B Y THE SAME A UTHOR

THOUGHT TRANSFERENCE

A Critical and Historical R eview of the E v idence for Telepathy with a R ecord o f New Experiments 1902 o n et 1903 . Cl th

CRYSTAL GAZINO

Its H s or and Pract a Dis i t y ice, with ca ss ion of the E v idence for Tele a S r n n ro u on An p thic c yi g. I t d cti by L r A LL. D w an . . M . C o d e g, , l th

DODGE PUBLI SHI NG COM PANY 40-42 E as t roth Street

New YOR K C R Y ST A L GA Z I N G

I ts Histo r and Pra ti e with a y c c ,

Discu ssion of the Evidence for

Telep athic Sc rying

With an I ntrodu ction by D A . LL . AN D R EW LAN G M . . , ,

By A T T TH M AS M . . N O R HC O E W . O

Au thor of Thought Trans ference

NEW YORK Dodge Publishing C omp any 40—42 East l gth Street THE NEW Yon: PUBLIC LIBRARY

A STO R , L E N O X A N D TILD E N FO UN DA T IO N S 19 3 7

' 1 905 BY Cor vnrcn r, ,

m uc Co. Done: P U BL rs C ON TEN TS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

SUPERSTI TI ON AND I NCREDULI TY

CHAPTER II

VI SION A N D VI SIONS

CHAPTER III

CRY STAL VI SIONS

CHAPTER IV

T m: PE M A N D T H E ME HOD OF SI I T S CULU , T U NG

CHA PTE R V

HI STORI CAL

CHAPTER VI

HI STORICAL

CHA PTER VII

“ Tm: INCANTATION OR CALL

vii CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIII

5 EGYPTI AN SCRYI NG

CHAPTE R IX

MORE EGYPTI AN SCRYI N G

CHA PTER X

PROPH ETIC AND TELEPATH I C SCRYI NG

CHA PTER XI

EVI DENTI AL CASES

CHAPTER XII

E x PERI M E N TATION

BIBLI OGR A PHY

I NDEX I N TRO DUCTI ON

” DO you believe in crystal gazing ! is a question

ca n : which one is often asked . One only reply ! What do y ou mean by believing in crystal gazi n g m If you ean , Do I believe that it is worth while to

- a- o pay half crown , or a guinea, as a fee to a pers n who professes to discover by crystal gazing the

n whereabouts of lost property , or of a missing frie d . or to foretell events — I do not believe in crystal ’ n n gazi g. One hears wo derful tales of successes

in first- 0 1 this kind, but not at hand ; and the pe p e

rac who tell them are not very critical , while the p

’ tisers i are, to beg n with, breaking the law . But if

the question means , Do I believe that some people

in have the faculty of seeing faces , places , persons

m n otion , sometimes recog isable, in a glass ball , or

in r — water, ink, or any clea deep then I do believe

n in the existence of this faculty . Whether the thi gs

o coinci thus seen ever answer, except by fortuit us ’ n n de ce , to thoughts in a other person s mind , things u ff n nknown to the crystal gazer, is a di erent questio ,

to which I return later. But as to the actual exist ence of an experience which the gazer can only de scribe as seeing such or such things in the glass

ball I have no doubt whatever . I shall use for the

xx x INTRODUCTION

— a practice the old English word scrying form ,

n n ma o e m a . y guess, of descryi g Perhaps I y as

n m well give the grou ds of y belief, as far as that

n belief exte ds . Like other people, I had heard and

m m m r — e read , all y life , of agic i rors ver since, in childhood , I perused the Notes to The Lay of ” ’ n the Last Minstrel, and Scott s story, My Au t ’ ” ’ n Margaret s Mirror, and Ki gsley s Egyptian

in n chapters Eothe . Like other people, I thought the stories nothin g but mediaeval or Oriental

- romances . But Miss Goodrich Freer published an essay on crystal gazin g i n the P roceedings of the

et P s hic l e e h Soci y for yc a R s arc . The essay con tained r n n a b ief and i teresti g history of the practice,

n and records of perso al experiences by the author , ” n m Miss X , whose real a e I did not know . I

n was stayi g at a hospitable country house, a castle ” an n n b n n with ancie t lege d for ei g hau ted .

n an No e of us ever saw y of the traditional spectres .

n n n We se t to Lo don for a glass ball, in which no e of us could see anythi n g that was not very natu ral

n d a normal . The hostess was the last who tried

n m n she fou d that the ball first yielded ere reflectio s ,

m m and then see ed to grow ilky , then black , then m pictures appeared . These to so e s light degree

n m n rather disturbed her equa i ity , bei g novel in

n and n n an her experie ce, not correspo di g to y

m n m conscious thoughts in her i d , which ight have suggested them to a person very capable of visual INTRODUCTION xi

’ n — m u m isi g that is, for ing pict res in her ind s eye of the Object of her conscious thoughts . This

in e power exists very various degrees , perhaps esp ciall in m n n d n a . y wo en , childre , people of ge ius Thackeray and Dicken s have left descriptions of their o wn power of visualising : perhaps most imagi

r it native w iters possess , but other writers possess

m m n . it , who do not see to be successfully i agi ative “ o e The crystal pictures , h wever, w re seen , not in ’ ” m n n the i d s eye , but projected outwards i to the

not n an glass , and did correspo d to y thoughts which

She n the gazer knew that was thinki g, or had ever thought . ’ This lady s faculty went no further . In perhaps one case she partially beheld the object on which a friend fixed his min d ; in another she saw a curious mystical design that we Shortly afterwards foun d on n w the cover of a book , rece tly published , hich

not and in had then reached us , a third case , when scrying in the crystal cover of a m i n iature of the

r Chevalie de St George (James III . and she saw what might be explained as the march of his

m irr ir ar y across the field of Sh amu . But there

n n n s r was o evidence to anythi n g u usual i such c ys .

an d n w and I got a glass ball , , at St A dre s else

o f and m n where , people both sexes , of a y social

n n m m m co ditio s , fro y cook of that day ( who ade the

a n a experience casually , as she saw the b ll lyi g bout) ,

m en s men to golfers , of busine s , of letters , a physi xii INTRODUCTION

m— an d men m cia all sorts conditions of and wo en ,

n m frie ds , kinsfolk , and chance acquaintances of y

in own . The proportion of successes seeing

t — be crys al pictures was very great unusually so , I

o lieve . The subject had not then won its way int ma z n n ga ines and general literature and co versatio ,

m m in yet the sy pto s , so to say, were identical cases

m n of success . The ball grew ilky , the black ; then m an. the pictures appeared , as al ost invariable rule , though the experim en ters were not told what to

a expect , and were quite ignorant of the little th t

o had been written on the topic . I , therefore , to k leave to thin k that all experimenters were not play m ing on y artless confidence . One lady tried to

. n a scry in a glass jug of water She saw la dsc pes,

m n an d an Ecce Ho o , and other thi gs , doubted whether the Church ( she was of the ancient faith )

n wa s cu sanctio ed the practice . She added , what riou s l i nk az , that, as a child, she used to spil , g e

t n ow into it , and see such pic ures as she beheld in the water . An incident occurred which I have narrated else where . I lent the ball to a Miss Balfour, who only

an - a fu rn i then saw , I think , old f shioned piece of ture . Her brother laughed at her, and took the ball into the study , whence he returned, looking per

l x m m p e ed . He ad itted that he had seen a person who

m . P M . he knew , under a la p This was at about 5 . ,

a n . on Sunday, at St A drews He would find INTRODUCTION xiii

out on Tuesday, he said , whether he had seen right m or wrong . Miss Balfour told e this . On Tuesday

m et n y Mr Balfour , at a dance , in Edi burgh , a lad ,

Miss Grant . ’ On Sunday , at five o clock , he said, you

m m . were seated under a standard la p , aking tea A man in blue serge wa s beside you ; his back w as

m e I sa m towards ; w the tip of his oustache . You , wore a dress [described] that I n ever saw you wearing . Were the blinds up ! ” asked the lady ’ n I don t k ow ; I was at St Andrews, said Mr

Balfour .

The lady said that all the facts were correct , and she and Mr . Balfour wrote out and Signed a report

’ of the incident . I had heard Miss Balfour s accoun t of the person seen under a lamp before I learned the conclusion of the story . Not long afterwards

e Mr Balfour lunched with m . We spoke of Miss ” - m X , Miss Goodrich Freer and her experi ents , on

. w m the links before luncheon After ards , in y study ,

m n Mr Balfour, who was s oki g , gazed into a glass ’ m bowl of water . He saw as uch of a house as you

m . n m n do see fro the hall The arra ge e t , as to

n an d flooring , doors , wi dows , staircase , was of a

n . w n kind unknow to both of us A hite Persia cat , in the picture , walked down the stairs . The picture m lasted long, and I ade several changes in the lighting of the room . When I drew down the blind INTRODUCTION

m n e the picture re ai ed , but the large window opposit

n the fro t door, in the crystal picture of the house,

disappeared .

to m - I happened , later, eet Miss Goodrich Freer, m who Mr Balfour had never seen in his life, and h told her what he ad beheld . ”

m ! a . My house, y Persian cat said the l dy

n I had ever been in this house, but visited it on ’ my return to town . Mr Balfour s description of

a o what he saw in the picture was bs lutely correct ,

n but the Persia cat was out . His existence, how

m . ever, is a ply attested

m n Possibly any crystal pictures , u identified , have m m their actual odel so ewhere, but the prototype, in

was m . this case, discovered by the erest chance Mr

a man n Balfour, of strong se se, argued that the

w ff o f m picture of the cat was a hi tobacco s oke, and the house a thing fancifully con structed out of

re light , shadows , and reflections . The coincidence

ma n and i ed that, out of these, he had architected furnished a house on a system utterly unknown to

m me n hi self or to , yet actually existi g, and the house

at was tenanted by a white Persian c . The i n stances which I have given are on ly a few

n out of the multitude within my experie ce . But ” n your experience, the sceptic will say, is o ly that

- o r of a listener or a looker ou . You see a m an w a a a om n stare at a ring, a jug of w ter, a gl ss bowl ,

h ink in an a the e t e inkpot, or wh t not ; p rson who INTRODUCTION x v stares then tells you that he or she sees this or that picture, whereas he sees no picture at all in the

m n crystal . Either he is erely practisi g on your credulity, or he honestly believes that he sees what he says he sees , but does not see . In the latter case , to put the matter as it is usually stated : It is all ’ n imagi ation . At this point may I take it as conceded that all

n m e my friends , ki sfolk , and acquaintances who tell that they see pictures in the glass ball a re not mere

on m ! practical jokers, playing y credulity Really ,

m m n m they are so nu erous , and a y of the are such

n grave substantial characters , and their experie ces ,

m n as described, agree with each other in so a y points , that I think it would only be fair to exclude the hypothesis of hoaxing, as a general rule .

1 am o and This point anxi us to secure, in proof I wish to cite the behaviour of some of the people

m Six whom I have observed . So e years ago I wa s

a w st ying in early spring at a Highland hotel , hen very few visitors had assembled . With m e was a ” kin s irl o young kinswoman , or g , Miss Greg r , whom I had known si n ce her childhood ; she w as

m sex healthy , veracious, and, as far as beco es her , athletic . She had just foun d ou t that She could see

n n r - pictures in a glass ball . At the di e table w ith

n i m n t o n o u s . us were two y u g E gl sh e , strangers

and n They tried the glass ball , , fi ding that they ” had the a n s n f culty of scryi g, or eei g pictures, xvi INTRODUCTION

m m were interested, and ade so e experiments in their own rooms . One tried looking at the ball in dark

n m ness , at ight . He said that it seemed to beco e of a fiery quality, glowing bright , but in these con ditions he saw no pictures in the glow . By day

or light artificial light he saw pictures , usually of

an d m . people known to him , members of his fa ily

n One lady , he said, he saw always in an i verted position , as when you look at the sitter through a photographic camera . I have not found another

m n m r exa ple of this ecce tricity . The re arks appea ed m to be candid, and the experi ent in the dark was i i l ke that of another friend, an eng neer , who tried

z n . excluding all light , and ga ing i to a funnel The m field of vision, in his case, beca e luminous , and pictures appeared . Evidence of this kind must be subjective m we have only the word of the experi enter for it . But we have only people ’ s words for all subjective

n psychological facts, such as coloured auditio

( the association of colours with sounds ) , the view m mm ing of nu erals in colours and sy etric patterns , the arabesques seen by Herschel , and so forth .

m n Miss Gregor, in one of her earliest experi e ts,

Dunstaffna e saw very distinctly g Castle, the old

m Dalriada n n ho e of the ki gs , near Oba , which we

n . n n had bee visiting She also saw a lady , well k ow

S to both of us , itting alone, and playing at a card m ga e, in which little bags of counters are used . INTRODUCTION x vn

She had once seen the la dy playing at this game in

m an w e n on n co p y , but fou d , i quiry, that the lady

a r m had in fact, been pl ying alone , for the fi st ti e,

just before the picture w as seen in the glass ball .

n No doubt this w as a merely accidental coi ncide ce .

m n m an d We then tried the usual experi e t , yself

n n m n Miss Hamilto being prese t . Miss H a ilto was to thi nk ; Miss Gregor was to see the object o f her

. saw thought Miss Gregor a lady , like your

m o m m . other, but not your other Her co plexi n is

are She ruddy , her eyes brown, is dressed in black , ”

r an d co iff u re. her hai is white, she described the

n o n r a a I at o ce rec g ised the desc iption , that of l dy

wn m e m r had n well kno to , who Miss Grego ever ” n m on see . It is right , said Miss Ha ilt ; I was

’ ”

n n o f m m m r r . thi ki g y aunt , y othe s siste

in to n We then called a Mr Brown do the thinki g . Miss Gregor then saw the two youn g Englishmen

m s n a already entioned ( who had left) , fi hi g in boat

on the loch .

n m m n on m I began by fixi g y i d the , said Mr

n n n Brow , but at the last I was thi ki g of the big trout they cau ght .

a s n o f u This w a ki d s ccess . So we tried next

da Mrs m n n . or sa y , Ha ilto as thi ker Miss Greg w

a r r o n on a n n her d ughte Ma j ry , the in Lond , p i ti g at

an n m . M rs m easel , in a blue li en s ock But Ha il

n n n o f avo do an d ton had bee thi ki g a f rite g, Marjory did not even possess a blue smock to cover xviii INTRODUCTION

r n n her d ess whe painti g . Then I tried . What I thought of I forget , but what Miss Gregor saw

— m . m m was John Knox Later, I re e bered that , so e

had u n days before , I tho ght of joh Knox , but Miss

o n om n re Greg r had see s ethi g else . She did not m m a e ber this , and I forgot it too , till after an interv l

m n r of so e hours . We all tau ted Miss G egor as a ” “ a n m m un fr udule t ediu , which she took very ” on rn n c ce edly , as the Christia carrier took his ’ ” n lav rho n shooti g by C e use s dragoo s . Out of four m m ’ atte pts she had issed twice , once scored a bull s

and an eye, once outer .

AS m a ff n in any other c ses , her e orts were wo t to ” m n be there o r thereabouts . In her experi e t with her mother she saw a back view of that lady

r n n in a a and a f ie d , Mrs Black , standi g gre t hall , lookin g upward : at what they were looki n g She

o n did n ot know . But what Mrs Greg r was thi king ” o f m a o f was the tall Haida tote post , in the h ll

n r o m the A th opol gical Museu at Oxford , which ,

m r m so e weeks ea lier , she had visited in co pany with

n the lady here styled Mrs Black . It is a giga tic

w m m r n post , carved ith the tote ic ar orial qua teri gs

a n m n an d n in of a Haid ge tle a , origi ally erected m front of his hut , as is the custo . Thus Miss Gregor was in close but not absolutely perfect con

’ m r n tact with her othe s reflectio s , much as in the

o f n in case the me the boat and the big trou t .

h n W ether these coincide ces were mere chance work , x x INTRODUCTION day our friend poin ted out to us in a museum a ” Patagon ian bow which answered to pattern . The fact that he is an anth ropologist would n aturally ’ o attract Miss Gregor s mind to savages, wh se bows,

in n n except the Patago ia case , are usually short , though she probably did not k now it . ’ can o Everyone see that, to prove , in Miss Greg r s

m m n n case, that her ind is , in so e u know way , in contact with the m inds of the experim enters who

n n n do the thi ki g, hundreds , perhaps thousa ds , of

u m n m m an d caref l experi e ts ust be ade, the propor

’ n r and m m tion of bull s eyes , ce tres , oute s , isses ust

r Not m m n be ecorded . being a athe aticia , I do not

now how m o f k any failures and outers , out five

n m n and hu dred experi ents , would prove the ce tres

’ bull s eyes to be the mere result of chan ce coi n ciden e c . But the field of possible errors is coex istent — with the thinkable universe that is , the per son who does the thinki ng m ay choose any on e of m n illio s of things unknown to the crystal gazer . If,

z then , the crystal ga er is right in a considerable per

n n m m ce tage of cases , to my u mathe atical ind it does look as if some unknown human faculty and

in m a m . fact nature y be sur ised If this be so , it may be presumed that som e quality in the mi n d of the thinker as well as of the gazer must be in tune

n if the experime t is to be successful .

ma c n I y be an idle enthusiast, but I a not help thinking that some ofli cial professor of psychology INTRODUCTION x x i

m m . s might ake experi ents He would , if succes ful , ” B l n - . o dlot N be treated as M , of the rays, is used

m n u ex er i by a y of his learned colleag es ; but , if his p m ents were dead failures , he would have his reward,

n n and his ame would be great in the scie tific Israel .

n Bl ndl . o ot At prese t the position of M , whether he

’ u n auv' r e hallucine is in the right , or whether he is p ( as Dr Janet said of a lady often mentioned in this

nn book ) , ca ot be called enviable . But Lady Mary

u El Wortley Montag e , and Jenner, and Braid, and

n an d m m n listo , Si pson , had troubles fro lear ed col

u m n vacci leag es to face in the atters of i oculation ,

m an d m . nation , hypnotis , chlorofor One very em inen t professor of psychology told m me , so e years ago, that he could not find anyone who professed to see even fancy pictures in a glass

ff n . am ! ball My experience is di ere t , but I so lazy I have just passed a month under the ro of of a r who m n m m elation , in a solitary experi e t ade so e ” m not and ti e ago , saw ; but I had a glass ball ,

r n did not know how to p ocure one, not bei g aware m that they are kept in stock , as Mr Tho as tells us ,

20 n by the Society for Psychical Research , Ha over

n n Square . The glass jug of water has inconve ie ces in practice, and many people who can see in glass balls cannot see in ink . So far I have mainly been argu ing that all my

scryers are not practical jokers . In corrobora

i a t on, when I examined s vage practice , and bar ii INTRODUCTION

n o a m baric and ancie t practice , I f und th t fro the

r the m o Aust alian black fellows to the Maoris , Sa

eds o the y , the Ir quois, the Incas , the Aztecs ,

n a Malagasies , the egroes , the Ar bs , the Egyptians ,

m ae o n n the Greeks , and the edi val Eur pean atio s ,

n o at all were crystal gazers . If they saw pictures

i a n m irro all in crystals , pol shed b salt , obsidia rs,

o o ink o f n ma an d bl od dr ps , , water , livers a i ls , so on , ” t n it is no in nature that all Shou ld go on scryi g . They must have made the disco very o f the facu lty

a n the m n n by ccide t , like lady already e tio ed , who , ” m n ink as a child, a used herself by scryi g in ; an d o n o like Ge rge Sa d , who , in childho d , used the

a r n an d n to polished back of sc ee , appears ever have

an n an r heard of y other i st ce of the p actice . I do n ot think we can state the facts at a lower level than this

m t nn So e persons can , and o hers ca ot, see

r not n n o pictu es, volu tarily or co sci usly evoked “ ” in m . and visualised , a s ooth deep This is a ci rcumstan ce in human psychology quite as curi ou s

o u m r as the visions of col ured lines of n e als , estab

ishe r n a f a s cholo l d by Mr F a cis G lton . But o fici l p y

influ gists , as a rule, avoid the subject . Are they enced by an aversion to the inquiry as to whether

n m the things see , in so e cases , appear to reflect the unknown thought of a party to the experiment ! ” c t That way, to be sure, lies the oc ul , a word n m rendered terrific by silly e thusiasts . In erely INTRODUCTION xxiii examining crystal gazing we are on the border of the realm of quackery, fraud, blind credulity, avid hopes , and superstitious fears . There is no doubt

r e m at all that , this border once c ossed , ven inds practised in the physical sciences often cease to be

i n sc entific or se sible . I have read , with distaste , the credulities and wild speculations published ( about aff airs beyon d the border ) by more than one m an of emin ence in this or that field of o rthodox

n u t scie ce . The luc brations of other s avan s who have

S r n just peeped across the border in a pi it of cursi g,

m m n like that of Balaa , are often ore e tertaining,

are m m m ac so reckless these gentle en , so eti es , of curacy and even of hon esty— the dishon esty bein g ” subconscious , no doubt . Thus we can explain the aversion of men of science to the exami nation

n m — ff of phe o ena no more o ensive, really, than the m drea s of the day or the night . They are phe m m m e m o ena of hu an nature , exercis s of hu an fac u lt n S m y , and, as such , i vite study . To hirk exa ina

r tion is less than cou ageous .

m r If I have proved , or ade it highly p obable, that

m t o all y crystal gazers are not prac ical j kers , there

“ ” n remains the theory that it is all imaginatio . But what is imagination How do you define it , and how does your definition apply to the case !

Most people, if they get beyond the theory that all folk who say they can see pictures in glass balls xxiv INTRODUCTION

m r ' im i a and so forth are liars , re a k It is just ag n ” i : a m a n n ! t on . To ask such sceptics Wh t is i gi atio ” ! al How do you define it is cruel , for they have w n r a nd n ays been conte ted with the wo d, have ever

s n m o reflected on its sen e . I tur away fro the n tion of askin g any person to think ! The exercise is re

u n n p g ant to the natural m a .

ma fin d out a m a We y , perhaps , wh t the public e n “ by imagination if we exam in e the sen ses in

w n . a n which the ord is curre tly used We expl i ,

mm n s w in co o talk , the tale hich a child, or which

n - own ma y grown ups , tell about their adventures ” n re m by sayi g that they a i aginative . The child tells you of his adventu res with Sharks in the

s r n pond or bear in the ga de . He has heard or

an d an d m m n read of bears sharks , he has ade a ro a ce

m in m . about the , which hi self is the hero Vanity

r n hi and the nascent lite ary impulse i spire m . A man ou m on tells y of his successes a g the fair , or

r rm among trout o deer . In the fo er case he is a cur or lia r or a fatuous fool ; in the seco n d case you cannot tell whether he is romancing or speaking truth without con siderable knowledge of

r . m a his characte and qualities He y be veracious , a nd yet a listen er who does not k now by person al experien ce the strange chances of hill and wood

r m to m m an m in and st ea , says hi self The is i ag a tive just as he would say of the m an who sees

ro m n crystal pictures . Very p bably the sports a is INTRODUCTION x x v

l i u t an d a - S o m n be te l ng the act al ruth , fellow p rts a “ ” lieves hi n m onlv m . He is recko ed i aginative by listen ers who have not lived alone with nature

n m and wild thi gs . In the sa e way, the listener who has n ever inquired i nto crystal gazing thinks the “ ” m n a i ma m scryer i agi t ve , yet he y no ore be “ m o m a i aginative than the sp rtsman is . He y be on ly n arrati n g matters not in the experien ce of

n T i n n . o t ma the liste er h s exte t , the , we y discount “ ” o u t the p p lar heory of it is all imagination . “ ” im n com Again , we use the word aginatio , m on l on y , of the c structive faculty of the poet or

r . ro on m a tist He b ods a the e , let us say , till he “ sees it with that i n ner eye which is the bliss

” ’ ” o m of s litude , with his ind s eye , and then he

u in o d n reprod ces , w r s , sou ds , clay , or colours , what ” r ro m he has seen , ep duces it with ore or less suc cess .

r t m n This we call const uc ive i agi ation, and it

i o an d n ou n is exerted w th purp se, with full co sci s ess ,

. o r r t as a rule We all exercise, try to exe cise , his ” faculty when on the da rk we strive to pai nt

o f n n the face a frie d or the aspect of a la dscape .

in f r w a o . o The po er exists v ri us degrees I, one ,

t \Ve ro am almos without it . ca ll the p cess

. m z s ee . 1 visualising Now , so e crystal ga ers ( p 4

“ ’ w a m nd belo ) can visualise face , say , in the i s ”

n n r . eye , and then tra sfer the picture i to the c ystal

o . I do not know if this p wer is common However, xxvi INTRODUCTION

m let us suppose it to be co mon . Next let us suppose

m n n n that , in an experi e t , A does the thi ki g , B ’ u g esses at the object of A s thought , visualises

an d m n what he has guessed at , transfers the e tal m picture to the crystal . The guess ay be right ( as in the case of Miss Hamilton ’ s aunt) or wrong ’

m s ee . ( as in the case of Miss Ha ilton s sister, p

n xviii above) . In the instance of the au t , Miss

n n her m a Gregor had ever see , but she y have seen

u m o her photograph , g essed that Miss Ha ilt n was

n an d n m m thinki g of her, the ade a ental picture of

an d the photograph , invented the colouring , trans ferred it to the crystal . In this case we have a lucky gu ess at Miss Hamil ’ ton s thought— a very lucky guess— for the lady had

n in m n the whole u iverse to expatiate in , aide ” m o f . w e e editati n , fancy free Secondly, have an

o f m m n— am fort a recognised for of i aginatio n ely , ” r visualisation . Thirdly , Miss Grego puts the m She o ental picture into the crystal , or says that d es — persuades herself that She does so : here all is

o r m n n . conscious, purp seful wo k of the i agi atio

in o f m r Again , the case the tote post , Miss G egor

m had n o m an knew that her other see the p st , in co p y

M rs . u ess ed with Black She g , let us say , that of

m m her m o n this visit to the useu ther was thi king,

r an d she gu essed ight . But why did she guess that the two ladies were looking upward in the large

an d s hall , not gue s that they were looking at the x xviii INTRODUCTION

o an d n glass , partly consci usly partly u consciously out of points an d plan es of light and shadow in the crystal , and out of the distorted reflections of m objects in the room . To do this requires ore imagination than those of us possess who cannot

ru n see crystal pictures , but can const ct a ki d of m m m fancy rese blance to faces , ani als , and ountains m out of the light in the e bers , the clouds in the sky , and the splashes an d stain s on a plastered wall I “ am very willin g to admit that im agination in

senseg nam el m this y , the i aginative construction of a picture out of the lights , shadows, and reflections in the glass— may be the actual cause of som e

- n mo crystal picture seei gs . Al st anybody can turn the ball about till he gets a view of a frozen lake bordered by snowy hills . Of course , the person who

n n does this k ows what he is doi g , knows that he is makin g up his landscape intentionally . But if a band of skaters suddenly begins to circle about on the glassy lake of the landscape thus composed that is a very diff erent thing ; yet such crystal pic tures of movin g figures are constan tly reported by crystal gazers . These cannot be explained in the m m theory that i agination is active , erely as it is

in when we see, a blotch on a wall , a likeness , say ,

n to a man preachi g . For the figure on the wall is

n r in m motio less ; the skate s are otion . The real process in crystal gazin g is much more

n n like that of watchi g visio s of faces, places, and INTRODUCTION x x ix o h t er things , with closed eyes , between sleeping and

i n wak ng . These visio s are technically called ” n m a hyp agogic illusions, which eans illusive p

earances . See m p introducing sleep ( Mr Tho as , pp .

As Mr Thomas touches very briefly on these

S things I hall be more ample . Hypnagogic illu sions appear to be matters of less common ex peri m m m ence than a person fa iliar with the , like yself , m . m ight suppose Probably ost people, happy m people, fall sound asleep al ost as soon as their head touches the pillow . They have no illus ions h a i u es m n o . yp g g q These are , in y own case , sudden uprisings of unknown faces before the closed eyes .

