the first place, the action was in a Court of Equity. It was not a prosecution in a Criminal Court. The decision of the Court was not a verdict of guilty against a prisoner, to be followed by punishment for wrong-doing, but an order to refund certain money. In ordinary circ.u.mstances a judgment of this kind does not brand a man with infamy, nor affect his character and position in the eyes of society. Again, after the judgment of the Court, Home promptly repaid the money. He had not appropriated or expended any part of it. What more could he have done?

Mr. Myers' remark in "Human Personality"--"The most serious blot on Home's character was that revealed by the Lyon case"[38]--seems, therefore, rather severe under the circ.u.mstances. Especially as Mr.

Myers has expressed himself so strongly in favour of the reality of the Home phenomena, and has said, in conjunction with Professor Barrett, that they found no allegations of fraud on which they were justified in laying much stress. Much more to the purpose is Mr. H. Arthur Smith's comment: "Whether this is to Home's discredit or not of course will be decided according to one's belief in Spiritualism and the reality of her husband's interference."

Had this Report of Professor Barrett's and Mr. Myers', with its Appendices, been placed before the public, it might have mitigated the prejudice which hangs about the name of D. D. Home in the minds of so many. The unique position which Home occupies in regard to the Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism seems a sufficient reason for dwelling somewhat fully on this episode as it affects his character as a man.

FOOTNOTES:

[22] Report of the Committee of the London Dialectical Society, pp.

360-363.

[23] Vol. iv. pp. 101-136.

[24] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. pp. 249-252.

[25] Ibid., p. 115.

[26] "Human Personality," vol. ii. p. 579.

[27] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. p. 102.

[28] "Human Personality," vol. ii. pp. 580-581.

[29] Ibid., p. 581.

[30] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. p. 107.

[31] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. p. 114.

[32] Ibid., p. 115.

[33] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. p. 122.

[34] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. pp. 135-136.

[35] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. p. 108.

[36] Report of the Committee of the Dialectical Society, p. 214.

[37] _Journal S.P.R._, vol. iv. pp. 117-119.

[38] "Human Personality," vol. ii. p. 580.

CHAPTER VI

PHYSICAL PHENOMENA ALLEGED TO HAVE OCCURRED IN THE PRESENCE OF WILLIAM STAINTON MOSES

It is mainly due to the labours of Mr. F. W. H. Myers, after Mr.

Stainton Moses' death, that the Physical Phenomena alleged to have occurred in his presence can be included among those for which evidence of a scientific character is claimed. It is much to be regretted that, during Mr. Stainton Moses' lifetime, although phenomena of a very varied character were alleged to have occurred with great frequency during many years, no scientific man of eminence appears to have joined in the seances, except on one or two occasions. Perhaps the primary reason for this was that Mr. Stainton Moses' own att.i.tude of mind towards the subject did not court critical and scientific investigation of the phenomena. But even during the last ten years of his life, subsequent to the formation of the Society for Psychical Research, of which he was an original member, and not only that, but for nearly five years a Vice-President and a member of the Council, so far as I know, no sittings were held with him on behalf of the Society, and no first-hand authentic records of the alleged phenomena in earlier years were placed before it. One reason for this probably was that the Council of the Society informally adopted a sort of understanding that its earlier investigations should not be directed towards "Spiritualism," but mainly towards those branches of the great subject which were, so to speak, just outside the field of recognised scientific inquiry--such, for instance, as Thought-Transference and Hypnotism. In this course there was doubtless a certain amount of wisdom, but to it was due the apathy and the ultimate secession of a few members who took great interest in the formation of the Society. Chief among these was W. Stainton Moses himself. In November 1886 he withdrew from the Society, considering that the evidence of phenomena of the genuine character of which he had satisfied himself beyond doubt, was not being properly entertained or fairly treated.

Mr. W. Stainton Moses entrusted by will his unpublished MSS. to two friends as literary executors, Mr. Charles C. Ma.s.sey and Mr. Alaric A.

Watts. At the earnest request of Mr. Myers, these gentlemen permitted him to see a large number of them. Thirty-one note-books were placed in his hands. Permission was further given to Mr. Myers to make selections from these note-books for publication in the _Proceedings_ of the Society. These selections form the substance of two long articles.[39]

The thirty-one books comprise twenty-four of Automatic Writing, four Records of Physical Phenomena, and three of retrospect and summary. Two of these recapitulate physical phenomena, with reflections.

Mr. Stainton Moses' most intimate friends were Dr. and Mrs. Stanhope T.

Speer. They, with the occasional attendance of another intimate friend, Mr. F. W. Percival, barrister-at-law, and Examiner in the Education Department, were generally the only members of the small group who witnessed the phenomena. Mr. Stainton Moses' note-books had been kept extremely private. It seems probable that no one had seen them until they were placed in Mr. Myers' hands. Two note-books and other MSS. by Dr. Speer were also handed to Mr. Myers, which he says contained independent contemporary records of much evidential value. With regard to Dr. and Mrs. Speer, Mr. Myers says: "Their importance as witnesses of the phenomena is so great, that I must be pardoned for inserting a 'testimonial' to the late Dr. Speer (M.D., Edinburgh), which shall not, however, be in my own words, but in those of Dr. Marshall Hall, F.R.S., one of the best-known physicians of the middle of this century. Writing on 18th March 1849, Dr. Marshall Hall says (in a printed collection of similar testimonials now before me): 'I have great satisfaction in bearing my testimony to the talents and acquirements of Dr. Stanhope Templeman Speer. Dr. Speer has had unusual advantages in having been at the medical schools, not only of London and Edinburgh, but of Paris and Montpellier, and he has availed himself of these advantages with extraordinary diligence and talent. He ranks among our most distinguished rising physicians,'"[40] Dr. Speer practised as a physician at Cheltenham and in London, and at different times held various important hospital posts. He had scientific and artistic tastes, and being possessed of private means, he quitted professional work at the age of thirty-four, and spent his subsequent life in studious retirement. Mr. Myers says that his "cast of mind was strongly materialistic, and it is remarkable that his interest in Mr. Moses'

phenomena was from first to last of a purely scientific, as contrasted with an emotional or religious nature."[41] Mrs. Stanhope Speer also kept careful records of the sittings. Over sixty instalments were published in the weekly journal, _Light_, under the t.i.tle of "Records of Private Seances, from Notes taken at the time of each Sitting."