h Home there was plenty of light to see all that occurred, and
not only to enable me to write down notes of what was taking place, but
to read my notes without difficulty. Home was very anxious to let
everyone present be satisfied that he was not doing any of the things
himself--too anxious, I sometimes thought, for frequently he would
interfere with the progress and development of what was going on by
insisting that some sceptic or other should come around and take hold of
his hands and feet to be sure he was not doing anything himself. At
times, he would push his chair back and move right away from the table
when things were moving on it, and ask those furthest from him to come
round and satisfy themselves that he had nothing to do with the
movements. I used frequently to beg him to be quiet, knowing that, if he
would not move about in his eagerness to convince us of his genuineness,
the strength of the phenomena would probably increase to such a degree
that no further evidence would be needed that their production was
beyond the powers of the medium.

Test Conditions.

"During the whole of my knowledge of D. D. Home, extending for several
years, I never once saw the slightest occurrence that would make me
suspicious that he was attempting to play tricks. He was scrupulously
sensitive on this point, and never felt hurt at anyone taking
precautions against deception. He sometimes, in the early days of our
acquaintance, used to say to me before a seance, 'Now, William, I want
you to act as if I were a recognized conjurer, and was going to cheat
you and play all the tricks I could. Take every precaution you can
devise against me, and move about and look under the table or where else
you like. Don't consider my feelings. I shall not be offended. I know
that the more carefully I am tested the more convinced will everyone be
that these abnormal occurrences are not of my own doings.' Latterly, I
used jokingly to say to him, 'Let us sit round the fire and have a quiet
chat, and see if our friends are here and will do anything for us. We
won't have any tests or precautions.' On these occasions, when only my
family were present with him, some of the most convincing phenomena took
place."

Is Darkness Necessary?

From the above it is seen that not only is the trance condition not
absolutely necessary for the production of striking mediumistic
phenomena, but that, also, there is no absolute necessity for the
condition of