The faces are often beautiful at first , but fleet through a series of changes to the grotesque and the m hideous, so that I have to open y eyes to get rid

m a r of the . They change and p ss with ext em e

. u m celerity As a r le, I repeat , the faces are al ost ’

m . always unknown , but I once saw yself in profile

n mm m r I cannot, whe awake , su on up ental pictu es m of known faces, or but very di ly , while these little illusions of drowsy , shut eyes are often very m brilliant . So etimes when they occur I try to call

S up the face I hall not see , or rather the faces ,

m m . now so any , of those who we have lost awhile

m . But this proves i possible The unknown , the

n uncalled for, the u expected strange faces , fair or

s e the a hideou , sweep past ; nev r , never once, f ces x x x INTRODUCTION

m a of our desire, though these y visit us in actual m m m drea s of sleep . The sa e re ark holds good of landscapes and in animate things : those which I see

m e have always been unknown to , or, if once

m m in in known , are lost to e ory , except a single m s . tance I had visited Carlisle Castle , and re arked the heraldic bearings carved in miniature on the

r door lintels by prisone s of old . Not long after

m n wards I saw the disti ctly in a hypnagogic illusion , just as Miss Gregor saw Du nstaff nage Castle and the ca rd - playing lady in an early experiment with the glass ball . m Now , in y own case, I can occasionally observe the geneses of these hypnagogic phantasms . On m closing the eyes we , or ost of us , see floating , shifting, vanishing specks or little blotches of light m of various colours , for less and fleeting . I can ,

S when half asleep , watch one of these pecks or

n n m a m blotches growi g, in an infi itesi al sp ce of ti e ,

rm into a face, or other recognisable fo of any sort ,

n changi g to another, quite unlike the first ; to a third ,

mm n and so on . I cannot co a d or modify the m m m for s , that is done by so e faculty of half slu ber

not an r n which is directed by y will or desi e . Agai ,

o f r a r shapes p inted letters , bl ck or white, a ise , and a re legible ; and I have seen a very remarkable wall

r m on o patte n in cri s , which I c uld not , when wide

n n or n m r h n . m a awake , i ve t desig This o ning y yp gogic illusions took the shape of an inscription in INTRODUCTION xxxi

t m m charac ers , of which so e see ed Hebrew , others early Greek . I had not been working at the origin

m n of the alphabet for ore tha a year , but yesterday I had men tion ed the subject of early writing to a m friend . All this kind of phantas agoria beheld between sleepin g and waking is very closely anal ogou s to the picture beheld by crystal gazers .

m o f m not m m m So e the , any ( Mr Tho as na es Mrs

r Ver all ) , can trace the genesis of the crystal picture

u r to act al points of light and da k in the g lass , just as I can sometimes see the speck of colour before the shut eyes develop into the changeful face . ’ If Mrs Verrall s experience were that of crystal gazers in general ( as , perhaps , it really is , though

v n ot they ha e consciously observed it) , then we m v wem ight ha e a theory . ight say that crystal pic

are n con tures , unconsciously and uni tentionally , st ructed by them out o f points of light and dark in the

a r n illus ions glass , the g ze s bei g wide awake , just as h na o i u es n yp g g q are , u intentionally and unconscious l on r y , c structed out of blu s and specks of colour in

m an d r . the shut eyes , by yself othe s , when half asleep

See u r mm et ( Alfred Ma y , Le So eil les Some length this theory carries us ; but there is a great deal of diff erence between bei ng half asleep

! mu n and being wide awake I st i sist that, out of scores o f cases of crystal gazers who saw crystal

r n met a pictu es , I have ever one who was other th n

n an d wide awake duri g the process , talking de x x x ii INTRODUCTION s n t s n l v n o ff in to take tea cribi g , cri ici i g . ea i g scry g , o r s o n l n Ve ss bl to m ki g without ea vi g o ff . rv po i y s tare at a fixed object may make so me people d o ws has not b so an c se w th n m r y , but it een in y a i i y

e s n r n h a v v inl at p r o al expe ie ce . I e stared a y a

la ss l fo r o and m n me but no mo re g ba l l ng , a y a ti , fel s l n saw u r t eepy tha I pict es . I wa s once able to test the theo ry o f reflection s

o v t d T c n er e into pictures in a cu rious way . h e Mr Bal four already spoken of ( page x iii ) was v ery s e t b o his AS o the v s c p ical a ut own powers . t i ion ” f M s n - he ued k ew i s Gra t at a tea table , arg , I n it was - m and n m re ect on in tea ti e , tra slated so e fl i ” the lass o r g int Miss G ant making tea .

And the es s o the man in blue serge , and dr y u ! did no t k no w that she possessed

hese ar not e T appe ances Mr Balfour did xplain . At the time o f this conversation two young ladies “ ” who co uld scry were on a visit in the neigh

o m e bo urho d . n They were acquaintances of in , ot

’ o f fou r who m i to th Mr Bal s , hi self was on a vis t e

la . e or p ce These ladies had been witn sses, percip i

s r c e ent , with thei mother and others, colle tiv ly and s m r ec e i ultaneously, of a t uly appalling sp tr , see o n n n ex n e eve i g in a place where, early n t

o ss o f m rning , a terrible disaster occurred, with lo

me t v v . h se eral li es They told the tale , and e

e uncon phantasm was of such a novel typ , so

ntional at I a e s a obse vation ve , th m d ceptic l r s . INTRODUCTION x x x iii

Even Professor Ray Lankester, if I know him , “ would have gone so far as to hint a doubt and hesitate dislike of the reported appearance . My

an d I tone irritated the ladies , as believed in scry ” in the scr s g, y declared that y were only reflections in the glass . I then arranged an ex

i e n er m nt. p I would bri g two glass balls , and

o in Mr intr duce Mr Balfour . I brought Balfour , and one of the ladies scryed with her back to the

o window . Mr Balf ur was stationed at the other end

m n of the roo , beside the door . Both scryers i dicated ” that they had seen . I took Mr Balfour out of the room, along a passage, beyond earshot . He

m a . had seen an old wo n, seated at a table We

n - m retur ed to the drawing roo , and asked the

had lady what s he had seen . She also seen an

n m old woma , standing up . There was no old wo an in m an d the roo to be reflected , the reflections of the two opposite ends of the rooms were not likely to coincide in being constru able into an old woman in in n u — ro one scry seated , the other standi g p p

m m n i bably not the sa e old wo a . Collus on was

two m barred , as the parties to the experi ents were t en ire strangers to each other .

\Ve v v n ha e advanced , or I have ad a ced , what

r m a n eve the reader y have do e , to this point , that crystal pictu res are analogous to waking hypnagogic illu sions— a contradiction in terms ! It is no great strain on credulity to believe that a scryer, by con xx xi v INTRODUCT ION centratin o v o g attenti n on a gi en p int of vision ,

w ma v r u when a ake , y ha e expe iences analogo s to,

m m r u v u but usually uch o e d rable than , the is al

r r expe iences of other pe sons on the margin of sleep . This theory would be much more easy of acceptance if I could say that my scrying acquaintances are

w n in r but drowsy he engaged sc ying, they have

a n invariably been , to all appe ra ce, absolutely and

rm no ally wide awake . We now come to a topic al ready touched upon in the cases of Mr Balfour an d Miss Gregor— the

r a pe ception by scryers of real persons , or pl ces ,

m and unknown to the , distant, though , perhaps , p resent to the min d of the person who does the

m n thinking in the experi e t . If this kind of crystal be picture could statistically tested , and if successes occurred in a suff icient proportion of experimen ts

o ( whatever that proporti n ought to be ) , we should m S m . be in ight, I presu e, of a result So e cause , of a nature hitherto unascertained , would, apparently , determine the visions of the scryer which coin cide with the thought of the person who does the thin k ing . Whether we Christen the cause, or process , by the name of telepathy or thought transfer ” - K is m l ff n . ence or rays , a atter pure y indi ere t We should be no nearer to understanding the pro

mix cess , or processes . What nearer is it if we

’ Blondlot s N- or m up M . rays ( actual i aginary) with the coincidence of A ’ s thought and B ’ s scry ! x x x vi INTRODUCTION once when she saw nothin g ; once or twice with m yself, and once with a lady who is herself a ”

. n e scryer , and a seeress O failure was when I asked her to describe the study of a correspondent

descri in Algiers, which I had never seen . The p tion seemed so improbable that I never asked my

r n French f iend whether it were wro g or right .

u m Miss Ang s was not told his na e , place of resi

n m de ce , profession , or nationality . This experi ent , in r u popular ph ase , was trying Miss Ang s rather

v m n high , for I ha e never seen y foreig corre s ondent m p (an e inent Egyptologist) , nor did I try

n to fix my mind on a person whom I had never see .

v m m m On re iewing the past, I see also to re e ber

m e u that Mr F . W . H . Myers told that Miss Ang s was unsuccessful in his case .

r Perhaps I had better men tion all our own t ials .

’ time o f m On the first occasion , the second our eeting , at - a u a tea p rty , I asked Miss Ang s to see what I

a m wanted her to see , dding that I would fix y m n r — m in — i d elsewhe e na ely , on a card a pack and

o n n that a Mr J h stone , an u dergraduate, would

r guess at the ca d . He gu essed the ace of hearts , which was the card I had selected . Meanwhile

n u m o ff o Miss A g s , seated at so e distance , was l oking m at the glass ball . She described the re ote object m which I wanted her to see very inutely , adding an importan t detail which was not in my kn ow ledge . I thought that this must be an error, but INTRODUCTION x x x vn on makin g inquiries in the proper quarter I found that it was correct . I confess that on this o ccasion (and on only on e other in my life) a feeli n g of chill seemed to run down my spin e ! m On the other hand, so e weeks later , when I

m m n r fixed y i d on an attempt to visualise M W . G .

o m n u m Grace in cricket c stu e , Miss A g s saw a li ping

m an . u m mm old Thirdly , I had acq ired so e la er m beads (a ber beads) , once the property of one of

n n the Paisley witches , bur ed for bewitchi g Miss

Bar arran Christian Shaw of g , the founder of the

n r u o Re frewshire th ead ind stry . I wr te to Miss

n n A gus , who was at a distance, aski g her to scry m ” to the intention of so e amber beads . What

an d m en - n she saw was a lady two , in old fashio ed ” m om i n costu e, in a ro wh ch had the air of bei g a

m r r cha ber in a p ison . Ce tainly I do not say that

r this was Miss Shaw , with two f iends , waiting in the prison where Margaret Lan g an d six other victims accused o f sorcery were exami n ed an d

“ r tortu ed . In this case too Miss Angus was tried rather high .

m one ou r ac One other experi ent , which closes

r t at . count , was least pictu esque We visi ed the

n r n . rui ed a chiepiscopal castle o f St . A drews Miss

u the r Ang s sat down , with the glass ball , in la ge ,

m r oo r d roofless cha ber on the fi st fl , while I walke

o r ab ut in the g assy court . I expected the lady , if

She n n saw anythi g , to see a fa cy picture of the x x x viii INTRODUCTION

de o f a na 1 h 6 . t e mur r C rdi l Beaton in May , 54 But

ct es w r t s : man pi ur e e he e a in one of the tall , co n a a ic l bl ck hats , such as the Regent Morton wea s his o tr a n r in p r ait , w lking up an ave ue . Next , “ t at c m in h pi ture passing , ca e a lady a crinoline , ” ho u wit ut a r ff .

In a no n ! n cri li e I said , disappoi ted .

Yes she is an w ; pale , st ds ith her hand on the bac o f a a S r o f her r k ch ir , the ki t d ess is of such or s c a o o an d u h c l ur [grey silk brocade] , the crinoline ” o f n is such a d such a shape . I forget the precise

o ds w r . ’ a s not o r Th t a crin line, it is a fa thingale , I said ; but about farthingales Miss Angu s was un in

d m n n structe . This ode of diste di g the dress was very fashio nable in Scotlan d in the sixteenth

K o n n . to who ce tury n x, writi g two godly sisters

o n t d h im on o f m m c sul e the ethics costu e , gave the a

s u to n plea ing latit de as gold and velvet , but I thi k ” n no u ifeit that farthingalis ca t be j st . When Miss An gu s had described the costume I said I thi nk you have spotted Mariotte Ogilvy .

v r r She had ne e heard of Ma iotte , a lady of the

v House of Airlie , who li ed with the Cardinal as his

liais on wife , the being accepted by society , and the

rr n n m . children ma yi g i to the noblest fa ilies Now , Knox tells us that Mariotte was in the castle with the Ca rdinal on the n ight before his murder ; and as I was workin g at the history of the period my mind INTRODUCTION xxxix had dwelt on the emotions of the poo r lady when

m n the news reached her , in the early orni g, that

n Stickit was the Cardi al , And sauted like ane sow

n the as the Protesta t rhyme ran . But as to how

r t lady would be d essed I had never hought of asking .

v r r We went straight to the Uni e sity Lib ary , and consulted a book on costume as to the attire of

1 r m ladies about 546 . The colou ed print of fe ale a rray fo r that period corroborated the crystal

u : pict re it was very correct .

n wa s vn The coincide ce , at all e e ts , pretty ; and

o f n the scry was an u expected nature , for one would have expected the scryer either to see

m m a the urder scene , or so e other less univers lly ’ or m n known incident of the castle s hist y , or so ethi g

n wholly unconnected with it , or nothi g at all , as

n . was a n occasio ally occurs But there con ection ,

con shadowy if you please ; nay , if you please , a nection existin g on ly for myself ; and I accept Miss

’ n u n r t A g s s ig o ance of the existence of Mario te, who

’ is not men ti oned in the gu ide s description of the ’ m m r castle s history . She is a lady re e be ed by few

r n n except her actual collate al desce da ts , one of whom is named after her . ’ m A selection of Miss Angus s nu erous successes ,

m v n in m as Mr Tho as says , is gi e a book of ine

m i . already ent oned One case , unpublished , was

i u in o n of a sensat onal nat re, c n ection with a x 1 INTRODUCTION

. a s lost object of value But the incidents , for re son m ff . which see insuperable, cannot be o ered I have tried to give an analogous account , changing the de tails , but the result would be unsatisfactory . m As a reference to y book will prove, Miss ’ Angu s s scrys showed the strange vagaries of the u m i . v fac lty One exa ple is g en by Mr Thomas ( pp.

1 2 u man 4 , Miss Ang s saw not the thought

m . of by the lady who did the thinking, but his other m Now , when a lady does the thinking, if we erely

m an guess , we guess at a as the object of her con tem lation s n bo p , like, in the co verse case, the Arab y

o - - who saw a lovely , g lden haired , azure eyed girl , when Kinglake was thinking of the flogging Eton m head aster, Dr Keate . In two cases noted, Miss Angu s saw what was in the mind of a person in the room who was taking no part in the experim ent ; in one of these in stances she also hit on the object of the thoughts of the experimenter . But much the most extraordinary feature in her

‘ i n experiments was her success , not only describing the person thought of, but the actual dress and cir cum stances of that person (unknown to her even by m m m . na e) at the o ent of the scry Once, even more

n m m stra gely , she described , and in one case i icked , the gait of on e of the person s in the mind of the

an d thinker, with their occupations environment

n n r n ( Orie tal ) . This was o a Satu day ight in Scot

n r land . The post on Su day b ought a letter of one INTRODUCTION xli

n m an d of the persons see , fro India , the letter ( which I read) described the occupation s and en

ir n en r v o m t disce ned by Miss Angus , which , at the m m v m o o ent of the scry , were se eral weeks re te in

m n u ti e . Had Miss A g s known the person de

o f m scribed ( who she had never heard ) , and read

r not v n m the undelivered lette , she could ha e bee ore

a o f am n accurate . Another inst nce the s e ki d is

v saw r on n n gi en . Miss Angus a pe s , unk ow to her ,

m m r but uch in the ind of another person p esent ,

m to n not n a a co plete stranger Miss A gus , e g ged in

m n u u the experi ent, in an attitude very u s al , but actually assu med by the distant person described some hours earlier in the day than the moment o f the crystal gazing . In the great majo rity of cases kn own to me the

m n r m W l th n r ran r or experi e ts we e ade e ti e st ge s ,

r n u In n with the mo st ece t of acq aintances . o case was there physical contact with the thinker ; scryer and thi nker did not tou ch each other ; there

u m - r no n . n co ld , therefore , be uscle eadi g I deed ,

’ n r once , whe , by the thinker s desi e , they clasped

n on u r n w n the ha ds , ly sc r yi g blurs ere see in glass

’ n r ball . The ge eral imp ession left by this lady s

r m n was an d expe i e ts that , for her , time space ”

r r . a b oke ad ift I ought to add that , in no c se

m w ff o m within y kno ledge , was any e rt ade to serv the futu re : while I was the only person con cerned who suggested the attempt at a glimpse into xlii INTRODUCTION

in n n m the past, the i sta ce of the a ber beads, and the castle— in that case the scene was left to do what it

n In n ow . could with its suggestions the India case , the scry appeared to be retrospective — the even ts described were of the recent past . I can form no shadow of a theory as to the causes and processes con ceivably at work in this group of

n experime ts . ’ If an yon e says that Miss Angus s mind is some how in touch with the min d of the other ex peri m n how e ter, does that account for her apparent vision of actua l facts un known to that person ! I haire given all such i n stances of failure as I wit n es sed r m n or hea d of, and , of course, a y of the people concern ed would have been glad to report

a n m r m f ilures, as I would have bee keen to a k the

r I n on e n I do not reco d all the successes . insta ce , n ot in n at m n i recorded writi g the ti e, the co fl ct of m m m r a e ories is of the ost cu ious kind . If I m y

m m m in m r is trust y own e ory , which these atte s

n m an r n ex eri good , one lear ed was a pa t er to two p

n r i m m n m . O n e wa s s e ts at so e i te val of t e a succe s , in r s n n in All the othe ca e othi g was seen the ball . the details of the success ( the person descr ied was in n a n Ca da ) are vividly prese t to my mind . But my frien d on ly remembers the in stan ce in which n n n othi g was seen , which Miss A gus, being con

lt s m su ed a m m . o , l o re e bered The ther case ca e back to her mem ory when I jogged it ; but such a xliv INTRODUCTION ally sees n othing but fancy pictures or memory

r n r a pictu es . I eed ha dly say that , if scryer often

s rr an d o n n n see co ectly , ften thi gs wholly u k own to him r r in befo e the sc y , this is itself a proof that

does an d not m r n n n he see , is e ely i ve ti g or ” a : imagi n in g . I m y be asked What sort of ! people a re mo st apt to see crysta l pictu res I n ever tr ied experiments with children very young

o or u n a n i pe ple , healthy , f c ful , and hysterical

m a r n people . It see s probable th t persons with st o g “ ” r o f i n n n powe s visual si g , or seei g thi gs in the

’ ” m n are m i d s eye, ost likely to succeed , but they o i n r n ften fa l e ti ely . Agai , whoever has had ,

n and one m n though sa e healthy , or ore waki g

a na i n u i n n a nd in h lluci t o s , s ch as see g, withi doors ,

n n non - n a good light, a perso who is abse t , or existe t ,

m rim a acie to m a n see s , p f , apt ke a scryer . O these

rm to r n n u a o . te s I o ght to be able sc y, but I c t Miss A was apt to see wakin g halluci n ation s that

o r n n ot n n an d c r espo ded to facts k ow to her, other “ ” ha llucination s in haun ted houses : she scrys

r . Mr a n a nd a ve y well B , pai ter, strong Visualiser , who has had ghostly experien ces in a haun ted

own n ot : n house ( his ) , could scry he fou d that the

a m m m glass b ll beca e ilky or isty, but no pictu res appeared .

a m r n Miss C , a lady of gre t hu ou a d stren gth of

a n n n n n char cter, who has see waki g halluci atio s , a d m u m can erely la ghs at the , see crystal pictures INTRODUCTION x lv

not n an d n n a occasionally , but ofte , I u dersta d th t they a re always u niden tifiable fan cy pictures or

r I n on revived memo ies . e case she saw a frien d

in n the act of writi g a letter, and a letter reached her from the frien d a post or two later ; but that was

n ot n n n u a nn a otable coi cide ce . Th s I really c ot

guess as to what sort of person is or is not likely ,

ri a a r m n ma ci e . a p f , to see cryst l pictu es I y thi k Pro fessor Ray Lankester an unlikely person ; he

m a n m e nn y thi k a likely person , but I ca ot scry, an d possibly be can : it is a poin t on which I have

n i o m . m m e rima infor at on Miss Gregor see ed to , p

acie one m in r f , of the ost unlikely people the wo ld

as m m a a to be able to scry , and uch y be s id of Miss

n has n r A gus . One a notio that the born sc yer is

a aemi m ou a p llid , an c girl , with large , ysteri s eyes,

n a an d n hollow cheeks, u tidy h ir, a stro g aversion

n to exercise in the Ope air . But the scryers whom

n n m - I k ow are healthy , jolly people, you g, iddle aged,

m r n - or o e tha middle aged . They usually take little in terest in the whole aff air ; and as to phil

a N- osophy about telep thy , rays , the ether, the

m n and o a no a n n subli i al self, so f rth , they p y tte tio

r n r n to the theo ies a d their p opou ders . They are

a re n ot and r not spiritualists , theosophists, neve ” o on e a ra b re with the astr l plane , cereb l ” n n n centres, and other such jargo . I o ly o ce saw

‘ a profession al medium play with a crystal ball ;

he ea e n o s app r d to be a harmless bei g, p s ibly half xlvi INTRODUCTION

' an d - he saw or n n witted, little othi g, but what he

n n described as co fusio s . ’ to him n d A rc n I handed a Jea ne ri g, with the

n r o n : a a H. . a nd . S a i sc ipti M ri , I , he s id he saw

m - a in a r n n o a iddle aged l dy bl ck , who ce tai ly had o o n n on n n bvi us co ecti with a ythi g in particular . ” F r r h r n i o othe s w o we e with m e he saw co fus ons .

an d r o him man We pitied , fo so k a foolish old , who did n ot even u n derstan d his own foolish old

n busi ess . A n d wha t do you really thin k of your foolish ” n ! old busi ess asks the candid reader , or, if a lady , ! ” in qui res Do you believe in crystal ga zi n g

u i n n o a rm bu t The q est o is u philos phic l in fo , I reply

n n a om to what it is i te ded to mean . I believe th t s e

r a r a re om o n to c yst l gaze s , s eh w , e abled see

n a re a a bu t r a thi gs which ctu l , of which , c yst l

n a an d can v n o n gazi g part, they have, ha e , k ow

n o on r a s to on ledge . I have c jectu es how it is d e

is n m n o a but , if it do e, it upsets so e exta t p pul r

’ i a t n a n philosoph es . People are p to thi k th t a thi g is explain ed when they a re familia r with som ethi n g

o o r analogous t it . The pr cesses desc ibed are ” n analogous to wireless telegraphy, on the Marco i

Bu t n n o n . system . the a alogy explai s n thi g If a n in o m ra n umber of people are a r o , the b i s of all

n vi r are bu sy e dlessly . If the acti ty of the b ain sets ” r how up cur ents, electrical or other, does the curren t of the person scryed for come to be selected INTRODUCTION xlvii by the receiver in the brain of the scryer ! There ’ in are exceptions , as two of Miss Angus s cases her cerebral receiver picked up b rain cu rrents from

n n n n n persons to whose i te tio she was ot scryi g . The phenomen a are quite as curious an d impo rtant

m nn as those of radiu , but, as they ca ot be produced

- at will on every occasion , as they are capricious in

a n n w n appe ra ce , bei g subject to la s not ascertai ed , I do n ot expect them to be scien tifically examined for

m an . y a long year , if ever ‘ m i s m But y last word , take not your opinion fro m n - r i n r i e . An ex p es de t of the Folklo e Society has informed m e that the phen omen a entirely depen d

n on a disordered liver, to which I can o ly reply that , if it be so, I should be the chief of scryers . The question s at issue can on ly be settled after man y long series of experimen ts conducted by psychologi

i n n an d cal special sts , worki g with sa e healthy sub

— jects British subjects for choice .

C R Y S T A L G A Z I N G

CHAPTER I

SUPER STITIO N A N D I N CREDU LITY

A M a m I gl d to say y people are not superstitious ,

r m n m n said a wo thy Welsh clergy a to a friend of i e,

o and a good folklorist , . now , alas, no m re , went on

r to explain that there we e no ghosts in the parish .

m - an - His joy was da ped , it is true , half hour later, when his guest i n quired o f the school children which of them could tell him where a bwggau was to be

n an d n r was n ot see , fou d the e a child in the school bu him a t could put on the tr ck of one . It is very common ly said tha t it is superstitious to believe in ghosts an d crystal gazin g and such ” n r a o rubbish . Ma y otherwise wo thy people bs lutely refuse to credit the fact that some of their

- r m fellow creatures , quite as ve acious as the selves, ma and nn y be able to see hear what they ca ot , or ,

are n rm rather, may have what tech ically te ed

n n ma on n n halluci atio s, and y c seque tly be either liars nor su perstitious when they say they have seen

u scr ed l a ghost, or s ccessfully y in a crystal bal or a glass of water .

A 2 CRYSTA L GAZING

we a sk in cred ulou s perso n s to ex plain wherei n the su perstition con s i sts it is by no mean s

i t n ea s v to get an explic t reply . ghos seei g

a a su lt su st o n and de en d on the m y be re of gge i . p belief that the sou ls of the deceas ed forefathers o f th e h amlet are wan deri ng rou n d the v illage chu rch v ard at m idn ight to sca re the bold wight who v ntu ort it bv no m l w t a t all hos t e res f h , eans fol o s h g s r o t at v w o r t at thev b li v in ee s h ld h ie , h e e e

t y n t at all w at v at ma m a . ghos s , h e er h e Si n ce the Intern ational Censu s o f 1 889 - 92 no one in his sen ses ca n doubt that a con siderable nu mber o f n a eo t w in distin uish sa e and he lthy p ple , o her ise g a m w occas ionallv see n s ble fro their fello s , visio

a an d w are due to the or he r sounds, so on, hich not externa l physica l cause to which the un sophisticated

r w savage refe s them . In other ords the visions do not result from the stimu lation of the retina by

n a ir s light waves , nor are the sou ds due to wave

a l n n r f l ing upo the ear . The sensatio s a e initiated in m in n i f the organis , probably the brai , though,

ma in m telepathy be a fact, we y so e cases have to lo o k outside the organ ism for the ultimate source o h f t e phenomenon . A president of the Folklore Society once de nu a n d ce the Society for Psychical Research , and

11! its a m w ys , because it believed, or so e of its members bel i n ieved spirits , his own view being that it was abso lutely essential to the progress of

4 CRYSTAL GAZING

n m m — a reasoni g fro his pre ises , one of which fact — wa s that earthly deer have coats which give

r u n n electric spa ks der certain co ditions, and the other a hypothesis - o r rather two hypotheses

r an d that the e were deer in the sky, that the coat of a celestial deer alone could produce the results which he saw, he is hardly superstitious .

