A CALIFORNIA GIRL j
A Continued Story.
SYNOPSIS.
The story open up with Sir Roydon
Qerlb, a young mining expert, in Califor
nia, where he had been eenl by an Enshsb
aarndlcal to develop mining properly.
In the discharge of bla dutlea at Dead
Ban' Oulch he had the misfortune to
raak bla leg, and during his l)ln- I
eared for in a rough squatter's cabin by
aLh Marvel and hla son Ince. Lilac, the
M man'a niece, ia ato a member of the
Id man'a family. Sir Roy, Impressed by
her beauty and gentleness, fait in love
with her and proposes, but he, realizing
the difference In their positions, refuw-s
hla nr.r Afior hla rwnverv he foolishly
exhibits a large sum of money which be
carried In his belt. Thl aroused Lance
eupldliy and he drugs Sir Roy with the
Intention of robbing him. Lilac overhears
Lance's plana and succeeds In arousing
Mir Kav frnm hla lunr,r. helD him mount
hla horse and accompanies him along the
trail. She finally yields to his persuasion
to marry him upon his return from a pro-
Eieed prosyectlng trip to Nevada. Arrlv
g In Ban Francisco he place her In the
ear of Major Emmott and his daughter.
Bngllah people traveling In the west, and
arrangements are made that she shall ac
company them to England to make the ac
quaintance of Sir Roy s aristocratic moth
er eurtng hla enforced absence.
CHAPTER XVII.
At the Seven Cents mine !n Nevada,
Blr Hoy was thinking every hour of
Lilac, and working hard to enable him
to get home quickly to end her trial,
the hardness of which he could only
partly realize. It was very pleasant to
It at night In his log hut over a Are
of pine logs, and think of the girl who
was so simple, so good and so un
selfish. His loneliness In a camp of
rough men, uncheered by the society of
women, made him feel more than ever
In love with her; and every night he
wrote parts of diary-like letters, to be
dispatched to Delverton as soon as op
portunity offered.
While Lilac was wondering at home
whether the baronet really loved her.
Blr Roy was every day counting more
and more upon her love. He looked
vrwarl anxiously to the time to
eome for him to receive a letter from
her saying that she had reached Eng
land safely, little guessing what would
accompany that letter.
U was a happy evening for him
when he was able to add to his long
epistle, full of expressions of love and
tenderness for the girl he hoped soon
to make his wife:
! "My now darling little girl, thanks
to the energy with which the thought
of you has Inspired me, I was able to
see the end of my work here definitely
approaching today. In a week at the
utmost now I shall be able to start for
England to Join my little wife-elect a
fortnight earlier than I thought possi
ble. The Journey will take three weeks
so that two months from today will see
you my own little wife. It seems almost
too wonderful to be true. I wonder
whether you have been as lonely as I
have, darling, and have looked forward
as much to our reunion?1
He stopped when he had written
these words and paused with his pen
in his hand to enjoy the thoughts tha
crowded Into his mind. How pleas
ant it was to think that, while he was
looking forward so much to the time
when he could hold his little "prairie
flower in his arms again, with no
doubts to disturb their perfect happi
ness. Lilac herself at home was look
ing forward Just as eagerly to his re
turn. It really did seem too wonderful
to be true.
If Lilac could only have seen htm as
he sat thinking of her with the light of
true love In his deep, grave eyes If she
could only have read his words! But
she was never to see them. As Sir Roy
dipped his pen in the Ink again, prepar
atory to writing another sentence, he
paused and then laid the pen down, his
attention attracted by a sound that he
had listened for every evening of late
the sound of a horse's hoofs on the
road that led from the nearest town
ahlD fifty miles away.
tuiik an involuntary movement he
covered the sheet on which he
had revealed the tenderest emotions of
his heart, and walked to the door of his
loa- hut. A horseman was approach
ing at a gallop, and Sir Roy hailed him
as soon as he was within hearing.
"Ahoy there! Letters?"
