Hurstpierpoint, Sussex.1
May 8th. 1868
Dear Mr. Tyndall
I do not know Mr. Varley2 but I will forward him your note & he can reply if he thinks proper.3
I rather doubt if any single case would be conclusive to you. Hume's4 argument is overwhelming against any single cause considered alone however well authenticated. or[?] carefully [1 word illeg., struck out]. He himself admits that nothing could possibly be better authenticated than the (so-called) miracles wh[ich]. occurred at the tomb of the Abbé Paris.5 But when you [1 word illeg., struck out] look at a series of such cases extending amounting to thousands and [1 word illeg., struck out] in our own day, and a corresponding series extending back through all history, Hume's argument entirely fails because his major proposition, — that [1 word illeg., struck out] miracles such facts are contrary to the universal [1 word illeg., struck out] experience of mankind, [3-4 words illeg., struck out] ceases to be true.
During the last two years I have witnessed a great variety of phenomena under such varied conditions & of such a varied nature that each objection as it arose was answered by other phenomena. Occuring in another place & under other conditions.
[2] The further I enquire & the more I see the more impossible becomes the explanation of imposture or delusion. I know that the facts are real natural phenomena, just as certainly as I know any other curious facts in nature.
Allow me to narrate one of the many scores [2 words illeg., struck out] of equally extraordinary things I have witnessed, & I maintain that this [1 word illeg., struck out] is not less conclusive because it happened in the dark. though it certainly happened in the dark that only renders it more difficult to explain.
The Place [1-2 words illeg., struck out] was the drawing room, of a friend6 of mine, a late Chairman of the Stock Exchange Committee & a brother of one our [2 words illeg., struck out] best artists.
Witnesses — His own & his brother's family one or two of their friends, myself, and Mr. John Smith,7 Banker, of Malton introduced by me.
Medium. Miss Nicholl.8
Conditions. We sat round a pillar table in the middle of a large drawing room and exactly under a glass chandelier. Miss N[icholl]. sat opposite me, & my friend Mr. [3] Smith, who <then> met her for the first time, sat next [to] her. One of the party held a box of lucifer matches ready to strike a light when asked.
We all took hold of our neighbour's hands, and Miss Nicholl's hands were both held by Mr. Smith, a stranger to all but me and who had never met Miss N[icholl]. before.
[4 words illeg., struck out] When comfortably arranged in this manner the light was put out. We sat still for a few minutes After a few minutes conversation as we sat in silence I heard the following sound almost simultaneously, when we heard a slight rustle as of a lady's dress, a little tap, such as would be made by setting down a wine glass on a table, and a very slight jingling of the drops of the chandelier. all at [5 words illeg., struck out]. At the same time An instant after Mr. Smith said, "She Miss Nicholl is gone". The match holder struck a light, and on the table (which had no cloth) was Miss Nicholl seated in her chair, her head just touching the chandelier. I had witnessed this phenomenon before I have and was [4] witnessed it [1 word illeg., struck out] able to observe coolly & expectantly and I am positive of the accuracy of my statement of the facts, were which I noted down directly soon afterwards.
Mr. Smith said to assured me afterward, that Miss N[icholl] simply glided out of his hands. No one else moved, or quitted hold of their neighbours hands.
There was not more noise than I have described. The whole of the sounds heard and no motion or even tremor of the table was felt although our hands were upon it. did not extend over a space exceeding two seconds.
You know Miss N[icholl]’s size & probable weight, & can judge of the force and exertion required to lift her & her chair, on to the exact centre of a pillar table; and the immense surplus of force required to do it almost instantaneously and noiselessly and without pressure on the sides of the table, for that would tip it up. Will any of the known laws of nature account for this?
Yours very faithfully | Alfred R Wallace [signature]
Hurstpierpoint, Sussex was the location of ARW’s father-in-law’s house, where he stayed from July 1867 into early July 1868.
2.
Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Author’s draft (WCP1487.1266)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Published in: Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions. 2 vols. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. [vol 2: 291-293]
A handwritten draft of this letter is WCP1487_L1266
—————————
[1] [p. 291]
"May 8, 1868.
"DEAR MR. TYNDALL,1
"I do not know Mr. Varley,2 but will forward him your note, and he can reply if he thinks proper.3 I rather doubt if any single case would be conclusive to you. Hume’s4 argument is overwhelming against any single case, considered alone, however well authenticated. He himself admits that no facts could possibly be better authenticated than the (so-called) miracles which occurred at the tomb of the Abbé Paris.5 But when you look at a series of such cases, amounting to thousands in our own day, and a corresponding series extending back through all history, Hume's argument entirely fails, because his major proposition — that such facts are contrary to the universal experience of mankind — ceases to be true.
"During the last two years I have witness a great variety of phenomena, under such varied conditions that each objection as it arose was answered by other phenomena. The further I inquire, and the more I see, the more impossible [p. 292] becomes the theory of imposture or delusion. I know that the facts are real natural phenomena, just as certainly as I know any other curious facts in nature.
"Allow me to narrate one of the scores of equally remarkable things I have witnessed, and this one, though it certainly happened in the dark, is thereby only rendered more difficult to explain as a trick.
"The place was the drawing-room of a friend6 of mine, a brother of one of our best artists. The witnesses were his own and his brother's family, one or two of their friends, myself, and Mr. John Smith,7 banker, of Malton, Yorkshire, introduced by me. The medium was Miss Nichol.8 We sat round a pillar-table in the middle of the room, exactly under a glass chandelier. Miss Nichol sat opposite me, and my friend, Mr. Smith, sat next her. We all held our neighbour's hands, and Miss Nichol's hands were both held by Mr. Smith, a stranger to all but myself, and who had never met Miss N. before. When comfortably arranged in this manner the lights were put out, one of the party holding a box of matches ready to strike a light when asked.
"After a few minutes' conversation, during a period of silence, I heard the following sounds in rapid succession: a slight rustle, as of a lady's dress; a little tap, such as might be made by setting down a wineglass on the table; and a very slight jingling of the drops of the glass chandelier. An instant after Mr. Smith said, 'Miss Nichol is gone.' The match-holder struck a light, and on the table (which had no cloth) was Miss Nichol seated in her chair, here head just touching the chandelier.
"I had witnessed a similar phenomenon before, and was able to observe coolly; and the facts were noted down soon afterwards. Mr. Smith assured me that Miss Nichol simply glided out of his hands. No one else moved or quitted hold of their neighbour's hands. There was note more noise than I have described, and no motion or even tremor of the table, although our hands were upon it.
"You know Miss N's size and probable weight, and can judge of the force and exertion required to lift her and her [p. 293] chair on to the exact centre of a large pillar-table, as well as the great surplus of force required to do it almost instantaneously and noiselessly, in the dark, and without pressure on the side of the table which would have tilted it up. Will and of the known laws of nature account for this?
"Yours very faithfully, | "ALFRED R. WALLACE."
Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Published letter (WCP1487.7857)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Please cite as “WCP1487,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1487