Mr Clodd om m a scien Now , wh we y take as our tific Gallio , would say, and therein be supported by mm m i the co on consent of educated ank nd, that the

m m a n ani is of the sav ge is a superstitio . I agree . But is the savage explanation of the aurora a su per stition ! r too Pe haps it is, but there is no sug

an d n n gestion of a ghostly deer , othi g occult about

n m n r a . this theory , y ore tha the e is about the ether

u r n If this a roa theo y is a superstitio , how about the horse theory o f the steam - en gin e ! Here we are dealing with everyday facts and objects ; an d if Mr Clodd ca lls the labourers superstitious I do

n mm hi not thi k co on opinion will uphold m .

a m Let us ssu e, however, that he does . I go on to ask if the chemist of a century ago was super stitious when he talked of phlogiston or regarded

m tho heat as a substance . Here he was far more y

i or r log cal than either the Red Indian the labou ers ,

for no one now regards heat as a substance .

man henome The of science, to explain observed p n a - , was postulating the existence of a non existent thing, which is just what the savage does when SUPERSTITION AND INCREDULITY 5 he i n vokes a Spirit to explain the motion of the sun or the howling of the wind . The attempt to define superstition along these

n m i a m ss e. li es see s to lead , therefore , to an p We

n o in n fare better , however , other directio s . It is useless to take the test of consen sus of opini on ; for no such consen sus exists as is required to con stitu te u m n a valid arg ent , and , eve if it did, there is no guarantee aga in st either lack of knowledge or an epidemic of prejudice and wan t of common

n m fair ess and desire to get at the truth . The ajority

n ew n test is even less useful , for new ideas , or re der

r ings of old ideas, have always had to st uggle a m ag inst the forces of conservatis , which is too often on ly a n ame for lack of power to digest new ’ facts and chan ge one s views with the advance of knowledge . A detailed exam ination of this question shows that the only defin ition of superstition which seems

m all n m to eet cases, eve approxi ately , is that it

m in u r r m n m i plies some way a depart e f o a or .

m n n r This is, however, equivalent to aki g it an e ti ely

o r r m o m col urless epithet, for departu e f o a n r is by

’ no mean s synonymou s with error - o ne man s norm

’ n on n is another ma s n se se .

o r in r If , theref e , people really do see pictures c ys

n tals the epithet o f superstitious is mean i gless . But how are we to prove that they do see pictures ! Those who regard crystal gazi n g as a su persti 6 CRYSTAL GAZING

n o n u to n tio are , of c urse , i cred lous as the visio s said l m to be seen i n a crystal . Possib y if drea s were

l n l as rare , relative y , as crystal visio s are , they wou d take up the same attitude with regard to dream s . I recently discussed the question of crystal gazi n g with on e of the in credulous on es ; she belonged to the sex whose privilege it is to be

o a i n io absolutely ill gical . St rt g with the assert n that She would not believe in crystal gazin g un less

- m a n a n she could crystal gaze herself , she i t i ed that all experien ces were to her in credible which she

r n on e had n ot expe ie ced . Confr ted with a concret

m a n m an exa ple , she was f i to ake exception in

av n and f our of dru kenness , was thereafter ready to adm it the reality of crystal gazi n g if she could see a person at the m omen t he or She was experien cing a

v t e crystal ision, hough what security this would giv

n ot is quite clear . It was poin ted out to her that she had n o guara n tee in such a case which She had not when the crystal

m and m m gazer signed a state ent, for the o ent the m remark see ed to carry conviction . On the follow

in n n ex eri g day, as ofte happens, the old perso al p

n i ha d an d a ence phase of co v ction reappeared , the f ir sceptic would only admit the truth of a ghost story ( ghosts being then under discussion ) if she could

no n see a ghost herself. This did t arise from a y mistrust of the veracity of ghost seers but from

an n n n m in ate co victio of hu an liability to error, SUPERSTITION AND INCREDULITY 7

i a r on e a law to wh ch, it appe rs , the e was ex

n ceptio . The attitude just described is perhaps more pro n ou nced an d m o n n n , re easily de ou ced , tha that “ of the average m an who does n ot believe in all ”

n on n but m . that se se , it is hardly ore illogical In

a o f and n the c se ghosts crystal visio s , as of all other

rima acie r n p f ve idical psychological experie ces , there are two question s in volved : ( I ) the person al

n m r experie ce of the seer , for which we ust ely on his vera city ; and ( 2 ) the agreemen t of this experience with unk nown facts ; given a contem

orar m n on e n n m r p y state e t , or so early co te po ary as to an ticipate the proof of the veridical nature

an d so of the scry, the value of the record , far as it con cerns the supernormal character of the ex per i

for o an a re ence, is not readily assailed ; err rs , if y , as

in n r n n u likely to be o e di ectio as the other . I cred lity as to the fact of crystal gazi n g is syn onymou s w ith

’ inexperience and with that la ck o f open - mi n dedness which is characterised by a refusal to i n vestigate .

a n m a n a an Crystal g zi g, I y say , for the be efit of bl t t

o n m n n in o o sceptics , is a rec g ised experi e t eve orth d x psychological laboratories .

m i n n m n An a us g, if u i portant , objectio is that

* B v r a is m an a s r r or os s r h as y e idic l e t th t the c ye gh t ee , rou his v s on o a n n orm a on on o n s w do th gh i i , bt i ed i f ti p i t hich not w n his no rm a s r of now — as for ex lie ithi l phe e k ledge , am rson a a aran of an a ua un nown but ple , the pe l ppe ce ct lly k n a rson ide tifi ble pe . 8 CRYSTAL GAZING cr s al az n is no u se su estion be n y t g i g of , the gg i g

a i is n - Th e s m t c se en l non e en t. th t , o qu t y , xist a e

h r m h be a l dra unS bu t a n t eo y ig t pp ied to , Mr L g, as u sual has a s S w h cr al az n , tory to ho t at yst g i g on i n u l n d d c d occa s s is s . o , efu A frie of his e lare tha t if winners cou ld be spo tted by i t there wou ld be some use in it ; his wife promptly spotted the s an d w e m a m a i n winner of two races , y i g e, the

s an n hu b d became a co vert on the spot . I hasten to add that I do not recommen d this practice as a

a s n n nor . me n of maki g mo ey , does Mr Lang

e I forbear, however , to discuss the whole catalogu of objection s to the practice of crystal gaz in g or to its m a reality, ranging fro the belief th t it is the work of the devil to the ready- made theory that all

an a crystal gazers are neurotic d hysterical . A cryst l

i S - a V sion is imply a day dre m . The faculty of crystal gazing is closely allied to that of visualisi ng (or calling up the image of the object o f which one is

i mm n o n in n th nking) , which is co o ly f u d you g children (hen ce their use as Scryers in mediaeval

o times ) and in artists . Th se who doubt the allied faculty may be recommended to study M r Fran cis ’ o m an a Calton s Inquiry int Hu F culty . CHAPTER II

VISIO N A N D VISIO N S

R eal things Unreal things or hallucinations Au tom a tis ms— After images — Men tal pic tu res Illusions hypnagogiques I llus ions proper— R eversible pictures

T H E subject o f vision and its varieties has already been dealt with in the volume on Thought Trans

r ro o m fe ence, ap p s of the experi ents in crystal gazing, but it will be necessary to consider the

in r questions greate detail here , where we are deal ing specifically with visual impressions , whether ” r real or othe wise . To the ordinary man who do es not concern himself with metaphysical sub tleties the thi n gs he sees a re real when other people

m too or m see the , when he hi self can touch them or in some other way check the accuracy of the in for m n him n f atio supplied by the se se o sight . It is true that we may suffer from halluci n ati ons which affect two senses ; as we shall see later it is possible for a scryer ( or crystal gazer ) to see the lips of his Vision people move and at the same time hear what they say ; he thus suff ers from both auditory and Visual

a on h llucinati s .

9 I o CRYSTAL GAZING

a m Again, the test th t ore than one person sees a thing is apt to work out wrong in practice . Not only m ay two people see the same crystal Vision ( a case related by Mr Lang is very much to the

n — two saw poi t sceptics both an old lady , greatly

i u r an to the r disg st) , but we need go no furthe th such a common failin g as colour blindness to see that the test of common agreement may mean common agreement in a mistaken view of things ; for the perceptions of the colour blind are every bit as real to them as those of the normal sighted are to them ; and if we admit that half- a- dozen people are justified in regarding their perceptions as unquestionably real because they agree amon g

m o the selves in their descripti ns of what they see, half- a—dozen colou r - blind people would be equally justified in regarding their sensations as n ormal

in because they agree . Now it so happens that the case of colour bli n dn ess we can easily apply

m n m n m an d a re the test of com o agree e t at any ti e , ” s in thu no doubt as to what is normal and real ,

in m or o f but the case of crystal visions, and still e

mmo can the hallucinations co nly called ghosts , we

mm o apply no such test . On the theory of co n

m on agree ent , therefore, ghosts and crystal visi s must be reckoned as real if they pass the test o f common agreement am on g those who were present an d had an opportun ity o f seeing them— a view

o i n which does not c mmend itself . Fortunately

1 2 CRYSTAL GAZING

UN RE AL THINGS

This brin gs us to the definition of the term

on for mo hallucinati , which has st people unpleasant

o m r m r an d ass ciations of deliriu t e ens , hyste ia,

on me m diseased c ditions . Let assure the that as a term o f psychology it has no such evil associa

o ma s cholo ti ns ; it y , of course , happen that the p y gist has to deal with a person suff ering in the ways

r n to r desc ibed , and the he is bound speak of thei

r n n n n a r pe cepti o s as halluci atio s . But in the ordi y cou rse of thi n gs there is no suggestion of disease in the m ind o f the psychologist when he speaks of an hallucination ; all he m eans is that the pe rson aff w om w e r saw ected , h call the pe cipient , or heard o r felt or smelt som ethi n g just as if there were some

r ro i n on v exte nal cause to p duce th s se sati , whate er

w r in r no n a it was , he eas , fact , the e was exter al c use , the sen sation being eithe r an automatism o r due to

n hyp otic suggestion .

w om m an m The ord aut atis has alar ing look , but all m an was o r r — o r it e s is that what seen hea d , to a n m r — not use tech ical ter , the pe cept was due

an rn n or to an n n on on to y exte al cause , yet y i te ti the part o f the percipient ( to this class o f percepts

a r rn i n m m n we sh ll etu a o e t) , but , like Topsy , just ” r r a r n g owed . The e e two ki ds of automatism s

m o m m called otor, or such as pr duce ove ent as in VISION AND VISIONS 1 3 the case of the di vinin g rod or automatic w riting ;

and n r to v se so y , or such as cause our senses decei e us as when w e are dozing in the morning and seem to hear a knock— a very common experience with people who like an extra ten minutes befo re getting

up . m m m The ost fa iliar instance of an automatis is ,

o r n ra n d m . m a h wever, a d ea A drea is o ly rely ,

n m then probably o ly to a very s all extent, due to external causes ; it is created by the activity of

i n o r n n so - certa p tio s of the brai , in which the called

n om r higher ce tres seld pa ticipate , with the result that our d reams a re usually the most muddled

orm m na o n re perf ances i agi ble , th ugh it is o ly on

flection r that we ealise this , just as it is only on reflection that we discover that hallucination s of our waking moments are hallucin ations and not

n n r w r ordi ary waki g pe cepts . It ill probably se ve to dispel an y un pleasant taste still remaining after the wo rd halluci n ati on if we remark that the best

i n n an d m on r a re halluc atio s , al ost the ly pu e type,

r m w omm r a r d ea s , hich are so c on as to be eg ded

a orma mo o r as bsolutely n l in st pe ple , though the e are others who never d ream ( o r at an y rate never

a a r am and r a n recall th t they h ve d e t) othe s gai ,

mon w m m who r am r a a g ho is yself, d e pe h ps not

m an n m r on r r ore th a doze ti es a yea , but these a e

r n occasions with g eat vivid ess . 4 CRYSTAL GAZING

A FTER I M A GES

Between the ordinary sense perceptions of no rmal

r o r n r am pe s ns and pu e hallucinatio s , such as d e s , which a re absolutely indi vidual in thei r cha racter

a v ou t o f n a r m as ( I le e the questio telep thic d ea s , i n volvin g needless elaboration of po ints which are for ou r r n r o m or n r a re p ese t pu p se uni p ta t) , the e m n rm om o f n r any i te ediate stages , s e which are eithe

r n r i n r n o dinary se se pe cept o s no yet hallucinatio s .

In r v the fi st place we have after images . E ery one is fam ilia r w ith the fact that after looking at

n o r or r a bright light certain se sati ns pe sist , ather

ro o f an on r run th ugh a series ch ges , l g afte the original object has ceased to stimulate the optic ’ n rv n e n on e e . If o lies on o e s back the deck of a ship an d looks at the riggin g agai n st the br ight ’ m r an d o on n su me sky , then cl ses e s eyes , the resulti g

m a re m r v an d n n after i ages re a kably vi id e duri g, and the colours thus p resen ted to us a re o ften of

n r exceeding beauty . In my own case they e du e for m m fully two inutes after I have closed y eyes , an d r i n r r ro o f rep esent , the ea lie stages , the pes the r n n o n iggi g, at which I have bee l oking ; the the v r n r o r n n a ious li es g adually fuse t gethe , u til o ly a m f r o o m n r a w . ass col u re ai s , which g adu lly fades a ay Sometimes ou r after images will gi ve us inform a tion which the o riginal sensati on has denied us . VISION AND VISIONS 1 5

n am r in If I walk up Totte h Cou t Road the evening, a nd look at the brilliant electric lights outside the

r Oxfo d Music Hall , I fail to see the word Oxford on the globe— the illumi nation is excessive — but i f I close my eyes ( turni n g them away usually fails to p roduce the same eff ect) I see quite distinctly

o o r r the w rd Oxf d , or, at any ate , some of the letters Come out in black on a white ground ; this after image disappea rs without going through any series o f o n c lour cha ges , so far as I have been able to see a result possibly due to the diff e rence of condi

n r ffi tio s . For in the st eet it is di cult to lie down and observe the changes without attracting som e

o i an attenti n , and possibly rece ving invitation to m acco pany a gentleman in blue .

m ma These after i ages y also be postponed , and appear several hours after the original stimulations

o v a re r of the ptic ner e . Cases on record whe e people have looked at a candle just before closing

n m the eyes at night , and the seen the after i age of it fo r a moment immediately after opening the eyes * the following morning .

ME N TAL PICTUR ES

As a rule , however , it is safe to say that mental

are m n pictures , as they ter ed , seen after such a lo g

n m m r m lts o f i terval are e o y i ages, not direct resu

* r F . . 0 P oc. . R v . S . iii 45 1 6 CRYSTAL GAZING

m . ma the sti ulation of the retina How , it y be im ff asked , does a mental age di er from hallucina ! tion A hallucination , as we have seen , is an ff a ection of the senses , which seems at first sight to be caused by some external object ; to use a

n tech ical expression , it is externalised ; it seems

a im to be wholly outside us , where s mental ages and some i n termediate phenomena can be seen with n closed eyes , or are at any rate independe t of the m external world , or take no place a ong the sur roundings of the percipient, as is the case with hallucinations proper . Many people are able to recall in the form of a memory image any well- known scene or even m scenes, which they have Visited but once and al ost forgotten ( here we verge on the automatism

e m are Oth rs , among whom I am nu bered, unable, or

r r but very ra ely able , to call up a pictu e, and their

u r pict res are far less Vivid than the eality . This ’ ’ faculty of picturi n g to on e s mind s eye i s termed visualising . Good visualisers are able not only to recall scen es that have been p resent before their eyes of the flesh , but to construct pictures of their

m r m own , exactly as drea e s auto atically construct the scenery of their dreams . VISION AND VISIONS I 7

ILLUSION S HY P N AGOGI QU E S A N D THEIR ALLIES

Another class of perception s are called pseudo

i n m m o r and halluc nations . They are u like the e y fancy images of which we have just been speaki n g m n n n in being ore steady , as well as in bei g spo ta e

are m m m . ous ; they , in fact , what are ter ed auto atis s They diff er from the full - blown hallucinati on in not forming a part of the ordi na ry surroun di n gs

n of the seer . Thus , one lady describes such sce es a s n r o f o bei g, as it were , enclosed in a so t s ap

m m oom bubble, which see ed to co e sailing into the r

a r on a be m of light . She was quite awa e that

r m these visions were un eal , and could see the with

r not closed eyes equally well . They we e the result

for She r of disease , states that they we e vivid when

v ice vers a . she was in good health , and The most common form of these pseudo- hallucina “ ” n rm r tions is what is ofte te ed faces in the da k , the technical term for which is hypnagogic illu o sions . Many sane and healthy pe ple have , in the in n an d m a m terval between sleepi g waking, ent l i ages

n on o of su rprising vivid ess . Judging by the ly cca si on on which I have experienced anything o f this so rt they are fully as distinct as objects seen in the no rmal way under a bright light .

re not r Faces a the only objects , of cou se ; they ma be ow n y scenes , known or unknown , or, as in my 1 8 CRYSTAL GAZING

m n n case , so ething fa tastic ; what I saw was a lo g ’ ’ — o o procession of eyes lions eyes , cr c diles eyes ,

’ a o o f s — sn kes eyes, all s rts eye and that in a state

r so . of pe fect health , far as I could judge Often some conn ection may be traced between

these pictures and the thoughts of the percipient .

n Br nhilda Thus , one percipient had been readi g of y ,

an d i her lay in bed think ng about life, when out there came in the darkness a gran d face— worth ’ anyon e s toil to transfer it to canvas— and so Vivid

r o that , years afte , he c uld have depicted it if he had ” n n r ma n bee a a tist . It y be noted in passi g that the artist seldom succeeds in transferring to canvas with full satisfaction to himself the pictures which ’ n in n he has see his m i d s eye . With the illus ion hypnagogiqu e we reach the

r n o o ve ge of the halluci ati n pr per ; and it is, in fact, a matter o f no small difficulty to discrim inate between some fo rms of them and the full - blown halluci na

. a re r on tion We , howeve , not c cerned with these

r n questions he e, the crystal visions bei g clearly of

o - the type of the s ap bubble Vision already mentioned . We shall deal with them more in detail in the next chapter .

ILL USION Up to the present we have been dealing either with pictures entirely divorced from the objects of the surroundin g w orld or with those enti rely de

20 CRYSTAL GAZING s a o n h wa w e or hree t mes the d stance 06 and h d w o t e ll t ic t i i , r as a as am in th n perhaps twel ve feet high . The e w g l p e la e o ut s ide which shed a light th rough the lower twel ve inches or s o o f n ow and s a ow was aused the cu r the wi d , the h d c by s n so ar of o ou r t a i n h anging be ide the wi dow. The lit y bit c l in the im age— the red rope in the d ress ing- gown— was imm e diately a fte r identified a s the twisted red m aho gany han dle of the r s s n a w was in the same line of vision as d e i g t ble , hich ” a r f s a p t o the h dow.

Pro fessor Sorley remarks that this illusion h as no o nn r m o men c ection with the d ea , which he als ti o ns ; o therwi se one would be tempted to rega rd it a s s imply a survival from the dream projected

nto the s rro nd n r l i u u i g po tion of the external wor d .

O n e o n ak ro m r m n u c , w ing f a d ea , in which an om ib s fi u ed t the or o n g r . wi h w ds Baker Street to the s de in a o n i e i , vex ti n at not bei g able to d scov r whether it was the o ne I wanted ( my subliminal had ’ no t ee a to o c b n equ l the creati n of a bus condu tor , n o r ha it o rr me d ccu ed to to ask the driver) , I ’ tho ught to myself : Bother that bus ; if I loo k

in I a se r Iga m y e it somewhe e else . So I opened m e es o n d y y , and the wall just before me the wor “ ” Water o o r l , in la ge letters , developed, and per s st d fo r o ten i e s me seconds . i i There is another class of illus ons, wh ch , how

d n ever, har ly concerns us here ( the beari g of illu sions on crystal visions will be seen in the n ext chapter ) . These are the familiar experiences with

r puzzle pictu es , in which a face or figure has to be VISION AND VISIONS 1 f n in trouvable ou d and which, to myself, are usually ;

m m m r or, in a ore co plex for , the reve sible pictures, of m m which any exa ples are now sold, such as the

- e . n duck rabbit, or the pile of cub s Havi g seen the

r one r ff o pictu e way, it is only by a conside able e rt

r that we are able to reverse it . Prope ly speaking, these interchangeable eff ects can hardly be included

mo i o ff a re a ng illus ons , inasmuch as b th e ects equally

an d real , can be reproduced at will, which is not the n case with an illusio proper . CHAPTER III

CR YSTA L VISIO N S

Genes is of vis ion— [bu K aldou n on crys tal gazing — M odern des cr iptions — Miss A ngu s— Op tical laws of visions

R N N no to n in r TU I G w crystal Visio s pa ticular , we ma r m n m y, f o a theoretical poi t of View , divide the

n two m a m be i to ain cl sses, the line of de arcation tween which is the same as that between halluci na

o an d n o r ti ns illusio s, th ugh in othe respects the two classes of crystal visi on s do not belon g to either

a o r a s r of these c teg ies , being, we have al eady seen ,

o - n o o a n pseud halluci ati ns , or bjects ppare tly ex tern al but not fo rm in g in any real sen se part o f the

r n outside world . The class of c ystal visio s which is on all- fours w ith pure hallucina ti on s is that which IS seen ( an d it m ay be n oted that we use crystal vision as a con venien t gen eral term for any vision depen di n g for its genesis on practices described in

r . Chapters V . and VI . ) in pe fectly dark objects A ’ r an for m m r f iend of Mr L g s , exa ple, ade his fi st

n o n n o r n n experime t by l oki g i t a pe fectly dark fu el , coveri n g up his head s o as to exclude all sources of

n n n o illum ination except i ter al o es . He soon f und

23 CRYSTAL VISIONS 2 3

that the funnel filled with light, and then fancy

ex eri pictures followed . Singularly enough, this p m o m enter d es not recall a single drea , and, if we may assume that his non - recollection is a proof of non

r existence , never does d eam .

In other cases , and these approach illusions very

om m r n closely s eti es , the crystal pictu e origi ates in the small specks of light or shade or colour which are found in every crystal ( these are termed in

‘ u oin ts de re ere technical lang age p p ) or may, like an r be m illusion p oper, anufactured out of reflections

r I and shadows in the c ystal ; but, once nitiated , seem m to be independent of the , and in this respect are,

u m of course, sharply disting ished fro illusions of

the ordinary type . In the case of good scryers the crystal picture

an seems to develop instantaneously . Mr L g records

r b and saw the case of a gi l who picked up the all , in it a piece of paper covered With w ritin g which

r rn she took to be in the ball . Anothe actually tu ed

on the ball round , expecting to see the picture the

back . m m In other cases the ball see s to fill with ist, and perhaps ends by disappeari ng ; or the mist m ay

the clear away, and picture be seen , as it would be

n if a curtai were drawn away . On this point the observations of Ibn Kaldoun are of i n terest :

n n o r d a an Ceux qui regarde t da s les c ps i ph es , 24 CRYSTAL GAZING

’ et tels que les miroirs , les cuvettes remplies d eau

oe les liquides ; ceux qui inspectent les c urs , les foies et les 03 des animaux ; ceux qui président par le jet

- la a artien de cailloux ou de noyaux, tous ces gens pp

n n a n . n e t la catégorie des devi s . Ils tache t ’ d arriver au but en essayan t de concentrer en u n

vu e seul sens toutes leurs perceptions . Comme la

le le e e est sens plus noble, ils lui donnent la pr f r

n fix ant e un a su erficie e ce, leurs r gards sur objet p ’ n e con sidérent u s u a u ie, ils l avec attention j q ’ ’ cc qu ils y apercoiven t la chose qu ils Veulen t an ’ n on cer r nn m . Quelques pe so es croient que l i age apercu e de cette man iere se dessine sur la su rface

r r n du mi oir ; mais ils se t ompe t . Le devin regarde ’ ’ fix em en t cette surface ju squ a cc qu elle disparaisse

’ ’ et n a u n n r qu n rideau, semblable brouillard s i te

r o r u r cc n n pose en t e lui et le mir i . S rideau se dessi e t ’ les formes qu il desire apercevoir et cela lui permet

n n fi m de do ner des indicatio s, soit af r atives, soit ’ n r Il n n cc i . égatives, sur qu o dés e savoir raco te

’ i n alors les perceptions tels qu il les reco t. Les devi s

’ ’ n n u ils n n a er oivent as pe da t q sont da s cet état, p e p

’ cc qui se voit réellemen t ( dan s le miroir) c est u n autre mode de perception qui nait chez eux et qui

’ ’ s o cre au o vue m am . p , non pas m yen de la , ais de l e Il ’ am est vrai que, pour eux, les perceptions de l e ressemblent a celles des sen s au point de les tromper ;

du n on m m o n . e fait qui , reste, est bie c u La e ch se arrive a ceux qui exam in en t les coeurs et les fo ies IBN KALDOUN 25

’ ’ n i u x ou r n n d a ma [ qui rega de t da s l eau , dans ’ les cuvettes ou dan s d autres objets du meme Nous avon s vu quesques - uns de ces

’ ’ in dividu s en traver l opération des sens par l emploi ’ de simples fum igation s puis se servir d incantation s ’ afin de donner a l ame la dispo sition requise ’ n n u ils nt en su ite ils raco te t ce q o apercu . Ces ’ o m n - mon n n et re ré f r es , dise t ils, se tre t da s l air p

n n r nn n n au se te t des pe so ages elles leur appren e t , ’ ’ m o n d emblém es et u ils ye de signes , les choses q

n r n i cherche t a savo i . Les i d vidus de cette classe

’ se détachent mo in s de l in fluence des sen s que

’ n L un ivers ceux de la classe précéde te . est plein de

m rv ill ' ' e e es . l O n a later page the author remarks zi Les gen s qui se serven t de pareilles procédés avec

’ l in ten tion de con naitre les secrets du monde in

n o n et ne n visible fo t disent rie qui vaille .

Another scryer describes her experien ces as follo ws

oon m n n I s see a pale golden light , see i gly u iting,

s assa a ar o a r Thi p ge ppe s t be a l te addition.

' IBN KAL O in ti x tr it de l i N o ces t E a s s S . e i e M S d a B b . 1 D UN , I m I n as . . 22 1 K ou rn n p xix . b ald n w bo at Tu i s in 1 332 . He was in s rv of var ous s u ans and at a e of r the e ice i lt , the g thi ty n to n He a wan r n an d wro his P r o w S a . le e t p i led de i g life , te o mena rom w s ra is a n a ou 1 in an g , f hich thi ext ct t ke , b t 374, r n a T ao u h z ut Alge i an to w c lled g o .

l bi 0 d 2 . i . p . 4 2 6 CRYSTAL GAZING frequenty cut with flashes of electr ic or magn etic

. n a light In the soft, pale, golde light there ppears

o m n o m m a sp t of deep yellow gold ovi g ab ut , so eti es

n r m in a circle . After watchi g it fo some ti e it

o n om n res lves itself i to s ethi g like an eye, with a

r n n o f o da k , deep blue pupil ; the with a ri g g ld a round the eye cen tre ; then into a rin g o f lighter

u m n o bl e, rese bli g an eye . I first saw this bject two

u n m r or three weeks after p rchasi g the irro . The

at in n n first Object I saw all was the eve i g, when I was Sittin g with back towards the bright lamp

. o m n m a n light I had sat ab ut twenty i utes , i p tie t and discouraged at seeing n othin g but a black m n u n a n r irror, whe s dde ly the appe ra ce desc ibed above showed itsl near the left- han d lower corner o f n two- r the disc, slowly passi g upward thi ds the

o r - n n n way t wa ds the right ha d upper cor er, whe it

n sudden ly disappeared . This has bee repeated

n several times with variatio s . Its size is that of a * silver dime .

o n — I o r n [R . g es o ] kn w cases whe e that ide tical spot o f golden light has resolved itself i nto an

n o m n n rn ethereal la e, thr ugh which ag ifice t supe al

n n o n realities have bee see . M re tha this , I have

n o n r on one m in o k w three pe s s at ti e , br ad daylight , see the same thi n g— a magn ificent livin g picture embodyin g the m ost splen did arabesqu e scen ery . Accordin g to Miss Angus the Vision sometimes i R an o Seers h . . d lph , p, p 74

28 CRYSTAL GAZING

n d m a a o . interest , y be qu ted here She is a good

u a an d no f in n vis liser, has di ficulty calli g up a m ental picture ; but the Vision s seen on looki n g i n to a

or o f a in m crystal glass w ter are, she says , so e

e n n r spects u like all other visual impressio s . A dim in m ff bu t light is, her case , ost e ectual ; she has

r in too— seen the pictu es bright light never , how ’

n r n in o . ever , like Mr La g s f ie d , abs lute darkness For Mrs Verrall the picture is built up from the

o n in n bright p i ts the crystal , but, o ce produced, the picture has a reality which she cannot give to her

n om n in me tal images . She has seld bee able to vestigate the effect o f a magnifyin g- glass on her

on m r . Visi s , as they always te po arily disappeared

m o m n n ff In so e cases , h wever , they re ai ed u a ected ,

one m o n m n o and in case a te p rary e large e t t ok place, though this was not the normal effect of the lens . I do n ot know whether Mrs Verrall is very suggest

n or n ible, yet, if she is , what her expectatio s were

n n m n in the case of enlargeme t . The phe o e on suggests that optical laws had n othin g to do with * the case . Crystal visions are equally unaffected in other cases by the use of optical in struments . A friend o f n n Mr A drew La g gets crystal pictures , but they

how r u n ff n . a e a ected by weari g spectacles He,

r saw n m n eve , his Visio s ore distinctly tha real

* R a s r c. F . v e o . 8 S e o S . . o . 6 F . R . S. . v Pr c. iii 473 l P iii 4 , OPTICAL LAWS 29

on n n n objects . In this c ectio it is of i terest to note that the pictures presen ted by m irage in the desert are said to be rendered m o re distin ct by the use of

fi l - m in i e d . o a a glass The gentle an quest n saw .

on an d n n face on one occasi , on tur i g the glass saw

r fil * it in p o e.

m m n m to o In so e cases , however, experi e ts see sh w 4 that the use of magnifying glasses and other optical instruments m ay modify the crystal picture . A well—known optician of Bon d Street carried ou t a series o f experimen ts with Miss Goodrich- Freer

om an d r n s e years ago , ar a ged the conditions so that she could not be aware of the n ormal effects of the

m on u o four lenses e ployed real objects . S ggesti n

avo idedx ' m n was thus l In all , eight experi e ts

five were tried , and in the pictures behaved like a real Object . The lenses were fitted in to four pairs

an d ff of eyeglasses, their respective e ects on real objects at the given distan ce would have been A to duplicate the Object vertically ; B to blur it ;

C ff D to o n a no e ect ; duplicate it h rizo t lly . The

m n Mr n n experi e ter, Dixey , ha ded the le ses person

and m n ally to Miss Freer, the experi e ts resulted as follows

1 A ( ) gave distance .

2 B m ( ) picture disappeared , then beca e more intense .

‘ l ‘ ' Pro . F R v . 222 c F . . J . . S R . 1 S . . 0 . . . iii l x 8 30 CRYSTAL GAZING

( 3 ) Picture disappeared .

I n all these ca ses no su ch effect would have been

I n two 6 an d o . pr duced on real objects cases , 7, the result would have been attai n ed in lookin g at real objects if the r ight eye alone had been used ; they were

( 6 ) A lowered part of the picture .

t ( 7) D m oved it o the right .

