Bulletin of the Parisian Society of Spiritist StudiesFriday, June 1st, 1860
(Private Session)
Works and minutes of May 25th session were read.
The Society admits Mrs. E…, from Vienna, as a full member by
proposal of the Committee and after a verbal report.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESSES:
The Society adopts the following proposal from the Committee:
• According to Article 16 of the Bylaws, one may make public
the intention of certain members who wish to withdraw their
membership.
• If the nomination for the Board and Committee were to happen
before that time they could then include members that will no
longer stay;
• It would not be rational to have those who intend to leave taking
part in the nominations.
The Society then resolves:
1st - The nominations to the Board and to the Committee will
take place in the first session of May. The current members will
carry their functions over up to that time.
2nd – Considering that a long and not programmed absence
of the members of the Board and Committee may hinder the normal
progress of work, the Society resolves that the members who
do not attend meetings for three consecutive months, without
previous notice, will be considered resignations and thus replaced.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – A spontaneous communication obtained by Mrs. L… was
read, about “relative honesty”, signed by Georges, a familiar spirit.
2nd – Another communication read by Ms. Schmidt, about
the influence of the medium upon the spirit, signed by Alfred de
Musset.
3rd – Report of a case involving two individuals of which one
of them is a poor young lady whose current relationships are a
consequence of a previous life. Circumstances apparently serendipitous
brought them in contact and they felt a mutual sympathy,
revealed by a singular coincidence of mediumistic power. A
superior spirit, when questioned about the fact, stated that the
young lady was the other person’s daughter in a previous life and
having been abandoned, she returned to her path in the present
life, giving her the opportunity of making amends, by protecting
her, what she is prepared to do despite her precarious condition,
since she survives only of her work.
The fact with many interesting aspects comes to reinforce
what has always been said about certain sympathies whose causes
originate from previous lives. There is no doubt that such a principle
gives one more reason to the fraternal feeling that turns charity and benevolence into law, since it strengthens and multiplies
the links which must unite humanity.
STUDIES:
1
st – Evocation of the great Françoise, one of the main
Convulsionaries of Saint-Médard, from whom a first evocation
was published in the last May issue. The spirit was called again,
from her own initiative, with the intent of rectifying an idea that
she had expressed about Deacon Pâris. She blames herself for
having calumniated him, mistakenly judging his intentions, and
she thinks that her spontaneous apologies will spare her some deserved
punishment. St. Louis complements this communication
with some news about worlds that are destined to the punishment
of guilty spirits.
2nd – Analytical and detailed examination of Charlet’s communications
about the animals. The spirit develops, complements
and rectifies certain statements which seemed obscure or wrong.
This examination will continue in the next session. (Published
below.)
3rd – Two spontaneous essays are obtained, the first by Ms.
Huet, about the persistence of the memories in the spirit; the second
by Ms. L, signed by Georges, her familiar spirit, about the
critical analysis of the spiritist communications, proposed by the
Society. The spirits give full support to that kind of study, indicating
it as a means of avoiding false communications.
Friday, June 8th, 1860
(General Session)
Works and minutes of the June 1st session were read.
The widow Mrs. G…, former member and not included in the April
30th list, according to the new Bylaws, writes to us explaining the reasons for her absence and requesting to be reintegrated as a member. Following
the Committee’s recommendation, she is admitted as requested.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – A spontaneous essay received by Mrs. Lesc… and signed
by Delphine de Girardin is read, about the first impressions of a
spirit. It contains a very poetic and realistic image experienced by
the spirit when leaving Earth.
2nd – Another essay was received by the same medium and
signed by Alfred de Musset, with the title Aspirations of a Spirit.
3rd – An interesting and personal fact reported by Mr. M…,
from Metz, about the influence that a medium may exert upon
another person in order to develop her mediumship. It was developed
in Mr. M… by that way; the particular aspect of this case is
that it occurred at a distance. The medium that was in Châlons
and Mr. M… who was in Metz, scheduled the time for the test
and Mr. M… attested the right moment when the medium influenced
him and when such influence stopped. Furthermore, he
described the spiritual sensations of the medium and from which
he could have no idea, while the medium wrote the same words
that Mr. M…drew.
Another curious event of direct writing occurred with the same
medium,, without his intention or provocation, since he was not
even thinking about it. Several words of undoubted origin, when
the circumstances are known, were found unexpectedly written
with demonstrated intention and adequate to the situation. The
medium unsuccessfully tried to repeat the manifestation.
STUDIES:
1st – Several questions addressed to St. Louis (1. About the state
of the spirits; 2. About what must be understood by the sphere
or the planet of flowers, mentioned by certain spirits; 3. About latent intellectual faculties; 4. About signs of recognition to find
the identity of spirits.)
2nd – Evocation of Antoine T…, who disappeared a few years
ago, leaving no clue about his fate. Since a first evocation was
identified as inaccurate, he explains the reasons, providing new
details about himself. The investigation will clarify if these are
more accurate than the first ones.
