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    and yet , what was to be done but believe it ? Disbelieve it ! you will say . Sol would willingly , if I could only believe , to begin with , that the intimate friends of my intimate friends were impostors , and that my fellow-Spectator and I were both of us fools . Other people may be able to assume this comfortable hypothesis—I , unfortunately , cannot ! One impression was strongly conveyed by V—^ - ' manner and language dur ing the progress of our experiment—viz ., that her spiritual sympathies and mental instincts were so-extended in range ,, arid so sharpened in intensity , while she was in the magnetic state , that her mind could act and i _ ¦ -j . i i-i ~ ~ , ^ ., r , r . i-r * + Vi *» m Aof intimafo nnYinPYirvn wi + ii t . hfi minds and her thoughts in the most intimate connexion with the minds and

    move 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 th ' e 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 had 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 s but even if it be admitted as satisfactory , how much that is incomprehensible and marvellous must still remain unelupidated ! 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 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 been 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 any 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 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 Pans , { right . ) Q . In what place did I see him ; was it out of doors or in ? A . In doors ; in a . room , { right . ) Q . xVt what time of day did I sec 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 were 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 . ) t All these answers , to the astonishing correctness of which Mr . S a memory bore witness , wore given by V . . without habitation ! She * at

    erect in the chair , holding her head upright in 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 nineteen j the other twentytwo or twenty-three . Q . You have made , 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 j 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 delay , 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 breakfast table was a round table , { right . ) How can I describe people ' 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

    basinstanding 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 and thoughtful for a few moments ; and after that , began , very readily to give the required 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 of the person whose position she was thus representing . In this manner she descr ibed , 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 proceed 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 ; ant empty chair having been previously magnetizedand 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 f aded , and she beheld a human form , seated in the chair . On being askea what this figure was like , she replied , to the unmeasured astonishment of every one present , that it was the figure of a young lady ! No comment was made on this very unexpected result of our experiment . She was questioned in the usual manner about the person who had appeared before her . Her answers comprised the most minute description of the young lady ; of her features , her complexion , her age , her dress , and even of her slightest

    peculiarities of physiognomy . On being asked to mention her name , v ~ at once replied , ¦ " Miss S , " the sister of the Mr . S r- who was present that evening . She a } so informed us , that she had only once met the young lady out of doors , crossing the road , with her veil down , so that it was impossible to distinguish any of her features . The next question was the important one , and was thus expressed : — " We wished you to see the late 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 wad the case . )

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 6, 1852, page 232, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1925/page/20/