The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1864

The time for the renewal of subscription of the Spiritist Review is, to many readers whose number has increased remarkably this year, an occasion to attest their devotion to the cause and to give us testimony of feelings that touch is vividly. Letters with such expressions are received in large numbers, making it difficult for us to respond individually.

We therefore address you all collectively, sending you our sincere thanks for the undeserved things that you tell us, for your vows to us and to the future of Spiritism. Our past behavior must be your guarantor that we will not veer off from our path, regardless of its weight, and you will always find us in the vanguard and fully active. Up until now your prayers have been heard hence we invite you to thank the good Spirits that assist us, positively helping us, clearing obstacles that could hinder our progress, and showing us the objective to be achieved the more clearly the more we move on.

We were more or less alone for a long time but now here you are, new warriors that come to the arena, from all sides, working hard, with perseverance and the abnegation that leads to faith in the defense and in the propagation of the our sacred doctrine, without discouragement for the obstacles, and without fearing persecution. Thus, the majority has seen the ill-fated bending before its strength.

May you all receive our sincere congratulations in the name of all of the current and future Spiritists in whose memory you will certainly remain! They will soon have the satisfaction of seen large number of imitators following their footsteps because once the impulse is given it shall not stop. The doctrine will also soon be seen sustained by people of authority that will courageously take the cause of Spiritism in their hands, a cause of material and moral progress and well-being of humanity.

A cordial and fraternal greeting to all of our Spiritist brothers in all countries.



Allan Kardec

Last year was not more fruitful to Spiritism than the previous years but it is distinguished by several particular features. More than all others it was marked by the violence of the attacks, a characteristic sign whose dimension escaped no one. Everybody said: If there is anger there is fear; and if there is fear it means that there is something serious.

Since today it is well established that those aggressions helped the progress of Spiritism progress and instead of stopping the open attacks will naturally diminish but we must not relax with the apparent break or believe that the adversaries of Spiritism will not take advantage of that. Therefore it is necessary to be persuaded that the fight is not over but there will be a change of tactics.

That is the reason why we ask the Spiritists to be always alert about what is going on around them and remember what we said in our last December issue about the period of struggle, of the quiet fight and the conflicts; do not be surprised if the enemy infiltrate in your ranks; that God allows so to test the faith, courage and perseverance of the true workers. From now on their objective will be to find all possible means of compromising Spiritism to have it discredited; to push the groups with an appearance of zeal and the pretext that it is necessary to move on; to get involved with matters strange to the doctrine; to deal with politics or other subjects that may cause irritable discussions and spread division, everything with the intent of demanding its closure. The moderation of the Spiritists is what causes more admiration and annoys their adversaries the most. They will try everything to change that, including provocation, but the Spiritists will work around those maneuvers by their prudence as they have already done in several occasions and will not fall in the traps that will be laid for them; as a matter of fact they will see the antagonists embarrassed in their own webs for it is impossible that sooner or later they don’t show their faces. This is going to be a more difficult phase to go through when compared to the period of declared war when the enemy is known and seen face to face; however, the tougher the fight the greater the triumph.

That campaign had a great result that was the demonstration of the impotence of the weapons used against Spiritism. The most capable persons of the adversary party entered the arena; every resource of argumentation was employed and since Spiritism felt nothing each one was convinced that there was no evident point to use against Spiritism and the best proof of the lack of arguments is the sad and ignoble utilization of slander.

But the fact that they wanted to make believe that Spiritism said something contrary to what it actually does was hopeless because the doctrine is out there, written in terms so clear that defy any false interpretation, and that is the reason why the hatred that stems out of calumny falls back on those that employed it, convincing them of their impotence. That is a considerable fact that took place in the year that has just ended and if that had been the only result we would be satisfied but there are other not less positive events.

1863 was marked, above all, by the increase in the number of groups and societies formed in a large number of places where there was none before both in France and abroad, an evident sign of the increase in the number of followers and the propagation of the doctrine. Paris that had fallen behind yields to the general impulse and begins to move. Every day we see new private groups forming with an eminently serious objective and in excellent conditions. The Society we preside rejoices with the multiplication of vibrant newborns around it, capable of spreading the seed. The private groups, when well managed, are very useful to the initiation of new followers. Given the extension of its relationships the main Society is a center of convergence of groups from all corners of the world and must not deal but with the development of the science and issues of general interest that totally absorb it. Thus it must abstain from anything that is elemental and particular. Therefore the private groups come to fulfill the blank that is forcibly left out and that is why the Society encourages and seconds with its moral support the persons that dedicate to that kind of propagation.

If there was a momentary concern with respect to the effects of dissidences in the way of seeing Spiritism, the always growing number of societies in every country that spontaneously place themselves under the sponsorship of the Parisian Society, raising the Spiritist flag, is a fact that thoroughly dissipates that concern.

It is obvious that The Spirits’ Book is the point of convergence of the immense majority of the followers. The maxim “there is no salvation but through charity” united all of those that see the moral side of Spiritism since it cannot be interpreted differently and it does satisfy every aspiration.

Since the constitution of Spiritism in a body of doctrine many isolated systems have fallen apart and the few traces that there still remain have no influence upon the general opinion. The solid foundation of Spiritism will easily succeed from the divisions that its adversaries will certainly entail because they don’t count on good Spirits that protect their work and that utilize their own enemies to guarantee its success.

The formation of a doctrine without dissidences is unprecedented and if there is something that must surprise us is to see Spiritism’s unity happening so promptly. At any rate Spiritism has not yet penetrated everywhere and in many places it is only known by name. The rare followers found in those places attribute such a fact to two causes: first the characteristic of their populations much absorbed by material interests only; then the absence of contrary sermons. That is why they appeal to have sermons as those given elsewhere or to some remarkable manifestation of hostility that may draw attention and excite curiosity. However, they must be patient. Since everybody must get there the Spirits will find a way of providing for that need by other means.

But the most characteristic feature of 1863 was the movement formed by public opinion about the Spiritist Doctrine. It is surprising the easiness with which the principle is accepted by persons that not long ago would have repealed and led it to ridicule. The resistances – and we speak of those that are not systematic and out of interest – diminish noticeably. There are writers that in good faith fought violently against Spiritism and that today, dominated by their social environment, and without confessing defeat, resign to a fight that is considered useless. Fact is that the feeling that there is the need for a moral transformation grows more and more. The ruin of the old world is imminent because the ideas that it promotes are no longer compatible with humanity current level of intelligence. It seems that everything leads to Spiritism but, on another hand, new horizons are vaguely acknowledged; there is a feeling that something better is needed and that it is uselessly sought in the present world. There is something in the air like a precursor electric current and everybody has expectations but all say to themselves that humanity must not retrograde.