In A C D the other cases the , , and glasses had

no r ff ff n their mal e ect . How far this di ere ce of

’ n Verrall s m n results betwee Mrs experi e t , carried

’ n m n on and r r out u der the sa e co diti s, Miss F ee s is attr ibutable to a differen ce in the type of their

on it ffi u to : A riori hallucinati s is di c lt say p , it m ex eoted r who and ight be p that Mrs Ve rall , uses ,

n o oin ts de re r e o the k ws that she uses , p pe , w uld be on e to find that her pictures behaved like real

O oo r - o u bjects ; while Miss G d ich Freer , wh se pict res

’ are as spontaneou s as Mrs Verrall s an d not pre

an or u n in r a ou ceded by y mist c rtai the c yst l , sh ld

fin d o n ff — u n n her Visi ns u a ected less , i deed , her om issi on to n otice the in flu en ce of poin ts de r eper e

not m oin ts de r e er e n o rt o r does ean that p p play pa ,

n a m in o m n o ly very s all part, the devel p e t of her

n . o n 15 one an Visio s The p i t an interesting , d if

* P o R i. 8 . . v . r c. S. F 4 5 CRYSTAL VISIONS 3 1 any crystal gazer who reads these lines will try some experimen ts and communicate them to me I shall

n o to be very glad . Of special i terest w uld it be kno w what happen s in the case of those person s whose Visi on s are preceded by the disappearan ce of the crystal . CHAPTER IV

T H E S E L M A N D T H E M OF S N I T P CU U , ETHOD U I G

’ Tritheim s r ecip e— P aracelsus— Dr Dee— M agica l a nd religious r ecip es — M oder n mys ter ies — Ad vice of pr actical scryers

I N the followin g chapters we shall see that a great variety of Objects are used to prom ote the external i ion o f u m n m a n sat s bli i al i ges . Not o ly is the plain

a o r n on cryst l , its conge er the black st e, used , to

i o n m o an d r m gether w th its first c usi the irr r , the p i i

o f m an o tive substitute water, but al ost y bright bject

n n t seem s to have been employed at o e time or a o her . Thus we fin d the sword amon g the Rom an s ; and in mediaeval Europe polished iron is suggested in ’ Faust s Hiillens wang; lamp - black is sometimes

m n o r a o s eared on the ha d, , as we sh ll see later , a p ol o f in k poured in to it ; Visions are seen in sm oke and

am in i n an d on a fl e, black boxes , jugs , white p per ; in m ore than one place we fin d that divin ers gaze at the livers of slain animals to provoke halluci n a

on and ae m ti s ; a classical and medi val ethod , which

own n has lasted until our day, co sisted in blind

o n and i n him f ldi g the seer , suggest g to that he should scry in a mirror with the top of his head . 32 ’ TR IT HE IM S SPECULUM 33

In o f m ae the idea edi val scryers , however , the

o o f u m no to selecti n a spec lu was light matter , be

n o u dertaken with ut due preparation , as we shall presen tly see in the qu otations from the H (i llen

n zwa g.

For n o f S m - the preparatio the peculu , shew stone , s m h o r y p , triune there are many recipes . Here are some of them : The Abbot T ritheim says : Procure o f a lapidary

o u n m a g od , clear pell cid crystal of the big ess of a s all

n — n in e. o o n nd m ora ge i . ab ut e i ch a a half dia eter ;

o n n let it be gl bular , or rou d each way alike ; the ,

ot an d when you have g this crystal fair clear , with out or m o f fin e any clouds specks , get a s all plate gold to en compass the crystal roun d one half ; let this

r be fitted on an ivo ry or ebon y pedestal . Let the e be

n u n e graved a circle ro d the crystal , with these char

n acters aroun d in side the circle ext the crystal .

w n m ee I . u ( S Plate , fig re After ards the a e

m n Tetragra maton . O the other side of the plate let

n r : r R a there be e g aven Michael , Gab iel , Uriel , ’ n n phael , which are the four pri cipal a gels ruling

o Sun oon n an d . ver the , M , Ve us , Mercury The table on which the crystal stan ds must be in scribed as

I . shown in Plate , figure Paracelsus recommen ds you to take ten parts of

o f five o f o two pure gold , ten silver , c pper , of tin ,

- o on e n filin s and five o f u . tw of lead , of iro g , merc ry

i h in arr Ma us 1 . Tr t . B ett, g , 35 34 CRYSTAL GAZING

Melt the lead and add the mercury when Saturn an d i n n n o o Mercury are co ju cti n . Let it co l , and reheat it when Jupiter is in conjun ction with the

in n two n m t . o e already a ed , and add the When of

on n these planets is in c ju ction with the Sun , the

on n and o . Mo , or Ve us , add the gold , silver , c pper Then at a con junction with Mars add the powdered

- r r i . i on . Stir with a d y w tch hazel

o m u m o f two Y ur irror sho ld have a dia eter inches , an d shou ld be cast in san d at a con j u nction o f

u u m n n J piter and Ven s . S ooth it with a gri dsto e , an d o tri ol and o f m o p lish with p y a piece li ew od , when the plan etary in flu en ces are favourable . When the mirror is prepar ed keep it in a clean lin en

ma an d r n cloth , and you y see in it the past the p ese t ,

n o f men and all the doi gs , all that has ever been

n or r and and spoke w itten , the person who said it, his

n reaso s .

’ O ne account of Dr Dee s speculum is that it was

flat n o a black sto e of very cl se texture, with a highly

r - an - i n in and polished su face, half ch thickness , seven

in m m and a quarter dia eter ; of a circular for ,

o except at the top , where there is a sort of lo p, with * n or u t a hole for suspe sion . H ace Walpole p the follow in g note on the back :

The black stone in to which Dr Dee u sed to call

v . oo . n his spirits, his b k This sto e was men

* and iv 1 N . Q . . 55.

36 CRYSTAL GAZING

o n in n br ad square crystall or Ve ice Glasse , le gth 8 i , breadth 3 nches . Then lay that glasse or crystall in the blond of a white henne 3 Wedn es

Fri n n dayes or 3 dayes . The take it out a d a m wash it with holy q . and fu igate it . Then take

a 3 Hazle sticks or wands of an ye r growth , peel them fayre and white ; and make them so lon g as ’ ’ you can write the spiritt s n ame or f ayrie s which m e m you call , 3 ti es on every stick b ing ade

fl att . u m om on one side Then b ry the under s e Hill ,

f ri n o a es . be whereas ye supp se the y hau t , the Wed

o r o n m f e you call her , and the Friday f llowi g take the ’ u an d 8 1 0 O o n ppe call her at or 3 or cl ck , whe be good plan etts and hou res for that time but when you

u r o n ou call t n thy face t wards the East . And whe y

r n er to r have he bi d h that stone o glasse .

r Ba rence For myself I call Ma garet , but this will ” n e n ot a ou obtain any o that is alre dy b nd .

u n in In other cases a religio s eleme t com es . Aubrey says o f a crystal This beryl is a perfect

m o f u om sphere, the dia eter which I g ess to be s e thing more than an inch ; it is set in a rin g or circle of silver resemblin g the meridian of a globe ; the i l m n a l . ste of it is about ten i ches h gh , gilt At the

— fou r quarters o f it are the names o f four an gels viz .

. to Uriel , Raphael , Michael , Gabriel On the p is a ”

ee . cross patee . ( S Plate II ) Of another he says : A beryl in the possession of

r Si Edward Harley , Knight of the Bath , which he ’ AUBREY S BERYL 37

o m - n keeps in his cl set at Bra pton Brya , in Hereford

i m n m m m o . sh re , a o gst his Ci elia , ca e first fro N rfolk

m n and A i ister had it there , a call was to be used

m an d with it . Afterwards a iller had it , both did work great cures with it ( if curable) , and in the beryl they did see either the receipt in writi n g or else the

m n or n herb . To this i ister the spirits a gels would

n an d who appear ope ly ; because the miller, was his

m r n one n to m fa iliar f ie d , day happe ed see the he

a hi r g ve m the aforesaid be yl and call . By these

n an gels the mi n ister was forewar ed of death . ’ Afterwards this beryl came in to somebody s hand

in on who r n n n s Lond , did tell st a ge thi gs by it , i o

m n for uch that at last he was questio ed it, and it was taken away by authority [about Modern spiritualists or mystics have precepts for

the use of crystals . A modern author says the mirror must be an

o S i so blate pheroid w th two foci , that the magical

S n u m to fluids lide alo g the s rface fro one other . It

u o o u m st be concave, therwise the fluid w uld bo nd

n n u o ff or collect u der eath . It m st be made of a thin

film o m n o f of g ld ; then a co pou d fifteen bodies , associated with phthallic acid an d paranaphthalen e

an d and so on ( these are elective electric) , ! I will

not n ion on m i flict a full descript y readers . ” These are dear, says the author . A cheap

u r is c llanie iv M e s . 2 1 A b ey, , 9. ' R an o Scers hi i d lph , p, p . 55. 38 CRYSTAL GAZING substitute is the following — Mould a lump o f clay

htl nd mo h s li convex . a g y Dry , bake it hard, s ot its surface ; then press pasteboard till all is sm ooth

N v to e and even . ow make a conca e one match ; she t

— of fine plate glass between ; bake till it shapes itself . Make two alike ; betw een these two cemented pou r ” ink r black till full ; seal the apertu e . The same fan ci ful author says there a re th ree so rts of crystals :

1 r ( ) Mule or neu te : this is small .

( 2 ) Well- sexed or female : the foci are true ; it

r n is ve y se sitive .

Abdul Aziz had one of a diamond ( value

n o the back of his watch . Maha

Dhu lee n on u rajah p Si gh had a diam d , a r by,

n d an m a e erald .

a r ( 3 ) M le mirro : the foci four inches apa rt .

m r r r n be n ed i ts wn r The i o is o ly to ha dl by o e , or the magn etisms will be mixed ; others m ay look at it in a box .

a o s r n w w Cle n it with s ap uds, i se ell , wash ith

fl ri o uo c a o w v . alc hol or cid, and p lish ith vel et It must be frequen tly magnetised— make pa sses i w five m . s ith the r ght hand , at a ti e This keep i li a n t a ve. If you m ke them with the left ha d it

iv it sens iv n ss g es it e e .

Randol h e r hi e s . p , S p, p 87. MODERN MIRRORS 39

l s Have your back to the light a way . m m The top ust lean fro the scryer .

a m n When sever l look it ust be suspe ded . You will see clouds first— they are really on the ” m n m ag etic field , which collects fro the eyes of

r n m n the sc yer . Perso s of a agnetic temperame t

n - n - S n n — bru ette , dark eyed , brow ki ed charge it

i not m ff n qu cker, but ore e ectually , than blo des , who

an m a n are of electric te per me t .

m r n Never expose the irro to direct su light . The Vision s seen in the left han d are real ; those in the

an m n n m a right h d are sy bolic . Asce di g clouds e n

n n Yes ; desce di g clouds m ean N0 .

’ Those who like to ca rry out Mr Randolph s direction s will give themselves a good deal of

n n n trouble to o purpose . The o ly useful suggestio which he makes is that the back Should be to the light— a con dition on which most crystal gazers of

‘ m n a n . o a y acquai t nce i sist On the ther h nd, I have heard of a scryer who looked at a can dle flam e

an - through egg shaped crystal , and got equally good results . Mr Lan g makes the followin g suggestion s

n n m n It is best to go alo e i to a roo , sit dow with

on the back to the light , place the ball the lap , at

u on r or r a just foc s , a dark d ess da k piece of cloth ;

n try to exclude reflections , think of a ything you

a m . ple se , and stare for, say , five inutes at the ball If after two or three trials you see n othing in the 40 CRYSTAL GAZING

ma m a l n n ball ( which y see to v nish, eavi g o ly the pictures) you will probably never succeed . If the experience of the Indian Mussulman goes

n n hi s for a ythi g, I rather suspect Mr Lang has cut

r o n pe i d of probation rather short . As we have see

anoon - e- m mm n r in the Q Isla , they reco e d the sc yer r to go on for three quarters of an hour or mo e .

Again, two or three trials are certainly too few . Even in the case of a specially - gifted scryer the m power is often absent for weeks at a ti e, just as

t c m m m m in o a n d in o her ases drea s so eti es co e sh als ,

in an an then fail to put appearance , or at y rate to

an m n on n n o n leave y i pressio the waki g co sci us ess ,

m n n n m . a for o ths at a ti e I h ve , perso ally , ever seen

n m o m anythi g, so y own advice d es not go for uch ; m but I suspect Mr Lang is in the sa e case . I should

n am no r try , if I did not already k ow that I scrye , for

ten m m ot . inutes or ore ; in fact , till the eyes g tired

S ma im the I hould ke two or three trials at a t e, in

r n n n afte noo or early eveni g by prefere ce, at inter

n a vals of ten days or a fortnight, and o ly after sever l m sets should I give up the atte pt .

’ Miss Goodrich - Freer s experience may be of value

. su es to good visualisers I , therefore, give her gg tions here

Look carefully at some part of the room in front

ou n n of y , avoidi g a ything likely to be reflected in

a . o and the b ll Shut y ur eyes , try to visualise it ; DIRECTIONS 4 1

then try if you can see it in the crystal . If you have any gift of Visualisation at all this ought to be

- - n acquired with ease after half a dozen experim e ts .

ma on When you can do this you y go to visualise , m a with closed eyes, so e scene that you h ve lately

— and can witnessed this , too , be transferred to the

m and . e crystal It is well to b gin with si ple subjects , increase their complexity pari pass u with the growth

sa — of your powers . Begin , y, with a chair the only

n thing that I have ever bee able to visualise at will , so far as my memory serves me ; then take more com m e t plex objects ; then try a si pl scene, wi h one person

an d on . and a background, so CHAPTER V

HISTOR ICA L

Savage s cryers — Crys tal gazing in in itiation cer e m on ies — Cr s tal azin in I ndia China P ers ia y g g , , Th e mirror of Pythagoras

A LL the world over m an seems to have discovered that pictures or Vision s can be seen in a speculum

m a r as or so e clear depth , and n tu ally uses it , is the

a m n in ou r own da c se with no s all sectio of society y , for the purpose of discovering the future, or trying

i n to do so , or of finding out what is go g on at a

o r r distance . With their success othe wise we are n ot n m concer ed in this chapter , which is si ply an a n u ccou t of the various methods in vog e . A corre ’ spondent of Mr Andrew Lan g s states that in West Australia the boylya or medici n e m an puts himself into the crystal to descry the results of a distant

o mm expedition . It is pr bably a co on practice ; for ’ the crystal is a valuable pa rt of the m edicine man s

m m so equip ent all over Australia , so uch that women are not allowed to look at it ; he uses it

n - m a i and in a m n for rai k ng , the state of fr g e ts , for

I n n . curi g diseases West Australia the scryer ,

m m s m r apparently , so eti es use the fla e of the bu ial 42

44 CRYSTAL GAZING

When a badger was killed it was kept by the older Th d was e d . e p ople till night , and then skinne bloo

o bo n to p ured into a wl , and the childre had look at

m sa the selves in it by moonlight . If they w them selves with grey hair it mea n t long life ; if the picture was dark and indistinct the child would die of sickness ; if no picture were seen at all the child * n m . would live , and be killed by the e e y The

o m o acc unt is not very clear, but see s obvi usly to

n n i relate to viscous a d ot ord nary reflection s . Amon g the Iroquois the crystal was placed in a gourd of water to render visible the appariti on o f a

e has p rson who bewitched another , exactly as they do in the Hebrides to this day ! In Yucatan the main instrument of the divi n er

zaztun a z or is the ( the clear stone ) , a qu rt crystal

i n um sim lar object , before which he bur s g copal as an m rm a an a incense , and recites agic fo ul s in rchaic

l n re dia ect . This done, the sto e has the power of

fl in n ect g the past a d the future . The soothsayer

n o a gazes i to its clear depths , and sees where l st rticles

n n n are reposi g, learns what is happe ing to the abse t , and by whose witchery sickness and disaster have descen ded upon those who have called him in to

n r i their aid . It is said that early eve y village n

n n Yucata has one of these sto es . I n Mexico crystal gazi n g seem s to have been

lklo 1 m o r e v . M m A F . e . S . , . iii 35

'

r n on E s s a s . 16 . 1 B i t , y , p 5 ASIA 45

* in r n known , and Pe u one of the I cas is said to have discovered crystal gazing . In Sarawak the manang or shaman uses Batu i lan

en an sam en at z a or Batu gg meda g , quart cryst ls ( specimens are to be seen in the Pitt Rivers m Museu , Oxford ) , to view the condition of his ’ n be patie t s soul , which may seen in the sight

m n or stone i gled with the souls of the well , separ m ated from them , the latter condition being the ost i ser ous . After finding the soul in the stone of light the manang goes i nto a trance ; when he

man an wakes he has the soul of the sick in his h d . in ma ma the shape of a bit of wood , or , it y be, a s ll

’ beetle— thus goin g one better than Scheff er s Finn ish

m m n sha an , who only brought back inani ate toke s from the foreign lands he visited ! Sir Frank Swettenham found an Arab i n the Malay Pen i n sula whose methods seem to be much the same as those of the Egyptian magicians and

n m o m . m India Moha edans Having l st so e property , he wa s advised by several Malay frien ds to go to a

had not m in o . m diviner He uch faith the eth d , but .

n man n m who n a bei g a of ope ind , recog ises th t

nom m a i n phe ena y be seen , especially the East , which are not explai n ed by modern text - books on n m a atural philosophy , he ade the tri l .

‘ A rchi n th i v . . A . N . i . f , S. 45.

I A th I ns t n ti s o a rawak . n i L Ro N a e S . . v T . xxxii ; cf i g th , f ,

. 2 t i 73 c s eq . 46 CRYSTAL GAZING

The first diviner was an A rab of ve ry remark

a a n . was ble appe ra ce He about fifty years old ,

a a r and n t ll , with pleas nt featu es extraordi ary grey

r an d - n m an blue eyes , clea far seei g, a of striking and

m on l i pressive pers ality . He said he wou d be a m e o com ble to tell all about the r bbery, who ni itted It o o and , where the st len pr perty then was, that all he would wan t w as an empty house wherein

m in o o he ight fast s litude for three days, with ut w a ra on n ot to hich prep ti , he said , he would be able

. o m e see what he sought He t ld that , after his v r n igil , fast , and p ayer , he would lay on his ha d a small piece o f paper on which there would be some w n i n o he w o o r an d riti g ; t this uld p u a little water , in this extem porised m i rror he w ould see a vision

w o r n a o . a of the h le t a s cti n He declared that , fter

a n n o n n - r g zi g i tently int this divi i g glass , the inquire

r o n u m an . n fi st rec g ised the fig re of a little old The ,

n al in n to havi g duly s uted this j , it was ecessary

him to n n ask co jure up the sce e of the robbery , when all the details would be re— enacted in the

n z liquid glass u der the eyes of the ga er, who

n r ll would there a d then desc ibe a he saw . I had n n a heard all this before, o ly it had bee st ted to me that the m edium through whose eyes the v ision could alone be seen must be a youn g child o f such tender yea rs that it could n ever

a v o ! ro e h e t ld a lie The Arab, however, p f ssed

m on the n hi self not ly able to conjure up sce e, MALAYS 47 but to let m e see it for myself if I would follow his

n n a U fortu ately , Sir Fr nk was travelling when he met i n n a d . th s diviner, they ever met again A local chief professed to have the power ; but his medium apparently become cataleptic as soon as

o a the visi n beg n to develop, and was not restored fo r two hours . After that all the mothers of ” n - te der aged and possibly truthful children , says ” Sir n Frank, decli ed to lend their children . The

end r chief was not at the of his resources , and a t ial

i - o m n with a div ning b wl , which oved in the ha ds of the holder when a piece of paper contai ni n g the

am on com n e of the thief was placed the top , was

letel ' m me p y successful . Mr Skeat j infor s that more than one other method of gazing is in use

mon m n n a g the Malays . I have e tio ed that in Australia the smoke and flame of the burial fire seem to be used for divination I n Malacca they use

m a an azm the fla e of c dle for g g, and profess to see

i in n n . n a o vis o s it U fortunately, I h ve details as to the procedure or results .

n r m an d A othe ethod is to chew betel , use the

a m o coloured saliv , in a etal cup or ther vessel , as a speculum .

n a nd In Japa black boxes are said to be used , I

S a i a Mala M c 8. ke t, y g , 53 ' M no 1 S. te.

M . n t S ote . 48 CRYSTAL GAZING in Siberia and East Russia the shamans look i nto * the vessel . I n the notes to the 1 888 edition of the Chinese criminal code we find the following details as to crystal gazing in China — It is known as Yiian

n - o ma n kua g fuch u , the gic of the round glitteri g ,

- - and was practised by a certain Sun yuan g Shen g . When anythin g was lost he used to han g up a piece o f an d a m white paper, utter a spell , h ving at the sa e m time a strip of paper with agic formulae. Then

a a n d i an he m de a boy look at the paper , he , w thout y

on him r picture the paper before , desc ibed the face

f n o . m a o and clothes the thief The gicia , in acc rd

m wa s ance with the law against i posture , punished

Y an - n - o for using spells . The ii kua g fuch u is very m com on in Pekin , and the authorities take no steps i f to h nder the tra fic . A story is told of a European who o a and r lost a valuable ph togr phic lens, recove ed

a m m m n it by the aid of ediu , he hi self bei g the scryer . Possibly a shrewd suspicion of the thief, and his identity— he was an official well known to the

— n scryer helped the development o f the hallucinatio . Other methods of discoveri n g the thief are the m o am r an d re f iliar ones of the bowl of clean wate , the m irrors! The Indian Mohamm edan s i use Viewi n g of ” u - r r n jun ( lamp black ) o the magic mir or .

‘ i i n i 2 t e s . s e s v . 8. M . s t A t , G . 0 ,

' D D es cri t . 22 Ha ion . C . u 1 f lde, p iii - - l I n n I s a 2 . t Qa oo e m, 54 INDIA 49

For the purpose of ascertain i ng where stolen

n n goods are co cealed , or the co dition of the sick who a re possessed by the devil , or where treasure

un un m has been buried , they apply j to the pal s

n or i him of the ha d of a child an adult , and des re to

at . stare well it This is practised , it is said , by

nn Yogis and Su eca sses .

— iz I th u n u n Un un s five n v . Ur j are of ki ds ( ) j , used for disco verin g stolen property ; ( 2 ) Bhoot un

u n r n r il j , for asce tai ing what regards evil spi its , dev s , and n i Dukuna un un the co d tion of the sick ; 3 ) j , for fin di n g out where treasure is con cealed ; ( 4)

Sinwa u n un fo r o Alo e un u n j , all purp ses ; ( 5) p j , w to o f n hich is applied the eyes or forehead a perso , renders him in visible to others while they remain ” v him isible to . For 1 and 2 take the root of achyran thes asp era

d ru reca tor ins o f trian nn . an ab s Li white p , or else

' tli eni a decandra W . illd Triturate it well with water,

on o f n ot a nd rub it the inside a new earthe p , place

n m w a it i verted over a la p lighted ith c stor oil ,

n am - a d collect the l p black . The latter is then m o il an d to n o f o n ixed with , applied the ha d a f otli g i n w . child , who can the descr be hat is required Fo r 3 a piece of white cloth soaked in the blood

- o f a n o r a n . a cat , ki g crow , owl was required In

o v r an d it were to be r lled their eyes , li e gall blad der w o to u w , and the h le was be sed as the ick of

o -o il am m - a be a cast r l p , and the la p bl ck used as 50 CRYSTAL GAZING

fore . For 4 a handful of seed of dolichos la bla b r m tar is requi ed , which ust be reduced to char in m coal a new earthen pot, and well ixed with

or Castor oil . After three quarters of an hour so

: uros h r he will say First , I observe the f ( sweepe )

mi b n e . co ng ; swept the grou d , and departed Then came the water- carrier ; he spri nkled water on the

. uros h floor, and departed Then the f reappeared ,

a n m d spread the carpet . Next ca e a whole array

‘ o f a m h ir com s n . t e f irie , ge ii , de ons , etc ; and then ” m n a n i omm n r a der se ted o a throne . To th s c a de must be put the question or questions to which

n a swers are needed .

An r y one can t y this method . For the others a ’ n m a o i . e c child b r foot fore ost , with cats ( . grey ,

n r and first- o n cordi g to the wo k quoted ) eyes , a b r who has not been bitten by a dog and has no large

a r i sc r of a bu n upon h m . Another way of divi n in g is by the viewin g of

hazir m - a t or the char wick . For this method certain

m - lee u ta . char wicks , called p , must be used A new

r n ot m a an d r n ea the p ust be t ken , an ea the cover ,

well washed, with a few patches of sandalwood

o n embr catio . Wreaths of flowers must be tied roun d its neck and all sorts of fruit a nd sweetmeats

n an d m n put ear it , , further, pastilles ust be bur t

n r ma n . o ea it The cover y then be put the pot , and

m uleeta so e sweet oil into the lid ; then light the p , an d m i in read so e establ shed spell over it Arabic .

52 CRYSTAL GAZING

’ n : mo ies, write on the child s forehead We have f b m removed the veil rom thee, and thy sight is eco e ” ffi r m . . a e new this day Co e, genius, J , son of Tyar

n Another i cantation is In the name of God ,

m a Ushteetun Shuteetun merciful and co p ssionate , , Kubooshin Shalees ha Sheeshin oorbutashi n , , , Q ,

Mu rmoon in M m n in oo . , y

m n According to a state ent by Colo el A . T . Fraser,

n n the whole of the Hi du methods are termed U j amu . O n e way of inducing the visions is to put a spot of

n m a pitchy substa ce , ade up with castor oil , on a * a n . green leaf, and stick it gai st the wall

In Africa crystal gazing seems to be common . Mr Lang cites a case from Madagascar where a woman is alleged to have seen a French vessel on

wa to a u n its y thither, and h ve recognised its occ pa ts, weeks before the ship was in sight of land . The

a a Afric ns of Fez used a vessel of water , and we sh ll o see that at the present day a pool of ink is in use in a a Egypt . The most singular ccount of cryst l or rather mirror gazin g comes from the Nkomis of

z m the neighbourhood of Cap Lope , who are re ark able for practising a species of blood bon d between a man and an animal , if my authority can be trusted !

i r In this tribe the init ant , as a ule, goes far away m m fro his Village for the cere ony , and , like all savage

* F 1 . I I. . R . iv . S . 49

' ’ B ul n i r et se . 1 éo , Sous le c el d Af ique, 88 q AFRICA 53

o n mo youth underg i g the cere ny, he has to under

a as . go fast one of the essential features A fast ,

n m it may be oted, is one of the i portant points in

i the the in tiation ceremony of Red Indians, and in their case the end of it is that some bird or beast

n o e m ( halluci at ry) appears to the boy , and this b co es

m n a his edici e , or tutel ry deity . In many cases

to an d m n ba he has kill it , carry about in his edici e g a m it m a cl w , a feather, or so e part of , which he ust n v n m . e er lose , on pai of losing his edicine

n Amo g the Nkomis the ordeal is more severe .

n n n The i itiant is co fi ed in a hut , at one end of which

a r m is ude i age of wood . Beneath the statue is deposited a packet contai n ing the bones of someone

on in n - n i n l g dead , and front a looki g glass . The i it a t

o m and is br ught up to this irror , asked to describe

and n n what he sees , as lo g as he replies Nothi g

n m n his initiatio is inco plete . Whe he answers that

man and he sees the face of a he is taken aside ,

him and in descr ib asked to describe , if he succeeds ing the dead m an whose bones a re in the bundle he is at liberty to proceed to the next step — the meeti n g

n m a nd n o f with an a i al in the forest , the transfusio

n a o . blood , which is ecess ry to seal the blood b nd

m r m w So etimes , howeve , a cere ony intervenes bet een the scrying and the blood bond which recalls the

n o Red Indian custom . The i itiator calls up n the initiant to bring the Skull o r some o f the bones o f

hi n one of s relatives , the flesh of which is the cooked 54 CRYSTAL GAZING

m o and consu ed, while the initiant receives the b nes

m n to om as a talis an . Accordi g the author wh I

n quote , and whose death , unfortunately , preve ted

me m i no fro ascertaining further deta ls , there is possibility o f fraud in the scrying part of the cere

mony . The initiant has never seen the person whose

o o b nes lie beneath the statue , and yet his descripti n

m m a o is un istakable . One y suspect , h wever , that a

i m a m r h nt y be purchased fro the initiato , just as

m on steps in the secret societies , of which the cere ies

a described are , perhaps , part of the ritual , are h bit

uall o y purchased in Africa , Melanesia , and ther parts of the world . If we could rely on the good faith of the initiator f o o o m . the case w uld , c urse, be of uch interest There

a om i a are narr tives , s e of wh ch I have at first h nd from persons immediately concern ed with the pro ceedin m g, of ghosts having been laid by the si ple

n process of burying their bones , the prese ce of which, immured in some old convent wall or other inac

an d - cessible invisible hiding place, could only be inferred from the presence of the ghost . Perhaps

a suggestion m ay explain the result . In other c ses the removal of a skeleton from a house has likewise resulted in laying the ghost , though in this latter

a ma ma c se we y discount the result, which y also be

o n attributed to suggesti n . Of course, the suggestio theory fails in the first case to explain the presen ce

an d of the ghost , in the second case has to call in

56 CRYSTAL GAZING whereupon the emperor marched troops against * m e . the , and exterminated th m On the Gold Coast at the present day the magician looks for the cause of a disease in a vessel of waters!

