Читать книгу Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy - Frank Podmore - Страница 8

REP. 1. REP. 2.

While the second reproduction was proceeding, an interruption occurred which prevented its completion.

ORIG.

Agent: W. S.

II.

ORIG.

Agent: H. B.

REP. 1. REP. 2. REP. 3. REP. 4.

III.

ORIG.

Agent: H. B.

REP. 1. REP. 2. REP. 3.

The percipient said, "It looks like a

window."

IV.

ORIG.

Agent: H. B.

REP. 1.

REP. 2.

REP. 3.

V.

ORIG.

Agent: H. B.

REP. 1. REP. 2.

VI.

ORIG. REP. 1. REP. 2.

Agent: E. W. The percipient said, "It looks like a window."

No. 8.—By HERR SCHMOLL and M. MABIRE.

Of more recent experiments with diagrams, those recorded by Herr Anton Schmoll and M. Etienne Mabire are perhaps the most important.[23] The experiments took place at Herr Schmoll's house, 111 Avenue de Villiers, Paris. In addition to Herr Schmoll and M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll and four or five other persons assisted at one time or another. Mr. F. W. H. Myers was also present on three occasions. In all about 100 trials were made with diagrams and real objects (the actual number of experiments of all kinds was 148), full details of which will be found in the original papers. The experiments were made in the evenings, in a room lighted by a hanging lamp. The agents, usually three or four in number, sat at a round table immediately under the lamp, and fixed their eyes on the diagram or object, which was placed on the table before them. The percipient, with his eyes bandaged, sat in full view of the agents with his back to them in a corner of the room at a distance of about ten feet from the object. Silence was maintained during the experiments, except where otherwise expressly stated. The object or diagram was carefully hidden before the handkerchief was removed from the eyes of the percipient to enable him to draw his impression. In the first nineteen experiments the figure was drawn with the end of a match dipped in ink, whilst the percipient was in the room. It was not likely, under the circumstances, as the match moved almost noiselessly over the paper, that any indication of the figure drawn could by this means have been given to the percipient. Nevertheless, in the later experiments quoted the precaution was taken to draw the figure whilst the percipient was in another room, and a soft brush was substituted for the match. The following is a record, by Herr Schmoll, of the last two evenings of the first series:—

18.—August 24th, 1886.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.

Percipient—M. Mabire.

Object (drawn)—

Result—M. Mabire saw "a sort of semicircle like the tail of a comet, but of spiral construction, like some of the nebulæ." What he saw he reproduced in the following manner:—

19.—The same evening.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll.

Percipient—Schmoll.

Object (drawn)—

Result—"I see two double lines, that cross each other at about right angles." (Pause.) "The two double lines now appear single, but like rays of light, and in the form of an X." (Another pause.) "Now I see the upper part of the X separated from the lower by a vertical line." I draw:—

20.—The same evening.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Schmoll.

Percipient—Frau Schmoll.

Object—A brass weight of 500 grms. was placed on the table.

Result—"What I see looks like a short piece of candle, without a candlestick. It must be burning, for at the upper end I see it glitter."

Remark—At the upper part of the object, indicated by the arrow, bright reflections, caused by the oblique lighting, were seen by all the agents (the weight was rubbed bright). The form seen decidedly resembles the original, especially the outline.

21.—The same evening.

Agents—M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.

Percipient—Mdlle. Louise.

Object—My gold watch (without the chain) was noiselessly placed before us, the back turned towards us; on the face are Roman numbers.

Result—After five minutes: "I see a round object, but I cannot describe it more particularly." (During the pause that followed, without causing the slightest noise, I turned the watch round, so that we saw the face.) Soon Mdlle. Louise called out: "You are certainly looking at the clock over the piano, for now I quite clearly see a clock face with Roman numbers."

[The watch, as was ascertained after the experiment, was not going at the time.]

22.—September 10th, 1886.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll.

Percipient—Schmoll.

Object—A pamphlet (in 8vo) was slantingly placed on the table.

Result—Completely failed. I saw nothing whatever.

Remark—At the beginning of our trials to-day we had neglected to clear the table. The book was surrounded by other objects, and also badly lighted.

23.—The same evening.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, M. Mabire, Schmoll.

Percipient—Frau Schmoll.

Object—A piece of candle, 20 centimetres long, was placed on the table.

Result—After eight minutes: "I see it well, but not clearly enough to say what it is. It is a thin, long object."

"How long?" asked M. Mabire.

Frau Schmoll tried by separating her hands to give a measurement, but could not do it with certainty, and said, "A full hand's length, about 20 centimetres." Begged for a further description, she said, "I see something like a walking-stick, but at one end there must be gold, for something shines there." (The candle was not burning.)

24.—The same evening.

Agents—M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.

Percipient—Mdlle. Louise.