His heart beat a little more quickly
when the answer came that he ex
ceded. He was to hear from Lilac at
last, and the world looked very beau
tiful to him.
The man pulled up his panting horse
at the door, and from the mall-bag
fastened around him handed out three
letters. Roy glanced at the writing
quickly before he said a word. One was
addressed in Evangeline's neat nana
and one In a girlish hand not so well
formed. This must be from his love
The writing on the other he did not
,r,,i,. and he threw it with
i r - --
Evangeline's upon the table behind him
Lilac was the only letter he could
think of at that moment. But, before
he allow himself the luxury of read
in It be had to offer some hospitality
to tha n-ssenger after his long rldo
It was ten minutes before he could
tear open with reverent fingers the
message sent to him; and the new
comer, who had spent the time In at
tending to his horse, was sitting at the
table, Improvised out of a packing
case, too much engrossed In doing Jus
tlce to the meal which the baronet had
laid before him even to speak. Roy
was glad of hla silence, for It enabled
him to give his undivided attention to
, the letter he had waited for so long,
Rut, alas, the letter was a little dis
appointing! The fatal doubt In the
Callfornlan girl s mind as to whether
"Any letters to take back?" asked tb
messenger, looking up from hla meal.
"You are not going back tonight?"
"No; but I shall start in the morn
Ing before you are awake, I guess four
at the latest."
"Then I will finish my letter and
bring it down to you in the camp,"
said Roy. "You put up for the night
at Wilson's store, I suppose V
"That'B so."
"Then I will bring down my letters
in half an hour. Good night!" as the
man rose to resume his Journey.
As soon as he was gone, Roy sat down
again to finish his long letter to Lilac;
but, as he was doing it, a thought oc
curred to him that he must read his
other letters first, lest they should alter
his plans.
Evangeline's letter was written in her
pleasant, cousinly style, saying'that she
would welcome Lilac as a sister, and
adroitly toning down the hpstillty
which Lady Garth felt toward the
match. Its pleasant vivacity made Li
lac's more constrained epistle seem all
the colder by contrast; and a vague ."
uneasiness had already crept mto the
baronet's mind when he opened the
third envelope and found that the con
tents were from Major Emmott.
He was glad that the messenger had
left him, and that no human eyes could
watch him as he read the bitter accu
sations which the old major, urged on
by his daughter, made against the wo
man of his choice. His face grew white
and a mist rose before his eyes which
almost prevented his seeing the major's
wr Hniri hn nd wrl t 1 n ir His heart was
filled with a fierce resentment against
Lilac; but he tried to combat it. It was
not her fault, he told himself, that she
could not love him, and had met In the
person of Mark Mowbray a man for
whom she cared more. Was it likely
that In the new life that he himself had
opened out for her that she would meet
nobody for whom she would care more
than for himself? She had liked him
he felt sure that she had liked him
although she ad refused to be formally
engaged to im; but was it not only be
cause he was the first man with a re
finement like her own whom she had
et in her isolated Callfornlan home?
Now she must have met many,
course, and it was scarcely to be hoped
that he could retain his pre-eminence.
Well. Lilac's happiness must be se
cured, he told himself, even if It broke
his heart; and Roy took the fond let
ter he had been preparing for her and
tore it Into fragments. If she carea
for thl Mark Mowbray, for whom, ac
cording to the major, she had shown
her affection so unmistakably he
would not stand in her way by making
her feel under obligation to him or em
phasizing the cruelty of the blow she
was striking at his happiness.