3rd – Evocation of Vogt, the astrologer from Munich, who
committed suicide on May 4th, 1860. His barely freed spirit is still
heavily influenced by the same concerns he had when alive.
4th – Two spontaneous and simultaneous essays are obtained,
the first by Mr. Didier Jr. about fatality and signed by Lamennais;
the second by Mrs. Lesc… about Human Masquerades, signed by
Delphine de Girardin.
Friday, June 15th, 1860
(Private Session)
Works and minutes of the June 8th session were read.
As proposed by the Committee, Mr. Count de N… from Moscow
and Mr. P… a property owner in Paris were accepted as members.
SEVERAL COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – Reading of a letter informing that the clergy is seriously
dedicated to the study of Spiritism in certain regions and that
well informed members of that community speak of Spiritism as
something that has come to exert great influence upon the social
fabric.
2nd – Reading of a private evocation which took place at
Mr. Allan Kardec’s house of Mr. J…Junior, from Saint-Étienne.
Although of private attention, the evocation presents useful teachings
given the elevation of the evoked spirit, and it was heard with
great interest.
3rd – Observation made by Mr. Allan Kardec about a prediction
addressed to him by a medium of his acquaintance.
According to that prediction, certain events must take place on
precise dates and for confirmation the spirit had determined that
those predictions be known by several people, among them Mr.
Allan Kardec, in order to certify with the occurrence the dates
they were made. I refused, said Mr. Allan Kardec, for the following
considerations: “There is already a significant tendency to see
in Spiritism a channel for soothsaying, contrary to its objective.
When future events are announced and do take place we certainly
have an exceptional and curious case but it would be dangerous
to take that as a general rule. That is why I did not want
to have my name associated to something which could endorse a
belief which would mislead the understanding of Spiritism in its
principle and application.”
STUDIES:
1st – Evocation of Thilorier, the physicist who died thinking that
he had found the means of replacing steam by condensed carbon
acid as the driving force. He acknowledges that such discovery
was nothing more than his imagination. (Published below.)
2nd – Continuation of the critical analysis of Charlet’s communications
about the animals. It will be published.
3rd – Evocation of a rapping spirit that manifests to the son
of Mr. N…, member of the Society, through physical effects of
certain originality. He claims to have been the master drummer
with the military band of the Vatican, was and goes by the name
Eugène. His language contradicts the qualities that he attributes
to himself.
4th – Spontaneous essay obtained by Mrs. Lesc.., about the
development of the intellectual faculties, regarding the evocation
of Thilorier, signed by Georges, a familiar spirit. It is noticeable that this spirit adapts his communications to the current events,
demonstrating that he takes part in the conversations, even without
being evoked. This has happened on several other occasions
with respect to other spirits. Another one received by Mr. Didier
Junior, signed by Vauvenargues with some select thoughts.
Friday, June 22nd, 1860
(General Session)
The works and minutes of the June 15th session were read.
MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS:
1st – A spontaneous essay received by Mrs. Lesc.., from Alfred de
Musset, about dreams.
2nd – Report of a natural fact of spontaneous mediumship, as
a writing medium, given by Mrs. Lub…, member of the Society.
The person is a fifteen-year-old peasant with no knowledge of
Spiritism and writes almost daily, sometimes full pages, in an absolutely
mechanical mode. She has an intuition that it must be a
spirit talking to her because when she is led to write she takes a
pencil and says: “Let us see what he is going to tell me today.” Her
communications are always related to episodes of her private life,
hers or of those of her acquaintance, and almost always of extreme
fairness about things completely oblivious to her. It is likely that if
her faculties were cultivated and well guided they would develop
in a remarkable and useful way.
STUDIES:
1st – Questions about animals of transition which can fill
out the existent blanks in the scale of the living beings
between animal and human beings. To be continued.
2nd – Questions about the inventors and premature
discoveries, with respect to the evocation of Thilorier.
3rd – Physical manifestations produced by Mr. N…
Jr., a thirteen-year-old boy, mentioned in the previous
session. The rapping spirit associated to him makes him
simulate with hands and fingers and incredible flexibility
every military evolution, like the charge of the cavalry,
maneuvers of artillery, attacks to forts, etc., reaching out
to objects around him to simulate weapons. He expresses
all his feelings like rage, impatience or mockery, by violent
knocks and very suggestive gestures of pantomime.
In addition he shows unconcern and indifference while
his hands are given to that kind of exercise. It became
evident that all movements are independent of his will.
During the remaining part of the session and when the
experience is over the spirit takes the opportunity to express
in his own way his contentment or disappointment
with what is said. In short, one can see that the spirit
uses the boy’s legs as if they were his own. Such a kind
of manifestation offers an interesting subject for study,
given its originality, and can lead to the understanding of
how the spirits act upon certain persons.
Once questioned about the consequences that such manifestations
may have on the young man, St. Louis gives very wise warnings,
advising not to provoke them. Furthermore, he requests that the
Society should not enter into that line of experimentation, whose
result would be the separation of the serious spirits; the Society
should continue to do as done so far, carrying out in-depth studies
of the important issues.
