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CHAPTER XVII.

FORMATION OF MEDIUMS

Development of Medianimity - Changes of handwriting - Loss and Suspension of Medianimity.

Development of Medianimity.

200. We shall here treat specially of writing-mediums, because theirs is not only the most common sort of medianimity, and the one which is the simplest and most convenient, but also because it is the one which gives the most satisfactory results, and is most sought after. Unfortunately, we have as yet no diagnosis which can indicate, even approximatively, the possession of this faculty; the physical signs which some persons have supposed to indicate its existence are altogether uncertain. It is found in children and in old people, in men and in women, independently of health, or of intellectual and moral development; it has nothing to do with a person's temperament; there is but one way of ascertaining its existence, viz., by actual experiment.

We can obtain writing, as we have seen, indirectly, by means of planchettes, etc., or directly, by the hand; to this latter method, as being the easiest and the most generally employed, we shall confine our remarks. Notwithstanding the simplicity of the operation, which consists, as we have seen, in holding a pencil upon a sheet of paper, without any preparation, and just as we do in ordinary writing, several conditions are indispensable to success.

201. In the first place, as a physical condition, we recommend the avoidance of everything that can impede the

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free movement of the hand, which should not even touch the paper, if it can be helped.

The point of the pencil should rest lightly on the paper, touching it sufficiently to write, but not enough to offer any resistance. These precautions, however, are no longer needed when the medium has acquired the power of writing rapidly, for then no such obstacle can stop him.

202. It is of no consequence whether we use a pen or a pencil; some mediums prefer the pen, but this is only suitable for those who are already developed, and who write slowly; there are mediums who write so rapidly that to use a pen would be inconvenient, if not impossible. It is the same with mediums who write with jerkings and irregularity, or under the influence of violent spirits who strike and break the nib and tear the paper.

203. Every one who aspires to become a medium naturally wishes to communicate with the spirits of those who are dear to him; but he must moderate his impatience on this point, for communication with a given spirit is often impeded by physical difficulties which render it impossible for a beginner. In order that a given spirit may be enabled to communicate, there must be, between him and the medium, a fluidic harmony which it is sometimes neither easy nor possible to establish; it is only as a medium's faculty becomes developed, that he gradually acquires the necessary aptitude for entering into relation with whatever spirit may present himself. It may happen, also, that the particular spirit with whom he desires to correspond is not able to control the conditions in such a manner as to make is possible for him to manifest himself; even though he may be present; or he may not be able, or may not have the permission, to come just when the appeal is addressed to him. It is therefore better for beginners not to be too persistent in their demands for any particular spirit, to the exclusion of all others; for it often happens that the spirit thus sought after is not the one with whom the necessary fluidic connexion can be most easily established, however great may be the affectional sympathy between the parties. Before

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attempting to obtain communications from any given spirit, we must therefore secure a sufficient development of the medianimic faculty; and, to this end, it is well to begin by making a general appeal to all our friends in the spirit-world, and especially to our Guardian-Angel.

For this general evocation, no sacramental formula is needed; and whoever should pretend to give such a formula would lay himself open to a charge of charlatanism, for spirits attach no importance to any set forms. All evocations should nevertheless be made in the name of God, and in some such terms as the following, or in any similar ones: - " I pray Almighty God to permit a good spirit to communicate with me by writing (or otherwise, as the case may be), and I also beg my Guardian-Angel to have the kindness to assist me, and to keep away evil or troublesome spirits;" - or "I pray Almighty God to permit the spirit of So-and-so to communicate with me." In evoking individual spirits other than our personal friends and relations, we should always be careful to address ourselves only to those whom we know to be good and sympathetic, or who may be supposed to have some special motive for coming to us. In such cases, our evocation may be made in words like these: - "In the name of Almighty God, I beg the spirit of So-and-so to communicate with me;” or “I pray Almighty God to permit the spirit of So-and-so to communicate with me;” or any other words of a similar character. We repeat it, the formula is nothing; a reverent and kindly frame of mind is everything. All present having united in the act of evocation, whatever may have been the form or mode employed, it is well to wait quietly for the spirit to manifest himself by the writing of some message, or by giving some other token of his presence. When the faculty of the medium is typtologic, it is necessary to formulate the first questions in such a way as that the spirit may be able to answer them by "yes" and "no;" as, for example, "Are you here, So-and-so?" "Will you answer me?" or, in case of doubt, "Will you give me your name?" "Whom do you come for?" "Do you want the alphabet?"