So, In place of the diary-like letter
...v,ii. hot vrcnnied him so long, he
wrote a short little note, begging Lilac,
if she cared for anybody more than
himself, not to have any scruples on
hiB account in admitting the fact; and,
as soon as he had sealed it, he took it
In a white heat, down to the camp, to
gether with a similarly short note to his
mother, announcing his almost lmmedl-
at return. At all costs, he must go
home now. he told himself, and ascer
tain personally whether all hope of hap
piness was at an end for him, as seemed
only too likely.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Thanks to the friendship of Evange
line Garth, which had become every
day dearer to her, Lilac had found five
weeks pass at Delverton Hall much
more quickly than she had Imagined
possible. Owing to Evangeline a never
f(iir,. hfin as well as to her own
Intuitive taste, it would have been dlf
flcult for anybody to discover in her
.ech or manner a single solecism
due to her previous life.
In each of the letters which Lilac
wrote to her lover every week she al
lowed more of her real self and real
love to show themselves as her hopes
of making the baronet a suitable wife
increased. It was unfortunate that
the first of these letters reached the
mining camp in Nevada after Roy's departure.
The feeling that, In spite of all her
fears, her life was to be one of com
plete, overwhe lming happiness as Roy's
wife was Increased by the long, loving
letters which she received from her
fiancee, giving her every detail of his
life at the mines in a way that toia
Lilac she was always in his thoughts.
She had read them over and over again
till she knew every word, and could
kiss the passages she loved the best
without glancing at them at all.
In spite of. Lady's Garth's, chilling
presence, Lilac felt very happy one
evening, at the end of five weeks, as
she sat in the drawing room and list
ened to Evangeline's sweet voice sing
ing an air from "Cavallcrla Rustlcana"
to the accompaniment of her harp.
For the first time her ladyship had
called her "Lilac" In place of the for
mal "Miss Marvel," and there came
Into the girl's heart a faint glimmer
Ing of hope that some day she might
make the old lady care for her. She
wished that she had the courage to
talk to her about her son, to tell her
how anxious she was not to stand In
the way of his prospects, how ready
she was to sacrifice her own happiness
n,i rslenae him from his promise. If
by so doing she might benefit him. The
subject of the engagement existing be
tween them had been carefully avoded
by her ladyship; and Lilac could not
help feeling that the young baronet's
mother looked upon her as anxious at
all costs to keep Roy to a rash promise.
tell
appalled, as she would have been a few
weeks before, at the prospect of a con
fidential chat with the old lady.
"It must about Roy," she said to
herself excitedly, and she waited in a
tremor of anticipation until Evange
line had left the room.
She crimsoned with pleasure when
her ladyship came and seated herself
by her side on the low settee.
"You are wondering what It Is I
want to talk to you about, I expect?"
he said In her least formal voice, and
Lilac blushed against as she answered:
"I think I can guess, dear Lady
Garth."
"You know that he cares for you,
then?"
yesof course I do. I should nev
er have come here if Roy had not told
me that he loved me."
"And so Roydon told you that he
loved you, did he, dear?" she said "I
was afraid that the romantic circum
stances of your meeting had made him
indiscreet. You must not think too
seriously of what he said when he was
her waa thus put ruthlessly into words,
Lilac wondered how she could sit so
silently listening to her companion.
Her ladyship went on relentlessly.
"There was only one consideration
which prevented my son from arrang
ing a marriage with his cousin before
he left England. It was his Quixotic
senee of honor which made him afraid
of the very appearance of marrying for
money. You are not going, dear?"
for the girl had riBen from her seat, a
strange dazed look in her wide-open
eyes.
"I should like to be alone, If you ao
not mind, Lady Garth, to think over
what you have said."
"That is right, dear. T am sure you
will do what la sensioie wneii
comprehend how matters stand," said
her ladyship, not ill-pleased with the
Interview as a whole, and the clearness
with which she had expressed herself,
and she had little room in her heart
for pity for the friendless girl as Lilac
walked from the room slowly and as if
in a dream.
