A helpful Spirit.

— We extract the following passages from the letter of one of our correspondents in Bordeaux:

“Here, my dear Mr. Allan Kardec, is a new account of extraordinary facts which I submit to your appreciation, begging you to be so kind as to question the Spirit who produced them.

“A young woman, whom we shall call Madame Mally, is the person through whom occurred the manifestations that form the subject of this letter. She resides in Bordeaux and has three children.

“From an early age, at about nine years old, she has had visions. One evening, returning home with her family, she saw at the corner of the staircase the very distinct form of an aunt who had died four or five years before. Letting out an exclamation, she said: Ah! My aunt! and the apparition vanished. Two years later, she heard a voice calling her, in which she believed she recognized that of her dead aunt. The call was so strong that she could not help saying: “Come in, my aunt!” Since the door did not open, she went to open it herself; seeing no one, she went down in search of her mother to find out whether anyone had come up. “Some years later we find this lady under the sway of a guide or familiar Spirit, who appears charged with watching over her person and over her children, and who renders a number of small services in the house, among others that of waking the sick at the appointed hour to take their tea, or those who wish to depart; by certain manifestations he reveals his moral state. This Spirit has a character that is hardly serious; nevertheless, alongside signs of frivolity, he has given proofs of sensibility and affection. Madame Mally generally sees him in the form of a spark or of a great brightness, although he manifests to her children in human form. A somnambulist claimed to have given her this guide, over whom she seemed to exercise a certain influence. Whenever Madame Mally went some time without concerning herself with her guide, he took care to make himself remembered by some more or less disagreeable visions. Once, for example, when she was going down without a light, she perceived on the landing a corpse wrapped in a luminous shroud. This lady has great strength of character, as we shall see later; nevertheless, she could not shield herself from this rather distressing impression, and, firmly shutting the door of the room, she went to take refuge with her mother. At other times she felt her dress being pulled, or experienced brushings, as if someone or some animal were lightly rubbing against her. These pranks ceased as soon as she directed a thought to her guide, and, in turn, the somnambulist would admonish the latter and forbid him to torment her. “In 1856, the third daughter of Madame Mally, four years of age, fell ill in the month of August. The child was continually plunged into a state of drowsiness, interrupted by crises and convulsions. For eight days I myself saw her, seeming to emerge from her dejection, acquire a smiling and happy expression, with eyes half-closed, without looking at the people around her, extend her hand with a graceful gesture, as if to receive something, raise it to her mouth and eat; then give thanks with a charming smile. During those eight days the child was sustained by this invisible food, and her body regained the appearance of its habitual freshness. When she was able to speak, she seemed to have come out of a prolonged sleep and recounted marvelous visions. “During the little girl’s convalescence, around the 25th of August, there occurred, in that same house, the apparition of an agenere. About half past ten at night, Madame Mally, holding the little one by the hand, was going down a service staircase when she perceived an individual coming up. The staircase was perfectly lit by the light of the kitchen, so that she could distinguish the individual very well, whose appearance was that of a person of vigorous constitution. Arriving at the landing at the same time, they found themselves face to face; it was a young man of agreeable appearance, well dressed, with a cap on his head and holding in his hand an object that she was unable to make out. Surprised by this unexpected encounter at that hour and on a nearly hidden staircase, Madame Mally stared at him without saying a word and without asking what he wanted. In turn the stranger observed her in silence for a few moments, then turned about and went down the staircase, rubbing against the railing the object he held in his hand, which produced a noise similar to that of a little wand. As soon as he disappeared, Madame Mally rushed to the room where I happened to be at that moment and cried out that there was a thief in the house. We set about looking for him, aided by my dog; every corner was examined; we made sure that the street door was shut, so that no one could have entered; moreover, if they had, they could not have shut it without making noise. Finally, it was hardly likely that a malefactor would use a lighted staircase, and at such an hour, where he exposed himself to running into the people of the house at any moment. On the other hand, how could a stranger have been found on the staircase that does not serve the public? In any case, if he had made a mistake, he would have addressed Madame Mally, whereas he turned his back on her and went off quietly, like someone who is in no hurry and does not lose his way. All these circumstances left us not the slightest doubt as to the nature of that individual. “This Spirit frequently manifests by means of noises resembling those of a drum, violent blows on the stove, kicks against the doors, which then open by themselves, and finally noises like those of pebbles thrown against the windowpanes. One day Madame Mally was at the kitchen door when she saw a piece of furniture in front of her open and close several times by an invisible hand; on other occasions, being busy lighting the fire, she felt her dress being pulled, or again, while going up the staircase, her heel being seized. Several times he hid the scissors and other work implements that belonged to her, which were deposited in her lap after she had already searched for them at length. One Sunday Madame Mally was occupied in seasoning a leg of lamb with cloves of garlic when, suddenly, she felt them taken from her fingers; thinking she had let them fall, she searched for them in vain; then, taking up the leg of lamb again, she found the garlic minced in a triangular hole whose skin had been removed, as if to reveal that a strange hand had placed it there intentionally. “While Madame Mally’s eldest daughter, four years of age, was out walking with her mother, the latter noticed that she was conversing with an invisible being who seemed to be asking her for candy. The little one closed her hand and kept saying: — These are mine; buy your own, if you want.