Another not less significant fact that has been noticed by many and that is consequence of the current vibe is the prodigious number of texts, serious or superficial, produced outside and probably without the knowledge of Spiritism, in which Spiritist thoughts are found. In particular the principle of the plurality of existences that has a tendency of being accepted by the masses and modern philosophy. Many thinkers are led to that by the logic of facts and soon that belief becomes popular. These are evidently the precursors of the adoption of Spiritism whose paths are thus paved and leveled. These ideas are all spread from several sides in texts that fall in the hands of everybody, making its acceptance progressively easier.

Hence the status of Spiritism in 1863 can be summarized as this: Violent attacks; multiplication of texts in favor and against; movement of ideas; remarkable expansion of the doctrine but without exterior signs to produce a general sensation; to roots grow and extend as the newborns, waiting for the tree to develop its branches. Time of maturity has not come yet.

Among the publications of last year that came to join the struggle and concur for the defense of Spiritism we place the following in the first line: la Ruche, from Bordeaux and la Vérité, from Lyon, whose editors deserve the encouragement and recognition from every true Spiritist for their demonstrations of perseverance, devotion and selflessness. The periodical la Vérité showed up like a fearful athlete, joining forces with the largest Spiritist center in France and perhaps in the world, with articles whose logic leaves no space for criticism.

Spiritism will soon have – we were led to expect that – a new and important media in Italy that, like its older brothers in France, will march in common agreement with the great principles of the doctrine.

An officer of hunters, a long-time Spiritist, and one of the many examples of the moral reforms that Spiritism can operate, provides us with the following detailed report:

“Dear Master,

We used the long hours of winter to fully dedicate to the development of our mediumistic faculties. The triad of the 4^th Regiment of Hunters is always united, energetic, inspired by its own duties and seeking new endeavors. You certainly wishes to know the object of our works to be able to establish if what we do is useless. You will be able to assess it by the following:

For some months now our works are concentrated on the study of fluids. Such study developed in us the healing mediumship so that we now apply it successfully. A few days ago a simple irradiation of fluids for five minutes with my hand was enough to remove a sharp neuralgia. Mrs. P… was affected by an acute hyperesthesia or an exaggerated sensitivity of the skin, a disease that kept her in her bedroom for fifteen years. She lives in a small neighboring town and having heard of our Spiritist group came to seek relief with us. After thirty five days she returned home completely cured. During that period shed received a daily dose of fifteen minutes of magnetic irradiation with the help of our spiritual guides. At the same time we extended our care to an epileptic that was affected by the disease for twenty seven years. Thirty five days were enough for that important cure and lo and behold the happiness of that mother on taking her child home, completely cured! The three of us take turns every eight hours. To emit the fluid we sometimes placed the hand on the stomach of the patient, sometimes on the back of the neck, at the bottom of the neck. The patient was able to detect some improvement every day. We ourselves, after the evocation and during the reverence, felt the exterior fluid invading us, passing by us and escaping from our extended fingers to the body of the patient under treatment.

At this point in time we are attending a second epileptic. This time the disease seems more rebellious because it is hereditary. The seed of the disease passed from the father to his four sons. We hope to be able to mitigate that on all four with the help of God. Dear master, we beg for the help of your prayers and the prayers of the Parisian brothers. Such help will be an encouragement and a stimulus to our efforts. Besides your good Spirits can come to help us, making the treatment more efficient and shorten their duration. We do not accept that for reward, as you can imagine, and for that it is enough to have the satisfaction of carrying out our duties and that of having followed the impulse given by the good Spirits. The true love towards our fellow human beings is an unblemished joy but that leaves in our soul an amazing, shiny and elevating thing. We therefore try, as much as allowed by our own imperfections, to concentrate on the duties of the true Spiritist that are not but the application of the precepts found in the Gospels.

Mr. G. de L… is supposed to bring us his brother-in-law that has been subjugated by a bad Spirit for two years. Our Spiritist guide, Lamennais, has assigned us with the task of treating such a rebellious case of obsession. Would God give us the power of expelling the demons? If that were the case instead of being proud we would have to humble ourselves before such a great favor. How much more wouldn’t we have to improve to demonstrate our recognition to God and not to lose such precious gifts?”



After reading this letter at the session of the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies on December 18^th, 1863 one of our good mediums spontaneously obtained the two following communications:

“Since the free-will appears in several levels of development in human beings it has served to both alleviate and cure at all times. We are regrettably forced to acknowledge that it has also been the source of much harm but that is one of the consequences of its abuse by many people. The free-will develops both the animal as well as the spiritual fluid because, as you all know now, there are several types of magnetism and among them the animal magnetism and the spiritual magnetism that, according to the case, may request the backing of the former. Another type of magnetism much more powerful still is the prayer that a pure and selfless soul addresses to God. The free-will has frequently been misunderstood. The person that magnetizes generally thinks only of extending her own magnetism upon the person under her care not considering if there is or there isn’t an even more interested Providence in the case. Acting alone once can only obtain what her own strength allows whereas our healing mediums begin by raising their souls to God and by acknowledging that they cannot do anything alone. Their confession of weakness is an act of humility and abnegation. God then sends them powerful help that cannot be received by the others that see themselves self-sufficient for the task. God always rewards sincere humbleness by elevating it whereas pride is sent below. The help sent by God is the presence of the good Spirits that embed the medium with their beneficial fluids that are then transmitted to the patient. That is also the reason why the magnetism of the healing mediums is so powerful producing cures classified as miracles and that are simply due to the nature of the fluids cast upon the medium. While the ordinary magnetizing person drains, sometimes uselessly, with the passes, the healing medium infiltrates a regenerating fluid by the simple extension of the hands, thanks to the support given by the good Spirits. Such a support, however, is only granted to someone with a sincere faith and pure intention.