MADE SPIRITUALISM A STUDY
her conscience would ever allow her
the happiness of becoming the wife of Sne wag very eager, therefore, to
the maa ahe loved could not but re
strain her expressions of love. After
the Impassioned words which Blr Roy
himself had Just been writing, her U t
ter seemed cold and formal, and the
young baronet was conscious of a
tans of disappointment.
her tha exact state of her own mind
on the subject; and when at the end of
Evangeline's onV Lady Garth an
nounced that aha was anxious for a
little private chat with Lilac and sent
the heiress unwillingly away, the Call
fornlan girl was pleased rather than
Lilac's flush had disappeared, leav
ing her face deathly pale; but she did
not reply, and her ladyship went on
rather hurriedly:
"It seems to me that Sir Roydon has
been placed in a position In which he
could not very well avoid offering you
marriage as the only solution of the
difficult problem what to do with you
Mind I can quite understand that he
waa attracted greatly by your personal
charms, which I do not deny are very
great." She smiled graciously, as if
she expected the girl to be pleased
with the acknowledgment; but Lilac's
pale statuesque face did not relax.
'You must remember that 1 Know
Roydon better than you do, dear.
I prefer to think not, Lady Gartn,
said Lilac quietly; but her ladysnip
hastened on without noticing the in-
terruption-
My feelings are hostile to the idea
of your marriage with my son; but
you may pardon me when you know
Its cause. It is not that I nave ine
slightest dislike to you, dear. Per
sonally I am becoming very rone, 01
you, in spite of the havoc you seem
destined to play with the happiness of
those 1 hold dear and with my own
most treasured projects."
There waa a pathetic tremor in her
stately voice which touched Lilac.
"Indeed I would rather die, Lacy
Garth," she said earnestly, "than bring
unhapplness to Roy's friends, if by
dying I should not make him unhap
py!"
Her ladyship wiped her eyes.
"You are a dear, good girl," she Bald,
and I believe that you mean what
you sawy! I cannot tell you how pain,
ful it Is to me to have to speak- to you
in this woy. I should not do it it i
were not sure that you wished to do
what is best for Roydon's Interests.
Let me speak to you candidly, dear.
I has always been my fondest hope that
Roydon and Evangeline should marry.
Not only do them seem particularly
suited for each other, but the marriage
would tend to reunite the estates that
have been in the family tor many
years. At present Roydon has not
enough, apart from what he earns by
his profession, to keep up the hall as H
always haa been kept up. It is a ne
cessity that he should marry wealth.
But It is not a question of money that
affects me so deeply. It Is my fear that
ill be broken if
she loses my son's love. The dear girl
carries her troubles very bravely, I
know, and possibly she has not allowed
you to guess her secret."
"Her secret?"
"Her love for her cousin. To me,
of course, It Is no secret, for I have
.. hom btow uo together, and
have been more anxious than I care to
confess at the change which has come
over my beloved Evangeline since you
were first mentioned in Roy's letters.
How can I help all my sympathies go
ing out to the girl whom I have al
ways loved aa my own child?"
"Put do you not- think Evangeline
cares for Roy only as a slater?" asked
Lilac, who had almost persuaded her
self that it was so.
Lady Garth shook her head.
"You cannot have observed her very
closely If you have not fliFCuvtred that
the poor girl la deeply In love."
"I have more than suspected it.
said Lilac thoughtfully; "but I did
not think it was of Roy that she was
alwaya thinking. There may be an
other." No I am quite sure there Is no
other," said her ladyship, honestly be
lieving that she was speaking the
truth. "I have watched her very Jeal
ouely for Roy's sake."
She spoke with eager conviction,
stealing herself against the look of
pain and fear that had come Into Li
lac's eyes. The girl spoke calmly,
however.
"I hope you are wrong, Lady Garth,
but even If you are right, It does not
rest with me to confer happiness upon
Evangeline. I cannot make Roy love
her."
"I do not think that there Is much
making" required," said her ladyship
quickly. "Before you crossed his path
I never had the lead doubt about my
son's feelings for his cousin, and that
is what makes me think that you have
mistaken Roydon's feeling towards
yourself. Your beauty may have mo.
mentarlly dazzled him pardon my
speaking so, but I feel that I can be
quite candid with you and the ro
mantle nature of your meeting In
creased the spell. But I cannot help
perceiving that only a generous de
sire to help you and to repay the sac
rlflce of a home, which you made for
his sake, led him to suggest marriage."
