Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, March 30th 1860
(Private Session)
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:
Mr. Ledoyen (treasury) presents the financial balance sheet of the
Society for the second semester of the fiscal year, ending on March
30th, 1860. The balance sheet was approved.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Mr. Chuard from Lyon pays tribute to the Society with two brochures,
the first containing a sacred ode to the immortality of the soul, and
the second a satire to societies in partnerships. The Society thanks the
author and although one of the brochures in particular is strange to the
objectives of its works, both shall be kept in the library.
2nd – Reading of three letters from Mr. Morhéry about the cures operated
by Ms. Godu, healing medium who moved to his house and became
sponsored by him. Mr. Morhéry, as a man of Science, observes the effects
of the treatments practiced by that young lady in several patients under
their responsibility. He records the results in a detailed chart as done in a regular clinical treatment room, having even attested prodigious results
in a short time.
Mr. President adds that the Society has two reasons to be interested in
Ms. Godu. Besides the sympathy naturally provoked by the examples of
charity and altruism, so rare in our days, from the spiritist point of view
the young lady offers precious matter for study since she is gifted with an
exceptional faculty. We would be interested in a medium of physical effects
that produced extraordinary phenomena; we could not see with less
interest a medium whose faculties benefit humanity and that reveals, in
addition, a new force of nature.
3rd – Letter from Mr. Count of R…, regular member who left for
Brazil and is now stranded at the Port of Cherbourg due to inclement
weather. He asks the Society to evoke him in this current session, if
possible.
Mr. T… observes that the same person has already been evoked twice
and that a third time seems superfluous.
Mr. Allan Kardec answers that since the objective of the Society is
the study, the same person may offer useful observations in a third experiment,
as much as in the first and second. As a matter of fact, the spirit is
more lucid and explicit the more it communicates and, in a certain way,
identifies with the medium that is used as an instrument. In the present
case this is not to satisfy a caprice or a vain curiosity. The Society does not
seek entertainment or attraction in the communications. The intention is
instruction. Well, since Mr. de R… is presently in a completely different
situation as compared to that of previous evocations, it can give rise to
new observations.
St. Louis was consulted about the opportunity of the evocation, responding
that it could not be produced at this time.
STUDIES:
1st – Two spontaneous essays, one from St. Louis, by Ms. Huet,
and another by Charlet, by Mr. Didier Junior.
2nd – Multiple questions addressed to St. Louis about the
spirit who communicated spontaneously in the last session, bearing
the name Being, by Ms. de Boyer, accused of trying to spread
disruption and disagreement and of having interfered with multiple
communications. An interesting teaching came out of the
answers about the way the spirits interact with one another.
3rd – Mr. R… proposes the evocation of one of his friends,
who has been missing since 1848 and from whom none have
heard. Considering the late hours the evocation was adjourned to
a forthcoming session.
The Society decides that there will be no session on Good Friday, April 6th.
From April 20th onwards the sessions shall take place at the new headquarters
of the Society, located at Rue Saint-Anne 59, Passage de Saint Anne.
Friday, April 13th
(Private Session)
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:
Approval of four new members, as regular members.
The Society confers the title of honorary members to five previously
approved members.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
Since Mrs. D…, member of the Society, travelled to Dieppe, she extended
her trip to Grandes-Venters, where she heard directly from Mr. Goubert,
the baker, the confirmation of every fact reported in our March issue, even
adding more details. She attested, by the examination of the places, that
particularly with respect to certain facts a fraud was just impossible. From
the information she obtained it seems that the phenomena were caused by
the presence of a young man who was working for the baker for some time
already and thanks to whom similar events took place at other places of employment
as well. Since the phenomena occurred regardless of the medium’s will, he can be classified in the category of natural or involuntary mediums.
Nothing else has been reported since he left Mr. Goubert’s house.
STUDIES:
1st – Spontaneous essays obtained by three different mediums
2nd – Evocation of Mr. Vogel, a traveler who was murdered in
Africa. The evocation did not yield the expected results. The spirit
claims to be suffering, requesting prayers that may help him to come
out of his current disturbed state. He says that he can elaborate later.
Mr. Allan Kardec proposes an in-depth and detailed study
of certain spontaneous messages and others that could be commented
on and analyzed as is done with literary works. Such a
study would have the double advantage of practicing the appreciation
of the value of the spiritist communications followed by the
consequent dissuasion of deceiving spirits who would see their
words ultimately controlled by reason and repelled if showing
any suspicious content, eventually realizing they had wasted their
time. As for the serious spirits, these could be recalled to provide
explanations and further developments about points of their communications
that may still need clarification.
The Society approves the proposal.
Friday, April 20th, 1860
(Private Session)
CORRESPONDENCE:
1st – Letter from Mr. J…, a regular member from Saint-Étienne.
The letter contains fair appreciation of Spiritism, demonstrating
that the author understands its true principles.