O n m ma the Congo , when Maloango dies , the Ma bo of Loango calls together all the other Mambom as to o elect a king in the stead of the dead Mal ango .

m . If they come to an agree ent, well and good If m not , they go to the sacred grove of Mpuku Nya bi , m the nephew of Bunzi ( a ythological character) ,

n an a or and there consult his g g priest, whose head dress is made of parrot feathers and small mi rrors .

n an a i The g g , on be ng consulted , removes his head

z o a dress , ga es into a mirr r , and sees in it the f ce of m the Maloango elect . In Europe there might be so e suspicion of backstairs influ ence if such a method

mo m o were adopted . Is the negro re credulous or re honest ! When there is a drought upon the land the King of Congo goes to the same sacred grove to ask the

a . n an a re son The g g looks at his mirror, and is then

sa i i able to y if it s god palaver ( . e. due to the

man caprice of their god) , or if has occasioned it by his misdeeds i Another Arab author says that in a mirror an gels

m one and archangels will appear , fro whom can

"‘ i x i i N o c s de S . . t e s M S . 484 i hi h Ma ur d e neu es te Ges c c te 18 6 1 8. 1 g. f , 5 , 3

M r . D n n : n m R . E . 1 S. ote f o e ett MIRROR O F PYTHAGORAS 57

n e m obtain all that o desires . On the side of the irror m u r m st be w itten the na es Gabriel , Michael ,

e m n Azrael , Asraf l , with so e words of the Kora m which , being translated , ean His word is true and ”

. m his is the power Incense ust be burnt , and

n o m a fast of seven days u derg ne, and then so eone m u o m on e ma o . st h ld the irror , or y hold it neself After the recitation of certain prayers the angel will * appear .

i n t m o f A Persian novel , called The Spr g i e ” m n a m r o Knowledge, e tions i r r which was covered

o with ink when anyone desired t see anything .

r r u Va ious Persian authors elate, quite serio sly , that Gemschid and his successors possessed a cup or m rather a globe or irror, in which could be seen the whole universes!

r n Mu stadha a a Acco di g to , the Ph raohs had

m n s r m n in o si ilar i t u e t , which they disc vered the

a an d o st te of distant provinces , were able to pr vide

i l to m aga n st fami i es . It was said have been ade

the o rd of Sau rid o f Sahaloc by er , the son , and was set in a high tu rret of brass in the midst o f ancient

a Em sos . : M sre , which is 3

Alexan der is said . to have put a mirror on the lighthouse of Alexandria in which objects cou ld be

’ percei ved even at a distance of several days j ou rney

l i i r i 1 20 fo . 226. MSS. A ra bes de la B b . d a o , 3 , i 2 i t r a 6. mi see a s o Vera H s o . Bono . 266 T , p ; l , i i is tor 2 s h i n l K afi E t a n H . 6 . I Mu tad a b a h f, gyp y, p 58 CRYSTAL GAZING

m h u Aristotle was said to have ade it . On t e s bject o f this mirror Norden says that Arab autho rs stated

m i n its circu ference to be 3 ft . 9 . ; some said it was o f o f crystal , others polished Chinese steel or an f ff m * alloy o di erent etals . In the same way the Co lo ssus of Rhodes was said to have a mirror round its neck by which they could see ships on their way to Syria and E gyptxj' Her cules was said to have founded Co runna and placed there a tower an d a mirror by which the most dis

n tant ships could be see . :l: In Mexico the god Tezcatlipoca was believed to

n m itlachia o - on see in his golde irror , ( the l oker or

o . viewer) , all the d ings of the world § ’ In Europe Merlin s m irro r showed friends and ’ o r m n o foes , whether near far ; and Ca busca s sh wed

r whethe love were returned , what trouble was in

for the w store scryer, and whether a person ere

r or f oe R omanorum i s f iend . In the Gesta the story

o f n an d o a k ight who went to Palestine, was sh wn by an Eastern magician what was go ing on at home . ’ o cu mu m on J seph s divining p, too , st be enti ed , thou gh it by no means follows that he used it for

r a r n c ystal g zing . The appea a ce of the liquid , or

’ L on N or n Vo a e d E te Par s 1 . 16 an de , y g gyp , i , 795, iii 3 ; Je e , ’ f l l ri r 1 o . 8 Des c d e A u e nv s 6 . . f q , A e , 55 , 35

h érie . 1 1 1 2 . B uc t . o e G. S T , xix pp 7 , 7 i i is an a 1 . : nn us H . 6 1 L . N o , p , p 9

an ro 2 8. § B c ft, iii . 3

60 CRYSTAL GAZING

so r suggestion is right this View , like many othe a m sav ge theories, rests on a isinterpreted ground

o f work fact . More explicit on the question of gazing i nto water

n * one is the Bavaria belief, which asserts that if

z lies in the grave for three hours , or if a child ga es long in to a glass of water die Bermetei' kOmt aus ’ ” dem Haus l , the soul quits its abode . The emphasis here laid on the fact that a child is more subject to the disaster makes it clear that the foundation of the belief in crystal gazing is hypnotism for it is a well - known fact that children m as are ore readily hypnotised than adults , and,

ae S w medi val records ho , the superiority of the juv l en i e scryer has long been recognised . A cognate subject is the practice of covering up m ’ mirrors after a death . So e of Dr Frazer s ex amples are explicit in assigning as the cause his

fear that the soul of the living, projected into the

ma off . glass , y be carried by the dead But it is by no means improbable that in part the belief rests

on the facts of crystal gazing . In the census of hallucin ations the examples are

coinci fairly numerous in which the apparition ,

n o m de tal or otherwise, has been seen in a irror or

n other bright object . Whe we consider that for

i r i 1 r s s . H a Pan r B e t a i . In New ze , g, 95 the eb ide they y that if you look into water a snake will come an d seize your i t R . c e . . on u . Geo So V t g e ( . g . x

Gebiirm utter ro r u rus but r sou . T , p pe ly te , he e l POWER OF THE NAME 6 1

m the Eski o , the Red Indian , and others the appari tion of a Spirit is equivalent to giving the seer power i over that spirit , another explanation of the pract ce of covering up mirrors suggests itself . The Indian

m o f youth at initiation is able , by the agic power mm m i his fast , to su on the spirit of the ani al wh ch m ” is afterwards his edicine . The savage all the

m n am world over avoids entioni g the n e of the dead ,

a m m for by the m gic power of the na e , which so e

e m an m a savages car fully conceal , the dead y be

m - - sum oned . Every well brought up child knows that to mention a bogie is to run a great risk of bringing the bogie to the spot ; and the Papuan s m hold the sa e View , as a story in the Report of m ' the Ca bridge Anthropological Expedition shows , w m i n here a party of New Guinea youths and a de s , m v . after playing hockey , Ladies Gentle en , on the m m i beach , return ho e, and one luckless aid , find ng that her mother has cooked the second - best fish for m her ad irer, who goes back with her to tea , sits

m . down and weeps , and will not be co forted In

- m m m m an ill advised o ent so eone entions a bogie , apropos of a heartless practica l joke of the village m i lads , who are i itating outside the traditional bog e

no m noises , and in less than ti e the bogie is on the

off . spot, and carries the tearful maiden

mmo m Thus the fear of su ning spirits and onsters ,

i n m m and the belief the possibility of co pelling the .

th e is a very common one . All e world ov r man 62 CRYSTAL GAZING

has discovered that he can see Visions in a clear , m t. o deep , or bright objec It see s p ssible that the practice of covering up a mirror was due to the fear

m n n of sum o ing the dead , though the dread of losi g the souls of the livin g m ay have contributed its th u ul quotum to making e c stom pop ar .

64 CRYSTAL GAZING doubt as to whether we have to do with crystal or m i m o m irror gaz ng, or rather with so e other f r of

m n n n s divination . The an er of divi i g was thi : A mirror was lowered into the fountain by a small cord until the lower edge j u st touched the water

r but was not covered by it . Prayers and incense we e

n ff to w as the o ered the goddess , and recourse had to

m m n an d m the irror , fro whose reflectio s i ages they

’ i o a n * drew conclus ons as t the p tient s cha ces .

n a m According to Augusti e, Varro says th t Nu a

m n practised hydro a cy , and saw in the water the

m a o f m i ages of the gods or r ther sports de ons ,

n from which he lea rnt what rites to perform . U less

o n an older auth rity is quoted this evide ce is , of

r m a com cou se, as valueless as the re rk of a later

’ ‘ m entator that the myth of Numa s marriage with

r a Ege ia clearly referred to this pr ctice, for she was

m o n n n a ny ph of the f untai s, and co seque tly a fit mate for one who divin ed by means of watersj' Diogenes tells us in the life of Isidorus that a

m had a m o wo an arvell us gift of inspiration , for by fillin g a vessel with water she was able to see all

an d ro m her future things , p phesied fro vision what

o m to rO h sh uld co e pass , and the truth of these p p ecies was known to the writer himself . In another story related by Varro we hear of a

* aus anias VII 12 P , . xxi . . i t De C v. Dei. ROMANS 65 child who was consulted as to the war with Mithri

* r u dates . Spa tian s tells of a prophecy given by a child , whose eyes were bandaged, and who was,

r in nevertheless , able to sc y a mirror by means of

m h no the top of his head, just as so e of the early yp tis ts record cases of transferred sensation . The only thing that one does not un derstand i s why it was necessa ry to have a mirror if the picture were hal lucinatoryxj' Andronicus Comnenus had recourse to a hydro m v m antic diviner to disco er his successor, who he intended to dispose of by violen t means at the first

o opportunity . The water , as is s metimes the case

i r n - w th the c ystal in the ha ds of present day scryers , gave such messages as were vouchsafed mirrorw ise

— in m other words, the letters S I , which for ed the whole of the first answer, and were interpreted to m ean Isaac Angelus, appeared in reverse order . The prediction was verified ; but perhaps the scryer had a shrewd suspicion a s to the probable course

l 1 u us A o . Ap lei , p , 4

“

S ar . i t i i r r i n d . V e a m in r a oor a ou t a D I a . S e 1 p . At g , B ie, p l b er rom om had n s o n s ix un r ran s on s u a , f wh bee t le h d ed f c . c lted

v n r w os was w v ran s . r an r s di i e , h e fee t el e f c Th ee h dke chief w r ut on his s— a w an d u — an d v n r e e p eye bl ck , hite, bl e the di i e hi s s n s r a told m to describe wh at he aw. The pea a t de c ibed m an w a u ous roa - r mm hat and r rous rs ith bl e bl e, b d b i ed , g ey t e , ’ and was directed to take an ox s hea rt and stick s ixty n ail s in i n ot w a o and a of sorr and o n a ew a a . it , b il it p ith t d le f el r a s r s ou av n a or w Th ee d y late the thief h ld h e bee de d, be itched, — l mon 2 . r . P anc o have brought back the ey y i . 37

E 66 CRYSTAL GAZING

o u of events , for Comnenus was by no means p p * lar . Apropos of the story from Spartianus narrated

o o r ab ve, Casaub n tells a sto y of a Latin Christian who was mo rtified by the too frequent successes of i the oppos te faction in the games . With the aid

o f a m Hil rion , a onk of exceptional piety, he dis

o a o c vered th t the horses and chari ts , which he saw

in the water , were under a spell . Hilarion having

a i dissip ted this with the sign of the cross , his cl ent went on hi s way rejoicing ; but whether the remedy was successful we do not knowxj'

fin 0 A . D d About 45 . we that a synod convened by St Patr ick and St Au x entiu s con demned Chris tians who believed there was a lamia or witch in the mirrors}: In the ninth century Hineman speaks of hydroman cy in which images of demons are seen and their replies heard . § Three hundred years later John o f Salisbury tells us that those who looked in m cups or basons, or at irrors or bright swords, were called speculari i ; and he gives a list of procedures

n agai st them . ” About the same time Thomas Aquinas assures

a on h us th t the peculiar gift of seeing visi s , to whic

m r there are any allusions , was not a result of thei

i s A . i i . N ceta , C . 19 .

‘ ' s u o r i i i l Ca a b n Spa t anu m, V . 250. l rii n s . v cu . i Duca ge, . Spe a

Divor tio H lotarii in Mi n e 2 § De g , 1 5, 718. f s ur l e Sa o . o n o . . IIJ h li b y, P y I xii

68 CRYSTAL GAZING

a an d i S S Casp r, with the help of th s evil pirit can how ” the issue of future events . Gi rolamo Cardano ( 1 50 1 - 1 573) mentions that h e

r an m t ied experi ent with his son , John the Baptist, then nine years of age : smearing his palm with oil

an d o m - so t, or la p black , he exposed it to the rays

o f an d the sun , on being asked the boy asserted

saw n that he Visio s , as , indeed , he did , in all prob

a Saw re bility ; the father , however, nothing, and

m n a o ai ed d ubting Thomas . A few pages later he

m m u entions capno ancy, a species of divination us ally

nn n unco ected with crystal visions , but u derstood by our author to mean the discern ing of figures and

i n m r * images the s oke by vi gins and matrons . Gi rolam o Cardano describes elsewhere 1" some

o n ther experime ts which he witnessed . A bottle filled with holy water was placed on a table covered

with a white cloth , in the sun ; two olive leaves w m ere crossed over its outh , and three wax candles

were lighted . During certain fumigations a prayer

ff o to St Helena was o ered , and so n the adepts saw

o m in — a - m an an d f r s the water bald headed , a man dressed in scarlet . Cardano himself saw

nothing .

* e i n ti D Sap e a 268, 271 . It may be mentioned that Cardano an d Peucer speak of so- called physical phenomena in conn ection with water “ ” a n a troman o rs hi a o g zi g . If the g s t c ve s de d with a white cl th r an d says certain spells the wate r will boil up and disappea .

' 1 De Var. PEUCE R 69

Pencer speaks of lecanomancie— divination by * basins . Gold and silver plate and precious stones , m n arked with certai characters , were put in , and a spirit called and questioned . It made itself heard ’ ! mm um siffl et by a thin voice Co e sortant de l eau ,

a u r i l q elle eSpondo t a la demande . “ ’ Of gastromancy he says E n ceste- ci ( qu on

ourroit diui nation le asauoir p exposer par fond , ’ d u n le mot verre ou autre chose transparente, de

n u ventre se prena t ici par fig re pour chose creuse) , le malin esprit reSpondit par peintures et repré sentation s n diS osoit . O p des vaisseaux de verre, ’ a m et m clé re f its en for e ronde re plis d eau , alentour

esto ent m desquels y bien des cierges allu ez . Puis , ’ a i nuo ué l es rit um barbottement yant q p par secret , ’ l on auoit un petit garcon vierge ou un femme

n n considéro it le n m e cei te qui verre atte tive ent ,

a rioit commandoit et regard nt tout autour, p , , fa isoit o n en instance p ur avoir respo se , lesquelles fin le diable don noit par des images empraintes ’ ’ n mon stro ent l artifice du deda s l eau , qui se y par

a au et a . di ble, travers les verres clairs luis nts Ceste

’ a deu in er n f con de a l aide des e fants vierges , qui a esté fort usitée anciennement et est encores ani ou rdhu i n pratiquée entre des peuples profa es , a esté

’ et i l es rit im ni onde et m desirée requ se par p alin , non

’ m et qu il ai e la chasteté, ains pour preparer dis

' po ser d heure it son service et polluer ainsi de leur

I" P uc r L n e e es Devi . , s p 22 1 . 70 CRYSTAL GAZING ba s e les m es es et oc n ie ou r aag a chast inn e tes , br f p attirer et enueloper en ses filez ceux qui a cause de leur simplesse ne se peuu en t ga rder de luy Of di vination by the fin ger na ils he sa ys : Ony

’ m n f aiso it c de l huile et n n a ce se ave de la s ye , do t

’ ’ ’ on f rottoit l on le a o n l on g d un petit g rg vierge , que

' fa iso it r v l li l n ent ue tou ner ers e so c . Car ils pe so y q les figures des choses desirées se fissent pa r le mes ’ n l hu ile n et du la ge de , de la s ye des rayons soleil ,

’ ’ en cores qu elles fussent faites pa r l imposture du ” diable .

m e m n a 1 8 An anony ous G r a work, c lled the 3

K u ns ts til cke t nt r , writ en in the seventeenth ce u y , sa ys : Zu der zeit eines glorwii rdigsten damals re i 1 2 g erenden Monarchen [Kaiser Rudolph II . , 55

m C m e n o f ca e an Italian to his ha b rlai , and fered him m through a secret to the e peror , by which he could tell what the king of Fran ce did in his most secret cabinet . The emperor was not to be per suaded i 1 000 , but is said to have g ven the Italian

Reichsthal rs e . m , and sent him away The cha ber

n h i n lai , on the ot er hand , was less consc e tious , and

m a secured the secret , which consisted in aking young boy or a virgin conjure St Cyprian to let them see Solomon in their han ds and there Solomon ap

eared i his p in their hands , w th his red beard , on throne , with his sceptre in one hand , and a dagger in

m . the other , a inister on either side When this apparition had made its appearance the scryer put

72 CRYSTAL GAZING

l apocryp i al . Among the most authentic of his Faust

' v n H Ollcnzwan e books , howe er , is the authe tic g ( ther

n n o f are spurious editio s of this too) , a collectio m the agical recipes, which was certainly in print in the first years of the seventeen th century ( th e historical Faust lived in the first half of the six te n th e ) . Four chapters of the H ollenzwang deal with

— n s . . x . crystal gazi g and allied subject lxvii , lxx , lx i , an d h lxii . The first of these is concerned wit

am E rds ie el Ber s ie el mi r the f ous p g , or g p g , a rro which was intended to Show all the hidden treasures

n of the earth . The directio s for the preparation of

— m this are as follows Buy a new irror on a Friday , and pay for it whatever the vendor asks , in order ’ that no evil Spirit m ay injure it ; bury it in a man s

in a n grave a churchy rd at mid ight , exactly on the

m an and s face of the dead , let it lie there nine Friday . h . O t e On the ninth go back , and take it out G to

- m n o f cross roads , and lay it in the iddle, in the ame

n m o n three spirits , choosi g the acc rdi g to the nature of the ser vice required ; thus for treasures hid in

a m m Marbuel fo r the e rth you ust na e Ariel and ,

m n m they are swift esse gers . After the nam e

Aciel u o , who will show you the treas re, and keep ff

a S an d w a m S ou all ttendant pirits ; , h t is ore , how y

how m O f it how to get the treasure , uch there is ,

an d n . too u s t what it co sists of Here , , the mirror m

m i n an d r re ain for n e Fridays , then the three spi its FAUST LEGEND 73 mu n a th e st be put i to it, care being t ken that

n n m operator does ot see i to it hi self . The words of the spell are completely diff erent from those of the spells used in England, as will be seen by the following quotation I , N ban thee , spirit Ariel ,

Aciel Marbuel m m thee spirit , thou spirit into y irror in the name of R ore+ ipse+Loisant+ and Dortam Bolaimy Acom Coelum Qu iavitil Sam m as R estacia o Adonay o Jehova prasa

R olamicon Hi ite Deus . I conjure you by p Agla Elohim Reremisch by Scham Schmachadaz Maaschm ay I schalam Isebay lam by Adonay Agla Paaschilam o Aglam I schailas Cas srielis O Jeho vah Scha ilis o Amisielis o Sadalachia o Arielis ” n o Cassrielis o Gabrielis am e isch . Then the mirror must lie three Sundays on the w s altar, but be are of allowing a bles ing of the dead

to . m be said over it Finally , engrave under the irror

n on . d the characters show Plate III , and it is rea y for use . For a mirror to be used for divination take a

n m rou d piece of iron like a irror , and have it pol ished n a m n on ; the get si ilar piece , u polished , to lay

’

m ou . the first irror , so that y can t see into it On the

m an d top of the lay a piece of wood or paper ,

n m ce se the , and let a priest read the gospel of John

w or over them . Then cut the ood the paper so as

m a mm to fit the irror into it , and write Tetr gra aton 74 CRYSTAL GAZING

s and various other words thereon . Various name

m and m ust then be said, the irror is ready . In the seventy- second chapter directions for crystal m gazing are given . The crystal ust be crossed with

— olive oil , and a prayer said to St Helena this at sun

rise . A boy of ten or eleven must take the crystal in

ou his right hand , and he will be able to see what y

desire . Another method ( useful for discovering a thief) a it is to take glass bowl , or rather vase, and fill

with holy water, put it on a bench covered with

n co secrated cloth , and light three wax candles . On m e the outh of the vase lay crosswise two olive leav s ,

n ma e a d say the Paternoster on your knees . Then k a cross with the right thumb nail on the mouth of

the vase , all in the dark , and say a prayer . The seventy- first chapter gives still another m method, which ust be tried in a solitary place, where no cockcrow nor sound of church bell can

ut be heard . On a Friday, by waxing moon , p on

o clean cl thes , take a clean glass , and fill it with water .

e Cover it with a linen cloth , and set it on a marbl

on slab, and say a prayer or spell over it , calling up

th e a spirit to enter it . As soon as he is in , close

i r m h m e . glass her etically with wax, and keep the In this spell the magic names are again diff erent

Zo m a Zo la Coronem Primonem y , p y, Pastorem , , ; and if the Spell is not eff ectual go on for a who le

a w l hour, and finally beautiful man or woman i l

76 CRYSTAL GAZING

d yellow flui , or , better, with the blood of a black hen o r a m n r m . a bl ck la b , on new parch e t If the sc yer an d o a o can n the direct r of the oper ti n si g or play, so m a n n uch the better . F ce the east , spri kle ha ds and

a a . f ce with rose water, and c ll upon the spirits

a The first eight will ppear , and they will fetch their

n i E m m : KOn w . ki g, to who you ust say Herr g,

' K n i l a es t n o mm o g . M j ta wolle wir mit g tt willko en ” h i n se n samm t den an e Or en . y , lieben g g die ern The kin g is then asked to fetch the throne an d book

o m n a a m n o of S lo o , and t ke sole ath to answer truly ; if he did so he was not to be kept beyond the proper m ti e .

n ou n He will then a swer y with legible writi g, or

S n o how you the perso y u desire . When you have got your i n formation you inquire of the ki ng if he

to an d wishes partake of refreshment , if the answer is in the affirmative ask him to send the servan ts to fetch food and drink from the kitchen of A . B .

m n n a an d m The eal e ded , the ki g is th nked dis issed ,

a ou a a an an d the w ter p red way in cle place, the vessel pu t awa y till it is next required . The account goes on that the apparition may be

in m o . cited to appear a crystal , a irr r , or in the hand In the latter case oil an d soot should be taken and

n n smeared upon the ha d . The go to a dark place

a x an d . with a w candle , you will then see the figures

am o f — If the scryer is a boy , the n es the spirits Gar

ardiar I odha r— m i diab, F , the p ust be sa d in his ear ITALY 77

m a on m n an d three ti es, and lso written parch e t , tied

n ar rou d his m . There are inn umerable other references to crystal

n n m m gazi g in Co tinental authors , so e of who , such

na non as Rist, tell interesting stories , unfortu tely

n o n a evide tial , of prophecies t ld by mea s of a cryst l ,

a o n n n with l ve i terest run i g through the story . We

BOhm e a scr ed in v read of Jacob th t he y the lo ely , ” an d n jovial lustre of the cup , was e abled to look

a into the hearts of all cre tures .

AS find n m a rule , however , we nothi g but weariso e

- m a repetition , nearly the self sa e words of wh t has been said by fifty predecessors . Aubrey gives on e or two cases which Show that

a o a * cryst l gazing fl urished in It ly . When Sir M a rmaduke Langdale was in Italy he

n o f did S him we t to one these Magi , who how a glass where he saw himself kn eeli n g before a cruci

. wa s a be fix He then Protestant , and afterwards

n came a Roma Catholic .

a o f n A The E rl De bigh , then mbassador at Venice , did tell James Harrington that one did Show him

n in — n a n several thi gs a glass thi gs p st a d to come .

v a w o As a rule, howe er , there is little th t is rth

n ma n quoti g, and we y pass to the subject of scryi g in n a E gl nd during the Middle Ages . There cannot be much doubt that crystal gazing was as well known in En gland in the Middle Ages

u r 2 1 A b ey, p . 9. 78 CRYSTAL GAZING

n h . ow as it was on the Contine t English authors ,

v m c n e er, see to have had better oc upations tha “ writing o f divinati on and suchlike works of the ” v n do com de il ; conseque tly we not find, until

arativel an a the p y late, y liter ry references to sub

ect I n j . the next chapter will be quoted a M S . in the British Museum in a han dwritin g which fix es its date as some time ea rly in the fifteen th centu ry ; but it is not until the following century that refer

u m m ences to it a re freq ent . Fro the ti e of Dr

Dee ( 1 52 7- 1 608) onward there is no lack of ma terial fo r those who a re fond of divin g into old

d o on m a . . an t MSS w rks gic We have , however , deal with Con tinen tal crystal gazin g at such length that

n m n it will be u n ecessary to say uch of E glish scrying .

In the reign of Henry VIII . the Abbot of Abing don wrote to Cromwell ! Right honourable my

sin u ler m m m e very g good Maister, in y ooste hu bl

n wyse I com en de m e u to you . It shall please your maistership to be advertised that my Officers have

a Pre ste a n b m t ken here a y , a suspect p rso ; with y certe n o f con u racion s in s y bokes j , the which y con teyn ed many conclusion s of that w orke ; as fyndin g ou t tresu re h dde r n s h of y , consecrating of y g wit

' stones in the m o e y , consecrating of a chrystall st n wherei n a chylde shall lokke see man y But those who wish to stu dy in detail the ideas

i l L r . E r in e s d . 1 S. s O a tter . lli , g , 3 iii 4

80 CRYSTAL GAZING

n hi to think ot much reliance could be placed on m . Amon g other vision s there appeared Sir Isaac

n to electricit was th e Newto , tell us that y partly , ’ cause of the moon s motion ; various spirits who said they were in the abode of the just— Jupiter an d the su n— o f whom Calvin had been in Jupiter only

n m s and . a few weeks , George IV ( verily Fortu e ake

n an u m us acquai ted with strange bedfellows) , for

e ifi an d e Sp c ed period . Pharaoh Harold were ther

in th e too ; while George III . and Zoroaster were

n on and a n sun . For some rea son Washi gt Capt i Cook had taken refuge in the moon ; but they were

u an d an e happy too . J das Alex der the Great wer in a state of pun ishmen t ; but they were the only u n i n n happy o es , u less we except Socrates , who was

m a in oa - co pelled to ppear c rse , striped peg top trous i ers . After this it naturally makes very little m

a His pressi on to hear that Orion c me with a bear .

a am n re portr it is given , but I bou d to say he sembles the portra its of some of the Plantagenets in

“ ’ ” A Child s History of England rather than a

- Greek dem i god . Even in those days visits to crystal gazers were fa shionable ; but from a writer in an early volum e

H ous ehold or ds a n of W we le r that titled ladies , fear

m s ing to disclose their identity , disguised the selve as charwomen to Visit the scryers of the New Cut . When Bond Street became the resort of these mod

ern magicians I cannot say . LONDON 8 1

Among curious ca ses of scryin g the following case

n — A n ov is probably u ique certai D e , who was

u executed for the m rder of his wife, possessed an

- S a a a egg haped cryst l , which afterw rds p ssed into

n n n the possessio of H . Harriso of Leeds . I to this crystal the aforesa id Dove (by name though not by nature) gazed immediately before giving strychnine to his wife, but with what result history does not say . CHA PTER VII

T HE I N CA N TA TION OR C ALL

A nimis tic theory— The po wer of the na me— P ries tly help— Magic— To dis co ver thieves or los t friends — To compel runa ways to return A s ' “ ” trological magic— Raiso n d etre of the call

I N acco rdance w ith the animistic philosophy o f classical and mediaeval times ( which is shared by ’ s ome modern cry stal gaz ers) the server s vision s

to the w i s or in are naturally held be ork of spir t , man y ca ses to be the spirits themselves disporting

m n . wa s the selves before his eyes This bei g so , it

n t n can a on natural to e sure heir prese ce by an in t ti , ” s n a and e b ubsequently know as a c ll , to provid y magical or other mean s against injury to man or

an d beast at the arrival departure of the spirit . We have no examples of classical crysta l ritua l ” so far as I know . The earliest call I can qu ote

in En glish is from a MS . of the late fifteenth cen

not m o tury , but , of course , necessarily co p sed at that w date . It runs as follo s

To ye fydyn g o f theft or of the statt of f ryn des or of tresure hyddyn or not hyddyn or of other thyngs wh atsoever they be

S oan 8 . l e, 3 49

84 CRYSTAL GAZING bles s d And archan lls ron s 81 ii at ons y . be angylls 81 gy t y p ncip als powPS cherubyn 81 s eraphyn 81 be all reliq ues o f the sant s and woom en sancts of god y e weh be c6teynyd in the o A n as m r as a tre n in r rth an d w rld . d a y w we n e he e by

1 t S t e before 8 a fter 81 as y y trewe y y host ye wch was br ede y s cOvertyd into ye flessh e of o ur lord Jhu X ri 81 be the name ' y e wch be grettest in n igromacia Bals ake s up balsork e p an ulo

' in [ye po we r ] p r te aye sat ays serpasys to y e weh name w atte l be steyd 81 ye elementts be strykk en 81 be -thes name I om an 0 char tie of od s o f b m 81 c de y be the y g , be ye eye y be all ye membres o f bym 81 be ye deitye of bym 81 be ye good 81 evyll y e wch y e elyments doth s uffre of them I do cOiu re ye t W i s 81 yow y y s hall std or ye shall sytt before m e y chylde in declarynge 81 shewyn g to all ow! [unde] an swe rs 81 q ue s t ton s 81 in wryttyng y t y wrytten m ay be to o r understi dyn g 81 full an swe rs 81 satysfying to ow! wyll and mynd And y e n W W r a s be what y wylt 81 y sha lt have a an s were 81 y secr ete W W o wght no t to be shewed as y a rt wys se An d whan y s h al i be Sty s fyed of y r mynd gyve to hym y s lycen se say ng I do c6iure ye A n drewemalce o r you be all y e nam s a fore reh ersy d

' th at y u dost go o r yo u to y e place ye c ame from when soeve l I s h all call you or any o f you be ye r edye Allways to m e co me wh an I call upon yow 81 y e peace o f god but yt be

' s o In n Oie rfs betwen u 81 y w. p etc. An d let y e m r say over y e chylde hede he sha ll not be h u rt nor any other beyn g in his cOp anye 81 abowght hym s eq uencia Seti evangelii s ecfidi Johan ia in r n i i n em gt tibi etc . p c p o erat Yhu 81 Vbum e ra t a a um p de .