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And so on. (See, for fuller details and practical counsels, Part Second, Chap. XXV. Evocations.)

It is possible that the spirit whose presence is most desired may come, or it may be some other spirit who comes; perhaps it may he a stranger, perhaps the guardian angel of the medium or of some other person present. The spirit who comes, makes himself known, usually, though not always, by giving his name; but then comes up the question of identity, one of the difficulties of practical spiritism requiring the greatest amount of experience for dealing with, and there are few beginners who are not exposed to deception on this head. (See, for a fuller consideration of this point, Part Second, Chap. XXIV. Identity of Spirits.)

204. What is far more important than the mode of evocation, is calmness and concentration of thought, an ardent desire and firm determination to succeed; we do not mean the ephemeral determination which acts by fits, and which is interrupted every minute by other matters, but a serious, persevering, sustained determination, without impatience or feverish anxiety. Mental concentration is favoured by solitude, silence, and retirement from every thing that can trouble or disturb. We have only one other counsel to give; namely, to renew the attempt every day, sitting for ten or at most fifteen minutes at a time, and to continue the experiment for a fortnight, a month, two months, or more, if necessary. We know mediums who were only developed after six months' exercise, while others have written with ease the very first time they tried.

205. In order to avoid a waste of effort, it is well for beginners to ask, through some more fully developed medium, for the advice and assistance of some serious and advanced spirit; but it must be remarked that, when we inquire of spirits whether such and such a person is a medium or not, they almost always answer affirmatively, which does not prevent the attempts of many would-be mediums from being unsuccessful; a fact which is easily explained. In the first place, you ask a spirit a general question, and he gives you a general answer; in the next

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place, nothing, as we have seen, is so elastic as the medianimic faculty, which may assume the greatest variety of forms, shades, and degrees. A man, therefore, may be a medium, without being aware of it; and in some mode quite different from that which he may be seeking after. To the vague question: "Am I a medium?" the spirit may answer "Yes;" but to the more precise question: "Am I a writing-medium?" he may answer "No." We must also take into account the character of the spirit interrogated; for some spirits are so careless or so ignorant that they answer at random, like giddy mortals; for which reason, we should endeavour to address ourselves only to enlightened spirits, who, in general, willingly reply to such questions, and point out the best method of succeeding, if success be possible.

206. Beginners may often be brought on by employing, as a temporary help, the aid of a good writing-medium, already formed. If such a one places his hand, or merely his fingers, upon the hand which is to be helped to write, the latter rarely fails to do so, and often almost immediately. What occurs in such a case is easily understood. The hand which holds the pencil becomes, so to say, an appendix of the hand which is to be medianimised, just as does a planchette, or any other contrivance of a similar nature; but the exercise of the latter is none the less useful, and, if regularly and frequently repeated, will greatly aid the neophyte in surmounting the physical difficulty resulting from the resistance of his organism, and in developing his medianimic faculty. It is sometimes sufficient to mesmerise the arm and hand of the beginner, with the intention of making him write; the fully-developed medium placing his hand on the shoulder of the latter. We have seen persons begin to write at once under such an influence. The same effect may be produced, in some cases, without contact, and merely by willing that the beginner should write. The confidence of the mesmeriser in his own power must, however, play a principal part in producing such a result; for

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one who doubted his own power would produce little or no effect.

The help of an experienced guide is also useful in making the beginner observe various useful little precautions, and in giving him an idea of the sort of questions that we may put to spirits and the manner of putting them.

