Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathyPodmore, Frank
Philosophy
Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy
Podmore, Frank
Apparitions; Telepathy
Of more recent experiments with diagrams, those recorded by Herr Anton
Schmoll and M. Etienne Mabire are perhaps the most important.[23] The
experiments took place at Herr Schmoll's house, 111 Avenue de Villiers,
Paris. In addition to Herr Schmoll and M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll and four
or five other persons assisted at one time or another. Mr. F. W. H.
Myers was also present on three occasions. In all about 100 trials were
made with diagrams and real objects (the actual number of experiments
of all kinds was 148), full details of which will be found in the
original papers. The experiments were made in the evenings, in a room
lighted by a hanging lamp. The agents, usually three or four in number,
sat at a round table immediately under the lamp, and fixed their
eyes on the diagram or object, which was placed on the table before
them. The percipient, with his eyes bandaged, sat in full view of the
agents with his back to them in a corner of the room at a distance
of about ten feet from the object. Silence was maintained during the
experiments, except where otherwise expressly stated. The object or
diagram was carefully hidden before the handkerchief was removed from
the eyes of the percipient to enable him to draw his impression. In
the first nineteen experiments the figure was drawn with the end of a
match dipped in ink, whilst the percipient was in the room. It was not
likely, under the circumstances, as the match moved almost noiselessly
over the paper, that any indication of the figure drawn could by this
means have been given to the percipient. Nevertheless, in the later
experiments quoted the precaution was taken to draw the figure whilst
the percipient was in another room, and a soft brush was substituted
for the match. The following is a record, by Herr Schmoll, of the last
two evenings of the first series:--
18.--_August 24th, 1886._
_Agents_--Mdlle. Louise, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.
_Percipient_--M. Mabire.
_Object_ (drawn)--
[Illustration]
_Result_--M. Mabire saw "a sort of semicircle like the tail of a
comet, but of spiral construction, like some of the nebulæ." What
he saw he reproduced in the following manner:--
[Illustration]
19.--_The same evening._
_Agents_--Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll.
_Percipient_--Schmoll.
_Object_ (drawn)--
[Illustration]
_Result_--"I see two double lines, that cross each other at about
right angles." (Pause.) "The two double lines now appear single,
but like rays of light, and in the form of an =X=." (Another
pause.) "Now I see the upper part of the =X= separated from the
lower by a vertical line." I draw:--
[Illustration]
20.--_The same evening._
_Agents_--Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Schmoll.
_Percipient_--Frau Schmoll.
_Object_--A brass weight of 500 grms. was placed on the table.
[Illustration]
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