r me. The messages
are intelligent, but below rather than above the average. 'They' always
seem very fallible, very human to me, and nothing 'they' do startles me.
I have no patience with those who make much of the morbid side of this
business. To me it is neither 'theism' nor 'diabolism,' and is neither
destruction of an old religion or the basis of a new one--But all this
verges on the controversial, and is not good for our psychic. Let's sing
some good old tune, like 'Suwanee River' or 'Lily Dale.' We must keep to
the genial side of conversation. Spread your hands wide on the table and
be as comfortable as you can. We may have to wait a long time now, all
on Miller's account."

"Because he is a sceptic?"

"No; because he's belligerent," I answered. "It doesn't matter whether
you believe or not if you do not stir up controversy. Miller's
'suggestion' is adverse to the serenity of the psychic, that's all. The
old-time sleepy back-parlor logic has no weight with me. Maxwell and
Flammarion are my guides."

_For four hours we sat thus, and nothing happened._ How I kept them at
it I do not now understand, but they stayed. We sang, joked, told
stories, gossiped in desperate effort to kill time, and not one rap,
tap, or crackle came to guide us or to give indication of the presence
of any unusual power. Part of the time Mrs. Smiley was awake and sorely
grieved at her failure. She understood very well the position in which I
seemed to stand. To Miller I was a dupe, the victim of a trickster. He
himself afterward confessed that at the time he almost regretted his
preternatural acuteness, and was ready to take himself away in order to
let the show go on. But he didn't, and from time to time I encouraged
our psychic by saying: "Never mind, Mrs. Smiley, there are other
evenings to come. We will not despair."

At last she sank into profound sleep, and at exactly twelve o'clock I
heard a faint tapping on top of the piano, just behind Miller. "Hooray,
here they are!" I exclaimed, with vast relief. "What is the matter?" I
asked of "the presence." "Aren't we sitting right?"

"_No_," was the answer, by means of one decided tap.

"Am I right?"

"_No_," answered the taps.

I may explain at this point that in the accepted code of signals one tap
means "_No_," three taps mean "_Yes_," and two taps, "_Don't know_,"
"_Will try_," or any other doubtful state of mind. One has, of course,
to guess at the precise meaning; but one may c