Object—A Faience tea-pot was placed on the table:—

Result—After five minutes: "It is not a drawing, but a real object. I see very clearly a little vase, a little pot or pan."

25.—The same evening.

Agents—Mdlle. Louise, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.

Percipient—M. Mabire.

Object—The stamp of the firm was placed on the table:—

Result—After twenty minutes: "The picture appears to be rather confused. But I believe that I see the lower part of a drinking glass." (Pause.) "Now it has gone again." (A pause of five minutes.) "Now I see another form, like two symmetrical S-shaped double curves, placed side by side." Then M. Mabire drew:—

Remark—Apparently the lower part was seen first, and then the upper.

26.—The same evening.

Agents—M. Mabire, Frau Schmoll, Schmoll.

Percipient—Mdlle. Louise.

Object—The double eye-glasses (pince-nez) belonging to M. Mabire were laid on the table.

Result—After five minutes: "I see two curves, open above, that do not touch each other." Then Mdlle. Louise drew:—

Unfortunately, the original drawings and reproductions in this series were not preserved. The figures given are facsimile reproductions of those in Herr Schmoll's MS. record, which were copied at the time on a reduced scale from the actual drawings made by the agent and the percipient respectively. In the second series the actual drawings have been preserved. In the experiments quoted below, as already stated, the figure was drawn whilst the percipient was out of the room, and (with the exception of No. 58) several copies were made of the drawing, "in order that each agent might be able to see the drawing in an upright position, and that he might be able to place it at the most favourable point of view." The percipient when ready withdrew the bandage from his eyes and, still seated in the chair with his back to the agents, executed the reproduction.

April 5th, 1887.

No. of Trial.	Percipient.	Agents.	Original Drawing.	Result.
51	Mdlle. Louise M.	4. Mme. D. Mdlle. Jane. Mme. Schmoll M. Schmoll.	Each agent had a copy of the original.	Before drawing the above figure, Mdlle. Louise said, "a terrestrial globe on a support." 10 minutes.
52	Mdlle. Jane.	4. Mdlle. Louise in place of Mdlle. Jane.	Four copies of the original were used by the agents.	10 minutes.
53	Mme. Schmoll	3.	Three copies used.	During the experiment Mme. Schmoll said that she saw "a little roof." 10 minutes.
54	Mdlle. Jane.	3. Mme. Schmoll in place of Mdlle. Jane.	Three copies used.	15 minutes.

Mdlle. Jane, after having seen the original, said that her first idea had been that of a glass.

No. of Trial.	Percipient.	Agents.	Original Drawing.	Result.
55	Mme. D.	4.	Four copies used.	10 minutes.
56	M. Schmoll.	4. Mme. D. in place of M. Schmoll.	Four copies used.	10 minutes.
57	A Failure.
58	Mdlle. Jane.	6.	This was the first time that an animal had been drawn.	After five minutes Mdlle. Jane said, "I see a cat's head." On being asked to draw what she saw, she produced the following figure:—
59	Mdlle. Jane.	6.	This was the first time that a head had been drawn.	At the end of five minutes, Mdlle. Jane having said, "it is a head in profile," a cry of joy unfortunately escaped one of those present. This cry having betrayed to Mdlle. Jane that she had guessed rightly, no drawing was made. In order to repair the wrong as much as possible, Mdlle. Jane was asked which way the head was turned. "To the left," she replied.

Experiments 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 were failures. No. 65 was not an experiment with a diagram.

April 8th, 1887.

No. of Trial.	Percipient.	Agents.	Original Drawing.	Result.
66	Mdlle. Louise.	5. (plus Mr. Myers)	This figure was drawn by Mr. Myers.	At the end of a few minutes, Mdlle.Louise said, "I see three fish on a skewer." Not being well understood, she explained, "Three fish held by a skewer, that is as they are sold in the fish markets; but everybody knows that!" Then she took off her bandage and drew—
67	Failure.
68	Failure.
69	Mdlle. Louise.	5. (plus Mr. Myers)

Appended is a statement from Mdlle. Jane D., a young lady of 20, who appears to have been one of the most successful percipients in this series:—

"Whenever I have taken part in the experiments as percipient, I have endeavoured to expel from my mind all thoughts and images, and have remained inactive, with my hands over my eyes, waiting for the production of an impression; sometimes I have tied up my eyes, but this plan has not always been successful. At other times the idea of an object has presented itself to me before I have seized its form, but most frequently I seemed to see the picture either black on a white ground, or white on a black ground. In general, the objects present themselves in an undecided manner, and pass away very rapidly; usually I only grasp a portion of them.

"Whenever I have been most successful, I have remarked that the picture has presented itself to my imagination almost instantaneously. Sometimes also I have been led to draw an object of which the name was forced on me, as if by some external influence. "JANE D.

"Paris, February 17th, 1888."

Appended are a few facsimiles of the most successful of the above results, reproduced in the original size.

No. 51.—ORIGINAL.

