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*b* THg LEADER, [Sa^ijrdav,
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Magnetic Evenings At Home. Letter V.—To ...
and yet , what was to be done but believe it ? Disbelieve it 5 you will s ^ r-So I would willingly , if I could only believe , to begin with , that the intimate friends of my intimate friends were impostors , and that my fellowspectator and I were both of us fools . Other peop le may be able to assume this comfortable hypothesis—I , unfortunately , cannot ! One impression was strongly conveyed by V- ^—' s manner and language during the progress of our experiment—viz ., that her spir itual sympathies and mental instincts were so extended in range , and so sharpened in intensity , while she was in the magnetic state , that her mind could act and
her thoughts move in the most intimate connexion with the minds and thoughts of others . It is , I am well aware , a sufficiently perilous and daring assertion to say , that one human being is really able under any circumstances , to " read the thoughts" of another ; yet to this conclusion every word and action of -V— ' s , at the time when she asked me to take her hand and think of the person whose name I bad written down , seems inevitably to lead . If any rational explanation can be given of the wonders of clairvoyance , it must , I think , be sought for in this direction ; it must start from the assertion , that the clairvoyant possesses a mysterious insight
into the mind , a mysterious sympathy with the inmost feelings of the individual whose duty it is to think of the person , or the place appointed to test the capabilities of the magnetic second-sight . A , for instance , secretly thinks of some friend or relative , a perfect stranger to B , whom B is to behold and describe . B , however , is able to think with the thoughts and feel with the feelings of A ; and , guided by that sympathy , goes aright , therefore , to the discovery of the object which A has appointed for search . This mode of explanation might , perhaps , be made to throw some little light on the mysteries of clairvoyance ;¦ but even if it be admitted as satisfactory * how much that is incomprehensible and marvellous must still remain unelucidated ! The subject , after all , defies any analysis—the mystery is to be seen , yet not to be penetrated . It is best asserted by the practical results that we can really and truly see and hear for ourselves . To those results , therefore ,
let me now return . On the evening of our second experiment , the black mirror was dispensed with . V—r— . was placed in an easy chair by the fireside , and magnetized in the usual manner . The duty of selecting the new test for her capabilities was then accorded to my friend , Mr . S , the gentleman whom I have mentioned as having T > een present on the occasion of our
former experiment . Mr . S—¦—¦ had only a few days since returned from Paris . The card of one ~ of-his French friends happened to be in his pocket , and he gave it to V , as the object of the new search on which we were now to employ her . The Count and I looked at this card before it was handed to the clairvoyante . The letters on it were so faintly and minutely printed in what the writing-masters call " hair-strokes , " that it was very difficult to read them by candle-light . When we at length succeeded in doing so , we found that the name was perfectly unknown to both of us—perfectly unknown , indeed , to every one in the room but Mr . S . I further inquired of that gentleman whether he had mentioned his French friend ' s name , or anv subject in immediate connexion with it—either by letter , during his absence , or personally , on his return to England—to any relatives or friends in the town where we were now staying . He assured
me that he had not . He had even forgotten that he had brought away the card in his pocket , until he accidentally drew it forth a moment ago ; and he was , moreover , quite certain that he had neither directly nor indirectly mentioned to a single soul in England under what circumstances he had seen his French friend , when that friend gave him the card . The first question asked of V was , whether she could read the name . She sat with her eyes closed , as usual , away from the candles , and holding the card in her lap . After a long pause , she said that the writing was so small and indistinct that she could not read it correctly ; two things , however , she could discover—the name was a French name , and the name of a man .
Finding her so far right , Mr . S inquired of our host whether V would be able to tell him where and under what circumstances he had last seen his French friend . The Count replied that he had no doubt she could ; and recommended Mr . S—r- to place himself in communication with her ; and ask all the necessary questions himself , as the person present best qualified to put them . Mr . S took the advice . Except in one or two unimportant cases , it was he and not the magnetizcr who interrogated V -. I took down the questions and answers myself as they passed . You will find the results of our second experiment which I am now about to submit to you , even more extraordinary and more startling than those which proceeded from our first .
