My order had then been perfectly understood for the first time. From that moment, December 6th, 1887, till to-day, with only two or three exceptions, the mental transmission, whether in the waking or sleeping state, has been most vivid. It is only disturbed at certain times, or when M. is feeling very anxious. On the 10th of December 1887, unknown to M., I hid a watch, that was not going, behind some books in my bookcase. When she arrived I put her to sleep, and gave her the following mental command:-- "Go and fetch me the watch that is hidden behind some books in the bookcase." I sat in my armchair with M. behind me, and was careful not to look in the direction where the object was hidden. M. suddenly got up from her armchair and went straight to the bookcase, but could not open it; making energetic movements the while, whenever she touched the door, and especially the glass. "It is there! It is there! I am certain; but this glass burns me!" I decided to open it myself; she rushed at my books, took them out, and seized the watch, delighted to have found it. Similar trials have been made with commands that one of my friends passed to me, written beforehand, and not in the presence of the subject, and the success has been complete; but if the person who passes me the order is unknown to her, she refuses to obey, saying that the command is not mine. * * * * * M. N., who was convinced that mental transmission is a fraud, assured me that I should never be able to transmit an order from him to M. I invited him to come to my house, at five o'clock in the evening, with a command written, which he was to give me only when M. was asleep, and outside my study. At 5.10 N. arrived and we went out, leaving M. in a trance; when we were separated from my study by the two intervening rooms, with all the doors shut, N. pulled out a small paper and said-- "You will read this command, we will both come back to M., and without any gestures, you will communicate it to her." "Certainly." In the note was written, "Give the mental command to M. to count out loud from 5 to 1; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." We came back to my study; I sat at my desk as usual--I am in the habit of making notes during the progress of the experiments, so as to report them with scrupulous accuracy--and I sent N.'s mental command, while pretending to write. M. suddenly exclaimed-- "Doubtless, you imagine that I cannot count! I can count from 1 to 50,000, if I wish." Mental command--"Count from 5 to 1." "No, I will not obey a strange command; it is not a command of yours."