Mesmer, medium Mr. Albert”

-o-

“One word about the healing mediums that you have just mentioned. They are all in the most favorable dispositions; they have the faith that carries mountains, the selflessness that purifies the acts of life and the humility that sanctifies them. May they persevere in the beneficent work; may they remember well that those that practice the sacred laws taught by Spiritism constantly moves towards the creator. May the prayer be always their guide and support for that is the stronger will. Jesus Christ gave you the most irrefutable proof of a very firm will in all of his life, but that was the will for the good and not of the proud. Whenever he said – I want – that was full of unction. His apostles felt their hearts opening to those sacred words. The permanent kindness of Jesus, his submission to the will of God, his perfect abnegation, are the most beautiful models of will that one may have by example.

Paul, apostle. Medium, Mr. Albert”



A few explanations will suffice for the understanding of what is going on in those cases. It is well-known that the ordinary magnetic fluid may provide particular active properties to certain substances. In that case it acts like a chemical agent, modifying the molecular state of the bodies. Hence there is nothing extraordinary about the fact that it may modify the condition of certain organs and that its more or less healthy action may depend on its quality, thus yielding the expressions “good or bad fluid; a pleasant or unpleasant fluid.”

In the magnetic action per se it is the personal fluid of the magnetizer that is transmitted and it is known that such a fluid is not more than the perispirit that always suffers the influence of the Spirit and that more or less depends on the material quality of the body. Therefore it is impossible that the own fluids of an incarnate person may show absolute purity and that is why its action is slow, sometimes inexistent or even harmful because it may transmit damaging fluids to the patient.

Considering that a fluid is sufficiently abundant and energetic to produce the instantaneous effect of sleep, catalepsy, attraction or repulsion, it does not absolutely follow that it may have the necessary healing properties. It is the force that takes down but not the balm that sooths and restores. As a result there are incarnate Spirits from an inferior order whose fluids may even be very harmful and that is commonly attested by the Spiritists.

It is only with the superior Spirits that the perispirit is rid of every impurity of matter; it is somehow quintessential; its action must therefore be healthier and prompter: it is a healing fluid by excellence. Now, since it cannot be found among the incarnate or the common discarnate it is necessary to request it to the elevated Spirits, like when we need to seek a medication that we don’t find around us in distant places.

The healing medium irradiates little of own fluid. The medium feels the strange flux that pass through her and to which she operates as a conductor. It is with that fluid that the medium magnetizes and that is what characterizes the spiritual magnetism and separates it from the animal magnetism: one comes from a human being, the other from the Spirits. From that it is clear that there is nothing wonderful about it but a phenomenon that results from a law of nature that was unknown so far.

Even the common therapeutics one cannot count on any medicine to achieve the cure. One does need conveniently prepared, valid, pure and non-damaged components. For the same reason in order to cure through the magnetic action the most depurated fluids are the healthiest ones. Since these are a property of superior Spirits one does need their support and that is why prayer and evocation are needed. However, in order to pray and to pray with fervor it is necessary to have faith. In order to have the prayer heard it must have been said with humility and dictated by a real feeling of benevolence and charity. But there is no true charity without devotion or devotion without selflessness. Without these conditions the magnetizer remains without the assistance of the good Spirits, reduced to her own strength sometimes insufficient, whereas with their help that strength can increase many fold in power and efficacy.

Nevertheless, however pure a liquid may be it is always altered by the impurity of its container. That is what happens to the fluid of superior Spirits in contact with the incarnate souls. That is why mediums that would like to see their faculty improving instead of fading away must work for their own moral betterment.

There is consequently a fundamental difference between a healing medium and a magnetizer because the latter utilizes her own fluid and the former the depurated fluid of the Spirits. It then follows that the Spirits give their contribution to whoever they wish and when they wish; that they can refuse to give it and consequently they are able to have that faculty removed from whoever had abused or veered off from its humanitarian and charitable objective by trading with that.

When Jesus said to the apostles: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Jesus then added: Freely you have received, freely give. (Mathew 10:8-9)

The healing mediums tend to multiply as announced by the Spirits and that with the aim at propagating Spiritism by the impression that inevitably this new order of phenomena leave on the crowds because everybody is aware of their health even the most nonbelievers. Thus, when they see what is possible to get with the intervention of the Spirits and that cannot be given by science they must acknowledge that there is a power beyond this world. Science will then be lead out of an exclusively materialistic path that it has walked up until now. When the anti-spiritualist and anti-Spiritist magnetizers realize the existence of a more powerful magnetism than theirs they shall be forced to go back to the true cause.

However one must be forearmed against charlatanism that will still try to exploit that new faculty. The simple way of doing that is to remember that there is no selfless charlatanism and that the absolute moral and material altruism are the best guarantors of honesty. If there is a God given faculty with such a pure objective that is the one because it imperiously demands the support of the superior Spirits and such support cannot be acquired by charlatanism. We describe it with some details exactly to give more awareness of the special nature of its special nature.

Although we may have attested its existence by the positive presentation of facts, many of which taking place before our eyes, we can say that it is still rare and that it only exists partially in the mediums that don’t have the full capability yet and that it is still in its beginning. That is why such facts have not had a great repercussion yet however it won’t be long when they will present a development capable of drawing the general attention. In just a few years the skills will be show on predestined persons with a strength that will eliminate adamant reactions but these are not the only facts reserved to the future and through which God will confuse and convince the proud in their impotence. Healing mediums are one among thousands of providential means of achieving that objective and speed up the victory of Spiritism.

It is easily understood that such a qualification cannot be given to the writing mediums that receive medical prescriptions from certain Spirits. We don’t see the healing mediumship but from the phenomenological point of view and as a means of propagation but not as a common resource. In a next article we will deal with its possible alliance with medicine and ordinary magnetism.

In the previous article we described the poor situation of that young lady and the circumstances of her true possession. We gladly confirm what we said before about her complete cure.

After being released from her obsessing Spirit she presented serious health complications due to the violent shocks for more than six months. She is now recovered by she is still in a somnambulistic state that does not preclude her from doing her day to day activities. Let us describe the circumstances of the cure.

Several people had tried to magnetize her unsuccessfully except a slight and momentary improvement in her pathological state. As for the Spirit he was progressively more tenacious and the crises had achieved the highest levels of violence.

In that case it would be necessary to have a magnetizer as described in the preceding article with respect to the healing mediums that is covering the patient with a sufficiently pure fluid capable of eliminating the influence of the bad Spirit. If there is a case of mediumship that requires moral superiority that is undoubtedly the case of obsession for one does need to have the ability of imposing moral superiority to the Spirit.