A more approved method , however, was to address

. m h the spirits in Latin A lengthy exa ple , of whic

I quote only a portion, will be found in Sloane MS .

8 8 . 1 8 a : 3 4 , f 4 , which is he ded

Here followeth an ex peryment approved 81 unknowne of A scaryell to see most excellent and POWER OF THE NAME 85 certainlye in a ch ristall stonne what secrette thou wilt .

christall First take a stone or a glasse, the greater

81 the better , so that it be fayre cleare without

ra es i any gg , cracke or holes broken with n it and thou must have a thonge of hart skinn to wrappe thy stoune in so that thy stoune may be well seene in the middst of the bindinge 81 ever before thou dost w rappe the stonne about with the thonge say thus

‘ In nom ine sanctae trinitatis et deitatis hanc gemam

ch ristall n recondo . Then holde the sto ne with it 0 i e. so dight in thy right hand against the [ . the

h h at of O wc . m e sun] ust be done in the . the at noone when the O is in the highest 81 hottest and soe call him in such likeness as thou wilt by the conjuration followinge 81 he will come and Show thee what thou wilt in all the cou ntryes of all thi nges whatsoever thou wilt ask him 81 thou shalt comannd him to bringe his followers with him and he will bring one Malli aperto with him and another also will come with them .

r i Sequitur conju at o .

: Coniii ro centon The conjuration begins vos , y ,

messitone messiton m ss ron vel m ceteron ceton , , , y y y , ” habitatis and r qui in Bosco , calls upon the spi its

r known by these remarkable names, and in particula u n a a Askar ell po cert in y , to appear in the crystal , 86 CRYSTAL GAZING on pain of being sent into the fire that is n ot

n que ched until the day of judgment .

off a e After reeling a list of biblic l phrases , intend d to influence the comi ngs a nd goings of the sa id

r m n spi it, the operator proceeds to quote an a azi g collection of names , supposed to be those of God . I m ff th give a selection of the , and o er a prize to e readers who ca n discover their original meaning :

Anathael m ha os otheos s Ehel , Abiel , , A ay , gy , , Deu , oni n ium otentias hiecteta ramaton one theon p , , g , y ,

Alma ron Stimulaton E lioram E lso hares ex isto n , , , p , historion R usu s Leabacon E libra n , , , Cryon , , Sato ,

Leccom Le ste Letisbon A lmarias O ncla , y , , , Rabur, ,

E lbrac E e ate Abraca Le eta Am az im , g p , , Bota , g ,

E lfel Helenon Abeco r Saday , , , , ye, ya , El , Saray ,

m Ai i abona on . Y as , , and so Not satisfied with this the operator proceeds to

so- m let loose a flood of called secret na es of God , which are more suggestive of the Latin gramm ar

n n : vitulus tha of a ything else Agnus , ovis, , aries ,

n panis , flos , vitis, mons , pons , janua , petra , panto ,

r i a o talsea o i erion alb n . k at n , g , g , , and so on Should the conjuration not be successful the op crator is advised to repeat the call three times . And if he comenot at the third call condempe him u th s , and then follows a decree banishing the unfo rtunate A skaryell to the lake of unquenchable

two fire . On the supposition that a day or of this it will be enough to reduce him to obedience, is

88 CRYSTAL GAZING

is a Blessing that God giveth to very few . But to those that h ave it in their in fancie and those

ain a often time lose it ag e. But Prayer and good

el f m b ee e prevaileth uch . For faith is the cay to

nothin e this and all other works , and without it g

n ff ca be e ected . be 1 2 eares The child should not above y of age, him orke when you enter or hir, for you may w as well with a maid as with a boy .

caled When you have either angell or spirit , ex cept you presently send them about some speedy busi nes you must licence them to depart .

In other words , the influence of suggestion was necessary to keep the crystal Vision from vanishing . In some of the conjurations we have clear sur vivals of older incantations , with no trace of the Christian influence which was so prominent in those

e just cited, or, as more often happens , ther is an amalgam of magic and Christianity ; by trying the

ff o m e ect of b th religion and agic they were , it is clear, doubling, on this theory , the chance of getting m l a spirit of so e sort into the crystal . We have a ready seen a white hen figuring in the procedure of

m . the Ash olean MS A Sloane MS . directs you to take a black Chicken if you wish . To have a glasse wherein all menne may see

heir sier b t e de s . Take a lacke chicken and put the

3850 SPELLS 89

same into a potte of erthe and then goe to a crosse waic and make thea re an hole 3 foote deepe and put

n ot w e and : crirma therei the p ith the chi ke then saie ,

crirma or r r m coniu re n c isma , c is a , I the in the ame of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holic Ghoste and of his deathe passi on that died on the

r an d erthe 81 T ee , and by heaven by the supernal

conta ned pitte of Helle and by all that is therein y , that thou leave for this chicken a glasse that all menne may see in yt whatsoever they will and then saie certai n e orations and praiers and so depa rte . The thi rd daie after digge up the spotte you shall

finde r an o looke n a glasse , which befo e y B die theri laie yt up for a 7 daies in a secret place and everie

r r n s daie saie ce tain o ations a d o departe . And the 7 daie take it awaie and thou shalle see i n yt what thou will .

n M * m In a other S. ore reliance is placed on spells

The manner to shut a Spi rit i nto a ch ris tall

n n n sto e that will Show thee a ythi g thou desirest . Pro vide a cleare cristall ston e and wrap him in vi rgin Parchment an d wright on the backside of the Parchment O ssiin milis O rebon Malcalice Askariel Bay lon O ff ricl Cosciel T ak

r and u on n eth Ba iel , pp the side that the sto e is wrapped in wright Cerber us Chimfogro Frodissma Hundalgi i nda Memibolo Jaman

1 385 . 93 b 90 CRYSTAL GAZING dun diceth Lundemagnu sa Then s av presently wrappin g the stone within the parchment as follow

r eth . [Then follows a p ayer . ] A good deal of mediaeval scrying had a very prae

— tical purpose the discovering of stolen goods . A

- . 8 . seventeenth century MS ( Sloane 3 49, f 4 b ) gives certain exhortations which you must repeat

Let the chyld name them by these names sainge

ana sor anelor m ee r antor , , , shew the pe sons and the

’ aparell of them that hath such a man s mony to this child and he will declare the per son or persons

’ and the apparel] of them that had such a man s mony and if the come not the first day folow still to the chilld untill you m ay have a sight of them for the will apeare personalie as the to be knowne and the will declare how much of the mony is spent and how much is unspent . And the feror day the better and let the child sit with his face toward the sune lookinge in the christal

r and ever ask him what hee seeth as you eade.

In other cases the object was to find lost friends

r caled You angells of God , the e is a friend of mine

r D . scene A . B . of C . in the count y of , that I have not nor heard of a long time . Tell us ye angells of God

not or how he doth whether he bee in health or ,

* 1 1 . 385 , f . 4 b

92 CRYSTAL GAZING tions as if twenty divells in the likeness of Ramping ' lyons or R o ring Bears were always haunting and followi ng him as if they were carryi n g him away with such horrible fearful] an d dreadfu ll hauntings that no creatu re is able to indure or behold .

Astrology seems to have mated itself with crystal

n gazi g in some cases . Thus we find a MS . in the

i r r Br tish Museum , w itten ea ly in the seventeenth

r i n e century by a ce ta n Arthur Gau tlet, who pra ’ tis ed I nn physick , and lived in Gray s Lane He says * Whosoever hath the following figure and shall use the invocatio n p resently shall Oberion come in like ness of a beautiful] m an like a soldier personally in the ayre or in a glasse . The first day of the Moone increasing and ascend ing when she shall be strong in the hour of a take a sheet of ledd or of silver and the graven image of the foresaid Spirit and his Signe above his head and

m S n G) his na e on his forehead , and the ig e of the in the r ight part about the arme and the name of

i s Scorax S the angell of the O , which , and the igne of the a in the left parte and the name of the angell

< arm l n of the 1 which is C e io . [Here follows invocation ] To appear in the ayre in the likeness of a boy of

7 years of age .

* 1 . 1 385 , f 15 b . HYPNOTISM 93 We shall see later that incantation form s an im portant part of the ceremonies in Egyptian Scrying . The reason of these long invocations and charms is not far to seek , especially if they are recited or sung, as stated by one of the authors to be quoted

n a in the next chapter . The mo otonous voice of

so orific ff dull speaker has a notoriously p e ect , which is due as much to the absen ce of modula

i n tion as to the lack of interest the matter . The m hypnotist , too, who uses the ethod of verbal m suggestion , keeps his voice subdued, and on the sa e note . We need not invariably suspect hypnotic influ

n n m ence ( Mr Lang, indeed, de ies that hyp otis has any connection with crystal gazi ng but he has

r can probably not read the Egyptian cases) . The e be little doubt that the good scryer is in an absolutely normal state in many cases . But there is equally little doubt that he or she is often drowsy . When ” there is no hypn otic i n fluence the charm con ’ in n n sists distracti g the scryer s atte tion , so that

O in h not the reflections are not too bvious . This , yp ’ is the r i t i m a s on d e re . , is of the nvocation or call CHAPTER VIII

EGYPTIA N SCR YI N G

E x perim en ts by Lan e— L ord Lindsay— Lord Nu gen t— Kinglake— Miss M ar tineau

T H E most famous experiments in Egyptian magic a re those of which Lane has given an account . At the time he was fully convin ced of thei r super normal character ; but subsequently he revised his i m Op nion , and was disposed , though with how uch ma justice y be questioned , to lay all the successes at the door of a renegade Scotsman who officiated as interpreter . “ In preparing for the experiment of the magic m ink m m irror of , which , like so e other perfor ances ” m m elm endel of a si ilar nature, is here ter ed darb ,

m e - the magician first asked for a reed pen and ink ,

i a — n a p ece of paper , and pair of scissors and, havi g

off r n cut a nar ow strip of paper, wrote upo it

m n certain for s of i vocation , together with another

m o m o char , by which he pr fesses to acco plish the b

ect m n j of the experi e t . He did not attempt to con ceal these ; and on my askin g him to give m e copies m n m of the , he readily conse ted , and i mediately

’ m me — me wrote the for explaining to , at the same

96 CRYSTAL GAZING And this is the removal

And we have removed from thee thy veil ; an d thy Sight to- day

. : is piercing Correct correct .

Having written these the magician cut off the paper contain in g the forms of in vocation from that

m ri n upon which the other char was w tte , and cut the former into six strips . He then explained to me the object of the latter charm ( which contains

- first Soorat part of the twenty verse of the Kaf, or fiftieth chapter of the Kur- an ) was to open ’ the boy s eyes in a supernatural manner ; to make his sight pierce into what is to us the invisible world . ’ m I had prepared , by the magician s direction , so e * chafin frankincense and coriander seed , and a g dish with some live charcoal in it .

* He generally iequires some benzoin to be added to these. THE INCANTATION 97

n om These were ow brought into the ro , together with the boy who was to be employed ; he had been m in called in , by my desire , fro among some boys m m o the street , returning fro a anufact ry, and was

about eight or nine years of age . In reply to my i nquiry respecting the description of persons who m m could see in the magic irror of ink , the agician

said that they were a boy not arrived at puberty, i m a virg n, a black fe ale slave, and a pregnant

ma hafin - him wo n . The c g dish was placed before and the boy and the latter was placed on a

seat . The magician now desired my servant to put some frankincense and coriander seed into the ’ chafin - g dish ; then , taking hold of the boy s h m right and , he drew , in the palm of it , a agic

i s square , of which a copy here given . ( Plate III . , figure The figures which it contains are

l * I n th Arabic numera s . e centre be poured

n um rs in s m a s uar in our own or nar be thi gic q e , di y ara rs are as o s ch cte , f llow

w s n a or on a v r a and ona ro s It ill be ee th t the h iz t l , e tic l , di ag l w v m s — 1 a sa um nam . gi e e ch the e ely , 5 98 CRYSTAL GAZING

a little ink , and desired the boy to look into it, and

. tell him if he could see his face reflected in it : the

boy replied that he saw his face clearly . The ’ * m n n agician , holdi g the boy s ha d all the while ,

him n n told to conti ue looki g intently into the ink ,

and not to raise his head . He then took one of the little strips of paper i n m o scribed with the for s of invocation , and dr pped it i n to the chafing- dish upon the burning coals and

r m r m pe fu es, which had al eady filled the roo with

m an d mm n their s oke , as he did this he co e ced

an nd m i istinct uttering of words, which he con

n r n tin ed du i g the whole process , except when he had to ask the boy a question or to tell him what

n n to say . The piece of paper contai i g the words from the Kuran he placed inside the forepart of ’ - takee eh . the boy s y , or skull cap He then asked him n : if he saw anythi g in the ink , and was answered m m No but about a inute after the boy , tre

n m n m n : bli g , and see i g uch frighte ed , said I see a ” n n has man sweepi g the grou d . When he done ”

n m m e. sweepi g , said the agician , tell Presently

n the boy said : He has do e . The magician then agai n interrupted his mutteri ng to ask the boy if “ ” n be rak an d he k ew what a y ( or flag) was , ” r him : in being answe ed Yes, desired to say Br g

an d : a flag The boy did so, soon said He has ” ! ” brought a flag . What colour is it asked the

* s m n s us f n m a n sm Thi re i d o a i al m g eti .

1 00 CRYSTAL GAZING put the fourth of the little strips of paper into the chafing- dish ; and soon after he did the same with m the fifth . He now said Tell so e of the people ” r r to b ing a bull . The boy gave the order requi ed , “ and said : I see a bull ; it is red ; four men are i ” n heat n . draggi g it along, and three are g it He

and was told to desire them to kill it, and cut it up ,

m n . to put the eat into saucepa s , and cook it He did as he was directed , and described these opera tion s as apparently performed before his eyes . ”

eat it. Tell the soldiers , said the magician, to

bo : The y did so , and said They are eating it

They have done , and are washing their hands .

m n The agicia then told him to call for the Sultan ,

n o i : the and the boy havi g d ne this, sa d I see

on ba an d Sultan riding to his tent a y horse, he has on his hea d a high red cap ; he has alighted at

an d n m . i his tent , sat dow within it Des re the to

off the n and bring c ee to Sulta , said the magician ,

: to form the court . These orders were given by m m the boy , and he said that he saw the perfor ed . The magician had put the last of the little strips of

hafin - paper into the c g dish . In his mutterin gs I distinguished nothing but the words of the written

n n invocatio , frequently repeated , except o two or

“ n him three occasio s , when I heard say : If they

o demand informati n inform them, and be ye ” veracious . But much that he repeated was in did audible, and as I not ask him to teach me his NELSON 1 0 1 art I do not pretend to assert that I am fully ac

o quainted with his inv cations .

no m He w addressed hi self to me , and asked me

' if I wished the boy to see a ny person who was absent or dead . I named Lord Nelson , of whom the boy m had evidently never heard , for it was with uch f di ficulty that he pronounced the name , after several trials . The magician desired the boy to say to the

: m r Sultan My aste salutes thee , and desires thee

n to bring Lord Nelson . Bri g him before my eyes , ” that I may see him speedily . The boy then

: said so , and almost immediately added A m essenger is gone , and has returned , and brought a man * , dressed in a black suit of European clothes ; the man has lost his left arm . He then paused

o i for a moment or two , and lo k ng more intently

r ink : and mo e closely into the , said No ; he has ” not lost his left arm , but it is placed to his breast . This co rrection made his description more striking

o than it had been with ut it, since Lord Nelson generally had his empty sleeve attached to the breast of his coat ; but it was the r ight arm that he had o l st . Without saying that I suspected the boy had made a mistake I asked the magician whether the o bjects appeared in the ink as if actually before the w m i eyes, or as in a glass , hich akes the r ght appear

Dar u is ca m o rn E an eswed k bl e lled by the de gypti , w ro r s n fi s black and is r or so rans a hich p pe ly ig i e , the ef e t l ted r he e. 1 02 CRYSTAL GAZING

in a left . He answered that they appeared as ’ mirror. This rendered the boy s description fault less . The next person I called for was a native of Egy pt

n in who had been for many years reside t England , where he had adopted our dress , and who had been confined to his bed by illness before I embarked

for this country I thought that his name , one

m i n m not very unco mon Egypt, might ake the boy

him n no r describe i correctly ; though a the boy , on

the former visit of the magician , had described this same person as wearing a European dress like that im in which I last saw h . In the present case the

: i s man n boy said Here a brought on a ki d of bier , and wrapped up in a sheet This description

n o would suit , supposi g the person in questi n to be

or i f d still confined to his bed, he were dea ! The

* Whenever I desi red the boy to call for any person to ap pear I paid p articular attenti on both to the m agici an and to

O sm an . a r av n o r on r wor or S n The l tte g e di ecti eithe by d ig , and n was n ra una ua n w rsona , i deed , he ge e lly cq i ted ith the pe l f n ua a f r oo r a appearance o the i divid l c lled o . I t k ca e th t he had no r v ou s omm un a on w o s an d av s n p e i c ic ti ith the b y , h e ee the experimen t fail when he cou ld h ave gi ven di rection s to

m or to m a an . I n s or wou ffi u to the the gici h t, it ld be di c lt n v an r au on n o a is m or an co cei e y p ec ti which I did t t ke . It i p t t to add that the dialect o f the m agician was m ore in telligible n I n rs o him r at to m e than to the boy . Whe u de t od pe fectly once he was sometimes obliged to vary his wo rds to make the l 201 n a h e u ar ter . bo om r w a s . In t y c p ehe d h t he id ( Q y, lix , Lane al so states that he and the th ree mention ed in the text r r we e the only pe son s p resent . ) TA few month s after thi s was written I had the pleasure

1 04 CRYSTAL GAZING

o a the s o n acc rdingly , having c lled by name for per

a uded to d r man ess w ll , esc ibed a in a Frank dr , ith

his a to w s ect c s an d h nd placed his head , earing p a le ,

w it o ne o and e a sed h fo t on the ground , the oth r r i

eh n him w o a b i d , as if he ere stepping down fr m

s a r r e t . The desc iption was exactly tru e in eve y respect : the pecu lia r position of the hand wa s

o a n an m o n n e h an d cc sio ed by al st co sta t h adac e ,

a o f o r ff sed th t the foot leg by a sti knee, cau by a

r in n n fall f om a horse hu ti g . I am assured tha t o n this occa sion the boy accurately described ea ch

r n pe son and thi n g called for . On another occasio Shakespea re wa s described With the most minute

o r re n s o a s r o I c ct e s , b th to pe s n and dress ; and might add severa l other cases in which the same m agician had excited astonishment in the sober f m i nds o f En gli s hmen o my acqua intance . A short

m s n r r rm i in m ti e i ce , afte pe fo ng the usual anner , b m a n o f a bo y he r m m y e s , p epared the agic irror

in the a n o f a n s who h d you g Engli h lady , on looking i n to it for a little while sa id that she saw a broom

we ro an s eping the g und without ybody holding it , and was so much frightened that she would look no ” n lo ger . Lane was invited in 1 844 to act as in terpreter

fo r o u ent r L rd N g at a t ial with the magician . His * account was published by his sister, and states

o that two boys were tried , b th of whom were com

* n lis h oman in E t n 1 6 et s e E g w gyp , . 3 q . LORD NUGENT 10 5

plete failures . The magician excused himself on the gr ound that the boys were liars , and did not describe what they really saw , adding that he was successful ff b unfor in the days of Osman E endi , but had een tunate since his death .

so n m ff Now , it happe s that Os an E endi was the

r o i a interp eter empl yed by the mag cian , and L ne says that in all the su rprising successes of which he had heard this Osman had served in that capacity .

o Subsequently , th ugh hundreds of persons had

n ma go e to the gician , the successes had been so few

n ffi n that coincide ce su ced to explain them . ( La e

n not says coi cidence was necessary to explain them , but obviously means that nothing mo re than chance had been at work . ) Lane goes on to say that though he was satisfied that the boys in his own case were not prompted m m by the agician , as he himself had selected the , yet he n ow believed that they had not in reality

n . ff m i see anything He had , indeed , o ered the a br be

on m n to c fess the truth , but they had re ai ed silent,

n feari g to confess . ( What they feared it is difficult to see . ) To the obvious objection that Europeans ( as we shall see later) had succeeded in seei n g things in

ink n o n n the , La e replies by pr pou di g this hypothesi s — su fficiently remarkable at a time when the efficacy of verbal suggesti o n was virtua lly unknown— tha t in thei r case it was the i nterpreter who helped them to l o o C RYSTAL GAZING

t e fea s a nd m ea n s h ir t . that he did it by o llu t n b no s es t o ns . f ugg i if this explanatio , y n u a l l s m ro a e fits e s i p b bl . the case of the Europ an , it is di fficul t to see why Lane supposes the boys to ha ve s een no thi ng .

d e n e a e a n d If he ha b e pr p red to go a little furth r , admit tha t the bo vs frequently saw ink visions which

e he ma n o r at an a m i o s “ re in t . v . i r te on so e occas n , the resu o f s est o on m n lt ugg i n the part of the agicia , he o o w u ld pr bablv have hit the mark .

. \ i o o n n n mp rta nt p i t remains to be mentio ed . The a fo resa id O s man E ff endi was in rea lity a

Sco ts m a n a n c x - so ldicr who n , had been take

r is o ne in 180 who had on m p r 7, g e over to Moha i i i eda nis i i i and s ubse uent m , q ly beco e second inter “ p rete r at th e l lritish C o ns ulate! His avowed theo r y o f m o ral s was that we did our whole duty i f “ 0 did what w e tho ught best for our fellow creatu res a nd mo st agreeable to them — a doctrine u hich ha s m o re than once been put into practi ce by fri ends o f my o wn in reporti n g their psychical

e to experienc s m e.

l t o o is , theref re , highly pr bable that Osman was acquainted with the appearan ce of a good many

m n n o o celebrated English en , i cludi g, of c urse, Nels n . Lan e was aston ished to hear an accurate description

n of Burckhardt, k owing that the magician had never seen him . But perhaps the mystery vanishes

Nu en L nds l s i l t a C as ca . 2 g , , i 49.

1 08 CRYSTAL GAZING

Lord Lindsay had previously hea rd of the ’ n magicia s performances , and was determined to

him . test On the second occasion he was alone, and the magician is said to have failed egregiously * one r . only trial , and that the fi st , being successful m m The process of beco ing a agician was , it

r m o m . appea ed , s ewhat co plicated Thirteen words

m be r or na es , apparently not Arabic, had to lea nt by heart ; then for seven days a fire must be made

m n n n o a d . seven ti es a day , i ce se thr wn on it Round

fire n n n m this the i itia t had to walk seve ti es , pro nou ncing seven times the thirteen names ( it re

m n one o f man i ds the who was going to St Ives) ,

and then go to sleep , to wake with the desired

faculty . Before the boy was brought the magician wrote

v n in r se eral li es Arabic, which he afterwa ds tore into

v n n t n n . se e pieces , each co ai i g a distich

r o - n i He then d ew a d uble li ed square , w th strange ’ m r in a ks the angles , on the boy s hand , put ink on

m an d o in . his pal , bade him lo k

chafin - in A g dish was now brought , and the

a in m n wizard , be ds hand , began mu bli g prayers

or n m and i vocations , probably the sa e words over

r it over again , at fi st in a loud voice , then sinking

n till it was quite i audible , though his lips continued m to move . From time to ti e he placed incen se

and one of the scraps of paper on the fire, frequently

L r L n Le ters o sa t . 6 . d i d y, , p 5 LORD LINDSAY 1 0 9 breaking off to ask the boy if he saw anything At last he said I saw something flit by quickly m but nothing ore came, and the wizard asked for another boy . After a repetition of the ceremonies the new bov

m nd e an saw a man , who at the word of com a b g sweepin g ; then he made the boy call for sevei

in n m r a an flags successio , which ade thei appe r ce .

who d d n and finally the Sultan , was describe as rinki g ff ” “ . m a is co ee Now , said the agician , the ch rm ” ma complete , and you y call for anyone you like .

mm n r m n w The first person su o ed , a cle gy a , hose

m on w accu ratel na e is not given , was , the hole, v

r e desc ibed , but this was the only success . The oth rs

m o r s t would not co e , or appeared by pr xy a e ul i which , with an ngenuity which has its parallel n m m t earer ho e , the agician ascribed to the fact tha it was the month of Ramadan . m Daniel La bert appeared as a scarecrow , and

Biffin and rm Miss a legless a less freak , with the

r u m ro r usual numbe of h an p pe ties . In spite of

in d n failures, Lord L dsay was satisfied that the chil re

w on was did see cro ds of objects , and that collusi ou t of the question .

Lord Nugent gives a brief description of two seances , the second being the one at which Lane

as . n w present At the first , after the usual i cense m ' i burning, the agician placed a paper w th some 1 1 0 CRYSTAL GAZING

who written characters under the cap of the boy , had been brought from a distance by Sir Gardner

i m n he o . t Wilk ns n The preli i ary pictures were, in m n m — ai , the sa e as those already described persons

n m an n t pitchi g a tent, a sweepi g, spreading a carpe , etc . After this preparation the inquirers were

n m r asked to a e thei fancy , and selected a person distinguished for the longest and bushiest beard in the British Isles . He was , however , described as havi n g a chin very like that of the youn gest

m . person in the co pany, Lord Mountcharles After several failu res the magician suggested that they

m n m should ask for so eo e who had lost a li b , as

m o o H they would be re easily rec gnised . Sir enry

r n an d bo Ha di ge was selected , the y , after being led a stra b r and m n y y inquiries afte his eyes feet , entio ed O that he had his hands crossed on his heart— the real

n had one o f m fact bei g that he lost the , which led ’ O Con n ell to abuse him i n Parliament as a one

n handed miscreant . The second sea ce was like w a * ise total failure . ’ Kin glake s curiosity was a roused by the reports ’ o f m seance the agician s feats, and he had a fi but

a m the result was la entable failure . Dr Keate ,

m r ri the head aste of Eton , was desc bed as a fair

e girl , with blue yes , golden hair, pallid face, and rosy lips .

’ Miss Martineau s scryer was equally unsuccess fulgt

L ‘ ' n l i 1 . a ds C bss ca l 2 th n I: Travels i i . 2 . o e 2 , p . 7 l E , p . 64 I , 37

I I 2 CRYSTAL GAZING

was an aff air of mesmerism in the first place,

e ra or t i a clairvoyant got n pp with the quest oner, and succeeded in an swering correctly The m She agician , thought , failed to appreciate the cause

of of his success , and attributed it to the favour the spirits whom he propitiated . m After several ore boys had turned out failures ,

Miss Marti n eau proposed to try for herself . At

m n r d first the agician objected , but subseque tly ag ee

a to her request , though with warning that success was improbable .

Mor arm s an d n ns w r urn she o s on m e ch i ce e e e b ed , g e , y an was u s or w ink and us ua oo our n o h d d ly c ed ith , the l p l p ed i t m an an d a u a n I n t o m n u s y h d, I f ithf lly g zed i to it . w i te the m s n sa on a ou r was no an on m a . e ti c e , th gh the e h d y he d P re sen tly I began to s ee such odd things in the pool of ink ; it r w so ar or m a n s and s ow s u s ran g e l ge bef e y chi g eye , h ed ch t ge m ovin g s ha dows an d clear symmet rical figures an d in ters ectin g n s a un r a n how on ou omm an m li e , th t I felt ce t i l g I c ld c d y ou s a nd wor s an d on s r n num r of s ran rs th ght d ; , c ide i g the be t ge r s n ou mor ru n to s a o ff n flu n p e e t, I th ght it e p de t h ke the i e ce urs u r r s while I could than to p e the expe iment . The pe fume ff u s n s n m av s om o wa s to m . ight h e e e ect , th gh I i e ible the I am certai n that ther e was a strong mesmeric inflm ” r s n p e e t . CHAPTER IX

M OR E EGYPTIA N SCR YI N G

' Laborde s accou n t— v — A Bu tl w . er Quarterly Re ie I .

