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INTRODUCTION

BY SIR OLIVER LODGE

SPIRITUALISM

INTRODUCTORY

A short title to a book has its advantages. It has also its disadvantages. It is almost inevitable that it should, on the one hand, seem to include much more than is intended, and, on the other hand, fail to convey the purpose of the author. "Geology" would be a tolerably large subject. "Astronomy" would be vastly larger. But "Spiritualism" is an infinite subject compared with either, and to suggest that its claims to scientific study be considered within the compass of a small volume of not much over a hundred pages seems the height of presumption!

It will therefore be well at the outset to indicate exactly what it is proposed to include in the present investigation into "Spiritualism." The alleged phenomena of Spiritualism may be roughly divided into two classes--physical and mental. Those which belong entirely to the latter class are outside the scope of this book. It is proposed to examine those phenomena of the former class, the reality of which may fairly be assumed to be proved by scientific evidence. The scope of the work is thus reduced to reasonable proportions. There are several groups of phenomena which appear to violate, or at least to extend in a striking manner, laws recognised by Physical Science. The evidence to be relied on will be that of scientific men of high standing, and of other persons of unquestioned literary and social position.

There is, however, an important respect, in regard to which this inquiry is placed in an entirely different position to any ordinary scientific investigation, and one which adds greatly to the difficulties of the student. Ordinary experiments conducted in a physical laboratory can be repeated again and again under similar conditions, and similar results will follow. If attempts are made to reproduce the phenomena of Spiritualism, under what appear to be precisely similar conditions, by means which have previously been successful, failure to obtain the wished-for results may very probably follow. It is no use to rebel and to feel inclined to abandon the pursuit as useless! That would be most unscientific! The inquirer finds himself in the presence of a subtle elusive influence, which he seems unable to control, and which refuses to submit to the laws which govern physical experiments. On the other hand, perseverance may be richly rewarded. An unexplored field of scientific research of unlimited extent may open itself to view. Something of that joy may be experienced which the search into the unknown alone can give.

Mr. Arthur James Balfour, in an address on the occasion of the annual dinner of the Royal Literary Fund, in 1893, said:--

"My friend, Lord Kelvin, has often talked to me of the future of science, and he has said words to me about the future of science which are parallel with the words I have quoted to you about the future of art, and with the hope which I have expressed to you with respect to literature. He has told me that to the men of science of to-day it appears as if we were trembling on the brink of some great scientific discovery which should give to us a new view of the great forces of Nature, among which and in the midst of which we move. If this prophecy be right, and if the other forecasts to which I have alluded be right, then indeed it is true that we live in an interesting age; then indeed it is true that we may look forward to a time full of fruit for the human race--to an age which cannot be sterilised or rendered barren even by politics."

There are some advantages which the study of this subject possesses over most branches of scientific inquiry. In its present early and incomplete stage the most important thing is the accumulation of carefully observed and recorded facts. Even as regards Thought-Transference, in which the number of careful experiments that have been made is far greater than in any other class of phenomena, it is still most important to multiply the quantity of the evidence. In most of the branches of the subject no expensive apparatus is required, and no special scientific or intellectual training. Accurate observation and careful recording, at the time, of all that occurs, without prejudice, and without discouragement at apparent failure, are the chief requisites. Any person, or small group of persons of ordinary intelligence, can train themselves to be equal to this. A very simple instance occurred in the earliest experiences of the writer. After three or four sittings round a small table with two friends, at which there was meaningless tipping, and nothing better than commonplace sentences, the following was tipped out: "Try no more to move"--then this succession of letters--"a t a t a." It seemed useless to go on with nonsense, but one of the party suggested perseverance; when the following conclusion converted seeming nonsense into sense: "b l e take a pencil and write." The result was that one of the party rapidly developed into an interesting automatic writer.

It is quite impossible to foretell the extent of the aid that may not be given, in the explanation of some of these phenomena, by the persevering experiments of intelligent inquirers.

In the following chapters facts relating to several different kinds of phenomena are put before the reader, as to which the guarantee of authenticity and the quality of the evidence are both unimpeachable.

With these few introductory remarks a calm and dispassionate consideration of the evidence presented is invited. First of all, three classes of phenomena will be taken up in the following order:--

The Movement of Objects without any apparent Physical Cause.

The Production of Sound without any apparent Physical Cause.

The Production of Light without any apparent Physical Cause.