According to what has been announced cases of possession must multiply strongly in the near future so that the means employed so far to combat it are proven to be powerless. Even something that we cannot mention now but that happened at the time of Jesus will contribute to develop a kind of demoniacal epidemic. There is no doubt that special mediums will appear with the skill of expelling the bad Spirits as the apostles had of expulsing the demons be it because God always places the remedy near the patient or be it to provide the nonbelievers with a proof of the existence of the Spirits.

In the case of Ms. Julia, as in many analogous cases, simple magnetism proved insufficient regardless of its energy level. It was necessary to act simultaneously onto the obsessing Spirit to have her dominated and to upon the patient’s moral that was disturbed by all those events. The physical disease was only consequence; it was the effect rather than the cause. Hence, it was necessary to deal with the cause before the effect. The physical disease should disappear once the mental issue had been destroyed. But for that one does need to identify the cause; study it with great care and in all of the nuances of the thoughts to move in one or another more favorable direction because the symptoms vary according to the degree of intelligence of the patient, the character of the Spirit and the reasons behind the obsession, reasons that almost always go back to previous existences. The failure of magnetism with Ms. Julia led many other people to try. Among them there was a young man with a great fluidic power but that unfortunately had no experience and above all had no knowledge necessary to handle similar cases. He attributed himself an absolute power over the inferior Spirits that, according to him, could not resist his will power. Such pretension stretched to the extreme and based on his personal power and not on the assistance of the good Spirits had to lead him to more than one failure. That alone should be enough to the young lady’s friends that he lacked the first of the qualities required to be an efficient help. But what should have clarified them, above all, that he generally had an entirely false idea about the Spirits. According to him superior Spirits have a fluidic nature that is so ethereal that makes it impossible to them to communicate with and assist people and hence that would only be possible to inferior Spirits given their grosser nature. Even during crises he made the mistake of sustaining such idea before the patient that is nothing else but the doctrine of the exclusive communication of demons. From that point of view he could only count on himself and could not evoke the only assistance that could help him, an assistance that he thought he could go without.

The most harmful consequence was for the patient that he discouraged taking from her the hope that she could have the assistance of the good Spirits. In her weak mental state such a belief that made the obsessing Spirit stronger could be lethal to her. She then repeated endlessly in moments of crises: “Mad, mad… he makes me mad… completely mad… I am not yet but will be.”

When talking about her magnetizer she gave the right image by saying: “He gave me the strength of the body but not of the Spirit.” A profoundly significant expression that would go unnoticed.

When we saw Ms. Julia her disease was in the apogee and the crisis that we witnessed was one of the most violent. It was exactly when we tried to cheer her up; that we tried to convince her that she could fight that bad Spirit back with the help of the good Spirits and her guardian angel whose supported was necessary to evoke that the young magnetizer that was around and from an undoubtedly providential circumstance came, without any provocation, affirm and develop his theory, destroying what we were doing differently. We had to make our point with energy, saying that what he was doing was bad and that he would be responsible for the poor young lady losing her mind and her life.

One of the most remarkable things that had been observed by everyone but whose consequences had not been deduced by anybody and happened during the magnetization. When it took place during the fight with the bad Spirit the fluid was entirely absorbed by the Spirit that made the Spirit stronger while the patient weakened and succumbed to her attacks. It must be considered that the patient was always in a somnambulistic state, consequently she saw what was happening and she was the one that described it. They thought it was a malice from the Spirit and hence abstained from magnetizing her at those times, and just observed the party.

By knowing the nature of such fluids it is easy to understand the phenomenon. To begin with it is obvious that the Spirit would absorb the fluids to gain more strength against the patient and convince the magnetizer of the uselessness of his intentions. If there was any malice from the Spirit it was against the magnetizer since the Spirit was utilizing the same weapon with which the magnetizer used against him. It was not less evident that the Spirit’s easiness of appropriation of the magnetizer’s fluid indicated affinity between both whereas fluids of opposing nature would have repelled one another like water and oil. This alone is sufficient to demonstrate that there were other conditions to be met. Therefore it is one of the most serious mistakes, and we can even say, of the most dismal mistakes, to miss the point that there is more a simple fluidic transmission but there is also the intimate nature of the fluids. In the majority of the cases the success rests entirely on that quality like it does in normal therapeutics and thoroughly depends on the quality of the medication.



It would never be too much to call the attention to this fundamental point that has been demonstrated both by logic and experience. In order to combat the influence of the magnetizer’s doctrine that had already influenced the patient, we said:

After this matter was brought to the Society the following instructions were given about it:

“The issue that you are involved with touched even the good Spirits that want to come and help the lady with their advice. It is true that she presents a very serious case of obsession and this is among the most important ones that you have ever seen or will see, by the particularly interesting teachings already shown and the novelties that will still offer. As I told you already these cases of obsession will frequently appear and provide two distinct subjects of utility; the first is to you and the second to those that suffer them.

First to you because like with many ecclesiastics that strongly contributed to the propagation of Spiritism among people that were completely strange to it, the same with the obsessed whose number will increase significantly to remain superficially analyzed, but instead will be broadly and profoundly assessed, opening the doors of science so that the Spiritist philosophy may join in occupying its rightful place side by side with doctors and people of science. The other utility is to them because in the state of Spirit, before incarnating among you, they accepted the struggle that such possession puts them through, aiming at their own advancement and that struggle, trust me, makes their own Spirit suffer greatly and when the body is not in a way their entire property they are perfectly aware of what is going on. Depending on how they withstand that test, whose duration you can greatly diminish with your prayers, they will have progressed more or less. The reason being, rest assured, that despite the momentary possession, they keep sufficient awareness of themselves to distinguish the cause and the nature of their obsession.



For that one in particular that is your concern now it is necessary one advice. The magnetizations to which the incarnate Spirit is submitted to are really harmful in all aspects. That Spirit is systematic. And what a system! The ones that do not report all of their actions to the greater glory of God and that is proud the faculties that were granted to them will always be confused. The presumptuous will be diminished sometimes in this world but infallibly in the other.

You must then stop those magnetizations promptly, my dear Kardec, or the most serious inconveniences will result from its continuation not only to the young lady but also to the imprudent that believes to have all the Spirits of darkness under his command. I assure you that you will see these cases of obsession and possession developing for some time because they are useful to the progress of science and Spiritism. That is how doctors and wise people will open their eyes and will understand that there are diseases whose causes are not in the body and that must not be treated by matter. Those cases of possession will equally open totally new horizons to magnetism, making it stride forward by the up until now imperfect study of the fluids. It shall obtain great things helped by the new knowledge and by its alliance with Spiritism.