A LO N G accoun t of Egyptian magician s is given by * or who 1 82 Lab de , was in Cairo in 7, and witnessed ’ a seance at Lord Prudhoe s . Afte r a description

m an e of the , an Algerian , he states that two boys wer

i n m — o ne brought , not , apparently , by Ach ed of

om wh , the first selected , was the son of a European ,

n n . a d eleve years old He spoke Arabic with ease .

m a n o m The agici n , ticing that he see ed alarmed,

m r in cal ed his apprehensions, and p oceeded to scribe on his hand with a pen a square with letters

r r m an d n m . n o u be s The he p u ed ink into the iddle, H and told the boy to look at his ow n reflection . e n for i s ext asked a pan of charcoal , and threw var ou

n n on an d to i gredie ts the fire, finally told the boy

hi s tell m when he saw a Turki h soldier sweeping. Thereupon he recited a quantity of Arabic in a low o w r r few v ice , hich he g adually aised , though wo w n to in rds ere i telligible his audience , seated a i circle round h m .

on The boy kept his eyes fixed the ink , and the

m n i L r m t r 2 . a o C o c a e . b de, , p 3 1 1 4 CRYSTAL GAZING

All odour of incense grew stronger . at once , throw

bo ing back his head , the y burst into tears , and de cla red he had seen a hideous figure .

Thereupon a little Arab , attached to the house , ’ n m who had never see Ach ed , took the first boy s m m i place , and after the sa e preli inaries he cr ed , all ” at once There he is . Thereupon Achmed

him find questioned , and in the description we an account of a soldier sweeping before a richly- orna m ented tent , of the appearance of the Sultan , his

on— a suite , and so narrative so detailed that Labo rde concludes that the boy must have been de

m i n scribing what he saw . Thereupon the ag cia asked m m the co pany to select so eone who should appear, and Major Felix selected Shakespeare . Bring m Shakespeare , cried the agician , and proceeded to repeat various unintelligible formulas . The boy

r him desc ibed as dressed in black , with a beard , i ben s ch . and a black , or cloak In reply to a question as to where he was born the company were told : ” n In a cou try surrounded by water .

Lord Prudhoe then called for Cradock , who was

r o described as d essed in red , with odd b ots , and a great bl ack tarbous ch ( cocked hat) on his head ; the

r boots we e such as the boy had never seen, and

v came o er his legs .

n Accordi g to Laborde , the beard attributed to Shakespeare was a detail that the boy could hardly

v m have in ented , inas uch as it was not worn by

1 1 6 CRYSTAL GAZING

Aiouha el Djennoun Anzilon Betakki

l h ut uh u m T aricki Anzilon Meta a o o o Aleikou , , i ki Tar c . fi The words are not dif cult , but they must , it

n appears , be recited or sung in a certai way , and

n with certain repetitions . The i cense was com

of - Mabachi m - posed Takeh , A bar Indi , and Kon sombra - Djaou— equal quantities of the first two and less of the third . As soon as Laborde reached home he set to work i to practise his spells , and soon atta ned the proper tone and rhythmic cadence . A few days after learning the secret he was called by business to

r Alexand ia , and went by boat , on which , to the m m great ad iration of his crew, he ade two successful m experi ents . At Alexandria , his suspicions of m m Ach ed still active , he went into re ote quarters i m m of the c ty to find boys on who to experi ent , and brought them in from highways and byways .

m m — in Only one experi ent is , however , entioned which he asked for Lord Prudhoe . The boy de m scribed his costu e exactly , and added that he had

r a silve sabre , the fact being that he had a sheath m of that etal , probably the only one in Egypt .

u On his return to Cairo , Laborde fo nd his reputa i t on had procured him clients . The servants of M . m m Massara , drago an of the French Consulate , ca e to enlist his aid in tracing a thief . He sent them out to fetch a child ; and we may assume that he was A FRENCH MAGICIAN 1 1 7

m ’ m not an acco plice , for , to Laborde s dis ay , the vision refused to develop . At last the caouas

an d . appeared , the thief was demanded The boy gave a description of his face , his turban , his beard , ’ and so on , leaving no doubt on Laborde s mind that he was really describing a picture . The Arabs were equally sure that they recognised the male m re factor , and left without ore ado , with a few marks as to the benefits that result from a few appli cations of the rod . Proud of his success Laborde wished to buy other m secrets fro Achmed , but learnt that he was dead ,

in ff and had, fact , su ered decapitation as a result of an unfortunate overdose o f a medicament sought by

old an Turk who wished to renew his youth . From Lane ’ s account it appears that Laborde m was wrong in thinking that Ach ed , whom Lane

- - el- - cl- Mou reb calls Cheich Abd Kader g y, was dead . m ff He had erely su ered banishment . The Quarterly* supplies a commentary to the earlier part of this narrative . An eye- witness says : That the boy really sees what he describes is evident . The ink is about ” half a teaspoonful .

’ u De Laborde s acco nt is inaccurate . The scene was described more than once to the writer by people

n r who had been prese t . The fi st boy was the son

m n of an Italian ercha t ; he saw his cap , then his

l uarter . 2 . Q y, lix 03 I 1 8 CRYSTAL GAZING nose bu s n a h a , and finally r t i to te rs at the sig t of h The son . M a wa s man wit a sword . of M assa r

ab ed Du e de more successful . De L orde ask for the la ie n his n n on Riv re, without telling a yone of i te ti , and bo r him a s h n m the y desc ibed aving a u ifor ,

n a s with silver lace on the cu ff s a d collar . This w

n o m the n the u if r of Gra d Veneur, and the Duke was the only person in Fran ce who had su ch a u f m n o n r m n ni or . An interesti g p i t in this expe i e t was that the boy heard the Sulta n ( who was always present) sen d for the Duke ; h e said he saw his lips

n the in h is m a d a w car . ove, he rd ords When Shakespeare w as sen t for the boy bu rst i ma n w nto a laugh , and explained that he saw a ith a li n a o f n a beard under his p i ste d on his chi , with candeel ( a tumbler- shaped glass lamp) upside ” d m an v on own on his hea d ; the li ed an island . The account states that the boy frequently sat

t m m i i om m at a dis ance fro the ag c an , and he s eti es went to another part of the room while the child ” described the figures . A further contribution is supplied by Christopher In Noctes Ambrosianae an accoun t is

a n in given of the interview , st ted to have take place

1 8 0 u M an d 3 , between Lord Pr dhoe, ajor Felix, the

him o magi cian . The latter told to fetch a b y . After walking about for half- an - hour they selected

one about eight years old . After the usual incanta

' Bl k d l 2 . ac oo . uarter . 08 w 20. Q y, lix 1 , xxx 4

120 CRYSTAL GAZING

o o . int it, and saw visi ns Such was the account given by the Khedive .

He went on to say that , being quite incredulous , he asked permission to make a private trial at home . m The owner consented, and at the Is ailia Palace a little girl eight years old , the child of a nurse, quite ignorant, and unable to read or write, was selected . When the plate was put on her head she cried out : The stone has turned to white . Thereupon the Khedive asked questions about

m an d i people who the child had not seen , rece ved

n : correct descriptions . A other person present asked How many children have I !

Two sons and a daughter .

n That is right . What is the elder so like ! He wears a coat with a row of buttons down the ” front, and striped trousers , and has a sabre . What is the second son like !

He has a coat with two rows of buttons in front, little gold cushions on his shoulders, and an anchor ” m r hi e broide ed on s cuffs .

One was in the Turkish army, the other in the

r n Tu kish navy , and both were absolutely u known m to the child . Collusion was i possible , for even a wizard would find it hard to penetrate into the ’ m ’ ladies apart ents of the Khedive s palace . More

v r o er, the questions were too rapid and too va ied to m i ad it of shuffl ng . Butler says that the story was subsequently told ’ THE KHEDIVE S TRIAL 1 2 1

n i French in his presence , and that the second at version was absolutely the same . The Khedive tempted to get the ring for further experiments in ’ m Butler s presence, but the owner, Ah ed Agha , would not be persuaded . Subsequently Butler was unable to find him, but learnt that he had made a reputation for curing people of rheumatism by stick

ff t. ing needles into the a ected par No blood flowed , i and no pain was infl cted .

i

On the whole, the , narratives in this chapter go m far to rehabilitate Egyptian magic . If Os an were the deus ex m achina in the case of Nelson and Shakespeare we can hardly suppose him to have been intimately acqu ainted with the appearance of i ” Volta re . It may be said that he got up de scriptions ; but there remain Archdeacon Wrangham and Due e ff the de la Rivi re , and Osman E endi could hardly have got up their personal appearance , even if he had known beforehand that they would be asked for . More convincing than all , there is the description of Lord Prudhoe given by the street u o f m rchin Alexandria , far fro the renegade Scots ’ private s baneful influence . m im The ore recent exper ents described by Butler,

- o m told at second hand , h wever, point in the sa e direction . CHAPTER X

PR OPHETIC A N D TELEPA THIC SCR YI N G

’ ’ Ca therine de M edici— Duc d O rleans — M s B r . s

' m other s m ayde— Thief- ca tching in Egyp t

I N the historical and ethnographical chapters we have seen more than one hint of the reasons which made the crystal and sim ilar visions so popular their telepathic , or alleged telepathic , character . Savage scryer and civilised crystal gazer both allege that by the use of the crystal they are enabled to discover events which are happening at

m n m a distance, and so e eve clai that their visions m m give the the eans of foretelling the future . In the volume on thought transference we have seen what m i nute precautions are n ecessary in order to make the experiments evidentially valu

I n e o f o able . the natur things , the sp ntaneous

n thought tra sference , which is , as a rule , all that m see s to be attained by crystal gazing, is less sus ce tible m p of rigid control , for the si ple reason that the scryer is seldom able to see the person for whom

i n an d v he or she is look g , that e en where this does n ot o o fo r h ld go d , and the person asked appears in m the crystal , steps have but seldo been taken , in

1 22

1 24 CRYSTAL GAZING

n . m a at He ri IV And we y have grave doubts , the

n n m sce e bei g the residence of the agician , whether m a certain nu ber of his servants , dressed up, did not play the parts of the kings of France .

A S an n illustratio of how such stories grow , we m a * y quote the account of another author, who assures us that Catherine de Medici made use of the magic of her diviners to learn who would succeed b m m her son , and that y eans of a irror she was

n m shown all future kings , beginni g fro Henri IV

him . She saw after Louis XIII . , Louis XIV , and then a troop of Jesuits ; whereupon she refused to m see ore , and was on the point of breaking the m i irror, which , however, was sa d to be preserved in the Louvre . The only point of resemblance between the two stories is that Henri IV . appeared in each , and that as soon as the king appeared who was actually reign ing at the time the work quoted was published Catherine refused to see more ; even the scene of the event is changed to the Louvre . The story is , perhaps , entirely fabulous, or at any rate non evidentialsl' Saint Simon i gives an account of a professedly prophetic vision .

* R emar nes s ur le Gouvern emen t Co o n 1 688 . 1 . q , l g e , , p 5 1' Fo r a dis cus s ion o f a recent mirror vi s ion of great interest 1 see p . 48 .

Sa n mon Mem. v. 120. 1 i t Si , ’ DUC D ORLEANS 1 25

’ r ans him 1 06 The Duc d O le related to in 7 , the day after the event , that visions had been shown by ’ someone in a glass of water at Madame de Sery s . m Wishing to test this , he sent a valet to Mada e de

’ ' As ancie s see . N to who was there, and so on soon as the Duke got his information he asked the little girl of eight , who was the scryer , to say what was m r . going on . She related eve ything exactly To ake sure , M . de Nancie was despatched , and he con

firmed the exactness of the description . Then the Duke asked for a description of Ver sailles, which she had never seen, nor heard of any ’ i n one belonging to the Court . She described the K g s

m n n Fa on room , Mada e de Mai te on , g , the Duchess

n n of Orleans , the Pri cess of Conti . The Ki g

m a nd n hi self, the Dukes of Berry Bourgog e ,

n and the Duchess of Bourgog e, she did not describe .

The Duke had wished to see the future , and espe cially the events at the death of the Ki ng ; and Sai nt Simon remarks that the three persons mentioned

n died before the Ki g . * A MS. in the British Museum gi ves some partien lars derived by the writer from a certain Mrs Bollsworth

’

1 . m Mrs B. s other had a Mayd who ( when her mistress was abroad) was busy in an arbor in ye Mrs B . irle garden, whom , being then a g , found

. 2 1 Eg 6 8. 1 26 CRYSTAL GAZING

* o - w h w in it an d l oking in a Copper basin it ater , she looking i nto it [as ye mayd wished her] spied ’ had ass something quite thro it, as if it been a gl m 81 saw ( as if it was) the shape of a gr ea t nu b . o f men fightin g one with an other— which after was judged to be ye representation of \Vorcester fi i m ght , it be ng at that ti e for ye Mayd told Her Mistress and all in ye Hou se the same night or day

i n K n s . after it was fought , tell g the g party was

wo r wh . sted and several particulars of the fight , she

saw n in and lear ed that basin .

Cl rs 2 . h A 2 trick of this mayde to wc . M B . was a witness was her sho wi ng a Gentleman his Mistress m in a Co on looking glass belonging to ye house , putting behind it a paper with barbarous words

n d r bid m a characte s on it . She the Gentle an whose n ame was 81 2 or 3 more ( with that Mrs

B lls o w . ) to look in it and they all (as they said

’ rs in M B . s hearing) and she particularly for herself averred that she sawa Gentlewoman very distinctly

m i weh . in ye glass in the dayti e , p cking her teeth m the Gentle an confessed was his very Mistress . They desired ye mayd to Show her again in ye h rs o wc M . Afterno n , B and ye reste saw again in anothe r posture with a book in her hand and sitting

a o r as n w wa r in o n ro n With c ppe b i ith te it , fte th wi g it out t e P8 a r ar M . av n y y w te might be cle . B h i g heard s he was a witch wa s c uri ou s to see ye even t of ye thin g : ye m ayd was n firs bu at a s Mr s o u oo n unw at t . w o as n illi g t l t B ld l k i t ye b i .

1 28 CRYSTAL GAZING

2 1 6 1 . These particulars to me June 4, 9

W . SHIPPON .

i s We cannot , however, lay stress on narrat ve of

- and this sort , which reach us at second hand , without any guarantee that the reporter recorded the facts while they were fresh in his mem o ry . It is hardly open to question that the secon d - hand story tends to undergo greater chan ges when it is recorded after a certain lapse o f time than the n arrati ve

n at first- which is give us hand . This is readily intelligible ; the memories of the secon d - han d reporter a re far mo re likely to rearran ge them sel ves

ro o an d o so as to p duce a good st ry , the recollecti n o f a n the origin l arrative , which is all he has to go b on m oe y , is little check the ythop ic faculty of the o na n rdi ry ma .

om first- n rim a acie S e ha d cases , p f telepathic, are ren de red valueless by the failure o f the recorder

n to exclude commonplace expla ations . In the followi ng Indian case there is nothing to show that the dog- bo y was n ot the thief or that the

r real thief did not confess . Possibly the wiza d himself hid the objects where they were subsequently found

H a vi n g had some property stolen I sent for a

u adu on o r a om L bbi j g , wiz rd , who pr ised to recover

s do — e e as it, and cho e my g boy , a lad of l ven years, ’ WOLFF S THIEF- CATCHING 1 29

m m his confederate . After so e preli inary incanta * tion the boy was asked what he saw in the globule . i He first described the nside of a tent , then said he m m saw onkeys sweeping the roo , and after gazing i n tently on the globule for some minutes got

m n frightened at so ethi g, and began to cry . The

on him m m Lubbi this led fro the roo , returned in

- an - n m m e m half hour , and i for ed the issing articles

r w m om we e under a chest of dra ers in y bedro , which proved to be the cases! In other cases we find the witnesses disagreei n g on m n n i porta t poi ts . Thus in the story told by Lan e of the detection of a thief by an Egyptian ma n bo r gicia an Arab y is the sc yer , and the thief

n i f is , appare tly , an Arab too . The account is , not

m an five conte porary, at y rate written within or six

o f years the occurrence .

Dr ff who ac Wol , was one of the party , gives no

o n so fa r c u t, as I have been able to ascertain , in his

n m o r . co te p ra y journals His travels , however ,

s r n n n publi hed thirty yea s later , co tai a very striki g

a ou n n n . ma cc t of the i cide t Lane, it is true , y have ha d an na r n him r i ccu ate accou t given , or the sto y ma a in m m but i y h ve faded his e ory , the d screpancy

' ’ i Fo r ff n ra r s remarkable . in Wol s ar tive the scrye

is not at n an Arab all but an Italia , and the thief,

* Un un a s n o u is ma of as or oil and am i , hi y gl b le, de c t l p a bl ck .

d rd . 1 80. N . an . S. T Q 3 , xi 1 30 CRYSTAL GAZING

u m w as ia too . ma to j dge by his na e , an Ital n It y

’ be noted that if \Volff s account is accurate very much more turn s on the closen ess o f the resembla nce .

Fo r an t w be i to see an a I alian boy ould l kely Itali n , and the ra cial resemblan ce m ight be enough to

’ r ou a s o w : procu e reco gn iti on . Lane s acc nt is f llo s

A few days a fter my firs t arr i val in thi s co un try my c ur ios ity was excited on the s ubject o f m agic by a ci rcum s tan ce related

r n - n r H v n ha d r ason o to m e M Sa o ur Co s u G a . a t by lt , l e e l i g e v a one o f his s rvan s wa s a rom a o f belie e th t e t thief, f the f ct s v ra a r s o f ro r av n n s o n rom his o u s e e l ticle p pe ty h i g bee t le f h e , s n fo r a ra Ma h rabee m a an w a V w o f he e t celeb ted g gici , ith ie n m a n m an d a u s n u on e an o f m i ti id ti g the , c i g the g ilty ( if y the i r m m a an m nd r u to on s s h s . a a we e g ilty) c fe c i e The gici c e , sa id tha t he wo uld ca u s e the exact im age o f the person who had committed the thefts to appea r to any youth not a r ri ved at a e o f u er a nd s r m a s r of o us to the g p b ty, de i ed the te the h e in n m m s A s s v ra o s w r call a y boy who he ight ch oo e . e e l b y e e n m o in a a r n a a n to o u s one of m the e pl yed g de dj ce t the h e , the ’ wa s a f r I n a m o f o s r c lled o thi s p urpo s e . the p l the b y ight ‘ a n m a an r w w a en a r a n a ram in h d the gici d e ith p ce t i di g , the n r f i n o s ink s r ce t e o which he po u red a little nk . I t thi he de i ed bo s a a s to oo He n u rn som n n s the y te df tly l k . the b ed e i ce e a n d s v ra s of a r n s r w a rm s an d at e e l bit p pe i c ibed ith ch , the i sam e tim e c a lled fo r va r i o u s objects to appear in the nk . The bo a r a s aw a ll s o s an d a s o f all y decl ed th t he the e bject , , l t , the m a of u rs on s r his s a ur co un ten i ge the g ilty pe ; he de c ibed t t e, a n an d r s s sa a n w him an d r ran own ce, d e ; id th t he k e ; di ectly d n o ar en an d a re n on e o f a o u r rs who i t the g d , pp he ded the l b e , , n ro u or m a s r mm a on s s a whe b ght bef e the te , i edi tely c fe ed th t he wa s the thief.

Wolff gives som e details

a s s n o n e da at the a o f Mr Sa n n w He w itti g y t ble lt , di i g ith

’

i l . Lan e s M oder n E t a ns 1 8 1 vo . . . gyp , 7 , i p 337

1 32 CRYSTAL GAZING

ut I v nu u c n n n d in or a r o o o omo o u a o . A s ed c pell , h t, fte a o n m s of n u r s r m an so m n u d ze ti e i q i y , he de c ibed the i tely ” ll r s n a m i that a p e e t excl i ed Salvin i s the thief . An d ’ n a v n s room a s ar s v r s ns r w S w s oo . w he l i i e ched the il e p , etc , e e No on e bo sa n n ) “ fo u nd . except the y w a ythi g

The case is obvious ly of little value from an evi dential po int of View .

* o ff Travels 1 1 8. W l , , CHAPTER XI

EVIDE N TIAL CASES

’ Miss A— Premonitions — M is s Gernet— Mr Lang s cas es — C ollective s crying

’

I N F . W . H . Myers great series of papers on the sublim in al consciousness is an interesting accoun t o f some o f the crystal Visions of the lady known

s s m m as Mi A , which for but a s all portion of those which she has actually seen— the crystal visio n s bei n g again but a fraction of the supernormal

n nn phenome a recorded in co ection with her.

ma o n m The records are, it y be n ted , i co plete , mai n ly because they were not made with a View to

r u r Fo r m thei se fo r scientific pu po ses . the sa e

on na r s m n reas they tu ally lack , to o e exte t , the

n r a w in evide tial characte of cases de lt ith later , that the subject of the Visi o n has seldom given a deta iled a oun o f um n bu t n on cc t the circ sta ces , bee c tent , as

u n a r le , to give a general corroboratio to the narra o f tive Miss A .

‘ Among the best repo rted cases is one in which

o n n Sir J seph Bar by was the chief wit ess . He had

n n w n a n go e to Lo gford Castle for a eddi g, le vi g

a at n . O ne n Lady B rnby Eastbour e day, betwee the 1 l th of 1 88 4th and g August 9, Miss A , says Sir 133 34 CRYSTAL GAZING

r Joseph Ba rnby , looked in her crystal , and desc ibed

o a r i o a bedr om . She appe ed to be V ewing the r om

oo a from j u st outside the open d r , for she s id

If there is a bed in the ro om it m ust be behin d the door to ” n n s room w a s a on on e an d end the left ; i a y ca e the l g , the a o u a ar w n ow w o rm n r en d w s cc pied by l ge i d , hich f ed the e ti e h r is a a in r oom r n of the room . S e added : The e l dy the d yi g r an s on a o She s r her as a ar s he h d t wel . de c ibed t ll , d k, lightly “ or n in a aran and w ra r an air a ou her . f eig ppe ce, ith the b t Thi s des cr ibed with such aston i shing accu racy my wife an d the room s he was then occ upyin g that I was impelled to a sk r h r s s was fo r a u a rs as to r ss . S e s a a p tic l d e , etc t ted th t the d e of s r w a oo a o f ra on o an d a s r o f e ge, ith g d de l b id the b dice, t ip ra own on e s of s r s r m e o ff s n b id d ide the ki t . Thi th ew the ce t, a s m y wife h ad express ed r egret befo r e I started fo r Lo ngfo rd a s h e h a n r r ss her M as on s m n d ot a s w . th t e ge d e ith y t i h e t, r o r wa s r a on r urn n to E as ourn to find m the ef e , g e t et i g tb e y wife wea r ing a serge d res s exactly a ns we ring to the descrip on v n a ov s u to s n n om s som s ix ti gi e b e . The eq el thi i cide t c e e n m on s a r ou w n m w and w r a n n a tee th l te , he y ife I e e tte di g “ ” per fo rm an ce given by the Ma gpie Min strel s ( a s ociety o f ’ m us a am a u rs at Pr n s Ha P a rr . a v ic l te ) i ce ll , icc dilly We i ed ar an d a r a n m w in a s a m v a o u e ly, fte pl ci g y ife e t I o ed b t the room s a n t r n s r a n d r I n o urs f pe ki g o f ie d he e the e. the c e o m n u s r s a n o r a n ten o o La R d ss . n r ro m i te dy d Mi A e te ed the o . Du r n r n s n s u s a m n i g the g eeti g which e ed Mis A . c lled y atte “ on to a s an n u r s a n You w r m m r m ti t di g fig e, yi g ill e e be y seeing a la dy in her bedroom while I was looking in my crys l i ” ta a s a sa . a s n on ; th t the l dy I w That w my wife . I eed ly add a he h ad n v r s n m th t s e e ee y wife . S n OSEPH B ( ig ed ) J BARN Y .

a a r in mo L dy B nby, writing the same nth as her

an a r n ma husb d , three years fte the eve t , kes the followi n g s tatement

a o un a ou m e and m r ss is r m ar a as n The cc t b t y d e e k ble , bei g out of n ra ou rs o f n s in s wa : had the ge e l c e thi g , thi y I been

1 36 CRYSTAL GAZING

less complicated than they a re. Every German professor of philosophy— there are forty- eight of

m a m o f the , each with syste his own , not to speak of those who are dead and gone and those who hope to step in to the shoes o f the p resent professors — would rejoice in the con sciousness that his system

‘ was unassailable because the universe was what he made it ( many of them seem to believe this to a be the case now ) , and there would be at le st eight

ff r and forty di erent universes in Ge many alone .

m a m rom r This ethod , d irable as it is f an abst act

n o f not o n o poi t View , is , h wever, fou d to give g od

n m a u results in practice . Co sequently it y be q es tioned whether a simple denial of the truth of this and all similar stories is an ideal m ethod of dealing

r n o with the facts of expe ie ce, whether it be ad pted “ ” by the man o f science or the common or ga rden h individual w o knows all about it . It m ay be remarked in passing that when m en of science condescend to o ff er some remarks on the subject of psychical research they are frequently

o n n . unf rtunate , if not dow right i accurate Pro fessor Ray Lankester r ecently wrote to The Tim es to accu se Sir Oliver Lodge o f wilfully deceiving the

r R . o u n P . p blic by allegi g that the S. had disc ve ed

r no had telepathy , whe eas , in fact , such thing been

o In o i m m disc vered . such cases the l g c is so eti es on ar a a n ro a p with the tone of the ass il t , and P fessor ’ Ray Lankester s assault merely served to show COINCIDENCE ! 1 37

that he did not know the mean ing o f the word

a no m n a telep thy , which is ore a thi g th n gravita i o is n b . t n a thi g . But this is y the way ’ If we do not put Miss A s crystal vision out of the way by decla rin g that the parties con cerned developed co ncordan t hallucin atory memories it hardly appea rs pos sible to explain it as the result of

o i n cir n n . c i cide ce As Lady Barnby expla s , the cum stances were distinctly exceptio nal ; they

m n w o en o ight i deed , ith the exception of the p d or ,

a v n in m n u h e bee her i d , and the case thus red ced

to on e a trois n o r u n of telepathy , if the Ope d o b si ess

r an r r n n we e everyday occu e ce . But this a ticipa tion o f a ce rta in momen t is too distin ctive a feature o f the visi on for it to be po ssible to get rid of the

r m n o r n in m . o p e o it y ele e t this way More ver , the

s o r n o m an s s and on a t y by e t s al e . I h ve recently

a r o f an r in ex ce he d othe case , which altogether p

’ tional i n ciden ts with rega rd to the purchase o f a hou se were foreto ld by a crystal Vision th ree weeks

or m o r on e bef e they beca e fa cts . M e tha n case has been m ade k now n at private meeti n gs of the where even m ore elaborate predicti ons than that

’ o f Mi ss A s ha ve been made by automatic w ritin g

m o n th o r m o ff a n d n r um s bef e they ca e , u der ci c stan ces that p recluded the po s sibility o f erro rs as

to for s r o n w r in an dates , the e p edicti s e e the h ds of

o th r o r n a ff o r e s bef e the eve t , yet they ded no

oo o for the o rd n u n d l ph le i ary ca se , eve if we inclu e I 38 CRYSTAL GAZ ING

m o r a u at ti m fo r a ng ordina y c ses telep hic hypno s , sta temen ts were made as to a person of whose n m the w was w u t n a e riter not a are ; there co ld , he . have been no element of men tal su ggestion in the

s nk r cau sation of the acts . Profe s or Ray La este w u to con ill , do btless , be prepared charge all

a u v w t u w t cerned with deliber te fra d , e en i ho t ai in a r bu t n R a g to he the details ; , the , Professor y

n a u u r an d La kester knows all bo t the nive se ,

u a a o n e o e was q ite sure twenty ye rs g , eve b f r

n r m n w as u tryi g any expe i e ts , that there no s ch

o r to m r no thing as telepathy ; , be o e accurate , process to which su ch a designation can properly be applied . If I had any doubts as to the fact of such pre mon ition s being part of the o rder of natu re my dou bts would be removed by an i n cident in my

in m n own experience which the pre onitio , which was reported to me on the day on which it was

mm n m m co u icated to y infor ant, related to two incidents in my own life : of these one might have

one who been foreseen by person , was not , however,

n - r prese t when the fortune telle , who had never seen ” m e , gave her prophecy ; the other, on the other

r n n so hand, was not p edictable by a yo e, far as I can judge , in the ordinary course of things . Both

o n m a m e the f retold i cidents, I y say , struck at the m m ti e as extre ely unlikely .

n m An interesti g account of an experi ent, recorded

1 49 CRYSTAL GAZING

F rs she s aw a s n r woman w v r a r a r an d in i t le de ith e y f i h i , a os um w u s h r o n s r c t e hich p zzled me a to e d i g . I desc ibed d m s u r a ll n n in e e a w o a s s M ss . sa n n o n th t e t the gl , i T yi g thi g

as . u r n an to mov an d ou n m ake yet The fig e the beg e , I c ld the out a Sh e wa s r s s n she wa own room d th t d e i g ; lked d the , lifte her a rms oo som n rom a oar n s a in ron of , t k ethi g f b d , the t yed f t w a was ro a a m r ror saw on a r s an d h t p b bly i ( I ly the d k ide) ,

r s s h r r n h r o r a T h en ~ sh e s her n s e a o e . wa a d e ed h i f ehe d hed h d , and the mov ing to an d f ro from me of h er arm s and o f the

s i - i h h es u e m a n she held was per fectly dis tinct . S e ad a tea n f u r s gow o light colo r with long ( G eek) sleeve . n s h in n r r s an all at on . aw er a o oom The ce e ch ged ce I the , r an d a n man s oo s her to w om bette lighted , ge tle t d be ide , h a n man sh e s eem ed to talk in an an im ted way . The ge tle was a n d r s r r n n to s ou w a r a a a a a . i cli ed be t t , ith light be d h i h de d ke r u n d n am to s M ss . u s o t au an sa : Whe it c e thi i T b t l ghi g, id ” Now I believ e in it . The descr iption o f the lady fitted to an extraordi nary de n man M s s r o n s on e o f her r a r and in . g ee , the ge tle i T ec g i ed el f iv es who was r or to a vo a m r r o a . t , ep ted be de ted d i e the l dy

The n arrative goes o n to say that at this point the scryer realised that she was in trudin g on a

’ o i and o ff ex eri neighb r s private l fe , she broke the p ment . She adds that Miss T . inquired of another relative of hers if the devoted admirer had paid his

on r o n n was respects the p evi us eve i g, and told that

n so an d was r he had do e , eceived by the lady in a light go w n with long sleeves . To this narrative i s appended the corroboration

Klado a of Miss , who st tes that the facts were

on m rro n no verified the o w , that Miss Ger et had

o o f o - v kn wledge the l ng slee ed lady , and that the

r r vision was desc ibed as it p ogressed . MISS KLADO 1 4 1

on Miss T . states that the visi described was of

r- a r om r in m o n a slight , fai h i ed w an d essed a r ing

n i an d m to gow w th wide sleeves , which see ed be ” either white or pale blue ; then my friend told me n and ma she saw the door ope , a gentle n enter

r m and m o the oo , on y friend describing his pers n

I recognised it at once .

