852 B. The following are extracts from a translation 1 of a paper on "Telepathic Perceptions by Means of Automatic Writing," by M.Bonatti, which appeared in the Rivista di Studi Psichici, July 1895.

I began to write automatically with the hand of a medium resting on mine, but soon I was able to write alone. The communications were at first of a spiritualistic character, and the writing was a fair imitation of that of the defunct who appeared to be present, and whom I had known in life. However, I was acquainted with their writing. I was generally advised to work and study much; my counsellor was interested in my moral life, and was a more attentive friend than any I have found in flesh and blood. Soon after I was obsessed by a lying and frivolous, but not wicked, personality, who displayed a great passion for art. This personality was only useful to me on that point, giving me advice, and, by means of automatic drawing, greatly developing my memory of drawing and powers of conception. I did not write for several months, in order to free myself of this obsession. Meanwhile I enlarged my knowledge of psychical matters; and when I began to write again I succeeded in convincing the communicating personality that it might be an emanation from my own subconscious self.

After this it called itself my Secondo.

I examined this Secondo to see if it possessed any supernormal powers, and discovered some. It continued to give me useful advice, and strengthened my love of art.

When I write automatically I do not know what the communication will be; sometimes I guess after a few words, but I often guess wrongly, and write something altogether unlike my guess.

I enjoy perfectly good health, and am able to endure constant outdoor exercise without fatigue. As far as I know, I am psychically normal. I retain all my normal faculties when writing automatically.

The following are cases of telepathy from persons sleeping or dreaming at a greater or less distance, their impressions being revealed to me by automatic writing. The first of these cases was a great surprise to me, as I had never heard of similar ones. Up to February 17th, 1893, I have had very few failures, and these took place when I eagerly desired the phenomenon; whilst the successes happened spontaneously. Every time that I tried to receive a telepathic communication, it was false. The following are cases of the communication of dreams, and it must not be forgotten that dreams are sometimes not remembered at all, and often remembered only in part.

October 4th, 1892, 11 P.m

I wrote automatically, "Go-- Ang-- Goodbye." "The man who has been my murderer will not farewell." The next day "Go-- Ang--"told me that during the past night she had dreamt of me and of a man who had, in truth, been for her a very murderer.

1 The greater part of this translation appeared in full in the Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xi. pp. 477- 481.

In her dream she intended to revenge herself on him. Ang-- Go-- lived about three kilometres from where I was writing.

October 8th, 9.30 P.m

I wrote, "Hugo, I am speaking with you." And then a dream not worth reporting. " I also am speaking - I am Guido. I am speaking with my grandmother." And then another dream. "Go--Ang--, I am speaking to G--. I am telling him that I wish him to pay me; but I don't ask for money, but for clothes".

Hugo and Guido are my two nephews, who live in a village five kilometres from me. The first is ten and the other twelve years old. When asked the next day, with the greatest care not to suggest anything to them, of what they had dreamt the previous night, the first answered that he had dreamt that people were trying to kill me, and that he remembered nothing else; the other told me that he had dreamt of me, but remembered nothing more of his dream. Both had gone to bed at 8.15.

Go-- Ang--, when questioned with great caution, told me that on the night of the 8th she had dreamt of G--. She remembered quite well that he was talking to her about a new suit of his which was barely begun, but did not remember if she had been paid by him.

On the same evening on which I had written down the dreams of my two nephews, I made automatically a very childish drawing, and in a moment perceived that it represented them and their brothers, who were in the country. But I observed that one of them was missing, because there are four of them, and in my drawing there were only three. I did not know the reason of this. The next morning I had an explanation, discovering in my house, where he had passed the night, that very nephew who was missing in my picture. He had come up on the evening of the 8th, a few hours before I received the telepathic message, and after I had gone from my house to my studio, where I am accustomed to pass the evening. His arrival had not been pre-arranged, and I could not have seen him arrive, even unconsciously, as the street I went through to go to my studio was in a totally different direction from the street he traversed to get to my house.

The following is copied from my journal:-

October 21st, 7.30 P.m

I write, "M. O. is now mentioning your name to Signa R." Two hours after I meet M. O., who says he spoke of me to Sign R. about 7.30, a propos of a letter which he had received that evening, and which contained a reference to me. I had not seen him all the day, knew nothing of the letter, nor that he was with Signa R. when I was writing.

February 26th, 1 P.m

I write, "I am poisoning myself. Think of me." The writing begins with a name I cannot decipher, but which I guess.

March 19th

To-day a friend of the person whose name I guessed told me spontaneously that that person had attempted to poison herself several days ago. On the 26th, when I had the communication, she was at Bologna, and made the attempt later at Rovigo. I do not know if it was the first attempt, nor, if it was so, whether she had decided to do it when I wrote. I had no reason to suppose that A. G. would wish to take her own life. Unfortunately I have had no more communications from her which might have given me more details.

March 17th

I write, "Run to the Club. Go." I have not been to the Club for more than a month, and intended to go to bed at once. My friend, A. L., who rarely goes to the Club, had this evening assisted at a conference on Guido Bonatti. Association of ideas made him think of me, and he went to the Club believing he would find me there. I obeyed the telepathic order, and thus discovered what had caused it.

May 8th. Morning

A communication partly illegible. "You will receive . . . Ang-- Go -- to-day, which will tell you about M., because she has been talking to him".

Ang -- Go-- is at Venice. Many days ago I had charged her to say certain things to M. if she met him. He lives at Venice. On this evening (the 8th) I received a card from Ang-- Go--, relating her conversation with M., whom she had met by chance. After the "You will receive to-day" in the automatic writing, there are several attempts at a word. Now I know all about it, I can see that the word is meant for "postcard".

[The postcard was kept and reads:-

" Venice, May 7th, 1893." {Postmark, Venice, May 8th).

"I found M. and told him what you charged me to say. He told me he had written to you before leaving, and that he would write again and send you his portrait. - Yours, Angelina."]

February 5th, 1894. Venice

(I lived at Padua while receiving the previous communications.) The automatic writing informs me that my mother at Padua has had something the matter with her hand. [About twenty days later I verified this. No one had told me of it].

Unfortunately I have not kept all the original writings before January 1893, I have preserved only those which were verified. This is due to my then inexperience, for I thought it useless to preserve unverifiable communications. I remember that till January 1893 false communications were rare, and the unverifiable ones were numerous.

From the beginning of 1893 till February 5th, 1894, against twenty-seven communications verified, I have recorded eight false ones, eighteen which I could not verify, five which were wholly or partly correct, but where I am not certain that the information may not have reached me in some normal but unnoticed manner, and two which were correct but not exact.

I reckon that from October 1892 till, January 1893 there may have been five false announcements. Thus there may have been altogether thirteen false communications.

I conclude from my personal experiences that the principal cause of failure is the intervention of the normal consciousness, which occurs most easily when the writing is slow and illegible, or when the communication is desired. I do not remember ever having received a truthful message when I wished for it. The true telepathic cases were always spontaneous, and improved by the exercise of the faculty. A true message was nearly always followed by other true ones; then came a false one, which caused discouragement, and initiated an annoying series of falsehoods, till another success restored confidence.

I have observed that confidence is the best condition for obtaining psychical phenomena.

[Signor Bonatti is a friend of Dr. Ermacora, who has been sometimes present when he was writing automatically; on one or two occasions when the writing was of telepathic origin. Signor Bonatti cannot obtain much confirmation, partly on account of the lapse of time, and partly because the supposed agents are persons whom he has lost sight of].