Unfortunately, in magnetism, as in medicine, there will still be for a long time yet people who believe that there is nothing to learn. Those frequent obsessions will also have a very good side due to the fact that one can stop them and even acquire the right of expelling the bad Spirits by the prayer, moral power, and by the improvement of one’s behavior, and everyone will seek that aptitude, awarded when meritorious by the Spirit of Truth that governs this planet. Have faith and trust in God that does not allow a useless and without reason suffering.

Hahnemann, medium Mr. Albert



“I will be brief. It will be very easy to cure that unfortunate possessed lady. The means were implicitly contained in Mr. Allan Kardec’s thoughts a moment ago. It is not only necessary a mental and material action but also a purely spiritual one. To the incarnate Spirit under the state of possession, like Julia, it is necessary an experienced magnetizer, perfectly convinced of the Spiritist truth. He needs besides to show irreproachable morality, without presumption. However, in order to act upon the obsessing Spirit there is still the need of a not less energetic good and discarnate Spirit. Hence it is a double action: earthly and extra-terrestrial; incarnate upon incarnate; discarnate upon discarnate; that is the law. If such an action was not executed so far that is exactly to bring you to the state and experimentation of that interesting question. That is why Julia had not been released yet. She should serve your studies.

That shows you what you have to do from now on in cases of positive obsession. It is indispensable to evoke the support of a superior Spirit to help you, a Spirit that simultaneously enjoys moral and fluidic power like the excellent d’Ars and know that you can count on the assistance of the venerable St. Vianney. Besides, our support will be given to all of those that claim our help with true faith and purity of heart.

In short: When Julia is magnetized it is necessary to begin by the eager evocation of d’Ars and other good Spirits that habitually communicate with you, asking them to act against the bad Spirits that persecute the young lady and that will then run away from the luminous phalanxes. Also, one must not forget that collective prayers have a great strength when done by a certain number of persons acting in synchronism, with a vivid faith and a true desire to alleviate.

Erastus, medium Mr. d’Ambel”



Those instructions were given in succession. Several members of the Society got together to observe the prayer as recommended. An essential aspect was to lead the obsessing Spirit to modify, and that would necessarily facilitate the cure. That is what was done by the evocation of that Spirit with the provision of advices. The Spirit promised do not torment Ms. Julia anymore and the word was kept. One of our colleagues was specially assigned by his spiritual guide with the moral education of the Spirit with satisfying results. Today that Spirit works for her own improvement and requests an incarnation to atone and repair her faults.

The importance of the teaching that comes out of that fact and from the observations that it gave rise to will not escape anyone and everyone will be able to collect useful instructions from the occurrence.

An essential observation that the case allows to attest and that is easily understood is the influence of the environment. It is obvious that if the environment seconds by a unity of visions, intentions an actions, the patient is placed in a kind of homogeneous atmosphere of beneficial fluids and that must necessarily facilitate and accelerate the process. However if there is disagreement, opposition; if each want wishes to act on their own there will be reactions, contrary currents that will forcibly paralyze and sometimes null the efforts that were tried towards the cure. If the fluidic irradiation that is the moral atmosphere is bad then it can be as harmful to certain individuals as are exhalations from marsh regions.

We provide below the two evocations of the Spirit of Fredegund, carried out at the Society with a month between them and that form a complement to the two preceding articles about the possession of Ms. Julia. The Spirit did not show signs of violence in the manifestation but wrote with great difficulty and made the medium extremely fatigued that even became ill and whose faculties seemed paralyzed in a certain way. Since we anticipated that result we were careful enough to not select a very delicate medium for the task.

On a different occasion another Spirit was questioned about Fredegund and he said that she was already trying to reincarnate for a long time but that had been denied to her because her objective was not yet to improve but, on the contrary, to have more opportunities of doing bad things, helped by a physical body. Such disposition would substantially maker her conversion more difficult but nevertheless it was not as difficult as expected thanks, no doubt, to the benevolent help of people that joined in the work and perhaps because it was about time that the Spirit should find the path of repentance.

October 16^th, 1863 – medium Mr. Leymarie

OBSERVATION: During that evocation another medium received from his guide a communication with, among other things, the following: “do not bother with the refusal that you get from that Spirit. Her continual idea of reincarnating makes her repeal any solidarity with the past although she is not much strong to support the effects of that. She is the Spirit that was evoked but that cannot agree even with herself.”

November 13^th, 1863



OBSERVATION: During the interval between the two communications the Spirit was called everyday by our colleague in charge of instructing her. A positive thing observed is that since that moment Ms. Julia was no longer bothered.



OBSERVATION: Something characteristic of the bad Spirits is their frequent impossibility of saying the name of God. That is certainly a clear sign of their bad nature but at the same time some fear and respect not shown by the hypocrites that are apparently not so bad. Far from retrieving before the name of God the latter dare use that name to entice confidence. They are infinitely more perverse and more dangerous than the openly bad Spirits. That is the class of the fascinating Spirits from whom it is very difficult to untangle because they take the minds over with the help of a false demonstration of knowledge, virtue or religion whereas the other only take the body over. A Spirit that like Fredegund retreats before the name of God is closer to her conversion than those that are covered by the mask of good. The same happens with people where both categories of incarnate Spirits are found.

There are so many new Spiritist gatherings that it would be virtually impossible to mention all the good words said about them, giving the testimony of the feelings driven by the doctrine. The new group that has just formed in the Island of Oléron is much worth of our sympathy particularly considering how much opposition Spiritism had in that region. Below we transcribe one of the speeches given under those circumstance to demonstrate how the Spiritist respond to the adversaries.

Speech given by the President of the Spiritist Society of Marennes:

“Ladies and gentlemen, dear Spiritist brothers and sisters of Oléron,

The daily extension taken by Spiritism in our region is the most positive proof of the impotence of the attacks against it. It is like Mr. Allan Kardec says: ‘It is one out of two possibilities; it is a mistake or a truth. If a mistake it will then fall by itself like all other utopias that have a short life since they die for not having a solid foundation that could keep it alive; if it is one of those great truths that must stay in the archives of history and mark an era of progress to humanity by the will of God then nothing can stop its progress.’

