as thought-transference
goes. Saturday night, June 13, I gave a talk to the Young Women's Rooms
about Helen Gardener's new book, _Is this your Son, my Lord?_" (On the)
"14th I did not go to see the friend in body, but I know my mind went,
and I wrote him the letter to ask him what Phinuit told me to do when
there." Mrs Blodgett adds:--"I had a friend named Severance, but sister
Hannah had never heard of him."

FOOTNOTES:

[39] _Proc. of S.P.R._, vol. viii. p. 69.

[40] _Proc. of S.P.R._, vol. viii. p. 75.

[41] Phinuit is speaking, but as he is supposed to be repeating Miss
Hannah Wild's words literally, it is easier to speak as if she were
speaking directly.

[42] _Proc. of S.P.R._, vol. viii. p. 78.

[43] _Proc. of S.P.R._, vol. viii. p. 83.

CHAPTER VIII

Communications from persons having suffered in their mental
faculties--Unexpected communications from unknown persons--The respect
due to the communicators--Predictions--Communications from children.

The Blodgett-Hannah Wild case is, I repeat, of a kind to throw discredit
on the spiritualist hypothesis. If it and analogous cases alone were
considered, it would be needful to ask why earnest men, after long
hesitation, have finally given the preference to this hypothesis. But
psychic phenomena, and mediumistic phenomena in particular, are
infinitely various; they present a multitude of aspects, and it would
not be wise to consider them separately.

In this Hannah Wild case everything seems to support the telepathic
hypothesis. By this must be understood, not only the reading of thoughts
in the consciousness, and even in the subconsciousness, of the persons
present, but also in that of absent persons, however far off they may
be. And what Phinuit calls "the influence" must be added. This
mysterious "influence" might be the traces of vibrations left on objects
by our thoughts and feelings. Evidently this hypothesis plunges us into
mystery, at least as much as does the spiritualist hypothesis.
Nevertheless, we should be obliged to give it the preference, if it
were sufficiently supported, because it is, after all, more in touch
with our present conceptions than its rival.

Even the incident of the medium who, designating Mrs Blodgett amidst a
numerous audience, said to her, "There is a lady here who wants to speak
to you; she will soon give you the contents of the paper," can easily be
explained by telepathy. Mrs Blodgett was in the presence of a m