Two chapters will then be devoted to a study of the phenomena exhibited in the lives of two of the most noted "mediums" of modern times--Daniel Dunglas Home and William Stainton Moses. Both present manifestations of phenomena belonging to the three classes above-named, as well as striking examples of other kinds. A chapter on the "Divining Rod" will follow. Then a chapter on one of the forms of Thought-Transference, one which allows of its being included among physical phenomena. Two brief chapters will come next on "Spirit Photography" and on "Materialisations." It is explained that these are included, not because of any scientific evidence in their favour which can be quoted, but because of the extreme interest and importance of the subjects themselves, and also because the strong testimony and moral evidence in support of their reality seem to promise a tempting field for the scientific explorer, and to warrant a confident belief that the evidence he desires will be forthcoming. In a final chapter an endeavour is made to sum up results and conclusions.

THE MOVEMENT OF OBJECTS WITHOUT ANY APPARENT PHYSICAL CAUSE

THE COMMITTEE OF THE DIALECTICAL SOCIETY

So far as I am aware, the first systematic or scientific attempt to investigate the alleged phenomenon of the movement of objects without any apparent physical cause was made by the London Dialectical Society in the year 1869. On the motion of Dr. James Edmunds, a Committee was appointed "to investigate the Phenomena alleged to be Spiritual Manifestations, and to report thereon." The names of twenty-eight members were proposed. Three of these declined to act. Eight more names were added, so that the Committee, as finally constituted, consisted of thirty-three, three of whom were ladies. Among the best-known names were H. G. Atkinson, F.G.S.; Charles Bradlaugh; E. W. Cox, serjeant-at-law; Rev. C. Maurice Davies, D.D.; Charles R. Drysdale, M.D.; James Edmunds, M.D.; Robert Hannah; H. D. Jencken, barrister-at-law; William Volckman; and Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S. It is believed that Robert Hannah and Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace are the only survivors.

"That the Report be referred to the Editing Committee, and that they be requested to prepare it for publication, together with any supplementary or counter reports that may be received from members of the Committee, and appending thereto the reports of the Sub-Committees, and the evidence, oral and verbal, that has been collected; the entire work, when ready for publication, to be submitted for approval to the Committee."

Such is the origin of the volume from which the following extracts are made. Considerations of space necessitate dealing with the work of one Sub-Committee only. The essential part of the REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 1 is as follows:--

"Since their appointment on the 16th of February 1869, your Sub-Committee have held forty meetings for the purpose of experiment and test.

"All of these meetings were held at the private residences of members of the Committee, purposely to preclude the possibility of pre-arranged mechanism or contrivance.

"The furniture of the room in which the experiments were conducted was on every occasion its accustomed furniture.

"The tables were in all cases heavy dining-tables, requiring a strong effort to move them. The smallest of them was 5 feet 9 inches long by 4 feet wide ... and of proportionate weight.

"The rooms, tables, and furniture generally were repeatedly subjected to careful examination before, during, and after the experiments, to ascertain that no concealed machinery, instrument, or other contrivance existed by means of which the sounds or movements hereinafter mentioned could be caused.

"The experiments were conducted in the light of gas, except on the few occasions specially noted in the minutes.

"Your Committee have avoided the employment of professional or paid mediums, the mediumship being that of members of your Sub-Committee, persons of good social position and of unimpeachable integrity, having no pecuniary object to serve, and nothing to gain by deception.

"The result of their long-continued and carefully-conducted experiments, after trial by every detective test they could devise, has been to establish conclusively:--

"First: That under certain bodily or mental conditions of one or more of the persons present, a force is exhibited sufficient to set in motion heavy substances, without the employment of any muscular force, without contact or material connection of any kind between such substances and the body of any person present.

"Second: That this force can cause sounds to proceed, distinctly audible to all present, from solid substances not in contact with, nor having any visible or material connection with, the body of any person present, and which sounds are proved to proceed from such substances by the vibrations which are distinctly felt when they are touched.

"Third: That this force is frequently directed by intelligence.

"At thirty-four out of the forty meetings of your Committee some of these phenomena occurred.

One selection is now given from the Minutes of this Sub-Committee, illustrating the nature of the Evidence that came before them:--

"Raps, with slight tiltings of the table, beating time to the measure of a song. Two or three poems were recited, to the measure of which there were loud raps from the table and floor, and the table also marked the metre by various horizontal movements and tiltings.

"Hood's Anatomy Song being repeated by one of the members, the knocking, rapping, and tilting sounds, with various horizontal, trembling, and vibratory movements of the table, accompanied it, in exact harmony with the measure, added to which were strange movements, in accordance with the character of the verses. In one instance the table shifted its position several feet, the tips of the fingers only being in contact with it.