207. Beginners may also be greatly assisted in developing their medianimic faculty by attending meetings of several persons all animated with the same desire and the same intentions. At these meetings, all the beginners should try to write simultaneously, in perfect silence, and with religious quietude; and each of them, meantime, should invoke the aid of his guardian-angel, or of some advanced spirit whom he knows to be sympathetic to himself. At the opening of such a meeting, one of the assembly will do well to make a general appeal, to all good spirits, on behalf of all the members of the circle, without any special designation, saying, for example “In the name of Almighty God, we beg that good spirits will kindly communicate through the persons here assembled.” It is rare, under these circumstances, that, among the number assembled, there are not some who soon begin to write, or give some other sign of medianimity.

What occurs under such circumstances is easily explained. The persons thus united by a common intention form a collective body, the power and sensitiveness of each member of which are increased by the magnetic influence exerted by all the members on one another, and which aids their development. Among the spirits attracted by this community of wills, there are almost always some who, among the persons thus assembled, discover a medium suitable for their purpose, and take advantage of this discovery to enter into relation with him.

This method is especially useful among groups of spiritists who have no mediums, or who have not a sufficient number of them.

208. Means of developing mediums have been sought for, just as signs of the presence of the medianimic faculty have

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been sought for; but, up to the present time, we know of none more efficacious than those just indicated. Some persons, persuaded that the obstacle to the development of medianimity is usually some resistance of the corporeal organism, have endeavoured to vanquish this supposed resistance by gymnastic exercises that almost dislocate the arm and the hand. We do not describe this method of procedure, which comes from the other side of the Atlantic, not only because we have no proof whatever of its efficacy, but also because we are convinced that, on the contrary, it might often prove dangerous, through the violence thus done to the nervous system. Where the rudiments of the medianimic faculty do not exist, nothing can produce them, not even electricity, which has been employed for that purpose, it need hardly be added, without success.

209. Belief in the possibility of communication with spirits is not an indispensable preliminary to the development of medianimity, although it usually renders that development more easy and rapid; a sincere desire for truth, and kindliness of disposition, are the conditions most conducive to success, provided the germ of the faculty be present.

We have seen persons who were utterly incredulous write on first holding a pencil; while fervent believers, not possessing the germ of the medianimic faculty, have failed to do so in spite of protracted efforts on their part, which proves that the faculty depends on the organism.

210. The first indication of the possession of the faculty of writing under spirit dictation is usually a sort of shuddering in the arm and hand; little by little, the hand is moved, as though writing, by an impulsion which it is unable to control. It often happens that, at first, only a few strokes are made; letters are then gradually formed, and words begin to appear; and at length the writing is produced with the rapidity and clearness of a running hand. In every case, the hand must be abandoned entirely to the extraneous impulsion which is acting upon it, and which should neither be resisted nor assisted.

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Some mediums write quickly and easily from the beginning, and even, as just remarked, on their very first attempt; but this is comparatively rare; others are long in getting beyond strokes and pot-books. Spirits tell us that a long course of training is needed, in the latter case, to bring the hand of the medium under their control. When these exercises are unduly prolonged or degenerate into ridiculous scrawlings, the medium may be sure that some spiteful or mocking spirit is amusing himself at his expense, for good spirits never cause any waste of labour; in such cases, he should appeal with increased fervour to his guardian-angel, in order to attract the good influences that will help him to get rid of the persecution. If, despite these efforts, no improvement takes place, he should cease to hold the pencil. The attempt may be renewed every day; but it is well to stop whenever anything equivocal occurs, in order to give a summary check to the satisfaction of the frivolous or hostile spirits who are so apt to interfere with beginners.

To these remarks a spirit adds the following: - "You should also state that there are mediums who cannot get beyond strokes and pot-hooks. If, after some months of trying, a medium obtains nothing more significant than these, than letters strung together without meaning, or than a mere "yes" or "no", it is useless to persist in spoiling paper to no purpose; they are mediums, it is true, but unproductive mediums. And, in all cases, the first communications obtained should only be considered as exercises that the medium has been made to go through with by secondary spirits; for which reason, but slight importance should be attached to them, the spirits employed for such work being, so to say, mere writing-masters, who are set, by higher spirits, to get the medium's hand into train. For you must not suppose that such preparatory exercises are ever conducted by elevated spirits and there is always danger that, if the medium is not animated by a serious purpose, the spirits of lower degree who are thus employed about him may remain with him and attach themselves to him. Almost all mediums have passed through this phase

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of trial in the course of their development; it is for them to win for themselves the sympathy of spirits of a higher order, who may gradually take the place of the others."