Here is the experience demonstrating in which of those categories it must be placed. The easiness of acceptance by the crowds and we say more: the happiness, consolation, courage against adversity found in this belief and the incredible speed of its propagation are not exactly the trademarks of a useless idea. The most eccentric system may form a sect and gather some people around it as followers but like a rootless tree it quickly loses its leaves and dies before producing any fruit. Is that so with Spiritism? No, you know that as much as I do. It has never stopped growing since its appearance despite the attacks and it has now planted its flag in all corners of the globe; its followers are counted by the millions and if we take into account its progress in ten years through the many obstacles laid on its path one can imagine what is going to be in another ten years from now and the more the obstacles are leveled and the number of followers grow. The tree created roots. It now needs to develop and everything seems to be favorable because despite the storms the winds blow favorably to Spiritism. One would need to be blind to not acknowledge that.

Something that powerfully contributed to its development is the fact that it is not exclusive of any religion. Its motto ‘no salvation but through charity’ belongs to all of them; it is simultaneously the flag of tolerance, union and fraternity that can congregate everyone without rejecting any particular belief. People begin to realize that it is an underwriter of security to society. As for myself, dear brothers and sisters, I go beyond and believe that you will agree with me when I say that when all peoples have written in their flags: There is no salvation but through charity, peace will be guaranteed in the world and all peoples will live like brothers. Is that just a beautiful dream? No, ladies and gentlemen, that was promised by Jesus Christ and we are living the times of its realization.

Who are we in the great movement that takes place? We are obscure workers that take our stone to the great edifice but when millions of workers have taken their millions of stones the edifice shall be built. Let us then work with zeal and perseverance, not discouraging before the little things that show around the ditches that we open because there are many of them around us. Allow me a material comparison that corresponds to this thought.

At the beginning of the railroads each small town wanted to have its stretch. Each one of those branches was small on their own but when all were interconnected we then had a huge network that today covers the world and destroys the barriers that separated the peoples. The railroad destroyed material barriers. The motto no salvation but through charity will destroy the moral barriers. It will in particular and above all eliminate religious antagonism, a cause of so much hatred and so many bloody conflicts, for Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims will reach out to one another, each one worshipping their own way the only God of mercy and peace to everyone.

As you see, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, the objective is great. We still have to examine the organization of our little sphere to transform it into a useful gear to the whole. For that our task is facilitated by the instructions found in the works of our master and venerable chief and that, one can say, became the classical works of the doctrine. By strictly following them we are certain to stay on the right path because those instructions are the result of experience. Therefore, may each one carefully meditate about those works and we shall find there everything that is necessary. In fact I am sure that the support and advice of the master will never fail us.

None of us can forget that if hope and faith return to the majority of the hearts; if many of us were yanked from materialism and disbelief, we owe that to his zeal and persevering courage that nor the calumny or diatribes or the attacks from all kinds were capable of diminishing. He was the first one to understand the immense reach of Spiritism and since then he has sacrificed everything to spread its benefits among his brothers on Earth.

We must say that he was evidently chosen to this great undertaking because it is impossible not to acknowledge that he is on a moralizing mission. I propose, ladies and gentlemen, that we all thank him with the same gratitude owned to him by every sincere and true Spiritist. At the same time let us beg that God may continue to support him in the endeavor that only he has the conditions to make fructify in its plenitude.

Still a few words, ladies and gentlemen, about the character of this meeting. The maxim that guides us must tranquilize those that are afraid of the name Spiritism. As a matter of fact, what is it to be afraid of from people whose principle is the charity to all, friend or foe, as a rule of conduct? And that principle is so serious to us that we must utilize it as the necessary condition to our salvation. Isn’t that the best guarantee that we can give of our peaceful intention? Who could look at us with suspicious eyes, even the ones that do not share our beliefs, people that do not preach but tolerance, union, fraternity and whose sole objective is to redirect to God those that moved away and to combat materialism and disbelief that invade society and threaten its foundation?

Let us therefore address the nonbeliever because the field to harvest there is huge as Mr. Allan Kardec said. Based on the principle of charity that must guide us let us keep from disturbing any conscience; let us welcome those that come to us as brothers and let us not oppose anyone in their religious beliefs. Those that will find our principles good will adopt them; the ones that find them bad will put them aside and even though they will not be lesser brothers. If stones are thrown at us we will ask God to forgive their lack of charity and that they may be reminded of the examples of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, our Lord, that prayed for her executioners.

Thus, my dear brothers and sisters, let us pray so that we may deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness for our faults as we forgive those that caused us harm. Let us all say from the bottom of our hearts:

Almighty God that reads the intimacy of our souls and sees the purity of our intentions, help us in our work and protect our leader. Give us the strength to withstand the miseries that may arise from malevolence with courage and resignation, like tests to our faith and perseverance. Like the first Christian martyrs, allow us to be ready to every sacrifice needed to demonstrate to you our submission to your sacred will. In fact, what are the sacrifices of this world when we are certain, as every sincere Spiritist must be, about the imperishable rewards of a future life! Let not, our Lord, the concerns of this earthly life to veer us off from the righteous path where we were placed by your sacred hand and send us the good Spirits to help us remain there. May charity, God’s law and our law, make us indulgent with the faults of our fellow human beings! May it muffle in all of us any feeling of pride, envy and jealousy, making us good and benevolent to all so that we can preach by the word as much as by the example!”

-o-

Delegates from several nearby groups gathered on the occasion with their new brothers and sisters in faith. Many other speeches were given, all of them testifying a perfect understanding of the true foundation of Spiritism. We regret to say that due to a total lack of space we cannot transcribe them all as with a remarkable communication obtained in that session and signed by François-Nicolas Madeleine that delineates in simple in touching terms the duties of the true Spiritist.

A new group has been just formed in Lyon in special conditions that deserve to be mentioned here to serve as encouragement and example. The group has two objectives: instruction and beneficence. With respect to the instruction the group intends to dedicate a smaller space than what is typically dedicated to mediumistic communications but on another hand and greater portion of their activities to oral instructions aiming at the development and explanations of the principles of Spiritism. With respect to beneficence the new society proposes to help people in need through the donation of personal objects such us clothes, etc. Besides, the ladies also give their contribution with their personal work of sewing and home visitation to patients. A member of that society sent us the following:

“Thanks to the dedication of Mrs. G… Lyon will son count on another Spiritist gathering. Will she achieve the proposed objective? Time will tell. The group may be small but at least it counts on devoted elements full of faith and charity. We may fail in our endeavor but at least the intentions are good. To us it is enough that the Parisian Society under which protection we place ourselves approve and support us with their advices so that we can persevere with their moral support.”

