Mysterious Psychic Forces: An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants
John Stuart Mill · en
Among the remarkable phenomena which occur under Mr. Home's influence,
the most striking, as well as the most easily tested with scientific
accuracy, are--(1) the alteration in the weight of bodies, and (2) the
playing of tunes upon musical instruments (generally an accordion, for
convenience of portability) without direct human intervention, under
conditions rendering contact or connection with the keys impossible.
Not until I had witnessed these facts some half-dozen times, and
scrutinized them with all the critical acumen I possess, did I become
convinced of their objective reality. Still, desiring to place the
matter beyond the shadow of doubt, I invited Mr. Home on several
occasions to come to my own house, where, in the presence of a few
scientific enquirers, these phenomena could be submitted to crucial
experiments.
The meetings took place in the evening, in a large room lighted by
gas. The apparatus prepared for the purpose of testing the movements
of the accordion, consisted of a cage, formed of two wooden hoops,
respectively 1 foot 10 inches and 2 feet diameter, connected together
by 12 narrow laths, each 1 foot 10 inches long, so as to form a
drum-shaped frame, open at the top and bottom; round this 50 yards of
insulated copper wire were wound in 24 rounds, each being rather less
than an inch from its neighbor. The horizontal strands of wire were
then netted together firmly with string, so as to form meshes rather
less than 2 inches long by 1 inch high. The height of this cage was
such that it would just slip under my dining-table, but be too close
to the top to allow of the hand being introduced into the interior, or
to admit of a foot being pushed underneath it. In another room were
two Grove's cells, wires being led from them into the dining-room for
connection, if desirable, with the wire surrounding the cage.
The accordion was a new one, having been purchased by myself for the
purpose of these experiments at Wheatstone's, in Conduit Street. Mr.
Home had neither handled nor seen the instrument before the
commencement of the test experiments.