211. The great stumbling-block of the majority of beginners is, in fact, their liability to be drawn in to hold converse with inferior spirits; and they may usually consider themselves fortunate, if they only come into contact with spirits who are merely frivolous, and not positively wicked. They should do their utmost to prevent all such spirits from obtaining influence over them, for, when once they have been allowed to get hold of a medium, it is not always easy to get rid of them. It is impossible to insist too strongly on the importance of such precaution, especially in the beginning; for, without it, the finest medianimic faculties may be thrown away.

The first thing to be done by a medium is to place himself, with sincere and reverent faith, under the protection of the Almighty, and to ask earnestly for the assistance of his guardian-angel, who is always a spirit of superior moral and intellectual advancement, whereas his "familiar spirits," sympathising with his good or bad qualities, as the case may be, are often frivolous, or even wicked.

The second thing to be done by a medium is to ascertain, with scrupulous care, by means of all the indications furnished us by experience, the character of the spirits that first come to him, and in regard to whom it is always well for him to be on his guard. Whenever he detects any suspicious symptom, he must instantly appeal for help to his guardian-angel, repel the inferior spirit with all his might, and discourage him by showing him that he is not to be taken in by him. A preliminary study of the spiritist theory is indispensable to all who would avoid the annoyances inseparable from inexperience. As full instructions on this subject will be given in Chapters XXIII and XXIV (Obsession, and Identify of Spirits), we will only remark, in this place, that the inferiority of spirits is proved, not only by their language, but also by every useless or puerile sign, figure, or emblem, by all eccentricities in their style of writing,

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whether by writing too large, or by any other absurd or unusual peculiarity. Medianimic writing may be very ill executed, or even difficult to read, and yet not be due to the influence of an evil spirit, for these defects may be due to the want of manual skill or flexibility on the part of the medium; it is not the badness of the writing, but its eccentricity, that should excite suspicion. We have seen mediums so befooled, that they actually measured the superiority of the spirits who wrote by them by the size of their writing; while others attached the greatest importance to the communications obtained by them because conveyed in the form of printed letters! It cannot be too distinctly borne in mind that puerilities, of whatever kind, are incompatible with real superiority, on the part of spirits, as on that of men.

212. If it is important to avoid being brought unwittingly under the domination of inferior spirits, it is of still more importance not to put ourselves voluntarily into their power; and consequently, no one should allow himself to be led, by an immoderate desire to write, to submit himself to the influence of the first spirit who may come to him, under the impression that, if he do not suit, it will be easy to get rid of him. We can neither ask, nor accept, the smallest help from a bad spirit, with impunity; for such a one may exact heavy payment for his services.

We have seen instances in which persons, impatient to become mediums, have accepted the proffered assistance of spirits whom they knew to be bad, with the idea of dispensing with their services when they should have done with them, and who have had their wishes gratified by finding themselves able to write at once; but the spirits thus enlisted in their attempt, not feeling flattered at being taken merely as momentary coadjutors, have proved to be less docile in going than they had been in coming. We know of cases of this kind in which people have been punished, for their presumption in believing themselves to be strong enough to get rid of such allies through an exertion of their will, by years of obsession of every sort, by the most ridiculous hoaxings, by tenacious fascination, and even by the

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heaviest worldly misfortunes and disappointments. It sometimes happens that a spirit, after showing himself; at first, to be openly wicked, behaves hypocritically and pretends to have reformed, or declares himself to be under the power of the very medium he is subjugating, in order to make the latter fancy that he can drive him away whenever he chooses to do so.

213. Medianimic writing is sometimes perfectly legible; but it is sometimes so ill done as to be illegible by any one but the writer himself. Mediums should therefore endeavour, from the first, to write legibly. Spirits are not always economical in the use of writing-paper, and sometimes make their mediums write larger than need be. When the writing is difficult to make out, the spirit must be politely requested to write it over again, which he is generally willing to do. Writing that is habitually illegible, even for the medium, can usually be made clearer by frequent and careful exercise, and by constantly urging the spirit to write more plainly. Spirits often adopt the conventional signs in use at the sittings they attend. For instance, when a spirit wishes to show that a question displeases him, and that he does not choose to answer it, he will often draw a long stroke, or employ some equivalent sign.