Such support will never fail any work founded on the true Spirit of Spiritism and whose objective is the well-being of everybody. The Parisian Society is always glad to see the doctrine producing fruits. It will not decline solidarity unless to groups and societies that forgetting the principle of charity and fraternity, without which there is no true Spiritist, mistrust other groups and throw stones at them, trying to denigrate their work under any pretext. Charity and fraternity are recognized by the work and not by words. It is a measure of assessment that cannot deceive anybody but those that are blind by their own doing. But that is not the case to selfless third parties. It is the touchstone by which one can recognize the honesty of feelings. One we talk about charity in Spiritism everyone knows that we are not talking about the act of giving only but also and most importantly the charity that forgets and forgives; that is benevolent and indulgent; that rejects any feeling of jealousy and hurt self-love.

Every Spiritist gathering that is not founded on the principle of true charity is more damaging than useful to the cause because it will tend to cast division instead of union. Besides, it will carry its own destructive element.

Our sympathy will always be conquered by all those that demonstrate their good intentions by their actions for the good Spirits cannot inspire but good.

In the next issue we will talk about the Spiritist societies of Brussels, Turin and Smyrna that have placed themselves under the sponsorship of the Parisian Society.

Progress in the first incarnations



Question: Two souls that were created simple and ignorant do not know good and evil when they come to Earth. If, in this first existence, one follows the good path and the other the bad, since in a certain way they move by chance, they do not deserve either punishment or reward. The first earthly trip may have only given them the conscience of themselves, an awareness that they did not have up until then. To be logical it would be necessary to admit that punishments and rewards would only be granted after the second incarnation when the Spirits can then distinguish between good and bad, an experience that they lacked at their creation but that was acquired after the first incarnation. Is that correct?

Answer: Although such a question has already been resolved by the Spiritist Doctrine we will respond for the general enlightenment.

We absolutely ignore the conditions in which the first incarnation of the soul took place because that is one of those principles of things that belong to God’s secrets. All we know is that they are created simple and ignorant thus all having the same starting point, according to the justice. We also know that the free-will develops gradually and after several experiences in the corporeal life. Thus it is neither after the first nor the second incarnation that the soul has a sufficiently clear awareness of oneself to be responsible for one’s actions. It may well be that it will only happen after the hundredth or thousandth incarnation. The same happens to a child that does not enjoy full awareness of faculties after the first or second day of birth but after years. Besides, when the soul enjoys free-will the responsibility grows in proportion to the development of intelligence. That is how, for example, that a savage that feeds from the flesh of their peers is less punished than a civilized person that simply acts unfairly. Our savage are undoubtedly much delayed compared to us but they are already far from their starting point.

During long periods the incarnate soul is submitted to the exclusive influence of instincts of conservation. These gradually transform into intelligent instincts, or even better, there is a balance between instincts and intelligence, and it is only later and always gradually that intelligence dominates the instincts. It is only then that serious responsibility begins.

In addition, the author of the question makes two serious mistakes. First is the admission that chance decides between the choice by the Spirit of a good and a bad path in the beginning. If there were any chance or fatality any responsibility would be unfair. As we said, the Spirit remains in an unconscious state during several incarnations; the light of intelligence only shines with time and true responsibility only begins when the Spirit acts freely and with knowledge of cause. The second mistake is to consider that the first human incarnations take place on Earth. Earth used to be but it is no longer a primitive world. The most delayed human beings found on the face of Earth have already left the marks of the first incarnations behind and our savage have progressed when compared to what they were before their Spirits to come and incarnate in this globe.

Now think about the number of existences necessary for those savage to transpose every step that separates them from the most advanced civilization. All of those intermediary steps are found on Earth without a solution of continuity and may be followed by tracing the nuances that distinguish the several peoples. It is only the beginning and the end that are not found here but the beginning is lost to us in the depth of the past that we are not allowed to penetrate. In fact, that is not important because such a knowledge would mean nothing to us in terms of evolution.

We are not perfect that is for sure. We know that our imperfections are the only obstacles to our future happiness. Let us then study so that we can perfect.

At the current stage our intelligence is developed enough to allow us to judiciously assess good and bad and it is there that responsibility is seriously committed because one can no longer say what Jesus said: ‘Forgive them for they don’t know what they do.”

We thank Mr. Flammarion’s kindness for providing us with the information about a letter that was addressed to him with the following passage:

“You probably think dear Sir that you are the first astronomer to deal with Spiritism. You are wrong. About a century and a half ago Fontenelle employed tiptology with the medium Ms. Letard. I was enjoying myself this morning browsing a manual published fifty years ago by Philipon de la Madeleine and found a letter from Ms. Launai, that later became Madam Stael, sent by the Duchess of Maine to the secretary of the Academy of Sciences relatively to an adventure summarized below:

In 1713 a young lady by the mane Letard pretended that she communicated with the Spirits such as Socrates as her demon. Mr. Fontenelle went to see the girl and since in the conversation he showed some doubts about that kind of charlatanism the Lady of Maine that had no doubt about it had Ms. de Launai assigned to write about the fact.”

Philipon de la Madeleine



The following note is found in one edition of the selected works of Fontenelle, published in London 1761:

A young lady by the name Ms. Letard excited the public’s curiosity by a supposed gift in the beginning of the century. Everybody went to see that as did Mr. Fontenelle, advised by the Duke of Orleans. Such was the content of the letter sent by Ms. de Lunai to him, as below:

Ms. Letard’s adventure Sir makes less noisy than your testimony. People are surprised, and perhaps rightly so, that the destructor of the oracles; that the one that took the tripod of the Sybil down was now kneeling before Ms. Letard. Wow! The critics say. The man that was able to clearly unveil the frauds done a thousand miles away and more than two thousand years before his time could not dismiss a trick done before his eyes!

"The adventure of Mademoiselle Letard makes less noise, sir, than the testimony you have given." It is astonishing, and perhaps with some reason, that the destroyer of the oracles, who has overturned the tripod of the sibyls, knelt down before Mademoiselle Letard. What! "Cried the critics," this man who has put on such a fine day tricks made a thousand miles away, and more than two thousand years before him, has not been able to discover a trick that has been hatched before his eyes! The refined pretend that in good Pyrrhonian, finding everything uncertain, you find everything possible. On the other hand, devotees seem very impressed by the homage which you have paid to the devil; they hope that it will go further. From my side, sir, I suspend my judgment until I am better informed."

