to the touch, although it was not
exactly like kissing anyone on earth; but an indescribable atmosphere of
freshness and purity, which seemed always to surround this friend whilst
living, was very apparent under these changed conditions. Another
curious little point is that I had entirely forgotten my friend's love
of violets (she always wore them when possible, and used violet scent)
until I smelt them distinctly whilst speaking to her.

It must be remembered that until the day of the sitting, we had never
dreamed of going to Mrs Gray's house, nor had we even heard her name. I
picked it out of a newspaper by chance--amongst at least thirty others.

Until past seven o'clock that evening we had not decided to visit her,
and the _seance_ began at eight P.M., no single person in the room being
present who had been at the house of the other medium some weeks
previously. Under these circumstances it would be difficult to account
for the fact of my friend's reappearance on the ground of collusion
between the two mediums. Moreover, such collusion would not account for
the appearance earlier in the evening of a spirit claiming to be the
sister of Madame Schewitsch.

No one hitherto has been able to suggest any _intelligent_ explanation
of my personal experiences on these occasions. Conjuring tricks and trap
doors are, of course, "trotted out" by the _unintelligent_ sceptic, but
these do not meet the difficulty of an _accurate knowledge of names and
of family matters of comparatively small importance_.

As I am just now chiefly concerned with presenting incidents in my life
rather than in prosing over them, I resist the temptation to go further
into the question of _Materialisations_ either from the historical or
ethical point of view, and pass on to the subject of clairvoyance.

CHAPTER II--_continued_

INVESTIGATIONS IN AMERICA, 1885-1886

In speaking of clairvoyance I shall again have recourse to my notes
taken at the time of my American visit and on the spot.

I am quite convinced that where a life has been in any way eventful or
at all marked, any fairly developed clairvoyant can in some way "sense"
your mental and moral atmosphere.

In some three or four personal cases, the notes taken at the time of
such visits, paid several thousands of miles apart, might almost be read
as descriptive of the same interview, with different witnesses.

My travelling companion, who had led a very uneventful life, seemed