No. 51.—REPRODUCTION.

No. 53.—ORIGINAL.

No. 53.—REPRODUCTION.

No 56.—ORIGINAL.

No. 56.—REPRODUCTION.

No. 58.—ORIGINAL. No. 58.—REPRODUCTION.

No. 66.—ORIGINAL.

No. 66.—REPRODUCTION.

No. 9.—By DR. VON SCHRENK-NOTZING.

Baron von Schrenk-Notzing, M.D., of Munich, whose work in hypnotism is well known, carried on a series of experiments with diagrams and numbers, etc., in the course of the year 1890.[24] Space will not permit of our quoting these results in full. The following experiments are selected as being the only three in which the agent and percipient were in different rooms. The percipient, Fräulein A., was a patient of Dr. von Schrenk-Notzing's, of rather hysterical temperament; throughout the experiments she was in a normal condition and fully awake. In these three trials, which took place between 10.12 P.M. and 10.23 P.M. on the 15th October 1890, Fräulein A. sat on a chair in the agent's study about a yard from the door leading into the adjoining room, and with her back towards it; paper and pencil were on the table before her. In the adjoining room, about 12 feet in a direct line from the percipient, with the door of communication closed, Dr. von Schrenk-Notzing stood, beside a small table, and drew a rough diagram representing the staff of Æsculapius and the Serpent. When the drawing was complete, to quote Dr. Schrenk-Notzing,

"I call 'Ready?' The percipient says, 'Yes.' We have been drawing at the same time in different rooms. On returning to the study I compare the drawings and see with astonishment that Fräulein A. has drawn a serpent. Even the open mouth and the thickened end of the tail in the reproduction agree with the original. The experiment has succeeded in its essential part, and as regards strictness of conditions I think it quite unassailable. Unconscious suggestion is absolutely excluded, when agent and percipient are in different rooms. Any corresponding association of ideas seems to me also impossible, for the idea of the staff of Æsculapius first occurred to me in the other room. In the study there is no object which could have led up to the idea—no indication which could have pointed out the way."

The percipient had, in fact, drawn a spiral figure apparently intended to represent a serpent.

The two other experiments here referred to were performed in immediate succession, and under precisely similar conditions, the time allowed in each case being about two minutes.

In the second experiment the agent drew an arrow; the percipient drew another spiral, with intersecting loops. In this case, as the agent points out, the original idea of the serpent appears to have persisted in the percipient's mind.

In the third experiment the agent drew a triangle inscribed in a circle; also two diameters to the circle, crossing each other at right angles, the vertical diameter bisecting the upper angle of the triangle. The agent writes:—

"The drawing was done in the following way. I began with the triangle, and then drew the perpendicular on the base. The idea that thereupon occurred to me, that the figure was too simple, induced me to add a circle and to prolong the perpendicular to the circumference; finally I added the horizontal diameter. The percipient was drawing at the same time at table b, sitting on chair 5, with her back to the closed door of communication. Question from the next room, 'Are you ready?' Answer, 'Stop,' as I am about to open the door. Then, 'Now.' I open the door and enter the room. The two drawings agree except that the circle and the horizontal diameter are wanting. Even the perpendicular of the triangle, which has become obtuse angled, is prolonged beyond the base, just as in the original. This prolongation and addition of the perpendicular cannot be explained by any tendency of ideas to recur (diagram-habit). Only the fact that a triangle was drawn might, taken alone, be explained in some such way."

Figures of the original diagrams in this case are given in the Proceedings of the S.P.R.

Some experiments with diagrams, conducted in July 1890 by Drs. Grimaldi and Fronda, have been published by Lombroso.[25] The subject was a young man of twenty, subject to hysterical attacks and spontaneous somnambulism. The first experiments were made in the hypnotic state, with numbers, and met with only moderate success. Later, however, the trials were made in the normal state. At the first sitting diagrams were tried. The subject had his eyes firmly bandaged and his ears plugged with cotton wool. The diagrams were drawn at a certain distance (ad una certa distanza) from the subject, and behind him. Under these conditions the first five experiments were completely successful; the subject reproduced in turn a rhomb, a circle, a triangle, an irregular pentagon, shaped something like the profile of a barn, and a cone. The next experiment failed, only a formless scribble being obtained. The subject was much exhausted, and fell into a semi-cataleptic state as soon as the bandage was removed.

Some success was obtained in later sittings, in the guessing of names and in the execution of mental commands. But the experiments had soon to be abandoned, on account of the health of the percipient.

Other experiments with diagrams, in addition to those above referred to, will be found in the Proceedings of the S.P.R., vol. i. pp. 161–215, by Mr. Gurney, the writer, and others; vol. ii. pp. 207–216, by Mr. W. J. Smith. The paper on Thought-transference, etc., by Professor C. Richet, Proceedings, vol. v. pp. 18–168, should also be consulted in this connection.