When a spirit has said what he has to say, or does not intend to say any thing more, the medium's hand remains still, and no amount of desire or effort on his part can obtain any further movement. On the contrary, so long as the spirit has not said his say, the pencil goes on writing, without its being, in some cases, possible for the medium to arrest the movement of his hand. If a spirit wishes to say something spontaneously, the medium's hand seizes the pencil convulsively and writes, without the medium being able to avoid it. On the other hand, the medium almost always feels something in himself that shows him whether a pause in the writing is merely temporary, or whether the spirit has finished his communication. In the same way, the medium rarely fails to know when the communicating spirit has departed.

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Such are the principal explanations we have to give in regard to the development of psychography; experience will teach various other practical details on which it is needless to enter here, and in regard to which each beginner will be able to guide himself; with the aid of the general principles we have now laid down. Let people try; and it will be found that many more are mediums than is generally supposed. *

214. What we have now said applies to mechanical writing, the object which all mediums desire to attain, and rightly so; but purely mechanical medianimity is exceedingly rare, more or less of intuition on the part of the medium being usually mingled with it. When a medium has a perception of what he is writing, he is naturally apt to doubt the reality of his medianimic action; for he does not know whether the writing proceeds from himself or from a spirit exterior to himself. But he need not be uneasy on this account, and should go on, despite his doubts. Let him carefully note what he has written, and he will see that it contains a vast number of things which were not in his mind, and some that are even contrary to his own thoughts and opinions; an evident proof that they could not have proceeded from himself. Let him go on; his doubts of himself will be dispelled by experience.

215. If the medium is not exclusively mechanical by nature, all his endeavours to become such will be useless, but he would be wrong to consider this as a misfortune.

If he be endowed with intuitive mediumship only, let him be contented therewith; it will be of great service to him, if wisely used.

If no involuntary movement of the hand should occur after long-continued attempts, or if the movements are too slight to produce any results worth having, the beginner should adopt the plan of writing down the first thought that suggests itself to his mind, when holding the pencil, without troubling himself as to whether it be his own, or whether it

* Perhaps it should be added: Let some persons hesitate before they try at all. - TR.

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comes to him from some other source; experience will teach him how to distinguish between his own thoughts and those which are suggested to him. Mechanical handwriting is often developed, ultimately, by the adoption of this plan.

We remarked above that it does not matter, in some cases, whether a thought is the medium's own, or whether it comes from some other spirit. This is especially the case when an intuitive or inspirational medium is writing a work of imagination; under such circumstances, it is evidently of no importance whether he has produced a thought from his own mind, or assimilated one that has been suggested to him; if he gets a good idea, let him thank his good genius for it, and he will have other ideas suggested to him. This is what constitutes the "inspiration" of poets, philosophers, and scientific discoverers.

216. Let us now go on to consider the medianimic faculty when fully developed; let us suppose the case of a medium who writes easily, and is able to enter freely into communication with various spirits. Arrived at this point of development, he would make a great mistake if he supposed himself to be able, on that account, to dispense with all further enlightenment; for he has only vanquished the physical obstacles to medianimity, and is, in fact, just entering upon the real difficulties of mediumship. It is now, when he is just entering on the work of medianimity, that he most requires the counsels of prudence and experience, in order to escape the innumerable snares that are laid for him by the spirits about him. A medium who is too confident in the strength of his wings, too ambitious of flying alone, will soon find them smeared with the birdlime of untruthful spirits, always on the watch to entrap the vain and the presumptuous.

