WCP3444

[1]¹

Parkstone, Dorset.

July 18th. 1890

Dear Mr. Romanes²

Some time back I read an article in the 19th. Cent. for May, but I have been so much occupied since ^that I have ^{till now} had no time to write about it. Whether or no it was good taste for you to appeal to the political & medical prejudices of your readers is a matter purely scientific — by referring to my advocacy of Land Nationalisation & opposition to Vaccination, I leave others to judge. I am quite satisfied myself that ⁱⁿ a not distant future [2] I shall have ample credit given me will give me credit on both these points. But as to your appeal to popular scientific prejudice by referring to my belief in Spiritualism and Astrology (which latter I have never professed any belief in—) I have something to say.

In 1876 you wrote two letters³ to Darwin⁴ detailing your experiences of spiritual phenomena. You told him you had had mental questions answered with no paid medium present. You told him you had had a message purporting to come from J. Bellew,⁵ which message was worded in a manner quite ^so unexpected that it was at first thought to be erroneous. And you declared your belief that some non-human intelligence was [3] then communicating with you. You then ^also described many physical phenomena occurring in your own house with the medium Williams.⁶ You saw "hands", apparently human ^{yet not those of anyone present}— you saw bells &c. carried about, you saw a human head & face above the table, the face with mobile features and eyes. Williams was held all the time; & your brother walked around the table all the time to prove there was no wire or other machinery (in your own room!) yet a bell, placed on a piano some distance off, was taken up by a luminous hand, and rung, & carried about!

Can you have forgotten all this?

In your second letter to Darwin, you expressed your conviction of the truth of these facts,— and of the existence [4] of spiritual intelligences,— of mind without brain. You said that these phenomena had altered your whole conceptions. Formerly you had thought there were two mental natures in Crookes⁷ & Wallace, one sane the other lunatic! Now (you said) you belonged to the same class as they did. Tell it not in Gath! There are, then, two Romanes’, as well as two Wallaces. There is a Romanes "of incapacity and absurdity"!! But he keeps it secret. He thinks no one knows it. He is ashamed to confess it to his fellow-naturalists; but he is not ashamed to make use of the ignorant prejudice against ^{belief in the phenomena} in a scientific discussion with one who has the courage of his opinions which he himself has not.

Yours in sorrow & pity ^truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Prof. G. J. Romanes F.R.S.