have got it all down here, and when I come to material that
necessitates verbal accuracy, I should prefer to read my notes aloud
rather than give an indefinite summary. In the first place, however, I
must give you some idea of the form that gradually materialised; of the
form, that is, as I originally saw it.

It took the shape, I may say, of a smallish man, grotesquely
pot-bellied, with very thin legs and arms. The eyes were
disproportionately large and quite circular, with an expression that
was at once both impish and pathetic. The ears were immense, and set at
right angles to the head; the rest of the features indefinite. He was
dressed rather in the fashion of a medieval page.

(The professor was heard to murmur, "The typical goblin," at this point,
but made no further interruption.)

He sat with his feet crossed on the rail at the foot of the bed and
appeared able to balance himself without difficulty. He had been sitting
there for perhaps a couple of minutes, while I made various entries in
my note-book before I tried the experiment of addressing him.

"Have you a message?" I asked. "If you cannot answer directly, knock
once for 'No,' and three times for 'Yes,' and afterwards we can try the
alphabet."

To my great surprise, however, he was able to use the direct voice. His
tone was a trifle wheezy and thin at first, but afterwards gained power
and clearness.

"I can hear you fairly well," he said. "Now do try to keep calm. It
isn't often that one gets such a chance as this."

I will now read my notes.

Myself. "I am perfectly calm. Go on."

Spirit. "Will you try to answer my questions?"

The Researcher looked up from his note-book with a frown of impatience
after reading these two entries, and said:

But perhaps I had better summarise our earlier conversation for you.
There was, I may say, a somewhat long and distinctly complicated
misunderstanding between myself and the spirit before the real
interest of the message begins; a misunderstanding due to my complete
misapprehension of our respective parts. You see, it is unhappily
true--however much we may deplore the fact and try to guard against
it--that even in psychical research we form habits of thought and
method, but particularly of thought. And I had got into the habit of
regarding communications from spirits as referring to what we assume
to be the future life. Well, this communication didn't. The spirit with
whom I was talking had not, in sho