OUT OF THE COMMON.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 858, 10 August 1888, Page 7

OUT OF THE COMMON.

FROM HERE TO HEAYEN BY TELE-

GRAPH.

A Scientific Investigation of Occult Telegraphy and Kindred Topics.

Paper No. 5 .(continued). (From the Religio-Philosophical Journal.)

Leaving them in the reception room, I went into the operating room and unfastened the wires, and took the box off the table, put it under my coat, and carried It off to my rooms. As I left, I told Mr Rowley that, for argument’s sake, I preferred that he should follow me a few minutes after, rather than to walk along with me ; so that it could not ba said that there was an opportunity for him, through some pretea ee, to tamper with the box or make any kind of alteration in it on the' way. I went alone directly to my rooms, connected the box where I had formerly used a key of ray own, at a table where no one but myself had been sitting for two .years, and where there was no telegraphic aparatus except the two wires that came from the battery in the next room, to the table. The battery stood on a mantel on the opposite side of the next room east, a distance of eighteen feet from the box. The sounder was in the next room north of that room, and was sixteen fe6t from the battery. It was the only sounder then in any of the rooms. The distance across from the box to the sounder was twenty four feet. The length of circuit, by wire, from the box through tho battery and sounder was one hundred and thirty feet. The sounder could be plainly heard from the north room to the west room through an open door and a large arch. As soon ag I had connected the box, I opened it and bent the branch lever down till further from the slate, and I readjusted and tested the adjustments so that I was sure that the key could not be operated by pressure upon any part of the box. Then I closed the box and pressed upon it, jarred it

and tried it in various ways, but got no response from the sounder. During this time I was alone in my rooms with the out doors closed. Within ten minutes Mr Rowley came, also alone. I admitted him and again locked the door. He sat down at the box, placed his right hand gently upon it, suffered a few light shocks through his system, and in about one minute the sounder spoke out distinctly: * Good afternoon, Professor. How are you 1 You can’t balk us.’ ‘ G.—We don’t want to balk you, Doctor, we only want to test you. Dr w.—Please accept my 73. Sig. Wells. G. The same to you, and I congratulate you on the proof that you have just furnished. Pqj purposes of demonstration, and under these circumstances, one minute is as good as an hour, and as I promised not to detain you long, you may now be excused. Goodwere several periods and other characters given by the sounder, after the manner of operators when ‘ trying 1 their key. During these efforts on ‘ their ’ part, Mr Rowley lifted his hand intending to lay it over toward the other side of the slate ; and while his hand was entirely clear of the box, the sounder went on with its characters without interruption. . Here is demonstrative evidence that the key in the box is operated without physical contact. The conditions here are such that the operating of the sounder is conclusive evidence that the key in the box is operated. The sounder being operated intelligently is proof positive that the key in the box is operated intelligently. But the key in the box is so situated that no embodied intelligence can exert its bodily organs thereon ; and the key in the box works perfectly without any intelligence-body touching even the box much less the key in the box. From these facts as premises, what conclusion is necessitated ? Simply this ? the key in the box is operated by disembodied intelligence. . . . . , For purposes of this inquiry, intellect and spirit are synonymous terms. In disoussion3 on Moral Science and Theology, we may separate the mental from the moral faculties, but after all, they are both only faculties of the individualised mind. When we speak of the Divine Mind, we mean the same Being as though we had said Infinite Spirit. Ideally, we may separate the one class of j facultie’s from the other, as attributes, the Bame as we may separate the will from the judgment ; but a 3 a matter of fact they are all but difierent functions of one intelligence. In other words, our moral powers are as much a part of our intelligence as are our reasoning powers or our sensibilities. It would be absurd for one to say, ‘Here is a communication from a disembodied intelligence, but it is not from disembodied spirit.’ Intelligence ■without spirit is. just as absurd as spirit without intelligence. In any possible sense in which they are not synonymous, they are at least inseparable. _ But the mass of mankind will concede this point without argument. I only dwell thus far upon it, because a certain peculiar class of metaphysicians who have been driven to admit that these communications are free from fraud, have sought to attribute them to « =otne force'which assumes the garb of intelligence.’ Think of it. Blind force assumes intelligence ! It is the language of desperation Driven to the very brink, they now clutch at the misty fog which hides the abyss that awaits them. If they had said, some force which possess intelligence, then I would be with them, except that I should insist on reversing the terms. Intelligence possesses force, not force possesses intelligence Even the Infinite One would come under that definition. But, for argument a sake let it stand. A force which possesses intelligence—an intelligent force—what is that but individualised spirit ? Intelligence implies individuality, and therefore to speak of intelligence as a thing which force may put on or off as a garment, is too ridiculous to bear a moment’s consideration. As well might some flash of atmospheric electricity assume to transmit to-night’s report of the Associated Press. WHAT NEXT ! To-day while at Jtowley\ & Whitney’s office. I witnessed,!the fpllowmg : 89 Euclid' Ave., Tuesday Jan. 10, 18S8. Memorandum : —I called to-day to arrange for another ", extended interview witn ,Dr Wells soon. T saw that the instruments were working no easily that it occurred to me to try whether something, could not be done with -tho-box open. We opened the box. Mr Rowley rested his right arm on the back of his chair, steadied the forearm with the left hand, brought hi 3 thumb gradually clown toward the branch lever, and while there was a clear space of from half to three ciuarters of an inch between the key and his thumb the lever operated perfectly, there in broad daylight (4-15 p.m.,) with the box wide open and everything in plain sight, 1 saw the key lever move up and down more than fifty times, making perfect data and dashes on the sounder, and nothing touching the key lever nor nearer to io than his thumb, which was'from half to three quarters of an inch away. Daring this manifestation. Mr Rowley’s body was repeatedly and oeverely shocked, and the strain on his nerves was obviou-dy very trying. The intelligences operating this have thus demonstrated that, with a sufficient supply, they can utilize this force to operate the key, notwithstanding the opposition offered by interference of light. I th'-n asked Dr Wells if he could move the keys - violentlv that I could hear it with the box shut. I closed the box, put my ear on the ala’o, held the sounder lever down to keep it still, and then I heard the key lever rattled up and down more rapidly than the hammer moves in an alarm clock or a telephone bell. It continued to rattle for about half a minute. Then I got further evidence that they apply the force to the branch lever. The branch lever, as 1 have explained before, is a slender piece of braßß, one end fastened to the top of the main lever, and curving up, convex toward the slate and tapering almost to a point at the free end, which is well below and away from the under side of the slate As soon as the rattling ceased, the pomfc of the branch

lever was pulled down and let fly up, as if one would pull it down with the end of his finger nail, and suddenly let the nail slip on the end of the spring. It rung like a tooth in the steel comb of a music box. It wag lung thus tea or twelve times, and could bo plainly heard from any part of the room. With my ear on tho slate, I could exactl3 r locate the vibrating point after the sound was too feeble to be heard without the ear so placed. This is also proof that the spring cannot touch the under side of the slate, tor if it could at all, it would do so when allowed to fly up, and we should have hoard it strike the slate. The least- touch of ie spring against the slate would also have stopped it from ringing. During this tune Mr Rowley had one hand on each end of the fa °What shall we look out for next ? Indeed, what further proof could be desired or imagined 1 . , Tho next paper will present a resume of gthe Jphysical proofs, and resume the metaphysical. H D G (To bepontinued.)