Page:The Naturalisation of the Supernatural.pdf/321

Rh generally the messages are apt to be incoherent, allusive, and enigmatical. Many are extremely difficult to interpret. As regards their source, in no case does the writing purport to proceed from Mrs. Verrall herself; it is apparently addressed to her, but the statements are frequently impersonal in form, and are rarely signed. In some cases the signature or initials of a dead person are appended. There is very little evidence, however, to prove the identity of the persons purporting to communicate. On the other hand, the writing in many cases seems to show knowledge of the thoughts and experiences of others which Mrs. Verrall could not have acquired by normal means.

In the following case it would appear that the intelligence which inspired Mrs. Verrall's script was able to satisfy a test propounded by Dr. Hodgson on the other side of the Atlantic.

No. 67. From

On the 31st January, 1902, Mrs. Verrall, when about to accompany Sir Oliver Lodge and Mr. Piddington to a meeting, was seized with a sudden desire to write, and withdrew for the purpose. The writing produced was as follows:

"Panopticon σφαιρᾶς ἀτιτάλλει συνδέγμα μυστικόν. τί οὐκ ἐδίδως ; volatile ferrum—pro telo impinget."

The writing was shown to Dr. Verrall on the following day, but neither he nor Mrs. Verrall could interpret its significance. The first word, Panopticon, though not an actual Greek word, is derived from the Greek, and presumably means "all seeing." The third word in the sentence is rare, the fourth,