217. When a medium's faculty is developed, it must not be unduly or unwisely exercised. The pleasure it gives to beginners sometimes excites in them an enthusiasm that needs to be moderated; they should remember that the medianimic faculty is always given for sober use, never for the satisfaction of idle curiosity. Mediums should there-

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fore only use their faculty under the most favourable conditions, and not all day long; for, good spirits not being constantly at their orders, they run the risk, by unduly prolonging the exercise of their medianimity, of becoming the dupes of inferior ones. It is well to have fixed days and hours for medianimic purposes; both because the medium then brings a more concentrated purpose to his work, and also because the spirits who may wish to communicate through him, being thus notified and invited beforehand, are much more likely to be present.

218. As previously remarked, if, in spite of repeated trials, the medianimic faculty does not reveal itself in any way, the attempt must be given up, as the attempt to sing has to be given up by pupils who prove to have no voice. He who does not understand a given language employs a translator; those whose organism does not allow of their becoming mediums must follow that example, and have recourse to one who is a medium. But, even though you should fail to find a medium, you must not imagine that you are left with out the help of spirit-friends. Medianimity is a means whereby spirits are enabled to express themselves to men; but it has nothing to do with attracting them to us. Those who hold us in affection come to us as well without mediums as with them. A father does not abandon his child because he is deaf; and dumb, and blind, but tends him none the less carefully and lovingly, though not perceived by the child. Our spirit-friends do the same by us; they are always about us, and, if they cannot transmit their thoughts to us ostensibly, they do so by inspiration.

Change of Handwriting.

219. A very common occurrence with writing mediums is the change which takes place in their handwriting, according to the spirits who communicate; and what is still more remarkable, the same writing, which is often identical with the writing of the spirit while in the flesh, is reproduced whenever the same spirit communicates. This change of writing only occurs with mechanical and semi-

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mechanical mediums, because, in their case, the movement of the hand is involuntary and directed by the communicating spirit; it does not occur with merely intuitive mediums, because, in their case, the spirit acts only upon their thought, and their hand is directed by their own will, as in ordinary writing. But the non-occurrence of change in the character of the writing, even in the case of the mechanical medium, proves nothing against the reality of his faculty; such changes not being, by any means, a necessary condition of spirit-manifestation, but merely the result of a special physical aptitude with which even the most purely mechanical writer is not always endowed (See Polygraphic Mediums, 199).

Loss and Suspension of Medianimity.

220. The medianimic faculty is subject to intermittence and temporary suspension, both as regards writing and all other modes of spirit-manifestation. In regard to this subject the questions addressed by us to spirits have elicited the following replies: -

1. Can the medianimic faculty be lost?

"That often happens, whatever may be the specialty of the faculty; but the interruption is more frequently of short duration, and ceases with the cause that produced it."

2. Is that cause the exhaustion of the medium's fluid?

"Whatever may be the faculty possessed by a medium he can do nothing without the sympathetic concurrence of spirits; when he obtains nothing, it is not always his faculty that is at fault, for it often happens that spirits will not, or cannot, make use of him."

3. What are the causes that lead spirits to abandon a medium?

"Good spirits are mainly influenced, in regard to a medium, by the use he makes of his faculty. We abandon the medium who uses his faculty for frivolities, or for the furtherance of ambitious designs, or if he refuses the exercise of his faculty for the convincing of those who seek his aid, or who need to witness our manifestations in order to acquire

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conviction. God has not granted this faculty to a medium merely for his own pleasure, and, still less, to subserve his ambition, but as a means of aiding his own advancement and that of his fellow-men. If a spirit sees that a medium no longer subserves his intentions, and does not profit by his instructions and advice, he withdraws from him, and seeks some one more worthy of his assistance."

4. Is not the place of the spirit who withdraws often filled by another? and, if so, how are we to understand the suspension of the medium's faculty?

"There is no lack of spirits who ask nothing better than to communicate, and who are quite ready to take the place of those who withdraw; but, when the spirit who leaves a medium is a good one, he sometimes quits him only for a moment, depriving him, for a certain time, of all communication, in order to give him a lesson, and to show him that the exercise of his faculty does not depend on himself; and should not be regarded by him as a thing to be vain of. This temporary powerlessness also serves to prove to the medium that he writes under an influence foreign to himself, as, were it otherwise, there would be no discontinuance of the impulsion.