Astonished, the mother asked her with whom she was speaking.

— It is with that boy who wants me to give him my candy, replied the little girl.

— What boy is that? asked the mother. — This one who is here, beside me.

— But I see no one.

— Ah! He has gone. He dresses in white and is all curly-haired.

“Another time, the little sick girl of whom I spoke above was amusing herself making paper birds. Mama, mama! — she said — do not let that boy take my paper.

— Who is it? — asked the mother.

— Yes, that boy took my paper. And the child began to cry.

— But where is he?

— There he is, going out through the window. He was a very naughty boy.

“This same little girl one day was jumping on tiptoe until she lost her breath, despite her mother’s prohibition, who feared it would do her harm. Suddenly she stopped and exclaimed: “Ah! Mama’s guide!” They asked her what that meant, and she said she had seen an arm stop her while she was jumping, forcing her to keep still. She added that she was not afraid and that she immediately thought of her mother’s guide. Facts of this nature recur frequently and have become familiar to the children, who feel no fear, for the thought of their mother’s guide comes to them spontaneously. “The intervention of this guide manifested itself in more serious circumstances. Madame Mally had rented a house with a garden in the commune of Caudéran. The house was isolated and surrounded by vast meadows. She lived there with the three children and a governess. The commune was then infested with bandits, who plundered the neighborhood and naturally coveted a house they knew to be inhabited by two ladies living alone; thus, they came to pillage every night, trying to force the doors and windows. For three years Madame Mally lived in that house, in constant alarm; but every night she commended herself to God, and, after the prayer, her guide manifested in the form of a spark. Several times during the night, when the thieves tried to break down the door, a sudden brightness lit up the room and she heard a voice saying to her: “Fear nothing; they will not enter.” Indeed, they never managed to penetrate the house. Nevertheless, out of excessive precaution, she furnished herself with firearms. One night, perceiving that they were prowling about the house, she fired two revolver shots that struck one of them, for she heard groans, but the next day they had disappeared. This fact was reported in the following terms by a Bordeaux newspaper: “We have been informed of a fact that demonstrates a certain courage on the part of a young woman residing in the commune of Caudéran:

“A lady who occupies an isolated house in that commune has in her company a young woman charged with the education of the children. On one of the preceding nights, this lady had been the victim of an attempted robbery. The next day they resolved to take better precautions and, if necessary, would keep watch during the night. “They did as they had agreed. Thus, when the thieves presented themselves to complete the task of the previous evening, they found someone to receive them. They only took care not to converse with the inhabitants of the besieged house. The young woman to whom we have alluded suspected their presence, opened the door and fired a revolver shot, which must have struck one of the rogues, since the next day they found traces of blood in the garden. “Up to the present moment it has not been possible to find the perpetrators of this second attempt.

“I shall speak only from memory of other manifestations that occurred in that same house at Caudéran, while those ladies remained there. Often, during the night, strange noises were heard, similar to that of balls rolling on the floor or of firewood thrown to the ground. The next morning, however, everything was found in perfect order. “Deign, sir, should you deem it appropriate, to evoke Madame Mally’s guide and question him concerning the manifestations of which I have just notified you. Above all, ask him whether the somnambulist, who claims to have given her this guide, has the power to take him back, and whether he would withdraw, should the somnambulist come to die.”

MADAME MALLY’S GUIDE.

(Society, July 8, 1859.)

Evocation of Madame Mally’s guide Answer. – Here I am; this is easy for me.

Under what name would you like to be designated?

Answer. – As you wish; by the one under which you already know me.

What is the reason that made you attach yourself to Madame Mally and her children?

Answer. – Former relations, first of all, and a friendship and a sympathy that God always protects.

They said it was the somnambulist, Madame Dupuy, who directed you to Madame Mally; is that true?

Answer. – It was the former who said that I had joined the latter.

Are you dependent on this somnambulist?

Answer. – No.

Could they remove you from that lady?

Answer. – No.

If this somnambulist were to die, would you suffer any influence whatsoever?

Answer. – None.

Did your body die a long time ago?

Answer. – Yes, several years ago.

What were you in life?

Answer. – A child who died at the age of eight.

As a Spirit, are you happy or unhappy?

Answer. – Happy; I have no personal concern, I suffer only for others. It is true that I suffer a great deal for them.

Was it you who appeared on the staircase to Madame Mally, in the form of a young man whom she took for a thief?

Answer. – No; it was a companion.