As the haunting fear that had been
with Lilac more or less strongly from
the moment that Sir Roydon had first
snowed her the ring he had bought for
WOMEN AT WORK.
Some Interesting Statistics From
All Parts of the World.
Women In Great Britain are well rep
resented in the professions and trades,
and about 4,000,000 earn their own liv
ing. There are 124,000 who teach, 10,000
are bookbinders, over 3,000 are primers,
nearly 600 act as editors and compilers,
1,30 are engaged In photography, civil
service clerks number 2,300, nearly 38,-
000 are engaged in medical work and
nursing and 347 women are blacksmiths
The oldest banker in the world is a
woman, aged 98; she Is Deborah Pow
ers, the senior partner in the bank of D.
Powers & Sons. Lanslngberg, England.
Miss Cons is an alderman of the Lon
don county council.
A successful firm of tea merchants In
England is composed entirely of wo
men. The blenders, tasters ana pack
ers are also women.
There are twenty-three English wo
men practicing medicine in India-
Miss Constance Taylor of London Is
a dog fancier; some of her orders come
from Central America.
Miss Sprules of Surrey, England, is a
lavender distiller.
Miss F. R. Wilkinson of London Is a
landscape gardener.
Miss Amy B. Bell is an English wo
man who has taken up stockbroklng.
Miss Constance Blaydes, an English
girl, finds goat raising a profitable in
dustry.
Miss Leigh Spencer of British Colum
bia is a mining broker.
Mrs. Emma E. Forsythe is engaged In
the sale of mother-of-pearl at New
Britain, an island in the southern Pa
cific. In Germany three women are em
ployed as chimney sweeps, seven as
gunsmiths, nineteen as brass and bell
founders, 147 as coppersmiths, 379 as
farriers and nailers, 309 as masons,
eight as stonecutters, 2,000 in marble,
stone and slute quarries. In all, 5,500,000
women earn their living In trades and
professions.
In Berlin women guides are employed
by the city.
Every animal slaughtered for food
purposes in Berlin is subject to micro
scopical examination by a corps of wo
men mlcroscopists especially tratned to
the work.
In Holland women, instead of men,
Rlirnal railway crossings.
In Austro-Huns?ary about 3,000,000
women are engaged in industrial pur
suits. Austria has many women barbers.
Mine. Rosa Kerschbaum conducts a
hospital for eye diseases at Vienna.
France employs over 5.000 women In
its civil service, telephone and tele
graph offices. The bank of France pays
aalnry to 400 women, and 200 women
have ppsitlons In the Credit Fonder.
Altogether 3,750,000 French women sup
port themselves by their own exertions.
One railway company in Russia has
thirty women In Its employ.
In central Russia the township of
Besjukooschtschlna a territory of ten
square miles, divided into seven vil
lages Is run entirely by eight women,
who administer all public affairs.
The town of Knalzeff, Russia, is run
by a woman starosta or mayor, Alex
andre llyne by name.
A Mohammedan woman Is a practic
ing physician and surgeon at Odessa.
Dr. Razle KoutlolarefT-Hanum is her
name, and hers Is the first case on rec
ord of a Mohammedan woman practic
ing medicine by western methods.
Women are employed as telegraphic
clerks and ticket agents on the Trans
Caspian railroad.
In Turkey a native woman, who stud
ted In this country, is now practicing
medicine.
In Burmah all women of the lowsr
classes have a trade; nearly all the
retail trade of the Island is in their care.
In Chill all car conductors, hotel and
postofllce clerks are women.
Onchunga, New Zealand, has elected
Mrs. Yates mayor.
Miss Cree Stanley Is the first wo
man member of the Sydney, Australia,
trade and labor council being the del
egate of the Female Employes' union.
