Of all
the very numerous cases which I have sent to this medium I have
only had a few which have been complete failures. On quoting
my results to Sir Oliver Lodge, he remarked that his own
experience with another medium had been almost identical. It is
no exaggeration to say that our British telephone systems would
probably give a larger proportion of useless calls. How is any
critic to get beyond these facts save by ignoring or
misrepresenting them? Healthy, scepticism is the basis of all
accurate observation, but there comes a time when incredulity
means either culpable ignorance or else imbecility, and this time
has been long past in the matter of spirit intercourse.
In my own case, this medium mentioned correctly the first
name of a lady who had died in our house, gave several very
characteristic messages from her, described the only two dogs
which we have ever kept, and ended by saying that a young officer
was holding up a gold coin by which I would recognise him. I had
lost my brother-in-law, an army doctor, in the war, and I had
given him a spade guinea for his first fee, which he always wore
on his chain. There were not more than two or three close
relatives who knew about this incident, so that the test was a
particularly good one. She made no incorrect statements,
though some were vague. After I had revealed the identity of
this medium several pressmen attempted to have test seances with
her--a test seance being, in most cases, a seance which begins by
breaking every psychic condition and making success most
improbable.
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