And another time, in the form of a corpse? That could impress her unfavorably. It was a misstep that demonstrates an absence of benevolence.

Answer. – Far from it in many cases; but in this one it was to give Madame Mally more courageous thoughts. What is there frightening about a corpse?

You have, then, the power to make yourself visible at will?

Answer. – Yes, but I said that it had not been me.

Are you likewise a stranger to the other material manifestations produced in her house?

Answer. – Pardon me! These yes; this is what I imposed upon myself with her, as material work; but I carry out other work much more useful and much more serious for her.

Could you make yourself visible to everyone?

Answer. – Yes.

Could you make yourself visible to one of us?

Answer. – Yes; I have asked God that this may happen; I can do it, but I do not dare to do it.

If you do not wish to make yourself visible, could you give us at least one manifestation, for example, bring something onto this table?

Answer. – Certainly, but what would it serve? For her, this is how I testify to my presence, but for you it is useless, since we are conversing.

Would the obstacle not lie in the absence of a medium, necessary to produce these manifestations?

Answer. – No, that would be an insignificant obstacle. Do you not frequently see sudden apparitions to persons who have absolutely no ostensible mediumship?

Everyone, then, is apt to see spontaneous manifestations?

Answer. – Since all men are mediums, yes.

Nevertheless, does the Spirit not find, in the organism of certain persons, a greater facility for communicating?

Answer. – Yes, but I told you, and you ought to know it, that the Spirits have the power in themselves; the medium is nothing. Do you not have direct writing? Is a medium necessary for that? No, but only faith and an ardent desire. Often this still occurs in spite of men, that is, without faith and without desire.

Do you think that manifestations, such as direct writing, for example, will become more common than they are today?

Answer. – Certainly; how, then, do you understand the spreading of Spiritism?

Can you explain to us what Madame Mally’s little girl received and ate, when she was ill?

Answer. – Manna; a substance formed by us, which contains the principle present in ordinary manna and the sweetness of the confection.

Is this substance formed in the same manner as the clothes and other objects that the Spirits produce by their will and by the action they exercise upon matter?

Answer. – Yes, but the elements are very different; the portions that form the manna are not the same as those I obtained to form wood or clothing.

(To Saint Louis.) – Is the element taken by the Spirit to form his manna different from that which he takes to form something else? We have always been told that there is but one primitive universal element, of which the different bodies are simple modifications.

Answer. – Yes. That is, the same primitive element is in space, under one form here, under another there; that is what he means. His manna is extracted from a part of that element, which he supposes to be different, but which is always the same.

Does the magnetic action by which one gives to a substance – water, for example – special properties have a relation to that of the Spirit who creates a substance?

Answer. – The magnetizer, in absolute terms, deploys nothing but his will; it is a Spirit who assists him, who takes charge of obtaining and preparing the remedy.

(To the Guide.) – Some time ago we reported curious facts of manifestations of a Spirit designated by us by the name of the little madman of Bayonne.

Do you know that Spirit?

Answer. – Not particularly; but I followed what you did with him, and it was only in that way that I first came to know him.

Is he a Spirit of inferior order?

Answer. – Does inferior mean bad? No; does it mean only that he is not entirely good, that he is little advanced? Yes.

We thank you for having appeared and for the explanations you have given us.

Answer. – At your service.

— Observation: This communication offers us a complement to what we said in the two preceding articles [Furniture from beyond the tomb and Pneumatography and direct writing,] on the formation of certain bodies by the Spirits.

The substance given to the child during her illness was evidently prepared by them and had as its object the restoration of her health.

From where did they draw its principles? From the universal element, transformed for the desired use. The phenomenon, so strange, of properties transmitted by magnetic action, a problem hitherto unexplained, and over which the incredulous have so greatly amused themselves, is now resolved. Indeed, we know that it is not only the Spirits of the dead who act, but that those of the living likewise have their share of action in the invisible world: the man of the snuffbox gives us proof of this. What is there, then, that is astonishing in the fact that the will of a person, acting for the good, can operate a transformation of the primitive matter and impress upon it a particular property?

In our opinion, herein lies the key to many supposedly supernatural effects, of which we shall have occasion to speak. It is thus that we arrive, through observation, at perceiving the things that form part of reality and of the marvelous. But who guarantees that this theory is true?

And there, where do we stand? At the very least it has the merit of being rational and of agreeing perfectly with the observed facts. If any human brain should find another more logical than this one, furnished by the Spirits, let them be compared. One day perhaps they will recognize that we have opened the way to the rational study of Spiritism.

“I would indeed like – someone said to us one day – to have at my orders a helpful Spirit, even if I had to put up with a few pranks on his part.” It is a satisfaction we often enjoy without perceiving it, for not all the Spirits who assist us manifest in an ostensible manner. They are no less at our side for that, and, being hidden, their influence is no less real.