830 A. From the Proceedings S.P.R., vol. ii. pp. 226-31. In this case, anagrams were written automatically by Mr. A., who describes his experience as follows:-

Clelia, Or Unconscious Cerebration

The experiment was made Easter 1883, upon one day, and, after an interval of a week, continued upon three consecutive days; upon four days in all. Upon the first day I became seriously interested; on the second puzzled; on the third I seemed to be entering upon entirely novel experiences, half awful and half romantic; upon the fourth the sublime ended very painfully in the ridiculous.

First Day

Q. 1. Upon what conditions may I learn from the unseen?

My hand immediately moved, though not to a very satisfying issue. But, as my expectation of the answer had been that the condition was a strict adherence to the absolute rule of right, holiness in short, I took this answer to be at any rate consistent with my expectation, and continued:

Q. 2. What is it that now moves my pen? A. 2. Religion. Q. 3. What moves my pen to write that answer? A. 3. Conscience. Q. 4. What is religion? A. 4. Worship.

Here arose a difficulty. Although I did not expect either of these three answers, yet when the first few letters had been written I expected the remainder of the word. This might vitiate the result. ... As if to meet the difficulty, . . . my next question received a singular reply.

Q. 5. Worship of what? A. 5. wbwbwbwbwb--. Q. 6. What is the meaning of wb? A. 6. Win, buy. Q. 7. What? A. 7. Know(ledge).

Here I knew the letters which were to follow, and the pen made a sudden jerk, as if it were useless to continue.

Q. 8. How?

Here I was referred to the first answer. . . .

Second Day

Q. 1. What is man? (i.e. What is the nature of his being?) A. 1. Flise.

My pen was at first very violently agitated, which had not been the case upon the first day. It was quite a minute before it wrote as above. Upon the analogy of wb, I proceeded.

Q. 2. What does F stand for? A. 2. Fesi. Q. 3.1? A. 3. le. Q. 4. i? A. 4. i v y. Q. 5. s? A. 5. sir. Q. 6. e? A. 6. eye. Fesi le ivy sir eye.

Q. 7. Is this an anagram? A. 7. Yes. Q. 8. How many words in the answer? A. 8. Four.

I tried for a few minutes to solve it without success. Not caring to spend much time in trying to solve what might have no solution, I gave it up.

Third Day

Q. 1. (rep.) What is man? A. 1. Tefi Hasl Esble Lies.

This answer was written right off.

Q. 2. Is this an anagram? A. 2. Yes. Q. 3. How many words in the answer? A. 3. V (i.e., five). Q 4. What is the first word? A. 4. See. Q. 5.

What is the second word? A. 5. Eeeeee--. Q. 6. See? Must I interpret it myself? A. 6. Try.

Presently I got out, "Life is the less able." Next I tried the anagram given upon the previous day, and at last obtained, "Every life is yes." But my pen signified that it preferred the following order of words, "Every life yes is." . . .

I do not know whether any other interpretations can be given to the letters. But these fulfil the requirements as to the number of words; and the action of the pen, assisting in the process of interpretation, pointing to the letters, accepting these and rejecting those combinations, left no doubt in my mind that I had hit the meaning.

But now I was so astonished at the apparently independent will and intellect manifested in forming the above anagrams that, for the nonce, I became a complete convert to Spiritualism; and it was not without something of awe, that I put:-

Q. 7. Who art thou? A. 7. Clelia!! Q. 8. Thou art a woman? A. 8. Yes. Q. 9. Hast thou ever lived upon the earth? A. 9. No. Q. 10. Wilt thou? A. 10. Yes. Q. 11. When? A. 11. Six years. Q. 12. Wherefore dost thou speak with me? A. 12. E if Clelia e 1.

It has been already said that when I experimented I had a certain fever of speculative pessimism upon me. It was, therefore, with increasing excitement that I perceived as an interpretation, "I Clelia feel." But upon my asking whether this was right, "Clelia" wrote again thus: E if Clelia e 1. 20.

Q. 13. Is 20 your age? A. 13. 00. (She was eternal.) Q. 14. Then 20 what? A. 14. Words. . . .

Fourth Day

I began my questioning in the same exalted mood, but, to my surprise, did not get the same answer.

Q. 1. Wherefore dost thou speak with me? A. 1. [Wavy line. Repetition and emphasis: Wherefore dost thou speak with me?]

However, I thought this "a solemn and piercing rejoinder," and proceeded to consider my motives, and purify them from all earthly and unspiritual alloy. Then -

Q. 2. Wherefore dost thou answer me? A. 2. [Wavy line. Wherefore dost vol. 11. 2 D thou answer me?] Q. 3. Do I answer myself? A. 3. Yes. Q. 4. Is Clelia here? A. 4. No. Q. 5. Who is it, then, now here? A. 5. Nobody. Q. 6. Does Clelia exist? A. 6. No. Q. 7. With whom did I speak yesterday? A. 7. No one. Q. 8. Why didst thou lie? A. 8. [Wavy line. Why didst thou lie?] Q. 9. Do souls exist in another world? A. 9. m b. Q. 10. What does m b mean? A. 10. May be. Q. 11. What was that last answer of yesterday again? A. 11. Eif Clelia o el, i.e. I feel no Clelia; or, the original may have been "I Clelia flee." And the 20 meant no, negativing my interpretation.

My pen now became altogether wild, sometimes affirming and sometimes denying the existence of Clelia. . . . Almost the last anagram I received was: Wvfs yoitet - testify, vow. . . .

Note. - I simply took a pen into my hand. Since, I have tried with the planchette, but without any success.

I have never known any one named Clelia.

I have not been in the habit of writing anagrams, though I have done so in boyhood.

To the anagrams cited above two others should be added, which Mr. A. obtained at about the same time. These were ieb iov ogf wle (I go, vow belief),and neb 16 vbliyev 86 e earf ee (Believe by fear even! 1866). This last was an answer to the question, "How shall I believe?" and seems quite to negative the hypothesis that the anagrams were mere chance combinations of letters, which happened to be susceptible of arrangement in sentences. It should be mentioned, however, that there was an i too much in one of the anagrams previously cited.