Daily British Whig (1850), 13 Jun 1922, p. 13

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The Mystery of the Little Wornan What It Was That Puzzled the French Scientists When T hey Gathered in a Circle and Held the Medium's Hands-- A "Human" Figure That Came From Nowhere Continued from Prece ling Page lend themselves readily to amination. Our greatest when, after watching the evolution of a packet of substance which emanated from the body of the sleeping medium, it de veloped upon her in the form of the little woman about eight inches high. The process verbal, or formal report, of this epoch making seance in psychic science was drawn up the following day by M. Jeanson, a highly reputed scien tist, who also is an eminent engineer, and signed by four other witnesses, including Jean Le Febvre, Jean de la Beaunville, Mlle. Anna Barbin, Rene Duval and Mme. Bisson, all of whom, because of their high position, command the instant attention of France and all Burope. This official record tells the details more clearly than could auy interview and is here Be pended: our ex "Ise Waa By M. Jeanson. It was about half past 4 in the after- noon of May 25, 1921. The medium was piaced under control and was put to sléep by Mme, Bisson. We waited three-quar- ters of an hour, and at the end of that time the respiration of the medium com- menced to accelerate, we heard guttural sounds and in the hands of Eva held on the right by Mme. Bisson and on the left by myself, there suddenly appeared a little of a grayish white sub- stance, the volume increasing until it was about the size of a small orange; it then became oval about eight inches in length, At this moment the substance, in full day- light, disengaged itself from the hands of the medium and hovered a little above her sleeping body. Every one could see the left portion of the materialization transforming ftself into very fine lines and that the central portion became white and brilliant, It modeled itself very rapidly and we could recognize, admirably formed. the contour of a woman who seemed to be enveloped in a sort of filmy gauze. The clear color increased from right to left, and the substance trans formed gradually into a little, undraped woman, of impeccable form and beauty. We saw emerge successively the hips, the thighs, the legs and feet. [ This little apparition wasoftheutmost finesse, with long blond hair reaching to the hips. All the lower part of the body was of strik- ing whiteness. The ma- terialization was not more than eight inches tall, but it was perfectly lighted by a large win. dow and plainly visible to all. At the end of t wo minutes it disap- peared, then showed it- self again, with the hair this time covering the face. We noticed that the legs had the power of usual movement; one of them beat and brought into play the articulations of the knee and hip. The ap- parition disappeared suddenly, and reap- peared in the hands of the medium, to be ma- terialized almost imme- diately in the form of a woman's face, remark- ably beautiful, five times the size of the preceding materializa- tion. We were able to admire the blue of her eyes and the red of her lips Then this apparition faded away. When ! reached into the sack to assure that the con: trol of the medium was perfect and that there was nothing foreign there, I felt something resembling contact with 'a cobweb. We opened the mediumistic sack and there on the little apron worn by Eva lay _the body of the little woman---in her original form, but somewhat smaller. She was rest ing on her stomach, with her head turnea to the left, her arms now freed from long blond hair. Mme. Bisson commanded the appari. tion te move in order to show that it was alive, continues the process verbal. Immediately the little form moved, and without changing its place, turned slowly from side to side, finally resuming its original position. The legs were crossed. - Suddenly, as though\in a gym- nasium class, the little woman leaned on her hands, raised herself up and again reposéd but with her head turned to the right. 3 The little form continued its evolu: tions, jumping up and down vertically . Bisson. identity is tae her before the medium. At this moment the medium shook off our hold on her hands and seizing the little body placed it in my hands at least fifteen inches from the sack. Tt remained there 10 seconds and we were able to confirm the perfection of its members. It possessed weight, it felt dry and soft but gave neither feeling of heat nor cold. It returned to the medium's hand, and in order to prove that it had an intelli- gence, 1 told it to repeat a movement which would show that it was alive. It turned a complete somersault and landed in the bands of the assistant for a few seconds. Then it returned to the knees of the medium and gradually melted away as though absorbed into her flesh. Jean Le Febure, Jeande la Beaunt ille, Rene Duval, Anna Barbin, How is that ex- plained? Ideaplastic materialization, ecto- plasm, the real pres- ence of a disincar- nated spirit? Per. haps, but there was no question of fraud, illusion or hallucin. ation. Certain scientists have suggested that materiallizations such as those pro- Another mysterious materialization by Madam The vapory figure of a man, whose not suggested, taking weird shape before the medium in the presence of a com- of disting of Monsieur Flammarion. the vague form evem more distinctly than it ap- peared to the spectators. from a vapory substance exuded by the medium's throat. It will be noticed that this materialization is much more definite than any accomplished by . Conan Doyle, Stead, Crookes or any other 2h ad 3 in the studio The camera caught It seemed to emanate noted psychic authority. Cuced in the earlier stages of Mme. Bisson's research were the result of either a pe culiar formation of the medium's throat, with an internal sack