At 90 years old, and with a pontificate
of twenty-one years, Leo XII comes
near to breaking the papal record. The
average reign of popes has been only
about five years, and of the 263 who
have worn the triple crown only four
have done so longer than Leo XIII, to
wlt! Hadrian I, twenty-three years;
rius VI, twenty-four years; Plus VII,
twenty-three years, and Plus IX, thirty,
two years, It Is quite within the limit
of possibility that Leo XUI will sur
pass the record of all except his Imme
diate predectssor.
Admits the Possibility or r-sycnioai
Phenomena, But No More.
Studies in psychical research, care
fully conducted, have a decided fasci-
ation for the investigating mind, the
idea that there may be something real
ly worth considering in mental telepa-
hy, thought transference and hypnot-
sm has been impressed upon many in
terested persons. Spiritualism nas ma
ny followers, but skeptics abound. It
has seemed more and more desirable
that some person or aggregation of per
sons find an answer to the question.
What is the truth?
In his book entitled "Studies in Psy
chical Research," Mr. Frank Podmore,
author of "Apparitions and Thought
Transference," has presented his own
record of a number of Investigations
conducted by the Society of Psychical
Research. This society was formed In
1882. In the opening chapter Mr. Pod
more explains the purpose of his book,
and says that "neither society nor any
of my colleagues are in any way com
mitted to the views expressed In this
book." He says:
In the chapters which follow an at
tempt will be made to estimate me
value of the work done up to the pres
ent time by the society through its
committees and by Individual members,
on the several lines of inquiry thus
mapped out, and to sketch briefly the
conclusions reached or indicated at the
present stage."
Mr. Podmore's book was published Dy
the Putnams some months ago mm
contains a most interesting and com
prehensive view of the subject. Of the
spirit and method of the Investigations,
the author gays:
We did not, as already said, in un
dertaking the Inquiry, assume to ex
press any opinion beforehand on the
value of the evidence to be examined
Whatever the private bias of individ
ual members towards belief or disbe
lief, it cannot fairly be said that any
such bias has been allowed to pervert
the method of inquiry. To ascertain
the facts of the case, at whatever cost
to established opinions and prejudices,
has been the consistent aim of the so
cletv and its workers. If some of our
investigations have resulted in the de
tectlon of imposture, the discovery of
-rector! fallacies of sense and
memory, and the general disintegra
tion of some imposing structures built
upon too narrow foundations; whilst
others have revealed the occurrence oi
phenomena which neither chance nor
fraud nor fallacy of sense can plausibly
explain, and for which the present sci
entific synthesis can as yet find no
Dlace. It is pertlent to remember that
the investigators were in each case the
same, the methods pursued the same,
and the object in all cases was simply
the discovery of the truth.
"There is another not unnatural mis
conception of the nature of our work
Though fraud, and fraud of a particu
larly gross kind, is the most activ
force in producing some of the spurious
marvels which have been the subject of
our inquiries, yet fraud is, on the
whole, neither the prolific nor the most
dangerous source of error. In our ex
perimental work In thought-transfer
ence and the like, we have mainly had
to guard against an Innocent deception
and the more insidious because inno
cent the sub-conscious communication
of information by Indications too sub
tie to be apprehended by the normal
salt, but readily seized upon and inter
nreted by the automatic or somnambu
Ho consciousness. And in that part of
our work where experiment is preclud
ed by the nature of the facts, whic
has consisted, therefore, mainly in ob
talning and recording the testimony of
others to such spontaneous phenomena
viHlnns and apparitions, the real
source of error Is again the subcon
scious sophistication of the record, ow
Ing to the Instinctive tendency of the
Imagination to dramatic unity and
completeness. It is enough to say here
that our researches have led us gradu
ally to attach more and more import
ance to tne eueci ui -tunc uu
of testimony."
There are some Interesting scientific
hints in the conclusions of the Investi
gators. The fourth dimension of space
may have a bearing, upon so-called su
pernatural effects. Mr. Podmore says
of one Investigation.
