Page:The Naturalisation of the Supernatural.pdf/138

118 result was known. The case, moreover, presents other features of interest. Miss Danvers and Mrs. Fleetwood (both names are fictitious) are ladies who were well known to the late Frederic Myers. He asked Miss Danvers to endeavour to appear to Mrs. Fleetwood without communicating her intention to that lady; On june 20, 1894, he received the following letter, dated 19th June, with two enclosures:

No. 30. From

"On Sunday night at 12, I tried to appear to Mrs. Fleetwood [at a distance of about nine miles] and succeeded in feeling as if I were really in her room. I had previously written my statement, which I enclose, together with Mrs. Fleetwood's, which she has just sent me. She wrote it also at the time, not knowing I was trying to appear. I was lying down, not kneeling, but the other details are correct."

A memorandum, signed by Miss Danvers, was enclosed, as follows: "June 17, 1894, 12 I write this just before trying to appear to Mrs. Fleetwood. My hair is down and I am going to lie down and try to appear with my eyes closed."

Also a memorandum, signed by Mrs. Fleetwood, as follows: "Sunday night, June 17, 1894.—I woke from my first sleep to see Edith Danvers apparently kneeling on an easy chair by my bedside, her profile turned towards me, her hair flowing, and eyes closed, or looking quite down. I felt startled at first, as I always do, on seeing visions in waking moments, but determined to keep quiet; and after I was fully awake and able to reason with myself, the figure still remained, and then gradually faded like a dissolving view. I got up and looked at the clock. It was just twelve. I was alone in the room. As I now write, it is about two minutes after twelve."

In conversation on June 2 3rd [Mr. Myers writes] Miss