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192 for the purpose of the experiment, and when the book had been selected in accordance with his wishes to determine also their choice of page and line. The book was "forced" upon the sitters' choice. Mr. Davey generally fixed upon a bright coloured volume, or one likely to be otherwise attractive, and placed it on the shelf most likely to meet the eye, ranging on either side of it some dull and inconspicuous volumes. I have watched him arrange books in my own bookshelves for the purpose. As in the present case, the experiment frequently failed on the first attempt. Sometimes Mr. Davey would himself reject the sitters' first choice, on the ground that the print was too small, or the subject-matter unsuitable. But it is surprising how often he succeeded in forcing the right book, at least on the second or third attempt. To secure a reasonable chance of coincidence in line and page he generally requested the sitters to choose numbers under 10, and his experience in number habits led him in many cases correctly to anticipate their choice. In the instance quoted, however, he resorts to another device. From Mr. Manville's account it would appear as if the division of the crayons had been a spontaneous move on the part of the sitters. But Mr. Venner in his report of the sitting tells us:

The medium requested each of us to take a small handful of chalk: out of the box on the table. Mr. P. took 11, Mr. M. six, and I three. The medium divided the three chalks I had selected between the other two. We had previously