"But this interruption of the medianimic faculty is not always a punishment; it is sometimes due to the spirit's solicitude for the health of his medium, to whom he wishes to give a rest that he sees to be necessary to his physical well-being; and, when this is the case, he allows no other spirits to take his place."

5. Nevertheless, we sometimes see mediums of great moral worth, and who are in no need of rest, abandoned by their spirit-friends, and much distressed by these suspensions of their faculty, which they are quite unable to account for?

"In such cases, the suspension occurs as a trial of their patience and constancy; it is for the same reason that spirits rarely assign any fixed time for the duration of such interruptions of medianimity. Such suspensions, moreover, are sometimes useful by giving the medium time for thinking

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over the communications already made to him. It is by the use a medium makes of our instructions that we recognise those who are really worthy of our assistance; we cannot regard as such the experimenters who regard our manifestations only as an amusing curiosity."

6. In such a case, should the medium still endeavour to write?

"Yes, if the spirit advises him to do so; but if he tells him to abstain, he should cease the attempt, until some sign from the spirit announces the end of the suspension."

7. Is there any way of abridging such a trial?

"Resignation and prayer are the only means to which you can resort under such circumstances. All you can do is to make the attempt each day, but only for a few minutes at a time, as it would be unwise to lose time and strength in fruitless efforts. The attempt should be made simply with a view to ascertaining whether the faculty is recovered or not."

8. The suspension of the medianimic faculty does not, then, always imply the withdrawal of the spirits who habitually communicate with the medium?

"Certainly not the medium is only in the position of one who is suffering from an attack of blindness, but who is none the less surrounded by his friends, although he does not see them. The medium therefore can, and should, continue to communicate by thought with his familiar spirits, and may feel assured that he is heard by them. The loss of medianimity deprives the medium of ostensible communication with his spirit friends, but it cannot deprive him of mental communication with them."

9. The interruption of the medianimic faculty, then, does not necessarily imply displeasure on the part of the spirits who usually communicate through a medium?

"By no means, for, on the contrary, it may be a proof of their consideration and kindness for him."

10. How can we find out when such interruptions are caused by their displeasure?

"Let the medium examine his conscience; let him ask

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himself what use he has made of his faculty, what good others have derived from it, what profit he himself has derived from the counsels he has received from his spirit friends, and he will hardly have much difficulty in ascertaining that point."

11. When the medium finds himself unable to write, may he not have recourse to some other medium?

"That depends on the cause of the interruption. A spirit, after having given you counsel, often leaves you for some time without communications, in order that you may not get into the habit of consulting us incessantly, and especially in regard to the details of your earthly life; when we have left a medium on this account, he will get nothing satisfactory through the aid of any other medium. And these suspensions are sometimes intended to subserve yet another end, viz., to prove to you that spirits are free agents, and are not to be made to come at your beck and call; and for the same reason, those who are not mediums, do not always succeed in learning all that they desire to know."

12. To what end has Providence endowed certain individuals with special medianimic faculties?

"Mediumship is a mission, and should always be exercised as such. Mediums are the interpreters between spirits and men."

13. But there are some mediums who only use their faculties with reluctance?

"They are imperfect mediums; they know not the worth of the favour accorded them."

14. If mediumship is a mission, why is it not the exclusive privilege of good men, and why is this faculty so often possessed by persons who are far from estimable, and who make a bad use of it?

"It is given to them precisely because they need it for their own improvement, and in order that they may be open to good counsels; if they do not profit by the gift, they must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness. Did not Jesus address his teaching specially to sinners?"

15. When those who have an earnest desire to write as

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mediums, find themselves unable to do so, should they conclude that there is a want of kindly feeling towards them on the part of spirits?

"No, for this faculty may be lacking in their organisation, just as may be that of poetry or of music; but the lack of this faculty may be compensated by the possession of some other one, equally valuable."

16. How is a man to benefit by the teaching of spirits, if he has not the means, either of himself or through other mediums, of receiving this teaching directly "Has he not books, as the Christian has the Gospel? In order to practise the morality taught by Jesus, it is not necessary for the Christian to have actually heard Him utter the words in which He embodied it."