PSYCHIC PICTURES.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17020, 17 December 1920, Page 6

PSYCHIC PICTURES.

"SPIRITS" ON THE SCREEN. Another vast multitude crowded out the Theatre Royal last night to hear Turther words from Sir Arthur Conan !)oy!e. and to witness psychic pictures projected on the screen. •Sir Arthur said that before giving his ordinary lecture he wanted to say a few ] words upon the subject of the condition? | of lii'o beyond the grave because there ' had appeared a leading article on the subject that day which dealt with it in rather a severe way. He had no objection to opposition, t'n the contrary, lip liai ed it .'lor he thought that from argui incut and contention truth always otoso. ! At- the same time he lelt like Mark ; Twa n«h n lie said that instead of turn. , i ing the e? her cheek lie always returned ! the other's cheek, That j a.i tide quoted at great length Professor j J. 11. Hvslop. described as tho Professor Joi Locie in Columbia University. He i himself would not date to go as far as j that, tor Professor Hvslop li;ul been dead [for some years. (.Laughter and api plarse.') 'Professor Hyslop lieforo ho • died wrote a book. "Our Lifo After Heath," in which he professed himseli a complete Spiritualist, and he really was a w'tness for the defence rather than for the prosecution. Continuing tho lecturer said there wore not many people in tho world who had reul so many diaries of thoso bo- ■ yomi the grave as he had. He had not i only read all those published, but also ! a Ipr'io number of private records. Ho ! could only s~y he was amazed at tho j way in whidi thev agreed with each i other. He found none of that discord | alluded to in the leading article. Jfc i was a fact that messages coming , j through a medium, like light- coming" j through a glass, were very liablo to bo i tinted in passing, and it was also a ftusfc that peoplo in the other world cnrrieS on their prepossessions, religious and ' otherwise, for quite a considerable timi after passing over before coming to ( common agreement. It was nono th< less a fact that tho other life was voucli. Ed for bv a- focus of ovidcnce coming from all parts. Turning to the subject of tho pictures, Sir Arthur said he had'an absolutely unique collection, such as had . never been brought together in tho world before, and they woro the cream , of all the collections in England. Ho then explained the psychology of the ? subject; Mcdiumslnp, ho said, was a V I most singular quality. As a matter of • fact tho messages camo direct to anyi body, but in the spiritual plane intuitions and feelings were often toeeivod diroct from tho spirits of those who had passed over. If, however, they woro to manifest on the physical pjano, they must inako uso of pnysical laws, and must uso some form of matter to demonstrate. Tho only form which had been found suitable up to now was that singular forco emanating from tho human body, which used to be called . animal magnetism. Some _ peoplo had more of it, jmd some less, jußt as somo peoplo had aoetter e&? for music than others. All had the power of emanating that substance to a certain degree, but somo had it in n .marked degree, and they were called mediums. • That substance was called psychoplasm, and it might como out in tho form of a delicate vapour invisible to tho naked eye, and yet having appreciable effects. The' psychoplasm could also coma OVW in the form of a thick vapour, and that'- , might consolidate into a solid. It was that peculiar substance which was OT tlio basis of all materialisations. There was a further state in which it set perfectly hard, and it was in that state that the noises and the lifting of things were produced. The psychoplasm ed out from a materialising mediao,' and was a portion of tho medium B; body. : In the course,of a two-hours' seance, \ lie had seen lose from 2<Xto 301b, and that weight would go back five nounds at a time after the eeaace. Psychic photography, ho continue*!, ■ was an entirely different thing from otv dinary photography, for a wiso control on the other side looked at tho object, ' and then by some' process which was ' not yet understood was able to focu3 1 that soirit from its own brain straight 1 on to the plate. The X rays, or wbat--1 ever they were, would penetrate iron, 1 wood, or anything else, and tho photo- ; graphs were* got just as if no lens was used. Psychograplis wore tho result, and could bo produced without being exposed to light at all. A number of psycho pictures were then shown on the screen. They wore exhibited to show the psychoplasm an work lifting tables, and tho building up of faces and figures from the same material, also tho presence of spirit faces hovering over ordinary sitters. There was also shown tho picture of • . a lady completely materialised from a young girl medium, and several fepirit 'messages imprinted, on ordinary photographs. Sir Arthur stated that psycluc photographers were rare, and there were onlv three in England. Ho also claimed that the precautions taken preliminary to tho appearance of the spirit pictures absolutely precluded tho pos- . sibility of fraud -- In conclusion, ho said he trusted that what he had shown would convince all thnt the case tor spiritualism was no shallow one. Hitherto tho public had never been allowed to hear what that caso was on account of religious *"ia scientific prejudices. He recommended tho subject to tho attention of his hearers. There was a large literature on the subject, and he desired to leave it to the people to judgofor themselves and to say how far the claimswero justified. For himself he felt his mission' was done when he put the matter before the pcoole. After that it was for • them to sav what use they would make of the information. For himself nC n'wavs trot same message from the other side, "Plough on, plough on, for others will sow the seed." «