873. I now quote in full a general account of his experiences in automatic writing by a Mr. W., from whom I have already cited a minor experience, also of a motor type, in 823. Dr. Hodgson visited and had long talks with him, and formed the highest impression of his ability and care. Some of the automatic messages are perhaps best explicable on the hypothesis of subliminal telaesthesia, others by telepathy from living minds, while others are at least prima facie referable to a source in the mind of a departed person, from whom they professed to come. Whether there are in reality so many different origins of a series of messages given to one automatist, or whether any one explanation can be made to cover them all, is a matter to which we shall have to return in the next chapter.

(From Proceedings S.P.R., vol. viii. pp. 242-48).

N.Y., November l5th, 1891.

Dr. Richard Hodgson, - Dear Sir, - Recently I learned that you are the Secretary of the American Branch of the Society for Psychical Research. Being interested in the subject, I concluded to write to you, offering a statement of my own experience. As so-called spiritual manifestations are viewed unfavourably here, and as it would be much to my detriment if my connection with the subject were to become known, I ask that my name be withheld from the public.

For the past five years I have been a so-called writing medium. The writing is involuntary on my part, and the thoughts expressed are not mine - that is, as far as I know they are not mine.

Sometimes, instead of writing, off-hand pen work will be done, but it is not of a very high order. In the writing the penmanship is generally very good, and the thoughts expressed are generally good, and are sometimes valuable. As you are undoubtedly familiar with this class of writing, I will not go into details, but will leave you to inquire for such facts as you see fit.

I am anxious to find a satisfactory explanation of this, and I hope the Society may yet be able to furnish one.

As an indication of the trend of my thoughts, I will add that for the past thirteen or fourteen years I have been a student of the works of Herbert Spencer and other great men of liberal views, and that I am an evolutionist, so called.

If you think my experience will be of use, please call for it. You may send questions, or you may state in a general way the outline of what will be of use.

N.Y., December 22nd, 1891.

Dr. Richard Hodgson, - Sir, . . . . Five years ago I was in Vermont on business, and while there made a visit at the home of a relative. In the evening, for amusement, a planchette was produced and operated. Pretty soon it was written that I was a writing medium, and I was requested to try with a pencil. I took a pencil in my hand and to my surprise I found I could write some in the "automatic" manner. The writing was not very good and was accompanied with more or less breaks and difficulties. It was written that practice would make it much freer and better. This I found to be so. Persons in the room asked as to dates on pieces of money and other similar tests, and the answers were generally correct. After that I wrote some almost daily for some time and soon became quite a ready writer in this manner.

On one occasion, not long after, a friend, of whose life I had known nothing until about that time, proposed to ask some questions mentally and see if the answers written would be correct. It was written that the spirit of his wife was present. I inquired (mentally) for her name. In reply her name was written out in full, correctly. I did not know her name: I knew that he was a widower, and I knew no more of his wife or the matters inquired about. My friend then asked (mentally) where she died and when? The answers were correct. He then asked, "What was the cause of her death?" The answer, " Heart disease," was correct. He then asked for the circumstances of her death. It was written that she died suddenly, at night, by the side of him, in bed, and that the first thing he knew of her death was when he found her dead in the morning. This was correct. He asked for her age, size, and for any particular mark by which she could be identified? The answer was correct as to age and size, and as to identification it was written that she had a large scar near the knee, caused by a burn.

This was also correct.

Many other questions were asked and answered; and whether he asked the questions aloud, or mentally to himself, the answers were strictly correct in almost every instance. There was no one but us two present.

On another occasion, about the same time, I made inquiry (I was alone) touching a case I was then investigating. Briefly, the facts are these:- A wealthy widow, Mrs. X., had died at her summer cottage with no one present save her sister and a neighbour. She left a will: by its terms this sister was to receive several thousand dollars. Our client, Mrs. Y., was also a legatee and the executrix of the will; and as such it was her duty to collect in all assets. Our client knew it to be a fact that the deceased had in cash in her possession a short time before her death about $700. After Mrs. X.'s death no money was found, and the sister who was with her claimed there was no money; that Mrs. X. had no money at the time of her death about her, except some $15. Our client saw this sister and questioned her closely, but to no purpose. I did not see or know this sister until some time after the writing I am about to give. The question was, what had become of the $700? Alone by myself I asked for the facts, which were written out much in detail, but in substance the facts as written were these: That the deceased had on her person at the time of her death about $600; that she had spent the other $100; that immediately after her death her sister, Mrs. Z., had stolen the $600 from her dead body; that she had since spent some of it and deposited the balance, some $500, in a bank in the village of A. In the course of a few days we made inquiry, and learned that Mrs. Z. had made the deposit there, but had recently drawn it out.

We then cited her before the Surrogate, and she swore that just before the death of Mrs. X. (the same night she died) Mrs. X. gave her the money, $520, to give to a nephew as a present; that there was only $520; that she had just given it to the nephew. We commenced a suit against her for the money ($520) and recovered it. The jury did not believe her defence and made her pay. I have only stated so much of the case as seems to bear on the "automatic" writing. The question is, where did I get the knowledge of the theft, the amount and the deposit in the bank? I may add that we afterwards learned she did spend some money about that time that we always thought was some she took in addition to the $520, and it would have made the sum stolen about $600.

About four and a half years ago an aunt of mine, Miss T., learned that she had a cancer growing on her breast. She had it cut out, and soon was apparently in very fair health. After a few months she began to fail very much; was about the house, but was very generally run down. Cancer did not reappear. She was not said by her doctors to be in any immediate danger; but for some reason I made inquiry, and to my surprise it was written that she was very badly off, and that she would only live a very short time. I inquired the cause, etc, and it was written that her system was poisoned through and through with cancerous matter. I inquired as to when she would die? The answer was that it was impossible to tell just when, that the most that could be said was that she would live about thirty days, judging from a careful examination of her case made at that time. It was written that she would certainly die, that she could not possibly get better or live much longer than thirty days. Within the next week or so I inquired on several occasions as to the matter, but the answers were always to the same effect and positive. My aunt declined fast and died at the time set within a day, and I think it was just thirty days. She was abed only ten days or so.