"Zollner found experimental confir
mation of his hypothesis of a fourth di
mension of space a dimension which
should stand to the known dimensions
of cubac space, height, length and
breadth, in the same relation which
height now bears to the two dimen
sions of plane space. Given the fourth
dimension, the existence of which is
mathematically foreshadowed, Zollner
pointed out that, to a man or a spirit
endowed with the capacity of dealing
with it, the abstraction of objects from
a closed box, the knotting of an end
less cord, or the removal Into Invlsl
blllty of a solid object would be tasks
of no special difficulty."
Speaking of the extreme credulity of
many Spiritualists, Mr. Podmore con
eludes:
"The attitude of Spiritualists In gen
eral, then, was that of persons who
had been more or less thrown oft
their balance by sudden exposure to
experiences of a novel and surprising
kind. Being for the most part igno
rant of even the rudiments of natural
science, they had accepted almost with
out question to only explanation which
appeared on a superficial examination
adequate to explain the facts; and had
then exalted this explanation to the dig
nlty of a religious tenet. Such a men
tal attitude was likely to be more con
ducive to beatific contemplation than to
lahnrlous analysis. The activities of
the convert naturally took the form
nf missionary enterprise rather than
nf scientific Investigation; and the
seance-room became not a laboratory,
hn a nronaa-andlst institution.
"And the same childlike faith marked
h Hltude of Spiritualists in general
to the mental phenomena of trance
speaking, and the like. But between
these Is a broad distinction to be drawn.
Whilst there Is little worn to doubht
that the great majority at any rate
of the so-called physical manifestations
were due to deliberate and preconcert
ed fraud, such phenomena as trance
speaking, automatic writing, and the
visions seen at seances were probably
in many cases the genuine outcome of
states more or less abnormal. . . .
Perhaps the commonest form of auto
matic was the inspirational address or
sermon. In many cases, no doubt, these
addresses were actually composea ana
delivered in a state of somnambulism,
or at least without the conscious co-operation
of the speaker. Bot there ia
rarely anything in matter of the dis
course which should lead us to look
for inspiration beyond the speaker's
own wind."
This is Mr. Podmore's suggestion aa
to the prevalent belief that "mediums"
are "controlled" by the spirits of the
dead.
"While scientific men were content,
for the most part, with recording the
facts which they had observed, or be
lieved themselves to have observed, and
awaiting for the explanation, and Ser
jeant Cox and his adherents attrib
uted the phenomena to psychic force
radiating from the finger ends, or to
the enlarged sensory powers oi ine
psychic body, the mass of Spiritualists
failed to find satisfaction in euner ai-
inde. As the peasant referred me
movement of the steam engine to the
nlv motive force with which ne wa
acquainted, and supposed that there
were horses inside, so the Spiritualists,
recognizing, as they thought, in tne
phenomena the manifestations of will
and intelligence, not apparently those
of any person visibly present, invoked
the agency of the spirits of the dead.
We can hardly call this belief an hy
pothesis or an explanation; it seema
indeed at Its outset to have been little
more than the Instinctive utterance of
primeval animism. Later, when tnis
explanation had become stereotyped,
and had affected the attitude even of
honest 'mediums,' causing them to
claim for teir most trivial automatic
utterances an external inspiration, 11
became difficult even for intelligent stu
dents to free themselves from the pre
vailing belief a belief so widely at
tested by the phenomena themselves."
Again Mr. Podmore says: "un me one
hand, as shown in the last chapter, was
an important social or even religious
movement of an International charac
ter, which claimed a considerable num
ber of more or less credulous adherents.
and was based on certain alleged occur
rences, which in many cases were un
questionably due to deliberate and
systematic imposture. On the other
hand, there was a small body of men
whose opinions and testimony in any
matter could not be lightly disregarded.
who believed In and testified ol tneir
own experience to things which seem
ed, and perhaps still seem, lnexpucame
by any known cause. It was not easy
to dismiss the whole subject as unwor
thy of investiation. The explanation,
of the facts recorded by Mr. Crookes
Hnd others does not lie on the surface.
