857 A. From Proceedings S.P.R., vol. ix. pp. 67-8. Professor H. writes to Dr. Hodgson in 1889:-

I write you the details of another matter told me by a friend, Hon. Z., of C--. He is one of the leading members of the--Bar, has represented his State several times in the National Congress, and has a very clear, discriminating, and vigorous intellect. He does not believe in Spiritualism, but regards its phenomena as illusions or hallucinations. In his youth, in 1854, he had taught a winter's term in his native town of P--, and in the spring returned to Q-- to complete his fit for college in the Academy in that place. One evening after his return to Q--, a party of young people to the number of eight were gathered about a table to witness the trance-writing of one of their number, a Miss A., a very beautiful girl of eighteen years of age, and the music teacher of the Academy. She wrote the name of Mr. Z.'s father,- -, who had died in 1845, and whom no one in the room save his son could have known. I may add that none of the party save my friend knew anything about P--or its inhabitants. Mr. Z. declared that he did not believe his father had anything to do with the writing.

At this Miss A., who sat on the opposite side of the table from Mr. Z., arose, came about to his side, drew her pencil several times rapidly across the two middle fingers of his left hand, returned to her seat, and wrote quickly, "Does this convince you?" Mr. Z. said that those two fingers were gone from his father's left hand, having been cut off in his boyhood. Mr. Z. was startled, but still expressed his disbelief. Miss A. then wrote H. T. Y.'s name, and continued: "Killed on -- day of --, sliding down M-- Hill, running off embankment, broke his neck; Rev. Mr. W. attended funeral; text: book --, chap. --, verse --." Both date and text were given with particularity. Mr. W. was a Congregationalist clergyman of P--, and Mr. Y.'s family were active and leading members of his church. Mr. Y. had been one of Mr. Z.'s pupils that winter in P--, and with the other boys had coursed M-- Hill, a very steep hill near the school-house, and covered with glare ice from summit to foot. Near the foot was an embankment wharfed up to sustain the road-bed, and that was a very dangerous place to slide by. Mr. Z. had repeatedly warned the boys of the danger, but had not deemed it best to forbid their sliding.

He had worried over the matter a great deal, and was exceedingly relieved when school closed without any accident having happened. Mr. Z. looked up the text and found it entirely inappropriate to a funeral occasion. H. T. Y. is living to-day, and is the head of the K-- School of Technology. This fact made Mr. Z. scout the whole affair as unworthy of his notice; but to me it seems to indicate a telepathic explanation of both occurrences. I asked Mr. Z. if either his father or Mr. Y. were in his mind at the time. He replied, "No," they came into his mind with a shock of surprise when their names were written. We must so suppose the telepathic communication to be without consciousness on the part of the agent.

The Hon. Z. of this case writes as follows:-

This statement by Professor H. is correct, and I cannot improve it, or make it more correct by re-writing. Now you may use these facts, but I earnestly desire you not to make use of any names or places.