CULT OF SPIRITUALISM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18206, 27 September 1922, Page 11

CULT OF SPIRITUALISM.

FAMTDUS MEDIUM " EVA." i REVELATIONS OF THE PAST. [froh our own correspondent.] LONDON. Aug. 9.' " Eva," the famous French medium, acoordine to M. Paul Heuze, is really a certain Martha Beraud, who took part in the notorious seances that were held in 1905, at the fiouse of the wife of General Noel, the Villa Carmen, in Algiers. Eva claims to be able to issue ectoplasm from her body during a trance, and some of Sir Arthur Oonan Doyle's most interesting photographs relate to this medium's manifestations. A few months ago M. Paul Heuze arranged with certain experts at the Sorbonne for the carrying out of a number of \ " metapsychic" experiments. The experts admit that on two occasions Eva brought out and re-absorbed at will a rubber-Tike substance said to be ectoplasm. In their report the experts decided that their experiments had given entirely negative results. It now seems that M. Heuze, having failed to discover how the apparent phenomenon was has written to the Opinion and told a story of Eva in former years. In the course of the seances at Algiers, M. Heuze explains, there used to appear the phantom of Bien-Boa, a Hindu priest, who had been dead for three centuries. Profesisor Charles Richet went to Algiers to see Bien-Boa. He was present at the seances, saw Bien-Boa, photographed him, and declared himself satisfied, though it was notorious in Algiers that the seances were pure, humbug. Rejcently in his "Trait* de Mctapsychique " I he guarantees the authenticity of the phenomena obtained with Martha. Testimony of Witmases. M. Paul Heuze now publishes the report of Dr. Rouby, in 1905, and also fresh details and documents regarding the Villa Carmen. The testimony of oertain witnesses in Paris is now available i Mile. Cochet went with her mother in 1904 to the seanoes at tho Villa Carmen, which nobody in the set of the General's wife regarded as anything but amusing Martha herself explained all the details to her, giving as the reasot for the part she played in the mystification the need for Keeping the -servants out of the business as far as possible. " The general's wife," said Martha, " fs not sound in her head, and she must be humoured. When BienBoa does not appear she is ill, does not eat, "and takes large doses of morphia. Moreover, with servants and paid mediums there has been trouble in the form of In these conditions is it not far bettor than I should operate myself?" | In the case of Mme. Portal, M. Heuze I writes, we have not only a witness but a ' protaeonist. Mme. Portal, a charming comedienne, who was then playing at the Kursa! at Algiers under the name of Aimee Bex, was asked to help by the General's wife, and greatly against her will, because of the loss of time involved, beebme one of the most constant attendants'. She 'soon took, with Martha, one of the most active part* in preparing and bringing about the phenomena. The gist lof her statement is as follows :—-

A Pure Joke. " We had only one object—to amuse ourselves (and we did amuse ourselves a lot), by giving satisfaction to the fancies of the general's sick wife. I often brought all that was necessary with me to produce apparitions. I remember once oven hiding a pigeon in my clothos (a detail that appears in Dr. Rouby'u report). It' was a great success. On another occasion we hid some little birds in the bath under a curtain, and let them the middle of the sitting. The whole thing was a pure joke. When I think that Maotha took up later (he career of medium, there is nothing very surprising about the mystery." Mons. Portal is the husband of Mme. Bex. They were together at Algiers, and owing to lack of time he was usually only a spectator, but he was always ready to help the mediums and'avoid incidents. He confirms emphatically all the details in the Rouby report, which incidentally he has never seen: ** The whole thing was a joke, and everyone knew it. We operated particularly with an Algerian, a working woman, named Vincent Garcia. She had plenty of cheek. And tho properties she used! For a pigeon I,remember I paid 18 sous. I remember 'once being very late. I found an old horseshoe on the Moustapha Road. ' What joke shall I play with that?' I remember saying to myself as I picked it dp. When I got into "the house I it gently on to the table as the seance was in progress. The general's wife seized on it with fervour as coming from her beloved Bipn-Boa. " The house was near the railings by tho road, and we knew the pjace and could go in and put quite easily. One day I brought in a man named Gon tier with a false beard and a robe and so forth. He posed as Bien-Boa. The general's wifo begged him to approach so that she could kiss his hands. He hesitated, and I told, him:- ' Go on,' and I lowered the gas. He came near, but Mme. Noel annoyed him by calling him ugly. I used to use phosphorous from match heads to smear my face and hands in the'dark. Once I started speaking Provencal aloud, and the general's wife in an ecstasy announced that it was Hindustani. I could go on with recollections of the sort for hours. How is it possible, that the thing could have been taken seriously ?". Mons. Heuze adds: "Professor Richet as regards Martha Beraud spoke recently of the enormous presumption of fraud. If he would only inquire into these stories of Algiers, Mons. and Mme. Portal are at his entire disposal to enlighten him from A to Z." i