9. It will be seen that I have spoken throughout the above argument of the _trance_ as a necessary condition for communication, or at least assumed that it is invariably present. Why should the trance state have this effect? What is the nature of the trance, and what peculiarity within it renders these results possible? The sceptic might begin by questioning the fact itself; but I think it now so well established that argument on this score is unnecessary. Further, the deeper the trance, _ceteris paribus_, the better the phenomena. There is no denying that fact. While certain striking results are often obtained while the medium is in light trance, they are not nearly so striking as those which are obtained when the medium is in the deeper stage. And this applies, I believe, to mediums producing both mental and physical phenomena. The question therefore remains: What happens in this trance state to render such results possible? _Why_ should the peculiar condition involved be instrumental in producing such striking results? It must be admitted at once that the innermost nature of this trance state is unknown. Certainly no purely physiological explanation suffices to explain the "medium-trance," even were it sufficient to account for similar conditions better known. No matter what the condition of the medium's nerve centres may be, this would not account for the supernormal information given during the trance state. No matter how much nervous or mental "instability" or "disintegration" were postulated, it would not at all explain or elucidate the primary question: _How is the supernormal information acquired?_ It seems to me that the answer to this question can only be found by assuming some such theory of the facts as the following: When a person falls asleep, he loses consciousness when _en rapport_ with _himself_.[2] When he is placed in the "mesmeric" trance, he remains _en rapport_ with the operator, and the deeper the trance, the more complete and effective this _rapport_ is. Explain it as you will, the facts remain. The writings of the early mesmerists are filled with records of cases of this _rapport_, in which "community of sensation" was present, and various supernormal phenomena, such as clairvoyance, etc., were manifested. No such phenomena are recorded in hypnotic seances, as a rule, which makes me suspect most strongly that mesmerism and hypnotism are not identical, in spite of the general belief that they are fundamentally one--all mesmeric phenomena being due to "suggestion." Of this, however, later. For the moment, I wish only to draw attention to the fact that, during these deep trance states, _rapport_ was noted, and supernormal information frequently given.