’ v r n da as n to a s o u s an d u s The e y ext y I h te ed the l dy h e, q e tion ed h er as to w r she wa s r v o u s v n n an d how he e the p e i e e i g, h o m a n ra r un w sh e sh e wa s r ss . S e e d e ed t ld th t , feeli g the ell , r ema ined the wh ole even in g at home in h er d r e ss in g- room

- i n d a she wo r a - a u r s s n own . e. o u o r a ( b d i ) , th t e p le bl e d e i g g that had wide s leev es ! O n examin in g her d res s i ng- room I was aston i shed beyond wo rd s to fin d how very accu rate the i r a f v is ion was n eve y det il o it .

It Should be mentioned that this accoun t was w r it ten n early a m onth after those of Miss Gernet and l Miss K ado .

o s n rr a re in a m n On the wh le , the e a atives gree e t , in spite o f the fa ct that the subject o f the Vision

m n ffi remai ned in the same roo . O the di cult question of whether a morn ing- gow n can properly

n - ff no n be described as a dressi g gown I o er opi ion , but a lady whom I con sulted on the question thi nks

on on om n o the two c cepti s overlap to s e exte t . G nse qu ently this detail is not necessarily erron eou s i n on e

n of the accou ts .

nu m of d n s For the greater ber evi e tial ca es ,

r n however , we are indebted to Mr And ew La g, 142 CRYSTAL GAZING and n to lad v who oe u d the nam e o f he , agai , a , g s n er

s A Mi s ngus . I re fra in fro m quoting at len gth all the ca ses

“ " u s d Mr a n M n o f on p bli he by L g in The aki g Religi ,

n Th o m a d e Monthly R eview Dec . which f r so me o f the best evidence for telepathy yet pub

r i lished . Miss Angu s w tes :

' A lady one day a sked m e to s cry o ut a frien d of whom s h e o u n mo s mm H r s a n w ld thi k . Al t i ediately I excla imed : e e i old o ld a oo n at m e ' with a r um an sm on h er , l dy l ki g t i ph t ile h a . S e h s r m a a v ro n n n os an d n u ra r n . f ce e y p i e t e, tc cke chi Her a is v r m u wr n s a at s s o f her f ce e y ch i kled , e peci lly the ide s as r s m n Sh i r n she w a a s . e s w a a eye , if e e lw y ili g e i g little ’ s a a But an ol a h r w w w a . ! sh e d s e hite h l ith bl ck edge c t be , " a r is u t ro n ! h er w a o u a oo s so v r v r old . h i q i e b lth gh f ce l k e y, e y u r n van s an d a sa a had a u r The pict e the i hed , the l dy id th t I cc ’ ately des cribed h er frien d s m other instead o f him self ; tha t was a am o a m o r m us h er a r as it f ily j ke th t the the t dye h i ,

d h - r ld was s o rown an s e wa s two a s o . a it b , eighty ye The l dy asked m e if the Vi s ion wer e di s ti n ct en ough for m e to r ecogn i s e ’ the likeness in the son s photograph ; n ext day she laid s evera l o r m e and in a mom n w ou s s s a on bef e , e t, ith t the lighte t he it ti , I picked him out from his won derfu l likenes s to my

M r n o a The inquirer , says La g, verbally corrob r ted

me a w n all the facts to within eek , and subseque tly

a an the ou o re d d confirmed acc nt quoted ab ve . O n another occasion Miss Angus says

O ne afte rnoon I wa s s itti ng bes ide a young l ady whom I n r r o r ar o f h a s sh e m h ad eve befo e seen he d . S e ked if ight oo n o m r s a an d w she so a n to oo l k i t y c y t l , hile did I h ppe ed l k ov er her s ou r and s aw a s oss n on a v r av h lde , hip t i g e y he y, i o sea a t ou an was s V s n dim s an . ch ppy , l h gh l d till i ible the di t ce

La n Makin o R eli ion g, g f g , p . 69.

1 44 CRYSTAL GAZING

’ ’ it s a so r in s n n arm our but it s not an offi r Why, ldie hi i g ; ce , ” only a soldier ! Two friends who were in the room ( after ’ war s s a Mr — S m n was n n s and m a n d ) id excite e t i te e , y tte “ ’ tion was d rawn from the ball by hearin g him say : It s won ’ derf ul ! It s r ru ! was n n of a oun bo pe fectly t e I thi ki g y g y , son of a ro r in w om am n r s an d the c fte , h I deeply i te e ted, ho is a roo r in in Lon on w wou a oun w t pe the d , hich ld cc t ” f r r f o roun him in r o the c owd o pe ple d the st eet . This account was given to Mr Lang some three

n months after the eve t . The prim a facie agen t wrote his narrative in December of the same year ; and after mentioning that the subject of crystal ’ gaz ing had come up apropos of Mr Lang s gi ft of “ a crystal a Short time previously he goes on : I

m m n fixed y ind upon a friend, a you g trooper , as I thought his would be a striking and peculiar

n n personality owi g to his u iform , and also because I felt sure Miss Angu s could not possibly know of ” his existence . Bearin g in mind the ease with which the Egyptian magician seems to control the visions of his sub

ects m j , we ust, of course, treat with great caution

n any evide ce for collective crystal visions , as for

n in to visio s general , though a less extent , unless it is clear that the percipien ts were on their guard

n n agai st the possibilities of suggestion ; or u less ,

m e tr which is better still , the experi ent w re ied

n m i under the supervisio of a co petent exper menter, who recorded all the conversation s!

If the record of the following case is correct , it

* li i i e . . 1 . L n k R on . H a M a n o . g, g f g , p 99 T x 35 COLLECTIVE CASES 1 45 seems clear that there was no scope for suggestion ; but it must be observed that the three months and a half which elapsed after the vision before it was recorded were quite enough to permit all sorts of

n uncon halluci atory memories to grow up , quite

sciou sl n n n . y, rou d the i cide t

G n n an d Miss a iece of Mr La g, Miss C

n m were reading a ato y together, and both looked

n into the crystal together , wonderi g if they would “ m m see the same picture . At the same o ent ,

o G g es on Miss the ball darkened , a white cloud came over the whole, and three pyramids

a n . appe red , a large one in front , the other two behi d m m Then a train of ca els, so e with riders, others

m and d be led, passed fro left to right , isappeared

n hi d the large pyramid . The vision lasted about one

m n minute , and vanished si ulta eously for both of us . We each wrote down as the things appeared,

and no so as to be quite sure , I had thought of ” m n pyramids in my i d .

’ s n r Miss C accou t ag ees as to the picture , but omits the statemen t as to contemporary notes and as to the simultaneous disappearance of both v isions . She goes on to describe an experien ce which Shows that she has the facu lty of vivid visualisation and is able to transfer her pictures to

— the crystal a dan gerous facu lty for a co- percipien t in n a joint crystal vision , if the experie ce is to count as evidential . 1 46 C R YSTAL GAZING

’ l t does no t appear from Miss G — s na r rative whether the contempo rary notes were utili sed in u n prepa ri n g the published account . J dgi g by th e co mm e avin sa ti on practice in such cas s , h g sfied t emse v t ee i n es sen tial h l es hat their records agr d s , it m ight be imagined that the ladies threw them

n o the fire o i ou m o rar i t , bl vi s of the fact that conte p y reco rds a re what psychical researchers are alway s d m n n and n n w v a d . no e i g i sisti g on This is , ho e er , t

W n s i the ca se. ith u usual care they merely mi la d

a m i s m them . Quite ap rt fro this there so e confus ion

n as a in the stateme ts as to how the record w m de. It is the usual experience that a crystal pictu re

n m the a or va ishes if the eyes are oved from b ll ,

in an a ve even if the eyes are moved y way , as we h

in n u . en already seen the case of Miss A g s How , th , were these ladies able to write down their vision

n an d S a bit by bit as it cha ged, all in the pace of minute ! It would have been much more satisfying if we had been told how far the original record wa s used in the published account and how the original m i ‘ . s to record was ade Of course , it quite easy

o w t m n rec rd i hout re ovi g the eyes from the ball , if yo u have pencil an d paper and can write without

o o k t the n v n a w . l i g riting But , the , it should ha e

een s tated t a b h t these preparations were made, h h a nd t a t t e reco rd was made in this way . Against the s uppo s i tio n that the record was made i n this wa v tell s the fact that the ladies were looking up

1 48 CRYSTAL GAZING

m m i ha s . uc zz e agined, Verbascu T p us M h pu l d by the appearance of these words in such a place he ce fi h d n retra d his steps , to nd that he a actually see the word bouillon ; the scientific name of the plant l m bouillon b anc is the Latin na e quoted above . If the subliminal is agile enough to j ump from bouillon to Verbascum Thapsus it is no very lo ng leap from

i ali pyram d s to pyramid. We have seen above that a mirror is frequently

of t i u employed instead a crys al ; in part c lar , Catherine de Medici is said to have been shown all

the kings of France in a mirror at Chaumont .

o e Apropos of this story , it was p int d out that there

or e c r was little no evid n e fo it, and that the most

n ri atural explanation was t ckery . Since the pas sage was written a case of extraordinary interest has been published in the Journal of the i wh ch we quote in full below . It will be seen that it bears a very close resemblance to the

supposed vision o f Cather ine dc Medici . At the

m m the an n s sa e ti e , mere fact that a alogous ca e can be quoted does not do much to diminish the probability of trick ery in the castle of Chau

n mo t .

P . . The recent case referred to was sent to the S . R

s H . . by an As ociate of the Society , Mrs J Wilson , a who is intim tely acquainted with all the witnesses , whose full n ames have been given to the officials MI RROR VISION 49

i f the So . Mrs C u o ciety the med m mentioned, not onal m m is a professi ediu , but a friend of the o er a th l dies .

n took a 1 0 The i cident pl ce in May 9 4, and the first account is from a letter written shortly after

r son as wa ds by Mrs A to Mrs Wil , follows

It was in m dr a rs y be oom at B Switzerl nd . M C was m h the edi um . S e was s eated facing the long mi rror i n m wardro an d we— tha is C Mrs P s s r of y be , t , [ i te Mrs A A [the daughter of Mrs A Mrs H and m s — w r seated us n her a so a n mir y elf e e j t behi d , l f ci g the r r Mrs o . as n i r n I n s o C w ot n t a ce. a very h rt tim e we ’ ’ saw my father s face form ove r Mrs C - s face ( in the mir ’ ror and n — m n h S s ace two or r i s o ow . S e ) , the f , th ee t e f ll i g was sm n an d ook n r h r a at us er two s s s . n ili g, l i g h d , i te The she a awa and a on orr or ame a ar a f ded y, l g c id c , with l ge h ll or r m at end of r n oo a u . Man ur s the it, b illi tly lighted p y fig e ’ ’ w r wa n a ou but m u r an d E — s r A— s e e lki g b t, y fig e [M s son w r mos romin n — r was no m s a n m ] e e the t p e t the e i t ki g the . I r o n s m own ur wa n a ou and an n for ec g i ed y fig e lki g b t, le i g r o a k Tha as all as ra h r d m wa t . t w as w e a an to d t l , it t l te, ti e

go to bed.

S the sister of Mrs A and Mrs P

had in Marc 1 0 E the son died h , 9 4 ; of Mrs h i i d n at t e t me and n o . A was livi g , L n on of e sister Mrs was The account the oth r , P

d her to n n en l d ictated by Mrs Wilso , and se t c ose in

l r m Mrs rd 1 e 0 . a etter f o Wilson, dated 3 Octob r 9 4 It is as follows :

at Th It was B a ou 1 st Ma 1 0 at P. M . e b t y 9 4, elec r was u on all m s a on a of t ic light f ll the ti e, h ded ly by piece s ver ss u r r w r r s n Mr s m il ti e pape . The e e e p e e t C ( the edi m Mr n Mr u s A A Mrs H a d m s . ) , y elf s C 1 50 CRYSTAL GAZING

sat in ron of a m rror Mrs A an d I sat us n her f t i , j t behi d , an d o r t t r nd f u s r s v Be the the wo o ight a left o e pecti ely . n us was room wa an d was n - s an a a n s hi d the bed ll, hi g t d g i t a a rr r m s n t n w sma m o ov r . m u wa e th t, ith ll i e it The edi o ’ ’ — — f ran . I saw S s a orm on Mrs C s a ol t ced f ce f f ce, lowed by that of old Mrs P Then came a full - length fig ure of m a r in m rror in his ro s v r y f the the i , be , e y like the

or ra . He oo n nan an d res ted w n s of a p t it l ked be ig t , ith li e f ce m u sm o s a n d n ll r a o awa . a a v ch thed y Thi f ded, the pe cei ed

on as s a in m rror at a u s s a ou w n - five l g p ge the i , g e b t t e ty feet on w ba w n ow at end and sun s n s r am n l g, ith y i d the , hi e t e i g hrou r was a w n ow- s a and two ur s s an n t gh . The e i d e t, fig e t di g

unr o n sa . n a r ur a ar a so un by it, ec g i ble The thi d fig e ppe ed, l r n s s m t oo out o f n o and c n o a . o w o ec g i ble They ee ed l k wi d , m r v rs . M u n e e edi m the beca e ti ed .

1 0 The next account , written in October 9 4, is from Miss A and is as follows

Mo r Mrs C un C Mrs P ano r a the , A t [ the l dy, and m s w r all s a in ron o f a ar r - as s Mrs y elf, e e e ted f t l ge pie gl , C ( the medi um ) being slightly n earer the glas s ( say three n s r s a s as urn o n o i che ) than the e t of us . The g w t ed d w t i r n r n r s n ten m n a ou a ts s . P s a u s b t h lf t e gth e e tly, fte itti g i te or so we saw w a a ar to a w m s r s n u in , h t ppe ed be hite i t i i g p ’ ron of m um s r fl on an d n a r so v n o a f t the edi e ecti , it fi lly e l ed i t n f r n we r o n s good an d disti ct liken ess o g anddad . Whe ec g i ed i a n a n s s of it the figure smiled an d n odded ts he d . The like e un S a ar not so s n but r as of A t ppe ed, di ti ct, pe fectly e y recog nition ; after which a lady appeared unknown to four o f

u s but r o n s a who was s n w us . , ec g i ed by the l dy itti g ith For a time we saw n othing but mi st aga in ; but it grad ually a r and a on orr or am v s w a oor at cle ed, l g c id bec e i ible, ith d the a r r n d v n o n nwar an d s r n on s f the e e ide tly pe ed i d , c ee ed the ide n r u s oo ur a n s ro u w we saw n o a ea est by l ped c t i , th gh hich i t

a - room w r r s un o r a r a brilli ntly lighted , hethe b ight light tifici l F ur s too s an to r o n s light we could not tell . ig e di t t be ec g i ed an n in room and on a r in w a a ar came d we t the , ce gi l h t ppe ed n o n n of ur a n to be b ridal d ress stood j us t behi d the pe i g the c t i .

1 52 CRYSTAL GAZING

since it is clear that in some respects their present

recollections are not quite correct . Thus Mrs P ‘ : i all says The electr c light was full on the time , ’ shaded only by a piece of silver tissue paper . Miss ‘ A says : The gas was turned down to about ’ ‘ its : half strength . Mrs H says The room we ’ were sitting in was lighted by a candle . One or

n m n un other of these descriptio s ust be i accurate, f o m . less all them are inco plete It must , however , be remembered that we hardly ever find two people gi ving exactly the same description even of ordinary and v m n events, we ery seldo have the opportu ity of comparing together as many as four in dependent accounts of the same occurrence . Whenever we did this we should probably find quite as much dis

n agreement as i the present case . “ When we come to the descriptions of the figures seen in the mirror the discrepancies are far m ore

i s n marked . There , of course , no proof of i accuracy

e— in this , because it is quite possibl not to say probable— that the hallucin ation s were not the same

n to all the percipie ts . Miss A is the only one who describes the appearance of a white mist in the

i n mirror preced g the appearance of the figures . ( Our readers will remember that this appearan ce is a familiar experience with crystal gazers whether as a preliminary to subjective or to veridical visions . ) With regard to the i n dividual figu res seen— ( I ) As to the father of Mrs A and Mrs P Mrs MIRROR VISION 1 53

A and Miss A say that they saw his face

r the r M fo m over Mrs C s face in mi ror, iss d A adding that the figu re smiled, and nodde

- t . b g its head Mrs P descri es a full leng h . fi ure of the s her father in mirror, in his robe , the figure ’ havi n g no con nection with the medium s reflection in Mrs the mirror . H describes the head and shoulders of an old clergyman with grey hair an d ‘ ’ ‘ ’ n Ge eva bands , not on the medium s face , but in ’

m m . a corner of the irror , apart from the mediu ( 2 ) The sister of Mrs A and Mrs P was seen by both of them and by Miss A in a ’ similar manner— her face forming over the medium s ' face in the mirror— but not seen at all by Mrs H though she heard the others sayi ng they had ‘ n m see it . ( 3 ) Old Mrs P is entioned only by Mrs P ( 4) An unrecogni sed lady is described only by Miss A ( 5) In the scen e of the lon g

o r - i m end corrid , with a brilliantly l ghted roo at the , and fi u n u u r g res walki g abo t in it , all the fig res we e

n n o u recog ised , except th se of Mrs A and her son r an d , which we e recognised described ( though somewhat differently) by Mrs A herself and her daughter . “ These vari ou s discrepancies may arise either from

i m a n actual d ssi il rities in the hallucinatio s , perhaps

om n r in o s fr i accu acies the recollecti ns of the witnesse ,

m m o or possibly fro a co bination of b th causes ; but ,

ma m however this y be, there see s no doubt that the 54 CRYSTAL GAZING

hallucinations were to a great extent Similar . The case then affords a striking proof of the po ssibility so often den ied— o f producin g hallucination s in several person s at once by mere suggestion and

n . expectancy , without hyp osis or any such process No verbal suggestion even was employed by the

m n v n m in mediu ; for Mrs Wilso , ha i g ade special u iries C q on this point , tells us that Mrs closed her n S n eyes , and did not speak duri g the itti g ; the sitters , however, did describe what they were seeing

ne n n . n to o a other duri g the time of the visio . “ The case may also tend to throw light on what is stated to occur with more than on e professional ‘ ’ medium— when the so- called materialised form is recogn ised by one Sitter as the medium masquer

n w n o n m adi g , hile a other rec g ises it at the same ti e as the figu re of a deceased

th l o s So far the Editor of e J ou rna . There are vari u o n m m ther poi ts which see to call for re ark . It is not quite clear from the narrative of Mrs P

mm n J ournal whether as the co e tary in the supposes , the figure of her father was in depen dent of the medium ; it seems not im possible that it may have

’ completely occulted the medium s reflection ; at any rate nothing is said of the medium havingbeen visible

n i n Simultan eously . It would be i terest ng to k ow whether the corn er in which Mrs H saw thi s

m She Si sa e figure was the corner in which , tting

* l i i se J . x . , 17 et q.

1 56 CRYSTAL GAZING making the utmost allowance for hallucinatory mem r is m oss en h se ral erso s o y , it i p ible to d y t at ve p n simultaneously saw persons and scen es in the mirror ; and it is straining the hypothesis of h al lucinatory memory very far to deny that these persons and scenes were anything but largely identical in the case of at lea st three of the percipi n s be e ha r m e t ; for, it remark d , if llucinato y me ory suggested to the three percipients that they h ad seen s the r s a l a their relative in mirro , it hould equ l y h ve ' suggested to the fourth that she saw her relatives ; excitement and all the other familiar theories will not explain why one O f the ladies present saw only

u unrecognised fig res . H ll mem owever , even granting that ha ucinatory ory will explain how Mrs A Mrs P and Miss A all state that they saw their relatives in is the mirror, there is still evidence for telepathy . It expressly stated that there was no verbal suggestion x ers s e cept from the percipients , and yet all the p on

n ho At prese t w looked at the mirror saw something.

m l z rs is a high esti ate , the number of crysta ga e

somethm five e g like per cent . ; the chances are , ther

s a fore , very considerable against four person of

n e of party possessi g the faculty , even though thre m m the belong to the same fa ily .

oth s o f For those , however , for whom the hyp esi hallucinatory memory is an u nsatisfactory explana

who n n a tion , and regard a telepathic expla atio s COLLECTIVITY 57

the s o . more probable , the case is of highe t imp rtance s ff s Not only doe it a ord a sati factory explanation , as is pointed out in the remarks quoted from the

Journal e O f , of discrepancies in the r ports seances, but it affords decisive proo f that collectivity is a character which may be associated with visions due

e c c o to human ag n y only, and onsequently disp ses “ ” ivi of collect ty as a test of real ghosts . These er c c s ons not co and oth on lu i , however, do ncern us r he e. On a m as unsatis the whole , fr g entary it is, and factory in that we have no records from unsuccessful r ers or o sc y of their prop rtion to successful scryers , the evidence for telepathic crystal visions seems s trong. The arguments against thought transfer u se * ence have been disc s d elsewhere, and it is useless to recapitulate here what has been said at length i t u u t n another work . I propose o s m p he evidence

a for telepathy after de ling with ghosts, death r s o ta u m wraiths , and othe p n neo s pheno ena of a

ri a - ad e i ch p m f telepath c aracter .

h See Thou ht Trans erence t e sam au or . g f , by e th CHA PT ER XII

E X PE RI M EN TA TION

BUT few direction s a re necessary for the ex peri m n e it an x a c contem or enter . The cess y of e t p a neous record has been insisted upon su ffi cien tly

n frequently in the course O f the prese t work . Best ’ o f all is for some on e to take down the scr yer s

’ description a m es ure ; next best for the scryer to dictate or write it immediately after the scry ; but this is useless where collecti ve gazing is being attempted . The verifica tion of the visions is a

O f if matter some d ficu lty . If the scryer has no difficulty in seei ng his or her frien ds let a time be fixed an d a diary kept by the persons to be seen

on and in the visi , with a careful record of hours

n n and m n . mi utes , goi gs co i gs, dress , and the like

As a v we h e seen , however , the crystal is apt to

v n and we can anticipate e e ts , then only trust to

. m m m m n luck So eti es it looks so e ti e i to the past, and then we can on ly trust to diaries and recoll ec

n . o tio s It is , h wever, worth while to try for a good

n m r n and m a n m n co te pora y visio , to ake rra ge e ts that

no o i f m ff will leave l ophole it co es O . I Shall be pleased to receive from any scryers who 158

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The m ost important modern works and articles dealing with crystal gazing are

N R W A N n i A D E L G, Maki g of Relig on .

N RE W A N in M n thl R evie I 1 o w 0 . A D L G y , 9 “ SS X a MI Essays in Psychic l Research .

- P r R . . F . 8 . oc. S . viii , 45 535

i - Pr . . F . . 2 c R 2 6 . o S . vii , 59 7

- P . F . v . I roc S . . R 86 2 . , 4 5

For some telepa thic experimen ts see the volume

r n u in this se ies o experimental tho ght transference . INDEX

I Greeks 6 A . M SS, 133 , 3

r a 2 Gr or M ss x v. x vu . v . Af ic , 5 eg , i , x iii r m a s 1 Afte i ge , 4

n us M s s m m. et s e . A , , q ; ALL CI N A ION 12 g i H U T , 26 1 2 ' 4 uilli H che, 43 a s Ap , 43 n a o us ons x ix . 1 che Hyp g gic ill i , x ; l st o ogy, 92 figre U y , 37 N LDOU 2 us ra a 2 IB A N , 3 A t li , 4 K IlluSl a , 18 .

ma i na i on i v. FO MI SS . , BAL UR, , xiii I g t xx I ncredulIt arn Sir . 1 y, 3 B by, J , 33

ava r a n i a , 8 B i , 60 I d 4 w a is In ui sItIon , 67 Belief, h t , ix. q r rs Be be , 55 r 3 PA Be yl 7 JA N . 47 ’ Bollswo rth s Mrs ma 12 , , id, 5

u r A . 1 1 B tle , , 9 1 KLABO, MI SS, 39

CALL, 82 ABO ” 1 1 L R , 3 Cas s v n a . cl s e . e , e ide ti l , xiii q ; Lan 1 e, 95 29, 1 33 Lan s r ro ssor Ra 1 6 na 3 ke te , P fe y, 3 Chi , 4 L n sa Lor 108 CIOdd Mr on s a R e i d y, d , , P ychic l s a r e ch , 3 o v as s 1 8 MA IC 6 82 C llecti e c e , 45, 14 G , 3 , o o ur n n s s 10 Mala S C l bli d e , y , 4S Con o 6 MaorI g , 5 , 43 ar n a u MISS 1 10 M ti e , , DEE DR Ca r n 12 , , 35 Medici , the i e de, 3 D r on s for s r in el ur s 1 i ecti c y g, 39 Mental pict e , 5

a . 1 8 o q ; 5 Mexic , 44 . Dr ams 1 ror v si on in 1 e , 3 Mir , i , 49

E YPT’ 94 G - R YS iv N A xxx . En an 8 gl d , 7 5m 101 } , 53omi s F S n 1 , AU T lege d, 7 Nu n for 10 ge t, d , 4 GE ESI S of v s ons x xx 22 N i i , ; rm an 6 I VY MARI ‘ ' G O O r rE v i. e y, 7 G L , , xxx ii Goo r - Fr r is s 11 x iv O a aws o f vis ons M . . 28 d ich ee , , ; ptic l l i , ’ 2 1 Or ans Duc 12 7, 4 le , d , 5

1. 161 I 62 INDEX

AW EES S r ua sm 8 P N , 43 pi it li , 3 Peucer 6 Su r s on 1 60 , 9 pe titi , , oin ts d e re ere 2 P p , 3, 30 r L ln 1 oo i . E EP H v x . 6 w a s . P f, h t , xx T AT Y, xxxi ; 5 PrO h e ic s r n 1 Tritheim t 2 et s e . p c yi g, 3 q ; , 33 138 a oras m rror of VE I I A Pyth g , i , 57 R D C L, 7 ma m s of V rra Mrs 2 xi , 59 e ll, , 7 I lIs tIon x x II lIv V s a a . x x x . , v. , REA and r a L un , 9 e l I g R v rs ur s 20 e e ible pict e , R omans , 64 OLFF DR 12 W , , 9 S A W K AR A , 45

S r rs Y C , r n a of x n . N 44 c ye , pe ce t ge , . xxi U ATA S u um 2 6 1 pec l , 3 , 4 , 7 S 82 Z KIE 80 pell, AD L,