After page 76 Plate V. Eusapia Paladino, Showing Resemblance to the Imprint in Putty   After page 76 Plate VI. Photographs Taken by M. G. de Fontenay of an Experiment in Table Levitation   Facing page 82 Plate VII. Plaster Casts of Impressions in Clay Produced by an Unknown Force   Facing page 138 Plate VIII. Drawing from Photograph, Showing Method of Control by Professors Lombroso and Richet of Eusapia. Table Completely Raised   Facing page 154 Plate IX. Photographs of Levitation of Table Accompanying Colonel De Rochas' Report   Facing page 174 Plate X. Scales Used in Professor Flammarion's Experiments   Facing page 200 Plate XI. Method Used by Eusapia to Surreptitiously Free her Hand   Facing page 206 Plate XII. Cage of Copper Wire, Electrically Charged, Used by Professor Crookes in the Home Accordion Experiment   Facing page 308 Figure 3. Board and Scale Experiment of Sir William Crookes   Page 312 Figures 4 and 5. Instruments Used in Scale Experiment by Sir William Crookes   Page 317 Figure 6. Glass Vessel Used by Home   Page 318 Figure 7. Automatically Registered Chart of Unknown Force Generated by Mr. Home   Page 320 Figures 8, 9, 10. Charts from Sir William Crookes Instruments Used in Experiments with Mr. Home   Page 321 Figures 11 and 12. Third Instrument Devised by Sir William Crookes for Recording Automatically the Unknown Force Generated by Home   Page 322 Figure 13. Charts Made by Third Instrument   Page 323 Figures 14 and 15. Charts Made by Third Instrument   Page 324 Plate XIII. Instantaneous Photograph Taken by M. de Fontenay of Table Levitation Produced by the Medium Auguste Politi   Facing page 368

 

 

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INTRODUCTION

As long ago as 1865 I published, under the title, Unknown Natural Forces, a little monograph of a hundred and fifty pages which is still occasionally found in the book-shops, but has not been reprinted. I reprint here (pp. xiii-xxiii), what I wrote at that time in this critical study "apropos of the phenomena produced by the Davenport brothers and mediums in general." It was published by Didier & Co., book-sellers to the Academy, who had already issued my first two works, The Plurality of Inhabited Worlds and Imaginary Worlds and Real Worlds.

"France has just been engaged in an exciting debate, where the sound of voices was drowned in a great uproar, and out of which no conclusion has emerged. A disputation more noisy than intelligent has been raging around a whole group of unexplained facts, and so completely muddled the problem that, in place of illuminating it, the debate has only served to shroud it in deeper darkness.

"During the discussion a singular remark was frequently heard, to the effect that those who shouted the loudest in this court of assize were the very ones who were least informed on the subject. It was an amusing spectacle to see these persons in a death-grapple with mere phantoms. Panurge himself would have laughed at it.

"The result of the matter is that less is known to-day upon the subject in dispute than at the opening of the debates.

"In the mean time, seated upon neighboring