It may be that these facts will ultimate
ly find their explanation in causes nei
ther remote nor unfamiliar. But cer
tainly no one at that time, and per
haps not now, is in. a position to affirm.
with such certainty as we oring to tne
other affairs of life, what the explana
tion may be."
Mr. Crookes' interest In the phenome
na of Spiritualism has been the source
of congratulation to many believers in
the wonders of the seance room. Mr.
Crookes was a well known and careful
scientist, an investigator oi natural
phenomena, before he became interest
ed in physcnicai researcn.
Mr. Podmore records that many cases
of disinterested fraud have been discov
ered. He says: "Researches in - the
squalid annals of spiritualism have
broukht to light other cases where
fraud was nracticed without the attrac
tion of pecuniary or any obvious social
advantage.
Moreover, the fuller knowledge gain
ed in recent years of subconscious men
tal activities affords ground lor tnina
ing that deception of this kind may, in
the beginning at any rate, be only semi
conscious. The line between what is
conscious and what is not so conscious
lsat all times hard to draw; since no
one but the patient, and not alwaya
the patient himself, is in a position to
speak with authority. It is not unlike
ly that seemingly motiveless deception,
of the kind met with in these investiga
tions may occasionally be the accom
paniment of some morbid dissociation
cf consciousness, such as seems to oc
cur 0 certain hysterical patients. The
automatic subject frequently exhibits
In his utterances and actions signs of
a disingenuousness foreign to his nor
mal self. In considering the question,
therefore, whether the phenomena oc
curring in the presence cf certain per-1
sons are due to trickery or to 'psychic
force' we should not be justified in
pressing too far the argument drawn.
f,nm the Imnrobabllitv of willful de
ception. We are bound to assume ab
normality somewnere, ana ui mc mu,
It may be easier to suppose the medium
abnormally dishonest, tnan io umiH
him with abnormal 'psychic powers.
Mr. Podmore formulates some geiiemi
propositions, as follows:
"1. The conditions under which the
phenomena generally occur conditions
for the most part suggested and con
tinually enforced by tne meaium am
such as to facilitate fraud and to ren
der its detection difficult.
"2. Almost all phenomena are Known
to have been produced under similar,
conditions by mechanical means.
"3. Almost every professional medium
has been detected in producing results
by trickery.
"4. There are several cases uu iciuiu
in which private persons, with no ob-,
vlous pecuniary or social advantage to
secure, have been detected in trickery.
"5. The condition or emotional eiciw
in which Investigators have for
the most part approached the subject.
and the antecedent Dias pruuuceu uj
reports of the marvelous, are calculat
ed seriously to Interfere with calm and
dispassionate observation.
"6. It has Deen snown mm ij
persons are capable of exercising the
continuous attention necessary to de
tect a conjuring trick. .,..
"7. The phenomena upon wnicn
ltualists rely are such as to requira
the exercise of continuous observation
and experiments designed to dispense
with the necessity for such observation
have Invariably failed.
"8. Abnormal subBtances of varloua
kinds are alleged to have been seen by
numerous observers, but Investigation
has never revealed anything abnormal.
"9. The marvels recorded Imply not
one new force, but many.:"
The conclusion at which Mr. Podmora
has arrived after his Investigation of
"nmiiiMnii and previsions" Is "That
belief in the possibility of supernormal
foreknowledge is not Justified."
Mr. Podmore Is extremely cautious
In attributing trance-Intelligence to
some inffuence outside of the subject,
yet he admits the possibility of a di
recting Intelligence, controlling tha m
dlu mor subject. That there are vast
possibilities In the Investigation and
cultivation of psychical forces Mr, Pod
more admits frankly, but he discredit
utterly most of the prevalent aptiitusV
Istlc phenomena.
