Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European SavantsFlammarion, Camille
Philosophy
Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants
Flammarion, Camille
Parapsychology -- Investigation; Spiritualism
November 19.--Eusapia is a sly one. She is gifted with great sharpness
of sight and has unusually sensitive ears. She is very intelligent and
is a person of rare delicacy of feeling. She perceives and divines
everything which concerns herself. Never reading, since she doesn't
know how to read; never writing, since she doesn't know how to write;
speaking little when here, since she rarely finds persons who
understand and speak Italian, she remains always concentrated in
herself and nothing turns her from permanent thought about her own
personality. It would undoubtedly be impossible to discover a similar
state of mind in the case of other persons; for we, as they, are
generally occupied with a thousand things which scatter our attention
over many different objects.
I arrive, at 11:30, at the rooms of Dr. Richet in order to escort
Eusapia to Mme. Fourton's, where we are to take luncheon. She is cold
and constrained. I pretend not to notice it, and keep talking with the
doctor. She goes to put on her hat and we descend the stairs. At the
foot of the staircase she says, "What did M. Richet say to you? What
were you speaking of?" A moment after, returning in thought to our
last seance, she says, "Were you completely satisfied?" In the
carriage I take her hand and converse with her in a friendly way.
"Everything is going very well," I say to her "but some experiments
will still be necessary in order to leave no room for doubt." Then I
speak to her of other things.
She becomes gradually sociable and her clouded brow seems to clear up.
However, she evidently feels that in spite of my rather superficial
amiability, I am not absolutely the same to her. During the luncheon
she holds out her champagne glass to me and drinks my health. Mme.
Fourton is convinced of Eusapia's genuineness, beyond all manner of
doubt. During conversation, a little later, Eusapia says to her, "I am
sure of you, I am sure of Mme. Blech, of M. Richet, of M. de Rochas;
but I am not sure of M. Flammarion."
"You are sure of Mme. Fourton," I replied. "Very well. But think for a
moment of the several thousand persons who are waiting for my opinion
in order to fix their own. M. Chiaia told you this at Naples, M. de
Rochas repeated it to you in Paris. You see I have a very great
responsibility and you yourself certainly see that I cannot affirm
that of which I am not absolutely certain. You ought yourself loyally
to aid me in obtaining that certainty."
"Yes," she replied, "I understand the difference very well. However,
if it had not been for you I should not have made the journey from
Naples, for the climate of Paris does not agree with me very well. Oh,
certainly; we must have you convinced beyond the possibility of
doubt."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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