Question . Where did 1 last see the French gentleman ? A . At Paris , { right . ) Q . In what place did I sec him ; was it out of doors or in ? A . In doors ; in a room , { right . ) Q . At what time of dny did I see him ? A . In the morning , ( right . ) Q . At what sort of visit was it that I saw him ? A . At a breakfast visit , { right . ) Q . How many people were seated at table ? A . Seven , { right . ) Q . How many ladies and how many gentlemen wore there in the company ? A . Four gentlemen and three ladies , ( right . ) Q . Tell me something more about the ladies ; were they married ladies or unmarried ladies ? A . One was a married lady ; the two others were not , ( right . ) ' All these answers , to the astonishing correctness of which Mr . S » memory bore witness , were given by V— without hesitation I She sat
erect in the chair , holding her head upright m its usual position , twisting the card about incessantly in her lap , but never raising it towards her face It was only when the next question was asked that she appeared to hesitate and become confused . Q . What were the ages of the two unmarried ladies ? A . I can't tell exactly ; one , perhaps , might be eighteen or nineteenj the other twentytwo or twenty-three . Q . You have , miade a mistake . If you tried again , could you not tell me their ages more correctly ? A . ( after a pause . ) Yes ; I was wrong . Why did you say unmarried ladies ? Surely , they are still little girls ! I should say that one was thirteen years old and the other eight . ( One , as Mr . S- informed us afterwards , was thirteen ; the age of the other was six years . ) Q . Was the husband of the married lady with her at the breakfast ? A . I think not . ( Mr . S—— - signed to us that
this was wrong , by shaking his head . He then waited a minute or so without asking another question . During this short delays V- —— corrected herself , and said , of her own accord , " the husband of the married lady was with her at the breakfast . " ) Q . ( continued . ) At what part of the table were the husband and wife sitting ? A . I cannot tell you . Q . Why not ? A . Because the bre akfast table was a round table , ( right . ) How can I describe people ' s positions at a round table ? Q . Can you describe the room ? Can you tell us whether it was at all like the room we are now in ? A . It was so unlike that I
can't compare it . Supposing I were sitting by the fireplace in the French room , as I am sitting here , the door would be in that position ( pointing to the place she meant ; and indicating it , as Mr . S—— - said , quite correctly ) . After this answer , a general wish was expressed ^ to hear her describe the positions of the guests at the breakfast-table . The great difficulty was ( as V had herself told us ) to distinguish in any clear and certain manner , the places occupied by seven people at a round table . This was , however , completely obviated by a suggestion of the Count ' s , that a china basin standing on the sideboard should be placed in V ' s lap ; that she should be told to consider the basin as representing the round table ; and
that , first supposing herself to be occupying Mr . S- — -s place at the breakfast , she should describe the positions of the guests , exactly as they were ranged on either side of him . Our host ' s plan was adopted . At first V— laughed excessively at the substitute for the real round table , which was deposited on her lap . She then became silent tad thoughtful for a few moments ; and after that , began very readily to give therequired description , addressing it to Mr . S—^ , who sat close by her . First , assuming to Mr . S , as she had been bidden , that she was occupying his place at the breakfast-table , and keeping her left hand on that supposed place , she touched the rim of the basin all round with her right forefinger , at certain distinct intervals , mentioning , at each touch , the sex this
of the person whose position she was thus representing . In manner she described , without a single error , the manner in which the married lady and the two little girls , present at the breakfast party , were distributed among the four gentlemen ; the different places occupied by the husband and wife ; and , in short , the whole arrangement of the guests at the table , exactly as Mr . S remembered it to have been organized ! My friend was quite certain that none of his recollections on this point were in the slightest degree doubtful ; for the breakfast party in question took place on the day before his departure from Paris . It was the last social gathering in the French capital at which he " assisted : " it was a more than usually pleasant meeting of friends ; and he had , in consequence , the most vivid recollection of all the circumstances connected with it .
This remarkable experiment was , unfortunately , not carr ied any further , after V had concluded her description of the manner in which the breakfast party were assembled round the table . It was decided , in order to suit the convenience of one member of the company present , who could not attend on any subsequent occasion , that we should p roceed at once to our next experiment , instead of deferring it to a future evening . Accordingly , after allowing V an interval of repose , it was secretly agreed that we should make trial of her powers of clairvoyance in quite a new manner , by requiring that she should behold and describe the late Sir Robert Peel . The name was written down , and she was briefly desired to
exert her faculty , as usual ; an empty chair having been p reviously magnetized , and placed before her . At first , she saw the chair covered by the same mist which had covered the mirror on the former evening . Gradually , this mist faded , and she beheld a human form , seated in the chair . On being asked what this figure was like , she replied , to the unmeasured astonishment of every one prescn , that it was the figure of a young lady ! No comment was made on tins very unexpected result of our experiment . She was questioned in the usual manner about the person who had appeared before her . i
answers comprised the most minute description of the young Iftdy ; or features , her complexion , Her age , her dress , and even of her slightest peculiarities of physiognomy . On being asked to mention her name , \ - ~""~ at once replied , . " Miss S- , " the sister of the Mr . S who was present that evening . She abo informed us , that she had only once met the young lady out of doors , crossing the road , with her veil down , so that it wa impossible to distinguish any of her features , The next question was tft important one , and was thus expressed : — " We wished you to see the la Sir Robert Peel ; why did you see , instead , the sister of Mr . S- ~ She replied directly : — « Because Mr , S has been sitting immediately behind the empty chair which you placed before me . ( This was the case . )
*B* Thg Leader, [Sa^Ijrdav,
* b * THg LEADER , [ Sa ^ ijrdav ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 6, 1852, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06031852/page/20/
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