which would be misinterpreted if suddenly brought be fore an intent observer as having some resemblance to a human form. Others have suggested concealed chemical com: pounds or gauky filaments previously prepared and stored in the throat. But these do not apply to Mihe. Bisson's ex periments. The medium's throat and stomach were inspected and radiographed by Dr. Louis Beauprez of the faculty of medicine, former interne of the Parisian asylums and erstwhile radiologist at the Broca Hospital, with a record as a medi co-legal expert. Assisted by Dr. Edmond Vallet, who wears the Legion of Honor and who served on the medical staff of St. Lazare prison, they passed a large quantity of bismuth through the esophagus of the medium and found no abnormal symp- toms. The air capacity of the stomach was normal. They were unable to ex- plain the peculiar manifestations wit- nessed while Mme. Bisson held Eva in a state of hypnosis, and Dr, Beauprez. lumself a witness of several seances where materializations were obtained, as well a8 Dr. Vallet, were forced to confess themselves baffled by the mystery. Others The astounding manifestation which has startled France and compelled the attention of the national university-- Madam Carriere, her hands held by professors of the Sorbonne, materializing the complete form of a little woman, which was passed from h&W to hand among The rather weird outline upon the medium's shoulder is that of a human hand formed in a vapory substance, which later was submitted to scientific analysis by chemists. the spectators. NorR.--In this photograph the artist has accentuated the ~ outline and features of the "little woman" tographer's plate was lost in the enveloping hage. who have been equally willing to admit their increasing belief in such manifesta: ticns include the noted French biologist, Dr, Jaworski, who assisted in several of Mme. Bisson's earlier experiments, and Dr. Charles Richet of the Academy of "We Are By John D. Quackenbos, M. D. ' (Generally believed the foremost critic of the psychic in the United States.) HESE statements from the savants of the Sorbonné are astounding. They prove we are standing on the threshold of a spiritual milennium. I cannot quite understand why a form unrecognized by anybody in the circle should be projected. The object of all re- search work is to prove in spirituai cxis- tence the survival of the death change. There must be some grave reason for this materialization and further investigation will undoubtedly give us further irref- utable proof of spirit return. During a quarter of a century of investigation I have never heard a creditable spi~!tual- istic medium say anything that was not comprehensible on a peychological theory. I have never seen a creditable medium do anything that could not be rationally éx- plained as due to the action of that super- sensible force just referred to, and fully attested by scientific investigators. Many of my coadjutors have 'inferred differ- ently and based their faith in a future existence on their absolute conviction tudt they conversed with friends who passed away. The fact that this manifestation was made in the light of day is net ex- traordinary, but most gratifying. Spirits have nothing to do with light or dark- ness; some self-styled mediums use dark- ness and a cabinet merely as a subterfuge. There are three theories in explsn#tion of the survival after death of a spiritual element 'of the humian personality, and these three have been advanced avd ex- Medicine, who after citing Mme. Bisson's work in recent reports presented to the Academy, recommend- ed French scientists to give real and no: hypercritical study to the phenomena which Aarecommanding worldwide interest. Camille Flammarion was one of the first to insist that Mme. Bis. son present her re sults before accredited scientists of the Sor Madam Juliette Bisson, who is now the experimenter, conducting a series of experi- 'ments under the auspices of the University into the psychic. Sorbonne It is she who materialized the complete flesh and blood body of a woman sine inches tall. considered the She is foremost authority én the psychic in France. bonne, despite the red tape sur rounding such a departure from established cus- toms of the great French univer sity. "Mme. Bisson agreed to come to my library with her medium, Eva Carriere," says M. Flammarion, "where an oppor- tunity would be given to reply to certain criticlams, I was able to see with my open eyés, with the aid of my hands and by photography that the corporal form was born spontaneously, formed from the substance of the medium herself. who In the pho- At each éxperiment the medium was en- tirely undressed by my wife and dressed with only a simple apron, with a tight fitting collar. We then carefully examined her mouth, her hair, her ears. Her hands, always visible, were held constantly. Productions were obtained, seen and touched, in the full light. There could have been no simulation. "As far as the objection that the forms are brought out of the mouth of the medium, that is exploded by the fact that the medium dined at our table before the seance. There was nq illusion nor hal- lucination there. The phenomena were real. How produced? Certainly physio logically as they came from the medium, but they do not form whenever wanted and we cften lose hours while waiting for results. What was the responsible force? I do not know. On this point I A photograph taken in the presence of Monsieur Camille Flammarion in his study during the psychic experi. ment by Madam Bisson and her me- dium, Eva Carriere. Madam Carriere is. shown holding apart the curtains, while over her shoulder is the "epirit manifestation" just as it was caught by the camera. Besides Monsieur Flammarion, many other scientists witnessed this remarkable materialization. am just as ignorant as was Galvani re- garding the