"MOVEMENTS WITHOUT CONTACT.--Question: 'Would the table now be moved without contact?' Answer: 'Yes;' by three raps on the table. All chairs were then turned with their backs to the table, and nine inches away from it; and all present knelt on the chairs, with their wrists resting on the backs, and their hands a few inches above the table.

"Under these conditions, the table moved four times, each time from four to six inches, and the second time nearly twelve inches.

"Then all hands were placed on the backs of the chairs, and nearly a foot from the table, when four movements occurred, one slow and continuous for nearly a minute.

"Then all present placed their hands behind their backs, kneeling erect on their chairs, which were removed a foot clear away from the table. The gas also was turned up higher, so as to give abundance of light; and under these test conditions, distinct movements occurred, to the extent of several inches each time, and visible to every one present.

"The motions were in various directions, towards all parts of the room--some were abrupt, others steady. At the same time, and under the same conditions, distinct raps occurred, apparently both on the floor and on the table, in answer to requests for them.

"The above-described movements were so unmistakable, that all present unhesitatingly declared their conviction, that no physical force, exerted by any one present, could possibly have produced them; and they declared further, in writing, that a rigid examination of the table showed it to be an ordinary dining-table, with no machinery or apparatus of any kind connected with it. The table was laid on the floor with its legs up, and taken to pieces so far as practicable."

TESTIMONY OF W. F. BARRETT, F.R.S., PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE FOR IRELAND.

No endeavour appears to have been made by any of the members of the Committee of the Dialectical Society to follow up the results which they had obtained. The individual members who had previously been active in such matters continued to take an interest in them, but there is no evidence that a single new inquirer was gained. The next event of any importance, in the direction of scientific inquiry into the subject, was the reading by Professor W. F. Barrett of a paper before the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow in 1876. This paper was entitled "On Some Phenomena Associated with Abnormal Conditions of Mind," and dealt mainly with what was subsequently designated "Thought-Transference." Professor Barrett also referred to some "physical phenomena" which had come under his notice. He says: "I am bound to mention a case that came under my own repeated observation, wherein certain inexplicable physical phenomena occurred in broad daylight, and for which I could find no satisfactory solution either on the ground of hallucination or fraud."

In a paper read before the Society for Psychical Research in 1886, entitled "On Some Physical Phenomena commonly termed Spiritualistic, witnessed by the Author," Professor Barrett describes in detail the phenomena he referred to in the paper read ten years previously at the British Association, and the circumstances under which they occurred. The following paragraphs give the important features:--

Mr. C., a solicitor, with his wife and family, had come to reside for the season in the suburban house of a friend and neighbour of Professor Barrett's. He was an Irish country gentleman who had an utter disbelief in spiritualism. Professor Barrett was therefore not a little amused on making Mr. C.'s acquaintance, to find that he had in his own family what appeared to be spiritualistic phenomena then and there going on. Mr. C. gave Professor Barrett every opportunity of close and frequent investigation. The sittings extended through the months of August and September 1875. There were present besides Professor Barrett, Mr. and Mrs. C., and their young daughter Florrie, a bright, frank, intelligent child, then about ten years old. They sat at a large dining-room table, facing French windows, which let in a flood of sunlight. Shortly, scraping sounds, raps, and noises resembling the hammering of small nails, were heard. Florrie's hands and feet were closely watched, and were observed to be absolutely motionless when the sounds were heard. Besides knocks, there were occasional movements of the furniture. Seated one day at a large dining-room table in full sunlight, Florrie, and Mr. and Mrs. C., and Professor Barrett being the persons present, all their fingers visibly resting on the surface of the table, three legs of the table rose off the ground to a sufficient height to allow Professor Barrett to put his foot easily beneath the castor nearest him. The importance of the comparatively small amount of "movement" phenomena in this case is increased by their association with "sound" phenomena of great variety and frequency. These will be fully described in the next chapter.

Another case which Professor Barrett cites in the same paper may be thus summarised as far as phenomena of movement are concerned:--

Professor Barrett, with his accustomed caution, comments thus:--

"Suddenly, only the tips of our fingers being on the table, the heavy loo-table at which we were sitting made a series of very violent prancing movements ; the blows were so heavy that I hurriedly stopped the performance, fearing for the safety of the gas chandelier in the room below. Here, too, I cannot avoid the conclusion that the phenomena described are inexplicable on any known hypothesis."

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