The next day Mlle. Manzini, writing to Venice, offered to visit the invalid. On the 24th she received a reply expressing a desire that she come and saying that the invalid was in the hospital. She wrote again to ask for the authorized visiting days. Before the return of this answer, Mlle. Manzini wrote in my presence (April 28th), under the influence of Elvira and we put the following questions:

Q. "How is the invalid at Venice? Do you know why the reply to my letter has not arrived? Do you know the visiting days at the hospital?"

A. "The condition of the invalid remains the same. Not much hope. She has undergone a serious operation: therein lies the danger. To-morrow morning Maria will receive a letter. Visitors such as she are received every day at the hospital."

Q. "Do you mean, like her, relatives of the invalid?"

A. "No, but like her, those that come from a distance."

We could not see what connection there could be between an illness of the lungs and a surgical operation, and we questioned the medium.

A. "She is tubercular. But the operation was necessitated because of the birth of her last child." "In brief," the doctor concluded, "the automatic writing informed us of facts entirely unknown to our ordinary consciousness: in particular, the fact that the invalid had three children, and that she had undergone an operation.

"We are far from being able to invoice, as an explanation here, the aid of clairvoyance or telepathy.

"Indeed, an automatic message explains the matter most simply, and this explanation seems to be the true one."

Dr. G. B. Ermacora.

We also obtain proofs of high value in the cases where certain manifestants, absolutely unknown to the persons present, reveal the circumstances of their death and give details which are confirmed by investigation. We have already quoted the case of Stromberg. The Society of Psychical Studies at Nancy1 has published examples of this. They are ordinarily poor devils killed by accidents or suicide who give all necessary information for identification. Bozzano relates in the Annals of Psychic Sciences (year 1909, page 222), the case of a young girl dead from poison, a case of such a nature as to convince the most skeptical. But on this matter the Society of Psychical Research is equally well supplied with documents: the reader will find there an example of the greatest value - one whose worth is recognized by all serious investigators - in the case of Blanche Abercrombie1 attested by Myers.

1 See the Revue Scientifique et Morale du Spiritisme, year 1907, Jan., Feb., March numbers.

We shall not end this chapter without returning to the subject of phantoms. In treating materializations we have seen the difficulties arising from this problem. If the apparitions are difficult to produce, they are even more difficult to control, so much so, that not only are we able to contest the reality of the ghost, but even to wonder if it will ever be possible to identify or to prove its existence.

There are several cases where the proof of identity has been obtained. In these the manifestation was produced with enough intensity and returned often enough to convince the experimenters that they were really in the presence of an intelligent entity, having all the appearances of the deceased.

We have first the celebrated case of the wife of Mr. Livermore, Estelle; we find the following in the work of Aksakoff, upon the subject of her written communications:

"There were about a hundred messages received on the cards which Mr. Livermore marked and brought himself. They were all written, not by the medium (of whom Mr. Livermore held the hands during the whole seance), but directly by the hand of Estelle and sometimes, even under the eyes of Mr. Livermore, by the spiritual light created ad hoc, a light which permitted him to recognize undeniably the hand and even the whole face of the one who wrote. The writing in these communicaions was a perfect reproduction of the handwriting of the living Mrs. Livermore.

1 See Proceedings 8. P. R. Vol. XI, p. 96 and continuing, or Human Personality, Vol. II, p. 231.

"We find therein a double proof of identity verified not only by the writing's being in every way similar to that of the deceased, but also couched in a language unknown to the medium. The case is extremely important and presents to our eyes an absolute proof of identity."1

Another woman received a similar proof from a deceased friend, through the mediumship of Eglin-ton. This friend was an Austrian, and the correspondence was in English. Once, however, she received a German letter written in Gothic characters very beautifully formed and in a faultless style. This German letter, Aksakoff remarked, presents the same value as the messages of Estelle written in French.

Some quite similar cases are met with that are supported by testimony not all of which has the same value, but we know enough to conclude that the phenomenon is possible and that the proof has been made.

We have the good fortune to possess a decisive case: it is that of a phantom appearing spontaneously in a haunted house, and seen by a lady who could enter into communication with him because of her natural gifts of clairvoyancy. By her as intermediary the Society of Psychical Research was able to undertake an investigation which leaves no doubt as to the objective reality nor the personal identity of the apparition. This proof rested upon the knowledge of terrestial affairs on the part of a deceased spirit.

1 Aksakoff, Animism and Spiritism, pp. 547-548.

Case of Mrs. Claughton.

The case was investigated by F. W. H. Myers, who knew the names of all the persons implicated in this intimate little story, and who is willing to attest the reality of all the controlled facts As it is a question of a rather recent affair and the persons are well-known, the narrator has been obliged to omit certain details. Here is an abstract of my notes taken from the Proceedings.1