nature of electricity. "Not the least interesting phase of these materializations is the fact that al though capable of evolving into a new creature the' mysterious new existence is in itself a potential bearer of death te the medium. During al Ithe experi ments, even when the materialized shapes have left the immediate vicinity of the medium, there are gauzy filaments which seem to attach it to the medium's breasts, her thighs and her mouth. "The greatest care must be exerted ia handling the substance. That is why we rely largely on the photographic studies. I am 'convinced that should, in some seance, a hysterical student try to wrest the substance from the source from which it came, the medium would dle im mediately," Facing Revelation of the Hereafter" tensively. discussed: the electron tLeory of Thomas, A. Edison, the spiritistic theory of Professor Hyslop, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the psychologic proof maintained by myeeit end based on thé exhibition of supcrsen- sible powers by pure mind, acting inde- pendently of a material organism. But this manifestation before Flam- marion and the faculty of the Sorbonne is the most astounding evént the modern world has witnessed. To say that a miraclé has occurred seems to be speak: ing in terms that are weak and meaning- less. With this account before me 1 can only say that it is evidence we are facing a revelation of the hereafter. It is ap- palling. The very thought of "what next?" which this report inspires, is tre mendous. I could not believe what I read of thése developments at the Sorbonne if they were presented by a less authentic source than Tue New Yorx Herain, which also calmly includes in its remarkable narrative an effiefdl document which in itself threatens to revolutionize all human beliefs, The demonstration of immortality on scientific grounds woilld seem, in this age of gradually waning Christian faith, te be vital to the integrity of our institutions and the endurance of our civilisetion-- the apprehension of the earth-life not as a period of realization, but as one of promise. The importance of this hardly can be overestimated in the face of a growing ibility to unbelief fos- tered among an unstable element of our population. Psychical science thus coticlusively proves that spiritual egistence is inde Pendent of a bodily organism, that per- sonality can and does survive the shock Copyright, 1022, by The New York Herald | of death, that impermanence is unthink- able. In the light of all that now has been presented it is easier to believe in a future life than not to believe in it, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believes in £pirit return and assures us that he has been in conference with the dead. lie holds that the physical body of man has its etheric duplicate, identical in color, form and line. In death this body is dis- engaged from its physical prototype aud goes forth into the spirit world. The ghosts of the dead, which some beiieve they see, are those ethéric bodies revisit- ing the world of matter. It has been incontestabiy proved that in supreme moments, as the dying hour, the human personality can telepathically project ocular, audible and tactile impressions ot itself through leagues of space. Such visible apparitions may be possible of photographic portraiture. To stretch this principle a little, it will not be hard to believe that apparitions of beings mentally imagéd by the faychi- cally gifted and highly imaginative per sons may be projected from their minds ir visible forms with such vividness as to affect sensitive films in the camera. And the same explanation applies to the génuine cases of seemingly miraculous nuaterialization of faces and forms. This .-materialization in the presence of such a distinguished coterie of scientific investi- gators from the Sorbonne, and with the aesistance of such a notable personage as Madame Bisson, and such a thoughtful as well as scrapulous investigator of psychi- cal phenomena as Camille Flammarion, thers can be no question of the imnor- tance of these revelations to the worid in general. It assuies us of truthful investi gations, of positive résults, afid brings us With a surer hope to the borderland of "What Is to Be" > Beyond the earthbound soul exists and reigns a supreme, immateriate, intelli- gent principle, the highest element in man's constitution--variously known as the subconscioys mind, the sublimifial self, the superior spiritual personality, or Spirit. These manifestations now prove 'it is above its coessential soul, its frae- tional and temporary human embodi- ment; and in a perfect life-harmony it controls the soul and body for good---the body for health expression, the sou! for intellectual and moral expression. I cannot go into or discuss the ecto- plasm or the manifest substance that Camille Flammarion states is so vital to the safety of the medium that if it be suddenly wrested by a hysterical on- looker it would cause the death of the medium. Neither can I understand why the materialization was not recogrized. A figure such as that described should have been recognized. It might have been a Roland, a Lamballe, Camille des Mou- lins, the unfortunate psychic wife, Marie Antoinette, as she was before the days of the revolution; Hortense, or even Joseph. foe herself. ' I cannot state how glad I am that this investigation is in the hands of the bonne. The people of the entire world should be impressed by this cireumstance, for something more astounding is sure to follow. The Sorbonne is not likely to accept a half truth. It promises to give us a startling revelation that we shall uot bave to look upon as the verdict of even a sincere Doyle, a sincere Crookes, a sin. cere Hdison, a sincere Flammarion, but the verdict of the greatest university of France, : 4

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