stom, memorable events are
recorded) and the photographic albums were locked away. Professor Lodge,
like the others, presented most of his sitters under false names.
Finally, he affirms that Mrs Piper's attitude never justified the least
suspicion; she was dignified, reserved, and not in any way indiscreet.

In short, during the fifteen years the experiments have continued, all
the suggestions made by sceptical and sometimes violent objectors have
been kept in view, that the fraud might be discovered, if fraud there
were. All has been in vain. The explanation of the phenomena must
consequently be sought elsewhere.

As for the trance itself, all those who have seen it agree in saying
that it is genuine and in no way feigned.

The hypothesis of fraud being disposed of, recourse has been had to
another, which it has also become necessary to abandon--that of the
reading of muscular movements. It appears that the thought-readers who
exhibit themselves on the platform accomplish their wonderful feats by
interpreting, with remarkable intelligence, sharpened by long practice,
the unconscious movements of the persons whose wrists they are holding.

Now it is true that formerly Mrs Piper became entranced while holding
both hands, or at least one hand, of the sitter. She kept their hands in
hers during most of the trance. But Professor Lodge says this was far
from being always the case. She often dropped the sitter's hands and
lost contact with them for half an hour at a time. Phinuit, or some
other control, nevertheless continued to furnish exact information.
Shall we say that while he was holding hands he had laid in a provision
of knowledge for the whole half-hour? Seriously we cannot.

But as this objection had often been made, the sitters endeavoured to
avoid contact with the medium. For a long time Mrs Piper has fallen into
the trance without holding anyone's hand. Her whole body reposes,
plunged in a deep sleep, except the right hand, which writes with giddy
rapidity and only rarely endeavours to touch the persons present.
Professor Hyslop, in the report which has just appeared,[11] affirms
that he avoided the slightest contact with the medium with all possible
care, and yet we shall see farther on how exact were the facts he
obtained, since he believes that he has established the identity of his
dead father without the possibility of a doubt. Therefore the hypothesis
of thought-reading by means of muscular indications