Reply from Mr. de Fontenelle:

"I shall have the honor, mademoiselle, of replying to you the same as I answered a friend of mine who wrote to me from Marly the day after I had been with the Spirit. I informed him that I had heard sounds of which I did not know the mechanics; to be certain about that it would require a more accurate examination than the one I did and repeat it. I have not changed my language; but because I did not absolutely decide that it was a ploy, I was accused of believing that he was an elf; and since the public does not stop in such a nice way, I was accused of having said what I did not. There is nothing wrong with that. If they have mistakenly attributed to me a speech which I have not given, they have done me the honor of paying attention to me, and one compensates the other. I did not believe that for having discredited the old prophetesses of Delphi it was a commitment to destroy a young and living girl and from whom only good things were heard. If, however, they think that I have failed my duty, on another occasion I shall adopt a more pitiless and more philosophical tone. I have been reproached for my lack of severity for a long time. I must be incorrigible, since the age, experience and injustice of the world do nothing. That, mademoiselle, is all that I can tell you about the Spirit, which has attracted me with a letter which I readily suspected of having been dictated, since I am not far from believing in that. Thus when a familiar demon comes to me, I will tell you with more grace and in a more ingenious tone, but not with more honesty, etc.”

Note:

Note: Fontenelle, as we see, does not pronounce either for or against, and confines himself to ascertaining the fact; it was caution, which most of the deniers of our time are wanting to do, who have to decide what they have not even bothered to observe, at the risk of later receiving the refutation of experience. However, it is evident that he inclines towards the affirmation, something remarkable for a man in his position and in a century of skepticism for excellence. Far from accusing Mademoiselle Letard of charlatanism, he admits that they only talked good about her. Perhaps he was even more convinced than he wished to appear, and was restrained only by the fear of ridicule, so powerful at the time. It was necessary, however, that he should be shaken, not to say frankly, that it was a trick; his opinion on this point is important. The question of charlatanism being excluded, it remains evident that Mademoiselle Letard was a spontaneous medium in the style of the Fox sisters.

The following passage from St. Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, one of the fathers of the Greek Church, seems to have be written under the inspiration of today’s Spiritist ideas.

“The soul does not die but the body does when away from the soul. The soul is its own motor; life is the movement of the soul. Even when imprisoned by the body and attached to it the soul is not restricted and contained by the limits of the body but frequently when the body is at rest and like inanimate the soul is awaken by its own virtue; despite being still connected to the body the soul conceives and contemplates existences beyond the terrestrial globe; the soul sees the saints freed from their bodies; sees and rises to the angels in the freedom of its pure innocence.

When it is entirely separated from the body and when God decides that it is time to remove the shackles wouldn’t the soul have, I ask you, a much more clear vision of its immortal nature? If right now and under the chains of the flesh the soul already enjoys a life that is completely exterior, it will live much more after the death of the body thanks to God that from the Verb made the soul in that away. The soul understands, absorbs the ideas of eternity and infinity because it is immortal. In the same way that the perishable body can only perceive what is material and perishable, the soul that sees and meditates about immortal things is necessarily immortal and will live forever because the thoughts and images of immortality are always with the soul and are like a living focus that ensures and feeds its own immortality. (Sanct. Athan. Oper., vol. I, page 32, Image of Christian eloquence in the IV Century).”

Isn’t that in fact an accurate image of the external irradiation of the soul during its physical life and its emancipation during the sleep, ecstasy, somnambulism and catalepsy? Spiritism says exactly the same thing and demonstrate it by experience.

The whole modern Spiritist Doctrine can be constituted with the sparse ideas found in the Bible, Gospels, in the Apostles and Fathers of the Church, not to mention the profane writers. The remarks made about those texts were generally from an exclusive point of view and from preconceived ideas and many of them only saw what they wanted to see or they lacked the key to see something else. Spiritism today, however, is the key that gives the true meaning of passages that are poorly understood. Up until now those fragments are collected partially but there will be a day when patient and knowledgeable people whose authority cannot be ignored will turn such a study into the object of a serious and thorough project that will shine light upon all of these questions so that one will have to surrender before the clearly demonstrated evidence.

We believe we can say that such a considerable work will be the endeavor of eminent members of the Church that will be assigned with such a mission because they will understand that religion must be progressive like humanity or else be overcome because there are backward ideas in religion as there are in politics. In that case the price of not advancing is to move backwards.

It is precisely because religion has fallen behind the progressive and scientific movement that there is a surge in disbelief. Religion does even more than that by declaring that such a movement is the works of the devil and by always combating it. It turned out that science that was repelled by religion repelled it in turn.

The result is an antagonism that will not end until religion understands that it must not only march with progress but also be an element of progress. Everybody will believe in God when religion does not present God in contradiction with the laws of nature that is the work of God.

The following passage is found in a very serious article about Poland signed by Bonneau and published in the National Opinionon November 10^th, 1863:

“May Francis Joseph evoke the shadow of his grandmother; request the advice of Maria Teresa, a suffering soul persecuted by the remorse of a dismembered Poland, and light will suddenly shine before his eyes.”

These words dismiss comments. We were right when we mentioned above that the Spiritist idea is found everywhere. People are dragged by that idea and it will soon overflow.

“One reads in the Story of Saint Martial, apostle of the Gaul, and particularly of Aquitaine and Limousin, by R. Bonaventure of Saint-Amable, the barefoot monk, part 3, p. 752:

"In the year 1518, in the month of December, in the house of Pierre Juge, a merchant of Limoges, a Spirit made a great noise for a fortnight, knocking on doors, planks and paving stones, moving utensils from one place to another. Several monks went there to give mass, and to watch the night with lighted candles and holy water, but the Spirit did not speak. A sixteen year old young man, native of Ussel, who served this merchant, confessed that the Spirit had often molested him at home and in several other places, and added that his relative, who had left him heir, had died in the war, and had often appeared to several of his parents, and had spanked his sister, who died three days later. The aforesaid merchant Juge released this young man and all that noise ceased."

Evidently the young man was an unconscious medium of physical effects as there has always been. The knowledge of the laws that govern the relationships between the visible and invisible worlds brings all those supposedly wonderful facts to the domain of natural laws.

Allan Kardec