2nd – Letter from Mr. L…, a worker from Troyes, with reflections
about the moralizing influence of Spiritism over the working classes. He invites the serious followers to take on the
burden of propagating it in their circles, in the interest of order,
aiming at the revival of fading religious feelings, which has given
place to skepticism, the ulcer of our century, and to the denial of
all moral responsibilities.
These two gentlemen have already declared on other occasions
that they have never seen anything in terms of practical
Spiritism and yet they are not less firmly convinced, just
considering the philosophical reach of the Spiritist Science. The
President calls the attention to the fact that every day he sees
similar examples, not from people who believe blindly, but on
the contrary, from those who think and endeavor to understand.
To those, the philosophical part is the main part as it explains
what no other philosophy has done so far. The manifestations
are an accessory.
3rd – Letter from Mr. Dumas, from Sétif, Algeria, member
of the Society, transmitting new interesting details about facts
that he had witnessed. In particular he mentions a medium who
presents a singular faculty, of spontaneously entering into a kind
of somnambulistic state, without having been magnetized, every
time that an evocation is carried out through him; he then writes
or speaks, giving answers to framed questions.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Mrs. R…, a corresponding member of the Society from
Jura, reports a curious personal fact. It is about a clock which goes
back to family traditions and which seems to be submitted to a
singular and intelligent influence, under certain conditions.
2nd – Reading of a communication given in another spiritist
meeting, signed by Joan of Arc. It contains excellent advices to
the mediums about the causes that can annihilate or pervert their
mediumistic faculties (published below).
3rd – Mr. Col… starts reading a communication given to
him in private and signed by St. Luke, the evangelist. Noticing
that the evocation deals with several questions of religious dogmas
he stops reading due to the rules that prohibit the discussion
of such subjects. Mr. Col… adds that since the evocation does
not have an orthodox character he did not see any inconvenience
in reading it.
The President objects that the answers always presuppose
questions. Well then, orthodox or not, the answers always give
place to the supposition that the Society is involved with questions
which should otherwise be vetoed. Another observation
reinforces these reasons: it is the fact that among the members,
there are those coming from different religious denominations;
what may seem orthodox to some may not be to others, which
is already a reason for abstention. As a matter of fact, the bylaws
prescribe the previous analysis of every communication obtained
outside of the Society. Such measures must be strictly observed.
STUDIES:
Evocation of Mr. Royer’s friend, Mr. B…, who had disappeared from his
home since June 25th, 1848. He provides some information about his accidental
death during the turmoil of that period. Mr. Royer acknowledges
his identity from the language and some private details.
Friday, April 27th, 1860
(General Session)
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Letter from Dr. Morhéry with new studies about the cures
obtained with the help of Ms. Godu, through what one may call
intuitive medicine (published below).
2nd – Regarding the healing medicine, Mr. C…, one of the
attendees at the session and invited by the President, provides information
of the highest relevance about the healing powers in
certain South Asian communities. An Indian born, natural from
the Hindustan, Mr. C… witnessed a number of facts of that nature
which he took for granted in those days. Today he finds the
key to those phenomena in Spiritism and magnetism. The healing
communities would make broad use of certain plants. Often,
however, they touched and rubbed the patient while acting under
the influence of occult voices that would guide them.
3rd – A curious fact of a circumstantial intuition of a previous
existence. The person involved describes the fact in a letter
addressed to one friend who read it, saying that since her childhood
she keeps the precise memory of having succumbed during
the massacres of St. Bartholomew, even recollecting details of her
death, of places and so forth. The circumstances do not allow the
assumption of an exalted imagination since such memory goes
back to a period in which no one was involved with spirits or
reincarnation.
4th – Mr. Georges G…, from Marseille, reports the following
fact: A youngster died eight months ago and his family, which
has three medium sisters, evoke him almost daily, using a basket.
Each time that the spirit is called, a little dog that he was very
fond of, hops on the table, sniffing the basket and growling. The
first time it happened the basket wrote: “My brave little dog that
recognizes me.” Mr. G… says: I can assure you about the reality
of these facts. I did not see them myself but the persons who told
them to me and who have witnessed them several times are very
good and serious spiritists to give me any doubt. I ask myself after
all that if the perispirit, although not tangible, would have any
kind of aroma or if certain animals would be endowed by some
sort of mediumship.
A special study will be carried out later about this interesting
subject to see whether or not other not less interesting facts may
be able to shed some light on this subject.
5th – Verification of the presence of a bad spirit brought to
a private session by a visitor, from which one can infer the influence
exerted by the presence of certain persons under certain
circumstances.
6th – Readings of a private evocation carried out by Mr. Allan
Kardec of one of the main convulsionaries of Saint-Médard, deceased
in 1830, and in the presence of her own daughter, who
confirmed the identity of the evoked spirit. The evocation provides
an elevated teaching, with particular interest regarding the
special circumstances in which it was carried out (to be published).
STUDIES:
1st – Spontaneous essay obtained through Mrs. P…
2nd – Evocation of Stevens, comrade of Georges Brown
